Axios Indianapolis

March 12, 2024
Let's get to it, Tuesday. We should have a gorgeous National Plant a Flower Day on our hands, but don't forget: It's a trap.
๐ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high near 70.
๐ Elevate your support when you become a member and stand by our newsroom.
๐ณ๏ธ Situational awareness: Six Republican candidates for governor participated in a debate in Carmel last night, sparring over the IEDC, COVID-19 and more.
Today's newsletter is 933 words โ a 3.5-minute read. Edited by Lindsey Erdody and copy edited by Bill Kole.
1 big thing: "Monumental" legislative session looms
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
The 2024 legislative session is over. So, naturally, it's time to look ahead to next year.
Why it matters: The Indiana General Assembly has already set up what one Statehouse leader called a "monumental" agenda for next year's budget-writing session.
The big picture: Indiana's Legislature writes a state budget every two years.
- Non-budget years, like this one, have shorter sessions to tackle only urgent issues and make policy tweaks that won't have a fiscal impact.
- Budget years are when lawmakers typically pursue larger, substantive issues because those generally involve funding.
Reality check: Recent short sessions have seen lawmakers address major policy issues, such as transgender children's participation in school sports and right-to-work laws.
- Ahead of this year's session, Statehouse leaders said they wanted to return to the original intent and deal only with fine-tuning existing policy, but they still waded into issues like antisemitism, literacy and child labor regulations.
Between the lines: Lawmakers still left plenty on the table for next year, raising questions about whether they're creating too heavy of a lift during a year that will also see a new governor take office and new members join the General Assembly.
Issues on next year's agenda include:
- An overhaul of the state's road funding formula
- A massive rethinking of education spending
- Changes to the state's tax system
What's happening: The State and Local Tax Review Task Force has been looking at, among other things, how to eliminate the state income tax โ which brings in roughly $8 billion annually, nearly one-third of the state budget.
- Leaders have also been promising a comprehensive discussion of the state's maligned road funding formula โ something Indianapolis officials have been wanting for years โ driven by the work of another legislative task force.
Yes, but: All of these proposals may be at the mercy of the state's Medicaid expenses, which are the fastest-growing part of the budget.
2. What it costs to charge electric vehicles in Indiana
Despite low electric vehicle adoption across the Hoosier state, EV drivers here are enjoying average charging prices.
The big picture: The cost of charging an electric vehicle widely varies state to state, which suggests that EV charging companies are still figuring out how to price a top-off, Axios' Alan Neuhauser reports.
Driving the news: It costs an average of $0.45 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to charge an electric car at a public charging station in Indiana โ the same price as the national average, according to data gathered by Stable Auto, an EV charger software developer.
Context: A typical EV with 300 miles of range usually takes about 75-100 kWh to go from empty to full.
Zoom out: West Virginia, Connecticut, Arizona, Massachusetts and Kentucky have the most expensive charging stations, according to Stable's survey of about 9,000 level three fast-charging stations in January.
- Prices there ranged from $0.52 to $0.54 per kilowatt-hour.
- Nebraska, Mississippi, Iowa, North Dakota and Kansas were the cheapest, with prices spanning $0.17 to $0.31.
What they're saying: "Prices are probably set incorrectly and don't reflect underlying supply-demand," Stable CEO Rohan Puri tells Axios.
- "There is still a lot of price herding in the industry with players, by and large, setting their prices based on what other nearby chargers have set their prices at."
Reality check: Only Indiana's wealthiest counties โ Hamilton and Boone โ are buying into the EV hype so far.
3. Pit stop: Read us at your favorite park
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
๐ต๐ป Ivy Tech offers tuition-free courses to retirees 60 and older โย enriching the lives of seniors taking courses and the broader campus. (Mirror Indy)
๐ชช Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed a bill that will remove more people from Indiana's voter rolls, something supporters say will strengthen the state's election system, but critics warn it may violate federal law. (WFYI)
๐งโโ๏ธ A judge has granted Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen's request for a speedier trial, moving the start date to May 13 โ five months earlier than originally scheduled. (Lafayette Journal & Courier)
๐ฑ Nearly all Indy parks will soon have free Wi-Fi. It's already available at 19 parks and will be added to another 10 this summer. The city is investing federal pandemic-era relief dollars to expand internet access in public spaces. (IBJ)
4. ๐บ Brews on Tues: Fountain Square Brewing
Photo: Justin L. Mack/Axios
โ๐ฟ Justin here, reflecting on the perfect pilsner for the end of a long day.
Driving the brews: I spent a recent Saturday evening at Fountain Square Brewing Company as the venue hosted both a farewell for an iconic Indianapolis news photographer and wine dude embarking on a new adventure; and a Pagan Pride Day fundraising event.
- You had to be there.
Brew of the week: Sometimes, you've gotta keep it simple and go with the sure thing. And at Fountain Square, nothing is as sure as the brewery's beloved Workingman's Pilsner.
- 5.45% ABV.
- 28.6 IBUs.
- The straw-colored Bohemian-style pilsner has been a staple for Fountain Square since 2011. Crisp and ice cold, every sip tastes like those precious hours between quitting time and your alarm jolting you awake in the morning.
๐ญ My thought bubble: Pair your Workingman's Pilsner with a night of pinball at the taproom. With a mantra of "keeping it weird and making great beer," something interesting is guaranteed to happen while hanging out there.
If you go: 1301 Barth Ave. Open 3-10pm Tuesday-Thursday, 2-10pm Friday, 12-10pm Saturday and 12-8pm Sunday.
Take your career to the next level
๐ผ Check out who's hiring on our Job Board.
- Senior Manager, Volunteer Journey at Habitat For Humanity.
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Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.
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5. ๐ธ Pic du jour: Hoo-hoo-hoo-who's house?
There's a good view heading west on Michigan Street through campus. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios
As IU and Purdue prepare for this summer's official split of the IUPUI campus into two separate institutions โ IU Indy and Purdue in Indianapolis โย the former is making sure there's no confusion about which campus you're on.
- IU will retain most of the existing campus buildings, including the Campus Center that's now stamped with the IU trident.
Our picks:
๐ณ Arika kicked off al fresco dining season with dinner on the dreamy Bodhi patio.
๐ง Justin is bummed that Kid Cudi's Insano World Tour is skipping Indianapolis. Not surprised, but bummed all the same.
๐ Lindsey is trying really, really hard not to go down the Kate Middleton rabbit hole.
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