Indiana
Kyle Mangas’ Indiana Basketball Journey Leads To Contract With Pacers And Mad Ants
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 18: Kyle Mangas #24 of the Indiana Mad Ants looks to pass during … [+]
INDIANAPOLIS — It’s hard to separate basketball in Indiana from Kyle Mangas. The 25-year old was born in Warsaw, a smaller city in Northern Indiana. He played high school basketball at Warsaw Community High School, where he scored 1,450 points before playing collegiately at Indiana Wesleyan University.
For over 20 years, Mangas lived in the state and breathed basketball. During his time at Indiana Wesleyan, who played at the NAIA level, Mangas proved to be a tremendous talent and was named the 2020 Division II Men’s Basketball National Player of the Year.
A player with that resume could have transferred to a more well known college basketball program, but Mangas never looked into it until after his fourth season. “I looked at [transferring] a little bit, but decided I wanted to go pro,” Mangas said. “Loved the school, and never really thought about going anywhere else.”
Turning toward professional basketball forced Mangas to consider his options, and it led to something unknown: the high-scoring wing had to leave the state of Indiana. And he didn’t exactly stay close. Mangas signed his first professional contract in the Czech Republic with USK Praha — which is over 7,000 kilometers away from Warsaw.
“I’ve been in Europe and you don’t know anyone in the crowd,” Mangas said. “It can be a little difficult at times.” The young wing spent the following season in Lithuania as a member of BC Siauliai.
Those two seasons helped Mangas grow and were a reminder that he always needed to prove himself. But he was ready to come back to the United States, and he was talking to a few teams in the NBA G League ahead of the 2023 campaign. He was prepared to make the leap back to the states.
Then, his hometown team called. The Indiana Mad Ants, the G League affiliate for the Indiana Pacers, showed interest in Mangas. Back in 2021, Mangas worked out for the Pacers twice in the pre-draft process. This time, the organization wanted to have him in for another workout and see if he could be a good fit in their program.
Mangas, who was a Pacers and Indiana University fan as a kid, jumped at the chance. The session was with Mad Ants head coach Tom Hankins, yet Mangas felt little pressure after his overseas experience. He impressed enough to get offered a spot with the Mad Ants for the 2023-24 season, and he was suddenly back in him home base in Indiana
“It was a very easy choice for me to go with the Pacers and the Mad Ants,” Mangas said.
It ended up leading to an Exhibit 10 agreement with the Pacers, which put Mangas in the NBA for a day. He was in training camp with the to-be conference finalists, and he helped out with a few drills while meeting a few members of the team.
That transaction and one day of service gave Indiana Mangas’ G League rights, so he was waived the next day. But by signing an Exhibit 10 agreement, the Warsaw native was eligible for a bonus with the Mad Ants — and he was back in Indiana where his career started. This time, though, he was a pro.
“Every level — high school, collegiate, now professionally — to play basketball in Indiana. I mean, that’s a dream come true in itself,” Mangas said. “It’s awesome, and to be able to come back [and] play for Pacers organizations is really cool.”
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 18: Kyle Mangas #24 of the Indiana Mad Ants takes a shot during the … [+]
The best part of it all, by Mangas’ account, was having his friends and family in the crowd. Many Mad Ants games last year were dominated by fans of Mangas, and they made posters. He was popular locally and called his first year of experience with the Mad Ants a 10 out of 10.
That season was successful for more reasons than just being back home. He also played well and seized the opportunity. Mangas averaged 16.9 points per game for the Mad Ants last season, which was by far the best number by a player on the roster with no NBA experience. He knocked down nearly 39% of his three-point shots while attempting more than six per game, and he dished out 3.5 assists per night. He was valuable right away despite being a G League rookie.
That all led to an impactful season. Indiana’s offensive rating was over 120 with Mangas on the floor, per RealGM, and that was one of the best figures on the team. By the end of the campaign, Mangas had moved into the starting lineup. They needed him there, and he fit well.
While the team was in Las Vegas to battle the G League Ignite in early February of this year, Mangas was rewarded for his hard work. His agent called him to let him know that he had been named to the G League Next Up Game — effectively the G League All-Star game. It was a gratifying nomination for Mangas, and it was even cooler since NBA All-Star weekend was being held in Indianapolis.
“I said, ‘yes, of course. I’ll do it’,” Mangas remembered of getting the invite. “To play in an All-Star game for the G league in Indy, I was like, ‘yes, I’m in’.”
Mangas played for Team Giraffe Stars in the event, but they fell short in the first game of the tournament-style competition. By appearing in that game, he got to attend all of the NBA All-Star weekend festivities, including the Dunk Contest and All-Star game, which took place in his home state.
He closed his G League season strong, too, which led to a playoff berth for the Mad Ants. They fell in the first round of the postseason, but Mangas proved he belonged at that level and was more than worthy of his G League spot.
While maintaining a good relationship with the Pacers organization, Mangas decided to play for the Los Angeles Lakers during summer league back in July. He suffered an ankle injury after scoring six points and pulling in three rebounds during his only appearance with the purple and gold.
Despite the short time with another franchise, Mangas couldn’t stay away from Indiana. He’s coming back to the Pacers/Mad Ants in 2024-25 on another Exhibit 10 contract, meaning this will be the first time he plays for the same organization in consecutive seasons since becoming a pro basketball player.
“Really looking forward to coming back,” Mangas said. He enjoyed the Mad Ants coaching staff and the ability to use Indiana’s facilities, which made returning an easy choice.
Currently, the young wing is rehabbing from that aforementioned ankle injury. But he’s ready to hit the ground running in his second season within the Pacers organization. “Hope we have a really good year again and try to make a run at it. Winning the G league championship would be pretty cool,” he said. It would be a fitting chapter in an Indiana basketball story.
Indiana
Indiana redistricting is up for a final, deciding vote in the state Senate – The Boston Globe
Indiana state senators are expected to take a final, high-stakes vote on redistricting Thursday after months of pressure from President Donald Trump, and the outcome is still uncertain.
Even in the face of one-on-one pressure from the White House and violent threats against state lawmakers, many Indiana Republicans have been reluctant to back a new congressional map that would favor their party’s candidates in the 2026 elections.
Trump is asking Republican-led states to redistrict in the middle of the decade, an uncommon practice, in order to make more winnable seats for the GOP ahead of next year’s elections. Midterms tend to favor the party opposite the one in power, and Democrats are increasingly liking their odds at flipping control of the U.S. House after the results of recent high-profile elections.
In Indiana, Trump supports passage of a new map drawn up by the National Republican Redistricting Trust designed to deliver all nine of the state’s congressional districts to the GOP. Republicans currently hold seven of the nine seats.
On Wednesday night, he sharply criticized party members who didn’t want to go along with the plan, and he repeated his threat to back primary challenges for anyone who voted against it.
“If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media.
The new map would split the city of Indianapolis into four districts, each included with large portions of rural Indiana — three of which would stretch from the central city to the borders of nearby states. Indianapolis now makes up one congressional district long held by Democratic U.S. Rep. André Carson.
The proposed map is also designed to eliminate the district of U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, who represents an urban district near Chicago.
A dozen lawmakers of the 50-member state Senate have not publicly declared a stance on the new maps.
If at least four of that group side with the chamber’s 10 Democrats and 12 other Republicans who are expected to vote no, the vote would fail in a remarkable rebuke to Trump’s demand.
Supporters of the proposed map need at least 25 yes votes; a tie would be broken with Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s vote, who is in favor of redistricting.
In a Senate committee Monday, the redistricting legislation took its first step toward passage in a 6-3 vote, with one Republican joining the committee’s two Democrats in voting against it. However, a few of the Republican senators indicated they may vote against the bill in a final vote.
The Republican supermajority in the state House passed the proposed map last week. Twelve Republicans voted with the chamber’s 30 Democrats against the bill.
Nationally, mid-cycle redistricting so far has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more congressional seats that Democrats think they can win. However, redistricting is being litigated in several states.
Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina quickly enacted new GOP-favorable maps. California voters recently approved a new map in response to Texas’ that would favor Democratic candidates, and a judge in Utah imposed new districts that could allow Democrats to win a seat, after ruling that Republican lawmakers circumvented voter-approved anti-gerrymandering standards.
Multiple Republican groups are threatening to support primary opponents of Indiana state senators who vote against redistricting. Turning Point Action pledged “congressional level spending” in state Legislature races if the redistricting measure does not pass. Trump has also vowed to endorse primary challengers of members who vote against the new map.
Indiana
DoorDash driver accused of pepper-spraying customer’s Arby’s order, resulting in wife falling ill
Caught red (pepper) handed.
A DoorDash driver has been banned from the app after being accused of dousing an order with pepper spray and causing an unsuspecting customer to fall ill after eating the tainted food.
The sick act was caught on a doorbell camera outside an Evansville, Indiana, home just after midnight on Sunday.
The driver, who hasn’t been charged with any crime, was dropping off an Arby’s delivery to Mark Cardin and his wife, Mandy, when she snapped a confirmation photo before suddenly producing an object from her pocket and spraying the order.
The blue-haired worker placed the spray back into her jacket pocket before walking away, all in front of the camera.
The couple brought the order inside, unaware that something was wrong with it and began chowing down.
Moments later, Mandy began struggling to breathe.
“I noticed my wife had starting eating and she started choking and gasping, and after she had a couple bites of her food she actually threw up,” he told WFIE.
The horrified customer began investigating the cause of his wife’s sudden illness when he examined the order.
“I had a look at the bag and seen that there was some kind of spray or something,” Cardin said. “The bag had been tampered with. So I pulled up my doorbell camera and seen that the lady who dropped the food off had actually tampered with it on purpose for some reason.”
Cardin shared the photos and videos of the driver to Facebook asking for help in identifying the driver.
He attempted to contact her but found she already blocked him on the app.
Cardin reported the food runner’s stunt to DoorDash and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office is looking to get the driver fired and charged.
“I definitely want to see her prosecuted,” Cardin told WFIE, adding that they had never met her before and had left a tip before the incident.
The driver has been banned from the app after footage surfaced of the late-night delivery.
“We have zero tolerance for this type of appalling behavior. The Dasher in question has been permanently removed from the platform, and our team is standing by to support law enforcement with any investigation,” a DoorDash spokesperson told The Post.
Cardin doesn’t know exactly what was sprayed on the food, fearing it could’ve been worse than it was.
“It’s horrific,” Cardin said. “We assume it’s pepper spray, that’s more than likely what it is, but now in this day and age it could’ve been anything. It could’ve been rat poison, it could’ve been fentanyl. I mean, my wife could’ve been dead.”
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the driver and could charge her with consumer product tampering, a level 6 felony, according to WFIE.
If the foreign spray resulted in harm the charge could be increased to a level 5 felony.
“We live in a terrible world right now,” Mark said. “Horrific. People are mean for no reason. There was no reason to do what she done,” Cardin said, encouraging other food delivery app users to be cautious with their future orders.
“I would say to anybody, if you order food on any kind of delivery service, make sure you have a doorbell,” Mark said.
“This is making me second guess ever ordering food from anywhere ever again,” he said.
Indiana
Several northeast Indiana cities, counties awarded grants for infrastructure projects
NORTHEAST INDIANA (WPTA) – The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has announced the list of cities and counties selected to receive funds through its Community Crossings Matching Grant Program.
The Community Crossings program, created in 2016, gives funding to towns, cities, and counties in the Hoosier State that are used for infrastructure improvement projects.
Projects eligible for funding through the program include road and bridge preservation projects that comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards, along with chip sealing and crack-filling operations.
On Tuesday, the following recipients were announced:
Allen County, Bluffton, DeKalb County, and LaGrange County were among those that received the largest grants, at $1 million.
You can view the full list of recipients here.
INDOT says the next call for project submissions will open in July. For more information about the program, visit INDOT’s website.
Copyright 2025 WPTA. All rights reserved.
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