Indiana
Indiana bird flu cases explode, killing chickens, sandhill cranes, other waterfowl
New deadly bird flu strain emerges
As the bird flu continues to spread across the country, there’s new evidence it’s mutating beyond chickens and cows.
Fox – Seattle
Nearly 7 million chickens, turkeys and ducks at commercial farms across Indiana have contracted the highly contagious bird flu this year and concerns are rising with the disease now affecting wild birds, including waterfowl and at least one Bald Eagle.
Avian influenza, more commonly known as bird flu, has been identified in 20 commercial poultry facilities in Indiana since Jan. 1, according to state data, marking a significant increase in cases over recent years.
There currently is no cure for the disease, which has a high mortality rate among birds but remains low risk to people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Denise Derrer Spears, the spokeswoman of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, said the impact of bird flu varies from year to year.
“Cases have been trickling in since the first weeks of January,” she said, “but in the last week or so it has ramped up and that’s concerning.”
So far in 2025, officials have identified 6.9 million affected birds compared to about 13,100 in 2024 and less than two dozen in 2023. The bulk of cases this year are concentrated in Jay and Jackson counties, with totals of roughly 4 million and 2.5 million reported, respectively.
The jump in cases is not a major surprise due to the number of reports in neighboring states, Derrer Spears said. Ohio has been dealing with a high number of cases and many of those are concentrated at sites on or near the Indiana border.
Case numbers in Indiana are up due primarily to the disease hitting large-scale poultry farms that hold a million or more birds.
“Typically, there will be multiple houses or barns on a facility that has a large number of birds, and it is very difficult when in close proximity to keep virus out of one building,” Derrer Spears said.
Bird flu kills thousands of Indiana waterfowl
The disease has also been found in wild birds in the state. Waterfowl migrating to and through Indiana often flock in large groups, allowing them spread the disease where they congregate or stop.
Eli Fleace, an avian health biologist with Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources, said reports of dying sandhill cranes have been rolling in since January. Dead sandhills have been found this year in Union, Greene, Jasper, Newton, LaPorte and Stark counties, and DNR estimates roughly 1,500 have died across the state.
Snow geese, Canada geese, red-breasted mergansers, common goldeneyes and mallards have also died due to avian influenza, Fleace said. The bird flu has been found in at least one Bald Eagle and a handful of hawks and owls that can pick up the disease by scavenging on carcasses of infected birds.
“Avian influenza has been around since ducks have been around and we’ve had these outbreaks in the past,” Fleace said. “But it’s usually not this dramatic and often they go away after one season. This particular strain is behaving differently than every other strain has in the past.”
The current strain of bird flu (H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4), which was identified in 2021, is highly contagious and has persisted for multiple seasons, Fleace said. It is now widespread across the landscape, Fleace said, and bird populations will need to work through the disease and build up a stronger immunity.
Hoosiers who suspect a dead bird was affected with avian influenza should make a report online at on.in.gov/sickwildlife.
Does bird flu affect public health?
The CDC classifies bird flu as very low risk to humans and reports only 70 cases in the U.S. with one associated death from the disease. None of those cases were in Indiana.
Birds that die from avian influenza are not suitable to eat, Derrer Spears said, but eggs bought in the grocery store are safe and shoppers do not need to worry about eating them.
Eggs from backyard chicken coops exposed to bird flu should not be eaten or given to pets. Cats are especially susceptible to bird flu.
What’s being done about egg prices?
With hundreds of millions of affected poultry across the country, egg prices have soared as the supply dwindled.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $1 billion strategy Tuesday to curb bird flu cases and lower egg prices, according to a news release.
The USDA is planning to expand its wildlife biosecurity measures by deploying 20 epidemiologists and expanding audits for affected farms. The department will also increase its aid to farmers to help restock their flocks and research vaccines and therapeutics for avian influenza.
The department will also consider importing more eggs while decreasing exports, which could be complicated by the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs set to begin in March.
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on BlueSky @karlstartswithk.bsky.social
Indiana Pacers’ Jalen Slawson dribbles during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to sign wing Jalen Slawson to a two-way contract. The 26-year old forward has spent the ongoing campaign with the Pacers G League affiliate franchise, the Noblesville Boom. It’s a one-year pact covering the rest of the 2025-26 season.
Slawson was a second-round pick back in 2023 and spent his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings. That campaign, the Furman product appeared in 12 games and averaged 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. Since then, he has bounced around between the Orlando Magic and Pacers organizations.
Most of Slawson’s time in the pros has come via the G League. With the Kings and Magic affiliate teams, the forward averaged between 12 and 13 points per game while being a solid passer and rebounder for his position.
That got him a training camp invite with Indiana last fall. Slawson spent all of the 2025 preseason on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers, and he appeared in all four of the team’s tune-up games ahead of the regular season. He averaged 2.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Slawson was waived just before the regular season, but the Pacers affiliate team owned his G League rights, and he’s spent the entire season with the Noblesville Boom. That’s where the 6-foot-7 forward has popped – he’s averaging G League career highs of 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game for the Boom this season, including an improved 34.7% three-point percentage.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – OCTOBER 7: Jules Bernard #14 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against Jalen Slawson #18 of the Indiana Pacers during the second half of the preseason game at Target Center on October 7, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Getty Images
He’s been among Noblesville’s best players this year, and with the team losing many players to injury or overseas opportunities, he has recently become the G League’ club’s top option. Even with more responsibility and attention, Slawson has continued to produce.
Now, he gets a call up to the Pacers via a two-way contract. He’s eligible to be active for 13 of the Pacers final 22 games – two-way contract players are only able to appear in a maximum of 50 games in a league year, and that ratio of games gets prorated if they are signed mid-season.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had good memories of Slawson’s play for Indiana during the preseason. “ I think he’s an NBA player,” Carlisle said. “He’s had a good year with the Boom and this will be a great opportunity for him to play some games.”
Two-way contracts provide a salary that is half of the NBA’s rookie minimum, which would equate to $636k over the course of a full season. Prorated for the current day on the calendar, that means Slawson will make about $161k on his two-way with Indiana the rest of the season.
Two-way deals have no impact on a team’s salary cap, so the Pacers have no changes to their spending reality. They opened up a two-way spot by converting the contract of Quenton Jackson earlier this weekend.
WHITELAND, Ind. (WISH) — “The Zone” featured highlights from eight high school boys basketball games from across central Indiana on Friday.
Watch highlights of Beech Grove at Whiteland above.
Final Score: Whiteland 89 Beech Grove 61
“The Zone” airs each Friday at 11:08 p.m. Click here to watch ‘The Zone’ for basketball highlights on February 27, 2026.
The Indiana Pacers are hoping to retain their 2026 first-round pick, which is protected 1-4 and 10-30. If the selection lands between 5 and 9, it conveys to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac–Bennedict Mathurin trade.
At the top of the 2026 NBA Draft class, three names are consistently labeled as generational talents: AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson.
Indiana would welcome any of the three. The bigger question is whether that feeling would be mutual.
On a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons was joined by draft analysts Tate Frazier and J. Kyle Mann. During the discussion, Mann shared an interesting note about Peterson.
“I’ve gotten the impression from talking to people close to Darryn,” Mann said, “that Darryn is more likely to say, I’m interested in being the full on brain of this team. I don’t really want to play with another superstar, I want to be the center of the universe.”
J. Kyle Mann on The Bill Simmons Podcast
If that perception holds weight, it creates an intriguing dynamic.
The Pacers were one game away from an NBA championship last season and already feature two established stars in Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Indiana is not a franchise searching for a singular identity, it already has one.
To be clear, Mann’s comments reflect conversations and impressions, not a public statement from Peterson himself. Still, the fit is worth examining. Indiana’s backcourt rotation already includes Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell. If Peterson were the pick, the Pacers would find ways to get him on the floor. He is that talented. But Indiana could not offer him an immediate “face of the franchise” role the way a Brooklyn, Sacramento or Washington might.
Mann also offered insight into how Dybantsa may view a situation like Indiana’s.
“AJ, people that know them both have told me that AJ is probably more likely to fit in with an Indiana,” Mann said. “Which is interesting because AJ likes to have the ball. Is he willing to be quick off of the ball with Haliburton? I just think that’s an interesting wrinkle in this.”
J. Kyle Mann on The Bill Simmons Podcast
The contrast is fascinating.
Hearing that Dybantsa would fit in more than Peterson is intriguing. Play style wise, I would lean more towards Peterson’s fitting how Indiana likes to play, especially with how Dybantsa has been utilized at BYU.
If we’re talking locker room fit, I think Dybantsa would embody what a Pacer is all about. Comes from a small market. Wants to win and doesn’t need the big city to do it in. He’s confident but won’t let his ego interfere with the success of the team. Just a levelheaded kid with a desire to be great, and would have one of the best playmaking point guards alongside him to help maximize his talent.
These two are the most polarizing and often mentioned names amongst NBA draft circles when looking at the top two in the class. If the comments made by Mann come to be true, the Pacers would be better off drafting the uber talented 6-9 forward, Dybantsa, than drafting a 6-6 elite shooting guard who would rather be “the guy” than a guy.
You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.
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