Indiana
Indiana budget panel to consider $88M to expand LEAP District plans
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The State Budget Committee on Tuesday will consider spending $88 million to expand a Boone County development project that’s expected to include a research facility for Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant Lilly.
The committee’s meeting will come days after Lilly announced it plans to more than double its investment in the research facility. The facility will be part of the Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace (LEAP) Research and Innovation District in the city of Lebanon.
The state government’s Indiana Economic Development Corp. has asked the committee to “repurpose” $59 million of the $100 million previously allocated to an effort with the code name “Project Nora.” The money would be used to buy another 2,500 acres to support three unspecified projects for the LEAP district. Once the state buys the land, it will be resold to the investors.
The development corporation also wants to “repurpose” $29 million of the $100 million previously allocated to “Project Nora” for road and utility work and other infrastructure to support five projects, including the Lilly facility, in the LEAP district. The other four projects were not specified.
The two “repurpose” proposals are listed as coming from the Deal Closing Fund of the state’s General Fund.
David Ricks, chair and chief executive officer of Lilly, said May 24 during the Indiana Global Economic Summit that the pharmaceutical company was expanding its spending on the Boone County project by $3.5 billion. That would bring Lilly’s total investment to $9 billion.
In May 2022, Lilly first announced its plans to invest $2.1 billion and create up to 500 new jobs in Lebanon. At the Lebanon groundbreaking in April 2023, Lilly announced an additional $1.6 billion investment and 200 new jobs at the Boone County site.
The larger Lilly facility is expected to create what has been called nearly 1,000 “high-wage” jobs in Boone County.
The latest “repurpose” proposals going before the budget committee note the state’s investments will “result in tens of billions of dollars in capital investment and nearly 10,000 jobs being created in the coming years.”
The LEAP project has drawn criticism for a proposal to draw water from other parts of west-central Indiana and move it to the district. As a result, in November, Gov. Eric Holcomb called for more data collection on the proposal to draw and move water. That data effort was expected to be completed in autumn 2024.
The budget committee will meet starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Senate Appropriations Room 431 of the Indiana Statehouse in downtown Indianapolis.
Below is from a document of the development/concept plan for the first phase of the LEAP Project in Boone County, Indiana. (Provided Image/Lebanon City Council.
Previous coverage
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump spoke at length about Indiana football’s perfect season Monday afternoon during a ceremony on the South Lawn at the White House honoring the team.
“This was a year that will live forever in the hearts of Indiana football fans,” Trump said. “There’s no story like this.”
Trump relived that journey, offering his own commentary on IU’s 16-0 season. Here’s a look at the standout moments from the President’s speech:
Trump compares Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti to Muhammad Ali
The President referenced Cignetti’s famed “Google Me” press conference as he traced IU’s path to the national title. While Trump said he normally hates guys with “cocky” attitudes, he couldn’t help but admire Cignetti’s style. Trump compared it to the way Muhammad Ali backed up his tough talk.
“Just two years later, he brought home the national championship,” Trump said. “When you do that stuff, you have to be able to produce when you act that way.”
Trump laughs off Indiana football’s notable absences
Trump didn’t expect quite so many former Indiana football players to be busy with OTA’s in the NFL. While Fernando Mendoza’s absence made headlines last week, Trump was surprised to find out that key starters like Pat Coogan and D’Angelo Ponds weren’t in attendance either. The President sought to highlight their contributions during his remarks.
“We’ve got 15 of them in (NFL) training camp right now,” Cignetti told Trump.
“Oh, I can’t believe it,” the President said. “No wonder you won.”
According to Trump, Mendoza called the President last week to tell him he wouldn’t be able to attend the event. There were a handful of former IU players on the trip who graduated, but none of the ones who were drafted or signed to NFL teams.
Trump impressed with IU’s blowout win over Alabama in Rose Bowl: ‘You’ve got to be kidding’
Trump has maintained close ties with former Alabama coach Nick Saban, Cignetti’s one-time mentor. It might help explain why the President was so impressed by the lopsided final score of IU’s 38-3 victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
“Coach, you’ve got to be kidding,” Trump said after reading the final score. “That’s right, over Alabama. That’s a big one.”
Cignetti, who won a title as an assistant at Alabama for Saban, even poked fun at his former school as Trump spoke about the game.
“Roll tide,” Cignetti shouted.
Trump spotlights Indiana football’s gutsy QB draw in CFP title game
Former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s diving touchdown against the Hurricanes made quite the impression on Trump, who attended the CFP championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. The President raved about the play call on Monday afternoon with Cignetti by his side.
Facing a fourth-and-four from Miami’s 12-yard line, Cignetti called a QB draw with his team holding onto a slim lead in the final 10 minutes. Mendoza scored by breaking a series of tackles and making a Superman-esque dive across the goal line.
“No coach in America would have done what this guy did,” Trump said of Cignetti. “They said, this guy is making such a mistake, and he won. That was a hell of a play. That’s the kind of play if they don’t do that play, if it doesn’t work, that’s like career-threatening, right?”
Trump circled back to the thought before talking about Jamari Sharpe’s interception.
“He kept doing all this stuff,” Trump said. “The things that weren’t supposed to happen. You’re just lucky you won that game because if you didn’t, they would have said, this coach is crazy.”
Trump celebrates Indiana football’s ‘legendary story’
Trump frequently veered away from his prepared remarks to offer up asides on Indiana’s rags to riches story. Cignetti orchestrated a turnaround in just two seasons in Bloomington at a school with very little tradition in the sport.
“What you did is something that I don’t think anybody’s ever really done in college football history,” Trump said.
Trump, like many fans, was impressed with the way IU dispatched the sport’s blue bloods — mostly in lopsided fashion — on their journey to winning the CFP title.
“You went through a lot of great teams,” Trump said. “And real football powerhouses over the years. That’s pretty intimidating. Amazing. Top tens. This team lifted the Indiana football program from a historic low.”
For Trump, it’s what made Indiana’s 16-0 season distinct from other championship teams that have visited the White House.
“The story of Indiana University is really a legendary story,” Trump said.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
Fernando Mendoza did not attend Indiana University’s visit to the White House commemorating the Hoosiers’ college football national championship on Monday. The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback said earlier this month that he would not attend if it interfered with any activities with his new team.
“I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here,” Mendoza said following a rookie minicamp practice. “I got to prove myself. I can’t miss practice. I don’t know anything official. I don’t have the calendar, but I just wouldn’t. As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look, and I want to try to best serve my teammates. And I don’t know if that’d be accomplishing that goal.”
According to the team’s official offseason schedule, the Raiders did not have any formal practices or workouts on Monday. The team’s next organized activity is May 18, its first OTA workout.
“Fernando couldn’t be here today because, as I said, he’s now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders,” President Donald Trump said in his address. “Let’s see how good of a team they have, and I think he’s gonna do great. He’s a winner.”
Mendoza wasn’t the only absence. Center Pat Coogan and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds were among the other Hoosiers not in attendance for the event due to NFL obligations. Indiana had a program-record eight players selected in April’s NFL Draft.
Trump highlighted Mendoza’s accomplishments and contributions to the school’s first football national title. He celebrated Mendoza as Indiana’s inaugural Heisman Trophy winner and praised his fourth-quarter touchdown run in the championship game against Miami.
“He’s gonna be a good one,” Trump said.
Indiana was well-represented by returning members of the team. Charlie Becker, one of Mendoza’s go-to receivers during the College Football Playoffs, and Jamari Sharpe, whose late interception secured the title-game victory, both spoke on behalf of the school, as did head coach Curt Cignetti.
Mendoza is one of four members of the national champion Hoosiers who joined the Raiders this offseason. Running back Roman Hemby and wide receiver E.J. Williams Jr. signed as undrafted free agents in the days following the draft. Wide receiver Jonathan Brady earned a contract after impressing as a tryout player during rookie minicamp.
MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating a triple shooting that took place on Muncie’s south side Sunday evening that left a woman dead and two men injured.
According to police, at approximately 5:27 p.m., Muncie Police Officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of South Walnut Street in reference to reports of several people being shot.
Officers arrived and located three gunshot victims: A 23-year-old female who died from “multiple wounds,” a 39-year-old male who is hospitalized in stable condition, and a 40-year-old male who was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital in critical condition.
Police say a suspect is in custody, a 21-year-old man.
Police did not provide any additional information.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Muncie Police Detective Division at 765-747-4867 or dispatch at 765-747-4838.
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