Indiana
Indiana’s congressional delegation is getting a much-needed shakeup – Indiana Capital Chronicle
Representative government in Indiana will look drastically different next year. Or will it?
Four of the state’s nine U.S. House members from Indiana will not seek reelection this year. Districts currently represented by Reps. Larry Bucshon, Jim Banks, Greg Pence, and Victoria Spartz will all get new House members next year. The question is: How will that matter?
None of these departing members spent any time, to quote “Hamilton,” in “The Room Where It Happens.” None chaired a committee or were on track to do so. I consume an abundance of national media on Washington politics, and only in the rarest of circumstances would any of these soon-to-be retirees appear there.
Now, media appearance frequency is no way to measure value, but extended periods of radio silence should cause people back home to wonder: Is my representative representing me?
The one exception here is Banks. He had been viewed as a reliably conservative voice from the beginning of his time in the House, and the state Senate before that. But his overt and abrupt decision to join the sycophancy of former President Donald Trump, was his strategy for brand growth. And it worked, sort of.
Banks chaired the hyper-partisan Republican Study Committee, and then ran for the position of Majority Whip shortly after the GOP won control in the 2022 election. But he was narrowly defeated by Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota in his quest to get into “The Room.”
Talk about dodging a bullet! In the history of the U.S. House, there has never been a more inept example of leadership. All kinds of embarrassing “firsts” have occurred since the Kevin McCarthy era began. Banks’ presence would not have changed that. Leading this group is an impossible task. So, losing his quest allowed him to keep much of the slop from that pigsty off of his brand.
But the slop that is now the feature of the Banks brand is grievance, particularly any Trump grievance. This is all he is now. He doesn’t have any other platform.
GOP advantage
All four of these “open” seats in Congress are in districts with maps that have been drawn to advantage Republican candidates. The most ethnically diverse district among them is the 5th, where merely 82% of the district is white. In that district, Republicans have an eleven-point advantage, before candidates even file to run.
And this is the most competitive district among them.
Spartz currently holds this seat. She announced last February that she would not run for reelection, though reports as recently as December indicate she is reconsidering, something she often does. But because of her announcement a year ago, there are nine Republican candidates and one Democrat who are campaigning for the seat. Good.
There is similar competition for Indiana’s 3rd District, the district Banks currently represents. There are nine Republicans and three Democrats running there. Good.
But in Indiana’s 8th District, left open by Bucshon’s retirement, no Republican has filed to run yet. In Indiana’s 6th, being left open by Pence’s retirement, one Republican has filed, though it is hard to see that an actual campaign has begun. There are Democrat candidates in both districts, but again, these districts are near 20-point advantages for Republicans.
The primary is what matters most in all four of these districts, three months from now. And in two of them, voters have no idea who is running in them. But again, I ask: How will it matter?
Primary matters
My position is that it won’t.
It has been a long time since Indiana sent someone to Congress who excelled at driving an important agenda. We have a school at Indiana University named after them: Rep. Lee Hamilton and Sen. Richard Lugar. Both chaired their chamber’s committees on foreign affairs, Hamilton in the 1990’s and Lugar in the 2000’s. Both were looked to for guidance on those issues before then and for long afterward.
In the 1970’s, Indiana Senator Birch Bayh became the first person since James Madison to author more than one amendment to the U.S. Constitution, authoring both the 25th and 26th Amendments.
Hoosier members of Congress don’t have to rise to prominence like these three statesmen did to “matter.” However, our members have been comfortably seated in the back row of the House for a long time now, and that is getting old.
When the contest for representation only exists during a primary, the seat will only attract the most partisan candidates. It reduces campaigns to the foundational choice of being partisan or not. And in today’s congress that choice is synonymous with being either deranged or unelectable.
Enjoy the May primaries in these four districts, Indiana. They are certain to be much ado about nothing.
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(The REPORTER) — The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 10, regarding a proposed corridor improvement project on State Road 32 in Hamilton County.
The hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to interact with the project team, review the features of the proposed roundabout project, and provide official public comment. Project documents are available for review at improvetomove32.com.
The project area is between East Street in Westfield and River Road in Noblesville. The proposed project includes adding lanes to accommodate two lanes in each direction, removing all traffic signals within the project limits, and constructing roundabouts at the following intersections with SR 32:
- Carey Road/Grassy Branch Road
- Gunther Boulevard
- Shady Nook Road
- Moontown Road/Gray Road
- Pebble Brook Boulevard
- Hazel Dell Road/Little Chicago Road
- Mill Creek Road
The hearing will take place at Prairie Waters Event Center, 4180 Westfield Road, Westfield. Doors will open at 5 p.m. to allow the public to view displays and talk with the project team. A presentation will be given at 5:30 p.m., with a public comment session held directly after. INDOT is offering livestreams of all public meetings and hearings. You must register here in order to participate in the livestream. Livestream audience comments will only be accepted in written electronic form, not verbally. A recording of the livestream presentation will be posted on the project webpage and INDOT YouTube page after the hearing and will be available for at least 90 days.
All verbal statements recorded during the public hearing and all written comments submitted prior to, during and for a period of two weeks following the hearing date, will be evaluated, considered, and addressed in subsequent environmental documentation.
Written comments may be submitted within the comment period to Nick Batta, CMT, 8790 Purdue Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268; or sent via email to SR32HamiltonCounty@cmtengr.com.
INDOT respectfully requests comments be submitted by June 26.
A beloved tradition is drawing stitchers, shoppers, and curious newcomers across the region.
If you have ever walked into a quilt shop “just to look,” you already know how that story ends. One minute you are admiring a cheerful stack of fabric with names like sunflower, buttercream, and cardinal red, and the next you are seriously considering whether your house has room for a new table runner, a holiday wall hanging, and perhaps a life-changing bundle of fat quarters. Quilt shops have that effect. They are part treasure hunt, part therapy session, part color explosion, and in Southeastern Indiana, they are also some of the friendliest gathering places around.
That is especially true during the ALL INDIANA SHOP HOP, the statewide sewing and quilting event running through June 30, 2026.
The idea is delightfully simple: visit participating quilt shops, collect passport stamps, pick up thank-you gifts, and become eligible for prizes. The official event even describes it as a quilting version of a bar crawl, only with less late-night regret and more batting, bobbins, and beautiful fabric. There is even a youth passport for ages 8 to 17, which is a nice reminder that quilting is not just a pastime handed down from grandparents. It is also being discovered by a new generation who like making things by hand, repurposing fabric to help the environment, learning skills online, and sharing their creations proudly.
And really, quilting has everything going for it. It is practical, creative, social, and just a little bit magical.
A quilt can be a baby gift, a comfort during a hard season, a graduation present, a family heirloom, or simply a way to make a couch look much more put together than the people sitting on it. Quilters are surgeons with rotary cutters, artists with thread, and storytellers with fabric. They notice pattern, texture, memory, and meaning. Even non-quilters tend to fall under the spell. You do not need to know how to piece a block to appreciate the patience, skill, and imagination it takes to turn small shapes into something that warms both the room and the people in it.
That is one reason local quilt shops matter so much.
Yes, they sell fabric, books, notions, patterns, batting, and tools that can make a beginner feel both excited and slightly underqualified. But they also do something online shopping cannot: they welcome people in. Good quilt shops are places where somebody will help you match prints, explain what on earth a layer cake is, admire your progress, and gently steer you away from a fabric choice you may regret in broad daylight. They are equal parts classroom, clubhouse, and creative headquarters.
Southeastern Indiana is lucky to have several shops that make a Shop Hop route feel less like an errand list and more like a mini road trip with excellent scenery and even better conversation.
In Versailles, The Quilter’s Nook has become a creative quilting and sewing destination with classes, learning opportunities, and plenty of supplies and inspiration for anyone wanting to sharpen their skills or finally start that project they have been thinking about for two years. In Greensburg, Tree City Stitches is known for its premium fabrics, project kits, classes, and welcoming atmosphere, with plenty of samples on display to spark ideas before you even make it to the cutting counter.
In Vevay, Cardinal Quilts offers a deep fabric selection, quilting classes, and longarm services, making it the kind of place where serious quilters can stock up and newcomers can get helpful guidance without a trace of intimidation. And in Madison, L&L Yard Goods has been operating in the same location since 1986, offering quilting essentials, classes, and the sort of steady hometown presence that makes people come back year after year.
Together, these shops help keep quilting visible, vibrant, and local.
They also provide handmade quilts for community projects, children’s hospitals, veterans, and emergency services just like the early quilters did centuries ago.
So if your summer plans could use a little more color, a little more small-town charm,
and maybe a little more excuse to buy fabric you absolutely do not need but definitely deserve, the Shop Hop is calling. Bring a friend, bring your passport, and bring a willingness to be delighted by places where craftsmanship still matters and people still make beautiful things with their hands.
In Southeastern Indiana, quilting is more than a hobby.
It is history from the days of early pioneers, hospitality that warms you, creativity and community all stitched together one square at a time.
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