Have a phone number with a 317 area code? Hang onto it. We're almost out of them.

Why it matters: Area codes are often shorthand for regional pride, and the 317 is no different. There are 317 mugs, magnets and even restaurants. The Indiana Fever's 317 shirt sold out.

• There's even a 317 Day, celebrating everything that makes Indianapolis and its surrounding metro area awesome.

The big picture: Area codes are assigned by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA).

• Each area code contains 8 million phone numbers, though not all of those are available for distribution (think: 211s, 411s, 911s, etc.).
• NANPA assigns the numbers to phone service providers by prefix, the three digits that start a local phone number, which then distributes them to customers.
• When it looks like an area is close to exhausting its available prefixes, a relief plan is crafted.

Zoom in: For the 317 area code, it was projected that prefixes would be exhausted in 2016, so the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission requested a new area code overlay from NANPA.

Enter: The 463 area code.

• NANPA began assigning 463 numbers to service providers in 2017, the organization's data management manager, Heidi Wayman, told Axios.
• Major providers like Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile already have 463 numbers in their inventory.
• Providers, though, still had 317 numbers available to assign first. Plus, numbers get returned by exiting customers and can be reassigned after a cooling-off period.

The latest: Today, NANPA has only 190,000 of the original 8 million 317 numbers left.

• And those won't be distributed to providers until they've used a set percentage of their existing numbers — including any 463 numbers already in their bank.

Fun fact: 463 spells IND on a telephone keypad.

What we're watching: What happens when North America runs out of area codes.

• Wayman told Axios that it's projected to exhaust all available area codes (and, thus, phone numbers) by 2060, at which point we'll have to move to an entirely different phone-numbering system.

The bottom line

Indiana's education gains are improving well-being for the state's 1.6 million kids, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Driving the news: The annual Kids Count Data Book, released yesterday, ranks children's quality of life in four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community.

• Indiana's 25th-place child well-being ranking is two spots higher than in the previous year's report.

By the numbers: Indiana ranked 11th in education outcomes, 11th in economic well-being, 30th in health, and 31st in family and community.

• Youth mental health indicators show improvement, with fewer young people reporting persistent sadness, but access to care remains a challenge.

Zoom in: Indiana jumped six spots in education this year, thanks to meaningful gains in reading and statewide standardized testing.

• IREAD-3 proficiency rose to 87.3%, up from 82.5% in 2024, matching the highest pass rate since the pandemic.
• Indiana's graduation rate increased for the third consecutive year, to nearly 92%.

Yes, but: Fewer students are going straight to college.

• The state previously set a goal to increase the share of adults with higher education to 60% by last year but was only at 53% by the end of 2024.

What they're saying: "The data tells us this is not a moment to slow down," Tami Silverman, president and CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute, said in a news release. "When we invest in the social infrastructure around youth, we turn today's progress into long‑term success."

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Beech Grove police officer Brian Elliott was killed and another officer was wounded in a Monday night shooting near Emerson and Hornet avenues. The suspect, 47-year-old Kenneth Johnson, has been arrested. (IndyStar)

🗳️ The Indiana Senate Elections Committee approved an amendment to House Bill 1359 that would shorten the early voting period from 28 days to 16 days. The bill advanced to the full Senate with a 7-2 vote. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

⚖️ The Indiana House approved a proposed constitutional amendment allowing judges to keep more defendants they consider dangerous in jail without bond. Hoosiers will vote on the issue in November. (The Indiana Lawyer)

🪧 Legislation overriding a city ordinance preventing new billboards from being erected within the I-465 loop has been shut down. (IBJ)

👋 Arika here! The sun is shining and temps are above freezing, which means I'm ready to drink in the spring.

• For me, that means saying goodbye to porters, stouts and warming spices in favor of the fruity, the juicy ... beers that taste like patios and bike rides.
• Aspirational? Perhaps. Delicious? You bet.

Driving the brews: Upland Brewing Co. tapped a juiced-up version of an old standby just in time.

Brew of the week: Hazy Dragonfly, 7% ABV.

• A hazy variation of Upland's Dragonfly IPA, it still has the hops you'd expect from the classic but smoothed out by tropical fruits like mango, passionfruit and citrus.

The bottom line: Tastes like sunshine.

If your tax return hits a snag this year, getting help from the IRS could take longer — and more complex refunds could be slow to arrive, too.

Why it matters: A Treasury watchdog report warns the IRS entered the 2026 filing season short-staffed and overwhelmed, increasing the risk of delays and service problems for millions of taxpayers.

The big picture: A January report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found the IRS has lost about 19,000 employees over the past year amid federal workforce reductions.

How you file may matter more than IRS staffing levels.

• "Straightforward tax returns, especially e-filed returns with direct deposit that do not get flagged for review, are typically less likely to experience service issues," Chris Mallon, a financial advisor at The Capstone Planning Group, tells Axios.

Experts also suggest double-checking returns to make sure W-2s, 1099s and other income forms match what's reported.

• They recommend using IRS online tools — including "Where's My Refund?" — before calling, as phone support may be harder to reach, and working with a tax professional if your filing situation is complicated.

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