Indiana
Braun administration pushes to enhance National Guard’s policing role during riots
DeWine, Beshear talk government shutdown, national guard, more
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear discuss the current government shutdown, appropriate use of the national guard and more.
The Indiana National Guard wants to enhance some guardsmen’s role as police officers during times of civil unrest, as debates about the military’s role in policing play out nationwide amid President Trump’s deployment of federal forces in Democrat-led cities.
National Guard spokeswoman Lauren Houck confirmed the state is pushing a program that would offer Indiana law enforcement training to military police so those federal troops can “add value,” rather than merely add bodies, when working alongside local police during situations like the 2020 riots. Military police typically enforce federal laws on National Guard property, but governors can call guardsmen out to support local law enforcement and first responders during emergencies.
The Indiana National Guard approached Gov. Mike Braun’s office to make the request for the change. Houck would not say whether this training will give guardsmen broader authority to act as police in Indiana, enforcing local laws and making arrests, or if National Guard leadership just wants its troops to be better prepared for emergencies.
The news come days after IndyStar reported that Statehouse insiders are researching legislation that could grant more policing power to guardsmen in local jurisdictions. While some Republicans push for an expanded role for the National Guard, at least one Democratic lawmaker wary of military intervention in policing has filed legislation to restrict its power.
The new program would ultimately need to be approved by the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board, the body that creates training requirement for all Indiana police officers. The state’s basic training for new police officers requires more than 600 hours of coursework in criminal and traffic law, emergency vehicle operations, human behavior and de-escalation. It’s unclear how quickly the proposed program would train military police.
“These preliminary discussions have been about creating a fair and efficient process, while ensuring proper certifications and training are in place,” Houck said in a statement.
Houck said the new training has been discussed for months, but the need for it stems from the 2020 protests and riots that swept through Indiana cities after the police killing of George Floyd. At the time, Gov. Eric Holcomb stationed National Guard to defend state property, but their role in actively policing protesters was limited.
Braun said in a statement he supports the new training program because “law enforcement deserves every tool and partner they need to keep Hoosiers safe.”
Braun has so far declined to use the National Guard to intervene in local policing, even after violence in downtown Indianapolis this summer prompted calls by Republicans and the local police union for the state to step in.
But this week the governor showed his willingness to help the Trump administration by agreeing to deploy about 300 National Guard troops to Washington D.C. next month, after the president declared a public emergency over crime in the nation’s capital in August.
Meanwhile, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita earlier this month called for Trump to deploy National Guard troops to address crime in Indianapolis.
What Indiana law says about the National Guard
Trump’s National Guard deployments in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland have been stalled by lawsuits and court rulings, igniting a debate over whether the president is violating federal law that generally bars military troops from doing civilian law enforcement.
Indiana law gives the governor broad authority to call out guardsmen, who are part-time, ad-hoc military members, in extreme situations such as war, invasion, natural disaster and rioting. National Guard troops do not typically enforce local laws or make arrests but rather conduct patrols and provide logistical support to keep the peace.
During a state emergency, however, Indiana law does grant guardsmen some authority to disperse participants in an “unlawful assembly” and arrest those who refuse. Another portion allows guardsmen to arrest someone who knowingly or intentionally enters a street that the National Guard has closed off.
Even when a governor declares an emergency, local officials can challenge their deployment to cities. A Tennessee judge on Nov. 17 temporarily blocked the Republican governor’s deployment of the National Guard in Memphis, ruling that crime rates in the southern city were not a “grave emergency” or “disaster” warranting an emergency response.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has rejected the idea of National Guard intervention in local law enforcement. The mayor noted that criminal homicides and non-fatal shootings in Indianapolis have fallen by roughly 50% after they soared to record highs in 2021, according to IMPD data.
Democrat files legislation to restrict National Guard power
While some state Republicans seek to broaden the National Guard’s power, a state Democrat who works in law enforcement has filed legislation to restrict guardsmen’s ability to enforce laws and make arrests.
State Rep. Mitch Gore, D-Indianapolis, filed House Bill 1015 Nov. 18 to prevent the governor from ordering any National Guard member “to perform any law enforcement duty that may result in the surveillance, apprehension, detention, or arrest of an individual” without formally declaring a state of emergency for one of three situations: “a natural disaster, a riot, or an act of terrorism.”
A captain at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in his day job, Gore told IndyStar he sees a need for the bill because some Republican state lawmakers have asked his opinion on allowing National Guard troops to function as police officers.
House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, did not respond to a request for comment on his party’s position on enhancing the National Guard’s policing power.
Gore said federal intervention in policing undermines a community’s trust in local law enforcement. He called such action “fundamentally un-American,” invoking the longstanding belief that troops on American streets are a threat to democracy and personal liberty.
“As a cop, I know that it just a practically stupid thing to do to use the Guard in this way,” Gore said. “Modern policing relies ultimately upon a trusting relationship between the public and the police.”
He said deploying guardsmen to Indiana cities without a serious emergency “will make community members feel once again like colonists felt back in the 1700s: like they are subjects to be ruled over by force, rather than we are neighbors all trying to achieve the same goal.”
Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTSmith@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @jordantsmith09 and Bluesky @jordanaccidentally.bsky.social.
As the No. 5 Oregon Ducks prepare to face off against the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers with a bid to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on the line, ticket prices for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Mercedez-Benz Stadium have increased.
Though Duck fans were outnumbered in the previous playoff quarterfinal against Texas Tech at the Orange Bowl in Miami, a Big Ten rematch might drum up more fans wearing green at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
That increase in visiting fans, plus the importance of this game, can be seen through the surging prices for tickets on event websites.
Current Prices for Peach Bowl Tickets
The cheapest tickets to get into the Peach Bowl start at standing room only, with a $166.50 price from Ticketmaster and a $178 price on StubHub.
This total for standing room has decreased since allotment tickets sold out on Monday, with Oregon Ducks on Sports Illustrated reporting $184 for standing-room only on StubHub.
Seats behind both teams’ benches have almost the same amount of seats still open, with the cheapest ticket behind the Ducks’ bench sit around the club 130 section in row 34 for $628.32 on StubHub. Ticketmaster has a $638 price tag per ticket in the same section a few rows up, which the website states is discounted from an over $1,000 original resale listing.
The most affordable sections according to both websites is the upper decks with sections 342 through 350 on the Oregon bench side selling in the $250-$300 range a piece. The highest-priced ticket, according to Ticketmaster, sits on the side of the Indiana bench in section 110 in the club, with a price of $4,760. However, there are several club level tickets with price tags well over a grand.
Oregon’s Ticket Allotment Sold Out Early
At the beginning of the week, the allotted tickets for Oregon fans to the Peach Bowl had officially sold out through the Oregon Athletic Department. According to the Peach Bowl, this is the 26th time the game has sold out of initial ticket inventory in it’s last 29 kickoffs.
MORE: Oregon Fans Won’t Like Dante Moore’s New Projected NFL Team
MORE: Oregon Ducks’ Peach Bowl Uniforms Make History
MORE: Oregon Ducks Get Jay Harris Update From New Injury Report
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER HERE!
Comparing Peach Bowl Tickets to Oregon’s Other Playoff Games
In terms of ticket prices, the Peach Bowl turnout likely will become the most expensive postseason game for Oregon this season. For the Orange Bowl in Miami, Vivid Seats reported that the get-in price dropped to $39 a ticket.
The Oregon crowd for that showdown was roughly 25 percent compared to 75 percent Texas Tech fans, with many empty seats seen throughout Hard Rock Stadium. Furthermore, the lowest cost for tickets in terms of Oregon’s first round playoff game against James Madison at Autzen Stadium also reached around $50 with only a few hours before kickoff.
The Hoosiers and the Ducks will kickoff at 4:30 p.m. PT from Mercedenz-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Recommended Articles
Indiana football: Holy water sprinkled at Big Ten championship, Rose Bowl
Watch Indiana grad sprinkle Bloomington holy water before Big Ten title, Rose Bowl
When photographer Garrett Ewald flew in from New York for the Big Ten Football championship at Lucas Oil Stadium, he had no plans of pouring an 8-ounce bottle of holy water onto the Indiana end zone, water pumped from a well at a Catholic retreat center in Bloomington where the liquid has long been touted as having spiritual and healing properties.
He, admittedly, was a tad nervous that “someone might tackle me and call Homeland Security or something” as he nonchalantly sprinkled the holy water on Indiana football’s sideline and end zone before they took on Ohio State.
But his heart got the best of him. His roots got the best of him; he’s an IU grad. The idea of that water got the best of him. “What the hell?” said Ewald, who was on the field to shoot photos for The Bloomingtonian. “You never know.”
Earlier that day, Ewald had visited Mother of the Redeemer Retreat Center a few miles west of Bloomington, located on a hilly, lush green, peaceful property where people have gathered to pray, to heal and to attend retreats for more than 30 years.
Ewald was brought there by his friend and longtime IU senior associate athletics director Harold Mauro, whose grandchild is buried on the property. For years, Mauro has been devoted to the center, doing maintenance and upkeep at the place he and those who love it call “the farm.”
Mauro not only spent 22 years as athletics administrator at IU, he played football for IU the last time the team made the Rose Bowl in 1968. He was a part of nine of IU’s 10 bowl games as a player, assistant coach or administrator.
“And so we were there with Harold visiting. My other friends were maybe a little bit more religious than I am, but I went with an open mind and was happy to see how much joy it brought to Harold,” Ewald said. “He mentioned in passing how the well on the property has had some moderately documented examples of miraculous healing. And he insisted on giving us (water), so he gave us a little plastic jug of water when we left.”
At some point on his drive to Lucas Oil Stadium from the farm, Ewald had an idea. “I said, ‘You know, I’ll bring some in and I’ll sprinkle it on the field.’” He dumped out an 8-ounce bottle of regular water, put the holy water in its place and made his move.
“I was trying to be a little bit surreptitious, so I walked holding the bottle in one hand, the lid just slightly open, and then my other hand had my cellphone,” he said. “I just kind of walked down behind the bench, dribbling water out as I went. And then I walked across the Indiana end zone as well, sprinkling the rest of the water as I went. And I let Harold know that I had done it, and he was like, ‘That’s great.’”
Mauro didn’t ask him to do it, but Ewald thought it would make him happy.
Then, Ohio State missed that 27-yard field goal wide left with less than 3 minutes to play, which could have tied the game 13-13. It was missed it in the end zone where Ewald had sprinkled the water.
IU walked away with its first outright Big Ten championship since 1945.
Of course, as faith usually goes, no one had any proof that water had done anything. Few even knew of Ewald’s sprinkling. But those who did, and those who believed, were all in on making sure that water followed IU as far as their magical football playoff run took them.
They made sure the holy water from the farm was in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. And it will be there Friday for the Peach Bowl.
And should IU make it to the national championship, the holy water will flow there as well.
PERFECT! Buy this IU football championship book
‘Our Lady was like the 12th man on the field’
Fr. Terrance Chartier didn’t find out the water from his farm had blessed the IU portion of Lucas Oil’s field until after the game when Mauro’s wife sent him a video of Ewald pouring it out at the stadium.
“And I thought of Our Lady as like the 12th man on the field,” said Chartier, a priest with the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, who is stationed at the Mother of the Redeemer Retreat Center. “I thought she was there, especially with the field goal. Indoors, no wind, no rain, 27-yard field goal.
“I watched almost in disbelief as the kicker totally missed. I noted afterwards that the kicker was kicking into the same end zone with Indiana’s name on it, same end zone where Indiana had scored their touchdown in the third quarter and the same end zone that I saw Harold’s friend sprinkling the farm water in that video.”
Chartier scrapped the homily he had prepared on habits for the following Sunday morning and replaced it with an IU football-themed homily instead, which explained more about the water on his farm and what had happened in Indianapolis the weekend before.
“For those of you who don’t know, the water from the well here at the farm has reportedly been the cause of a number of miraculous cures,” Chartier said in his homily.
One of the biggest and most recent happened in January 2024 when Eric Johnson of New Albany, who had been suffering from a neuromuscular disease for nearly eight years and had a permanent disability, started drinking the water.
“He was actually cured of it after drinking water from the farm,” Chartier said. “His neurologist told him that there was no medical or scientific explanation for his cure.”
Chartier points to a number of similar stories regarding the farm water, including a spiritual directee of his in Norway who drank the water and believes she was cured of her lymphoma because of it. There are dozens of other, smaller, cures the water has brought to people, including cataracts, aches and pain and emotional distress.
“So, I knew the farm water and I knew it’s holy and I believe it was given by God to help heal people. But to help IU win the Big Ten championship? I hadn’t thought about that,” Chartier said.
But then he started thinking about Mauro, who has been so faithful to the farm, about his ties with IU and the fact that he is the one who gave Ewald the water, never expecting it would be used for IU football.
“I think she gave that victory last Saturday to Harold as an early Christmas gift, to thank him for his faithfulness and for all the good that he’s done for the farm,” Chartier said in his homily. “And I think she gave the victory also as a gift to her other son, the IU quarterback [Fernando Mendoza], who is a very faithful Catholic, too. And even as a gift to her other faithful children who were on the team.
“So may she, our lady of victories, continue to grant us all the spiritual victories that we need in this life, and even some of those other victories which are a sign and an encouragement to us, her children.”
Why is the water at Mother of the Redeemer considered holy?
Jim and Ruth Ann Wade, both longtime educators in Bloomington’s public schools, made way for the retreat center in 1993 when they gave up their home and farm, and dedicated it for Mother of the Redeemer.
Ruth Ann is a locutionist, Chartier said, someone who hears directly from the Lord and from Mary, the mother of Jesus.
“And that was one of the first things that they had asked for, that the farm would be turned into a retreat center,” he said. “And she was told, among other things, that the water on the property is holy and it could be used for blessing people and healings as well.”
But not all the water on the property is holy, only the water that flows from the green pump.
“The Lord Jesus told Ruth Ann that all the water under the original 40 acres, green pump only, is holy water and blessed by God and it has healing powers which God uses as an instrument of healing if he so chooses,” according to Mother of the Redeemer. “This pump is the only pump on the land that comes directly from the natural waters. Other water on the property is city water. Simply put, yes it is holy water blessed by God and by a priest.”
The water comes from a well located at the bottom of the hill on the property next to the Wades’ home. People travel from all over to get jugs of the water, which volunteers at the center pump. Visitors are also welcome to pump their own water and, after Chartier’s homily, there’s been quite an uptick in travelers to the well.
As for Ewald, he is making sure a bit of that water ends up on IU’s end zone for the rest of the season.
He made it happen at the Rose Bowl, albeit, he only had about two tablespoons to sprinkle. That water was brought from Mother of the Redeemer by a priest close with Mendoza and other players on the team.
Fr. Patrick Hyde, a Dominican priest and pastor of the St. Paul Catholic Center, held a private mass for players in Pasadena the night before the Rose Bowl. Mendoza, a devout Catholic, credited Hyde and the center for supporting his faith when he won the Heisman trophy.
Ewald met Hyde that night (the priest was wearing an IU sweatshirt and backpack) to secure the water.
“It was a little tiny bottle. They were nervous about how much they could bring, so it was like maybe a couple tablespoons of water,” Ewald said. “So I was a little bit more judicious in my sprinklings to make it last.” That meant no sprinkling on the sideline by the Indiana bench, just on its end zone.
“And we had so much rain,” Ewald said. “I was kind of like, you know, theoretically, it was getting diluted by all the rainwater.” But IU won, so it seemed to work.
Father Hyde will bring Ewald more water Friday night in Atlanta and the IU grad from the 1980s and one of the most veteran photographers of IU football will do his thing again.
Ewald’s just worried about one minor issue: This story will be published before the Peach Bowl.
“Well, hopefully they won’t detain me when I come in,” he said, “saying, ‘You’re the guy who’s been sprinkling water on our fields, damn it.’”
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.
Nick Saban had a chance to weigh in on the state of Alabama football after 2025 on Wednesday on the Pat McAfee Show.
McAfee questioned whether Alabama should have hired a Saban disciple to replace him considering all four coaches left in the playoff once worked for Saban at Alabama.
“I think if somebody was available, I’m not sure anybody was available that they could have maybe gotten to come here,” Saban said. “I do think that Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach and doing a good job here.”
Saban highlighted the “tough transition” DeBoer underwent with all of the players coming and going.
“So that’s a lot to overcome for anybody,” Saban said. “It would have been a lot to overcome for even for one of the guys that formerly coached for me.”
Saban then said he “fully supports” Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne, what he’s done and how the administrator has done it.
“I’m hoping they get the ship going in the right direction here,” Saban said. “It’s not bad to get in the playoffs and finish you know in the final eight, but not the expectation around here, which is tough to live up to sometimes.”
During his appearance on McAfee, Saban also talked some about Indiana and what the Hoosiers did to beat Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bow.
“Indiana man, I mean they were impressive in the game,” Saban said. “Not that Alabama played great, and they made some mistakes early on that hurt them … These cats, man. Everybody talks about their offense. They’ve got some dawgs on defense now. These guys play hard, they play fast, they play together, they don’t make a lot of mental mistakes. They’re well coached. They fit the runs. This pop they put on Ty (Simpson) right here. …. Incredible the job they’ve done at Indiana. Curt Cig has done a fantastic job there.”
North Carolina Democrats, Republicans share takes on deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis
Tony Osburn’s 27 helps Omaha knock off North Dakota 90-79
Northeast Ohio Weather: High wind, very warm, showers, and storms today
Oklahoma storms bring widespread damage, tornadoes in Purcell and Shawnee
Oregon to investigate Border Patrol shooting of couple in Portland | CNN
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Trump plans to meet with Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado next week
Trump says meeting Iran’s ‘Crown Prince’ Pahlavi would not be appropriate
Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say
Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting
Trump calls for $1.5T defense budget to build ‘dream military’
-
Detroit, MI5 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Technology3 days agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Dallas, TX4 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Health5 days agoViral New Year reset routine is helping people adopt healthier habits
-
Nebraska2 days agoOregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
-
Iowa2 days agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
-
Nebraska3 days agoNebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek
-
Entertainment2 days agoSpotify digs in on podcasts with new Hollywood studios