• Indiana’s foreclosure filing rate was worst in the nation last month, with two of the state’s metros struggling most.
• Rising property taxes and insurance costs have inflated monthly payments.
• Gov. Mike Braun and top Republicans say reforms to property taxes and housing will help.

At a time when “affordability” is the watchword in politics nationwide, recent data shows that Hoosiers faced more risk of losing their homes last month than residents in any other state.

Indiana reported the nation’s highest foreclosure filing rate in February, according to real estate data company ATTOM. What’s more, the Indianapolis region ranked among the worst-performing major metro areas.

The findings contradict the view of Indiana and the Indianapolis region as affordable havens where residents can more easily own homes. Experts say that home prices remain low compared with other states but have risen steeply since 2020, increasing property taxes. Upticks in other expenses like homeowners’ insurance and utilities, along with stagnant wage growth, have put an increasing number of Hoosiers at risk of losing their homes.

“This is a bad look for us in general, and it does indicate that our affordability problem is kind of reaching a crisis,” said Sara Coers, associate director of the Indiana University Center for Real Estate Studies. “We have a lower natural ceiling on what we can afford because of the wages that we receive here.”

What Indiana foreclosure data shows

Last month, about one in every 1,600 housing units in Indiana had a foreclosure filing, which means lenders took legal action against a homeowner who failed to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments. That foreclosure filing rate was the worst in the nation and more than twice as high as the average U.S. rate, the data shows.

The situation is even worse in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, which landed at No. 3 among metros with over 200,000 people with the worst foreclosure filing rates.

WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — An advocate for missing people who is close to the family of Hailey Buzbee said Thursday Indiana’s missing-persons database doesn’t give the public enough information to work with.

The Indiana State Police maintains the state’s missing persons website. The page consists of a PDF document with an alphabetical list of missing people along with their date of birth, the investigating agency and the date they were last seen. There is no way to search or sort the list. The page contains neither photographs of the missing nor descriptions or information about the circumstances under which they were last seen. The list also contains duplicate entries.

Silver Lining of Hope founder Megan Tomlinson said it’s hard for the public to help look for someone if they don’t have that information. She said a more detailed public database might have helped locate Buzbee sooner. Buzbee, 17, left her family’s home in early January to meet a man she had met online. She was found dead in Ohio a month later.

“It’s a problem because it hurts the public because we don’t know who’s missing,” she said. “If I want to go on and see who’s missing, I don’t know where to start.”

Most states, though not all of them, have a centralized database of missing people. Many have highly detailed databases. For example, the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s database includes a search function, sorting capabilities and photographs and biographical information, when available.

Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, who represents Buzbee’s hometown in the Indiana General Assembly, said lawmakers likely will discuss possible changes to the database as part of a broader summer study committee on missing people. He said the Buzbee case highlighted deficiencies in Indiana’s alerts and other systems that are the result of the passage of time and technological progress.

“One of the things that I know we’ve heard, it’s certainly not a very friendly system as far as searching and obtaining additional information,” he said. “So, what they’re required to put in, what additions we might make to that are things that we’re looking at pretty closely.”

Jeter said summer study committee assignments, which are up to House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President pro tempore Rod Bray, should be released within the next few weeks. He said any study committee on missing people likely would begin meeting in July or August.

Tomlinson said she and the Buzbee family brought up their concerns about the database with lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session. She said she plans to continue lobbying for changes to it.

Indiana does upload some case information to a federal database called NamUs. Those entries include much more information than can be found on ISP’s website. Tomlinson said the problem with NamUs is that there are limitations on what kind of cases can be included.

The Indiana State Police turned down News 8’s request for comment on Tomlinson’s concerns.

Butler University is using shows at Clowes Memorial Hall and its other venues to build what it says will be long-term help for the performing arts in the city it calls home.

Since June of last year, Butler has been quietly building an Arts Performance Fund. The university says it’s tied to ticket sales for shows at Clowes Hall. For every ticket sold, $1 is directed into a fund that will offer grants to local arts organizations. In less than a year, the school says the fund has already grown to $150,000.

Aaron Hurt, Butler’s Vice President for Arts, Events and Enterprise Management, appeared on WISH-TV’s Daybreak on Thursday to talk about the fund.

Beginning in summer 2027, Butler says it will start distributing grants to Indianapolis-area arts organizations, with a goal of strengthening the broader arts ecosystem in the city. Based on projected ticket sales and additional fundraising, the university expects the fund to reach $1 million by June 1, 2027, with a long-term goal of $10 million dedicated to local arts support.

In addition to the ticket contribution model, Butler is expanding the fund through philanthropy and by launching two new patron levels for frequent Clowes attendees, which will include VIP access and special benefits tied to performances on campus.

Last year, Butler began renovations at Clowes Hall, upgrading seating across the theater’s three balcony terraces, including the addition of open-air suites and new gender-neutral restrooms. The venue also added loading docks and made improvements to the stage rigging and floors to accommodate more types of performances, including modern Broadway shows.

Next year, Butler says it will add a new ballroom to the east lobby of Clowes, giving the venue another event space. The university says the Allen Whitehill Clowes Ballroom is scheduled to open in Spring 2027.