Indianapolis, IN
Indiana did not see an influx of traffic on solar eclipse day like predicted. What happened?
Solar eclipse reaches totality in Indianapolis
Solar eclipse watchers experienced the moment of totality from the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
Indiana State Police expected thousands of visitors to view the total solar eclipse. Governor Eric Holcomb even signed and emergency order. But the state didn’t see nearly the number of tourists expected.
The April 8 solar eclipse was predicted to be big day for Indiana tourism, and while in many ways it still was, the crowds were not what local officials predicted.
Here’s what happened during the 2024 total solar eclipse.
Read more from the Herald-Times: Eclipse day was sunny in Indiana. Where were the crowds?
Bloomington’s numbers were lower than expected
Instead of 300,000 spectators, as multiple officials projected, Bloomington saw tens of thousands, according to early estimates, The Herlad-Times reported.
While the smaller-than-expected crowds enabled the city to escape snarled traffic, the overestimates also kept some Bloomington residents from leaving their homes and attending the local events, including those at Switchyard Park and Memorial Stadium.
At the Bloomington Police Department, officers of all ranks were scheduled to work 12-hour shifts. But they were cut to 10 hours as the day progressed and the anticipated crowds failed to appear.
Nashville also saw lower numbers than predicted
Between 50,000 and 100,000 eclipse viewers were expected in Nashville and Brown County, an estimated 20,000 showed up.
Indianapolis saw the most tourists, but still lower than estimated
Indiana State Police told IndyStar in March they were expecting about as much traffic for the eclipse as the city sees for the Indy 500, which can be anywhere from 200,000 to 250,000 visitors.
Clare Clark, senior communications manager for Visit Indy, confirmed that Indianapolis welcomed 125,000 visitors for the eclipse, with representation from all 50 states and 35 countries.
Why was solar eclipse viewing attendance lower than expected?
According to NASA, the path of totality for this year’s eclipse was between 108 and 122 miles wide, or about 72% wider, at the high end, than the eclipse in 2017. This year, about 31.6 million people lived in the path of totality, compared with 12 million in 2017.
The eclipse this year also passed over “more cities and densely populated areas” than in 2017, NASA said.
That meant people had more options as to where to travel, reducing the likelihood of congestion for any particular area.
Several Indiana cities had reported chances of cloud cover during the eclipse, which may have also been a reason less tourists came to Indiana, but neither Indianapolis or Bloomington ended up having any clouds block the view of the solar event.
Schools being closed for the day also helped reduce normal traffic in cities.
Local events, tourism still saw success despite fewer visitors than planned
Despite getting fewer visitors than planned, several cities in the state still saw great success.
Airbnb said Indianapolis was the #1 most booked destination within the path of totality and there was a virtual sell-out of hotel rooms on Sunday night ahead of the eclipse, Visit Indy said.
Visit Indy also broke their record for the most website traffic in a single day on the day of the eclipse, meaning tourists and locals were looking for things to do.
Mike McAfee, executive director of Visit Bloomington, said hotels and short-term rentals were “near capacity,” though he won’t have final data until later this month.
IU spokesman Mark Bode said the university hosted “tens of thousands of visitors and students across at least seven separate events,” including “nearly 10,000” at Memorial Stadium.
Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Democrat Andrea Hunley to seek bid for mayor’s job in 2027
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — State Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat representing Indianapolis, has announced her candidacy for a bid to run for mayor of Indianapolis in 2027.
Hunley, who had previously teased a mayoral run, has scheduled a launch event for May 8 as her official kickoff her campaign to lead the city, said her campaign website. The Assistant Minority Leader in the Senate announced in January that she would not seek another term in the Indiana Senate, to which she was elected in 2022.
Hunley’s website says, “Indianapolis is my city. Our city. As someone who knows this city, someone who has served this community as a public school teacher leading our children and supporting families, I am committed to the future of the people of Indianapolis.
“Indianapolis is the economic driver and a key cultural hub for our state. Our city boasts creative entrepreneurs and long-standing local businesses, vibrant neighborhoods and corporate headquarters, community-centered nonprofits and public schools. I aim to champion a better quality of life by listening to and working alongside the people, businesses and neighborhoods that make up our great city.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett has not disclosed if he’s seeking a fourth four-year term.
City-County Council Member Vop Osili in January announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination.
In the same month, Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination to run for mayor. She’s running this year to continue in the trustee’s job, which she has held since 2019.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who had been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for mayor, announced in January he would seek another four-year term this year for his current job. However, he did not rule out running for the Democratic bid for mayor in 2027.
Indianapolis, IN
Louisville native set to make debut in Indianapolis 500
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – While Louisville is famous for one race in May, a Derby City native is set to make his first appearance in a different iconic May race.
Jacob Abel will be making his first appearance in the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, racing for Abel Motorsports, founded by his father, Bill Abel.
“I am excited and grateful to be able to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to have a shot at the Indianapolis 500. It’s been a lifelong dream to compete in that race and to have the opportunity to do it with Abel Motorsports and Chevrolet makes it even more special,” Jacob said.
Both Abels, the driver and the team, had breakout years in 2024 with three pole positions and three wins in the INDY NXT drivers’ championship, propelling the 25-year-old driver to the NTT INDYCAR Series the following year.
Practice for the 110th Indianapolis 500 begins on Tuesday, May 12 with qualifying being held on May 16 and May 17. The race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway goes green on May 24, coverage begins at 10 a.m.
Copyright 2026 WAVE. All rights reserved.
Indianapolis, IN
IMPD: Man stabbed in downtown Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS — A person was stabbed in downtown Indianapolis Sunday evening.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers were called to the intersection of East Market and North Delaware Streets around 8:28 p.m. to investigate a stabbing. When police arrived at the scene, they located an adult male victim with apparent stab wounds.
IMPD has confirmed that the victim was transported from the scene to a local hospital in critical but stable condition.
Investigators believe the stabbing “stemmed from a disturbance between multiple individuals and the victim.”
IMPD has reported that it has not identified or detained any suspects or persons of interest at this point in its investigation of the stabbing. Police have indicated that they are hoping witnesses come forward with information that can help them identify or locate the suspects.
“The officers now are doing a complete investigation,” IMPD Lieutenant Frank Wooten said during a media briefing Sunday night. “They’re going to investigate this to the best of their ability. We’re going to try to locate our suspect, arrest the suspect, prosecute the suspect and hold that suspect accountable for this heinous crime in Indianapolis. This is not an indication of what our city is about. This is not an indication of what we do downtown, and we hold this to be very serious. So, we will hold whoever did this responsible for their actions tonight.”
Sunday night’s stabbing represented a continuation of a violent weekend in downtown Indianapolis.
Early Sunday morning, two men were critically injured in a shooting near a White Castle on South Street. Before that shooting occurred, police arrested two juveniles on gun charges at Monument Circle.
Police also conducted a shooting investigation near the Hilton hotel located at 120 W. Market St. around 4 a.m. Sunday. Nobody was injured in that shooting.
Elsewhere in the city, a person was injured in a shooting in a CVS parking lot on Kentucky Avenue Saturday evening. Another individual was killed in a shooting outside a residence in the 2300 block of South Pennsylvania Street Saturday night.
Public police reporting systems indicate IMPD has investigated nine shootings that caused injuries since midnight Saturday. During that same timeframe, IMPD has investigated six shootings that did not result in any injuries and five stabbings.
Numbers available on shootings and stabbings in IMPD’s public reporting system may not be complete, as some reports on weekend shootings and stabbings may not have been entered yet.
“This is not what we want Indianapolis to be,” Wooten said. “This is not what we expect out of the citizens of Indianapolis. We expect them to be safe, come downtown and have a good time, and be able to go home the same way they came down here. So, we will hold these suspects, once located, accountable for this crime.”
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