Indiana
Are there more trees in Indiana than there were a decade ago?

Timber within the Hoosier Nationwide Forest.
(Devan Ridgway/WTIU)
Are there extra bushes or acres of forest in Indiana than there have been a decade in the past? A listener in Elkhart wished to know.
Not a lot has modified previously decade — however the reply remains to be a bit of shocking. In keeping with the U.S. Forest Service, from 2006 to 2019 the variety of forest acres in Indiana went up barely by 2 p.c. However the variety of particular person bushes went down by 6 p.c.
John Seifert directs the Indiana Division of Pure Sources’ division of forestry. He mentioned the reason being that Indiana’s forests are growing old.
“And as bushes get greater, they shade out different bushes, it is simply kind of the survival of the strongest, so to talk,” Seifert mentioned.
READ MORE: Undertaking spurs controversy between Hoosier Nationwide Forest and environmentalists, residents
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In 2020, Gov. Eric Holcomb introduced an initiative to plant 1 million bushes in Indiana by 2025. The Central Indiana Land Belief plans to match that, however over an extended time-frame.
Collectively they’ve planted about 445,000 bushes thus far. Seifert mentioned the DNR expects to plant one other 220,000 by the top of this spring.
However Seifert mentioned these initiatives pale compared to how a lot personal landowners plant — who personal a lot of the forest land within the state. The DNR’s nursery sells about 3 million bushes to the general public annually.
“So our half is only a small piece of what is really been occurring within the state of Indiana, very silently by the personal sector. And a whole lot of that is pushed by farm packages, you realize, the federal authorities’s placing tree planting initiatives,” Seifert mentioned.
Contact reporter Rebecca at rthiele@iu.edu or observe her on Twitter at @beckythiele.
Indiana environmental reporting is supported by the Environmental Resilience Institute, an Indiana College Grand Problem mission growing Indiana-specific projections and knowledgeable responses to issues of environmental change.

Indiana
How to watch Indiana Fever vs Los Angeles Sparks. Time, TV. Is Caitlin Clark playing?
The Indiana Fever have won three games in a row entering its July 5 home matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks.
All three wins have come without Caitlin Clark in the lineup. Clark has missed the last four games with a left groin strain.
Will Indiana claim its fourth consecutive win?
Chloe Peterson is your best Fever follow, and sign up for our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
Fever vs Sparks expert prediction for July 5
Brian Haenchen, IndyStar: Fever 78-65
“With the irreplaceable Chloe Peterson returning from vacation, this will be my last prediction for a while, so we’ll keep it short and sweet. The Fever defense has been truly excellent these past few games and considering the momentum gained by beating a team like Minnesota on the road, I don’t expect a drop in intensity any time soon. Gimme the Fever, even if Caitlin Clark is sidelined another game.”
Is Caitlin Clark playing on July 5 against the Los Angeles Sparks?
Clark has missed four consecutive games with a left groin strain. As of July 3, her status against the Sparks is unknown.
When do the Indiana Fever play the Los Angeles Sparks?
7 p.m. ET Saturday, July 5, 2025, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Re-live Caitlin Clark’s spectacular rookie year with this book
What channel are the Indiana Fever vs Los Angeles Sparks on July 5?
TV: NBA TV
Stream: Fubo
Caitlin Clark stats
In nine games this season, Caitlin Clark averages 18.2 points, 8.9 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals, making 29.5% of her 3-pointers.
Are the Indiana Fever favored vs the Los Angeles Sparks on July 5?
via BetMGM
Favorite: Fever by 6.5 points
Over/under: 162.5 total points
Moneyline: Fever -300, Sparks +240
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Fever a 72.9% chance of winning.
Indiana Fever vs Los Angeles Sparks tickets on July 5
Fever-Sparks start at $22 on StubHub
Indiana Fever upcoming schedule
Indiana
Indiana Fever fans petition against loud voice on TV broadcasts

A group of Indiana Fever faithful are taking action against a shared annoyance.
Fever fan Josh McNattin started a petition asking the team to address a “distinct and persistent voice” that bleeds into television broadcasts of the team’s home games. “During every Fever home game, a distinct and persistent voice, believed to be from a fan seated close to the scorer’s table, can be heard loudly and frequently throughout the entire game,” McNattin writes on the petition’s webpage. “While we celebrate the passion of all fans, this particular sound consistently overpowers other audio elements, including the commentary and ambient crowd noise. As a result, it can detract from the viewing experience for many fans watching from home or streaming online.”
At the time of writing, over 200 fans have signed the petition. According to a report by Dana Hunsinger Benbow in the Indianapolis Star, Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the Fever’s owner, did not respond to a request for comment about the matter.
Overeager fans making their way onto live sports broadcasts are nothing new, but considering the Fever’s popularity it seems like something the team, or league, should address. 41 of 44 Fever games this season will be nationally broadcast thanks to the team’s ascendance under Caitlin Clark. If viewers continue to tune in and hear this “distinct and persistent voice” during every broadcast, it could lead to certain fans tuning out.
A solution should be rather simple. Either move some microphones away from the fan in question, or tell him/her to stop.
McNattin hopes the solution comes from a rejiggering of the audio equipment. He lists several potential remedies in his petition including “adjusting microphone placement or polar patterns near the scorer’s table to limit crowd bleed, using directional mics or acoustic baffles to reduce unwanted vocal pickup, employing EQ filters or ducking algorithms during broadcasts to minimize overpowering frequencies, [and/or] adding more balanced ambient crowd mics from multiple zones of the arena.”
Hopefully, for the sake of Fever fans everywhere, something is done to address this matter.
Indiana
Indiana officials request execution date for Roy Lee Ward amid death penalty debate

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Indiana officials have requested an execution date for death row inmate Roy Lee Ward, even after Gov. Mike Braun said there were no plans to purchase additional drugs for lethal injections.
Ward was sentenced to death for the 2001 rape and murder of 15-year-old Stacy Payne in Spencer County. He’s one of six men still on death row, after Indiana ended its 15-year hiatus on capital punishment with the execution of Joseph Corcoran in Dec. 2024 and Benjamin Ritchie in May 2025.
“Governor Braun is aware of the filing [requesting an execution date],” spokesperson Griffin Reid told News 8 in a statement. “Once the date is set by the court, the Governor will order the Department of Correction to begin the necessary preparations and have his legal team begin reviewing the case details as the case moves through the final appeals process.”
News 8 was the first to report the state had to pay $275,000 for a new dose of pentobarbital for Ritchie’s death by lethal injection because two doses bought under Gov. Eric Holcomb had expired.
Following Ritchie’s execution, Braun said the state would pause purchasing any new doses of the drug so lawmakers and the public could debate the future of the death penalty in Indiana.
The state spent a total $1.175 million on pentobarbital, including expired doses and those used to execute Corcoran and Ritchie, but Indiana Department of Correction officials said they do not know how much it cost to carry out either of its two recent executions.
The request to set Ward’s execution date was filed on Friday. The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether to set a date.
News 8 has also reached out to Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita for comment, but did not receive a response by publication.
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