Early voting starts today for dozens of races on Nov. 7 municipal election ballots around central Indiana.

Why it matters: Voters in Indianapolis will elect a mayor and City-County Council members, while a changing of the guard is taking place in Hamilton County as longtime mayors in Carmel and Westfield are leaving office.

How it works: Registered voters can start casting ballots today at the City-County Building.

• The CCB is open for early voting from 8am to 5pm, Monday-Friday until Oct. 27 and open until 6pm from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.
• Beginning Oct. 28, it's also open 11am to 6pm Saturdays and Sundays.
• The last hours of early voting are from 8am to noon Nov. 6.

Plus: Eight other early vote centers will be open Oct. 28 through Nov. 5, from 11am to 6pm.

Of note: Registered voters can cast ballots at any Marion County vote center.

Not sure if you're registered? Check here.

Be smart: Find out what's on your ballot before you head to the polls by checking your sample ballot.

Don't forget: Your ID.

• Indiana law requires voters to present a government-issued photo ID.

Voters in other counties can find early voting information here:

• Boone County
• Hamilton County
• Hancock County
• Hendricks County
• Johnson County
• Morgan County
• Shelby County

Share this story with a voter

Hoosiers spend less time in emergency rooms than other Americans on average, but more than we used to, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Driving the news: The state's average time spent in an ER was 2 hours, 18 minutes in 2022, according to the latest CMS data.

• Yes, but: That figure is roughly on par with 2 hours, 17 minutes in 2021 (a pandemic year), but up from about 2 hours, 2 minutes in 2014.
• Indiana's average fell below the national median of 2 hours, 40 minutes in 2022.

Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance, and it's been steadily rising across the country.

• Increasing ER visit times are an indication that a hospital may be understaffed relative to a community's need or is facing other issues.

Zoom out: Washington, D.C., hospitals racked up the longest median time for ER stays in 2022, at 5 hours and 29 minutes.

• North Dakota (1 hour, 48 minutes) had the lowest median time.

Be smart: This data captures the length of patients' entire ER visits, not just the time spent waiting to be first seen and covers more than 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals nationwide.

The intrigue: Fear of getting stuck at the ER for hours on end is fueling a boom in urgent care and retail health clinics, including in Indiana, which has seen high growth in the industry.

The big picture

🤑 Three Hoosiers — Colts' owner Jim Irsay, real estate mogul and Pacers' owner Herb Simon and Cook Group CEO Carl Cook — made Forbes' annual list of the richest Americans.

• The floor for the list this year was $2.9 billion. (Forbes)

🗞️ IndyStar's top editor has left after less than two years in the role. Bro Krift will be the CEO of the Indiana Local News Initiative, a nonprofit newsroom that already has two former IndyStar employees on its leadership team. (IBJ)

🛩️ Thrival Academy, a charter school that partnered with IPS to offer students study abroad experiences, will close after this school year. It failed to hit enrollment goals. (WFYI)

🎟️ Free tickets are now available for the Pacers FanJam event on Saturday, where fans will get to see the 2023-24 team. (WRTV)

🏀 Heritage Christian Schools' boys basketball program is on probation with the Indiana High School Athletics Association, which said the private school violated recruiting rules. All wins from the last two school years have been vacated. (FOX59)

A bookstore celebrating stories by Black and queer authors and titles targeted by book-banning efforts has opened near downtown.

Driving the news: Loudmouth Books opened earlier this month.

State of play: Indy native and author Leah Johnson founded the store after watching her mother, Democratic state Rep. Renee Pack, oppose legislation that advocates said was an attempt at book banning.

• Johnson's book, "You Should See Me in a Crown," was one of more than 50 books investigated last year by the Oklahoma attorney general's office for potentially breaking the state's obscenity law.

Quick take: The store may look small from the outside, but inside it's bursting with life, color and books — a mix of popular titles and lesser-known works.

• The shelves are notably dotted with book covers featuring people of color — a refreshing change of pace from other stores that often restrict such titles to a single display.
• It has a special display of "banned books," titles often targeted by book challenges.

Plus: There's a separate room for kids and young adult titles — complete with a play tent.

If you go: Loudmouth Books, 212 E. 16th St.

• Open 11am to 6pm Tuesday-Saturday and 11am to 5pm Sunday.