Indiana

It’s National Cheese Pizza Day. Where to get Chicago or Detroit style pizza in Indiana

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1 year ago

September 5, 2024

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It’s National Cheese Pizza Day. Where to get Chicago or Detroit style pizza in Indiana

Thursday marks National Cheese Pizza Day 2024.

Each September 5 is dedicated to cheese pizza. Though widely acknowledged, the origin of the day is unknown, according to National Day Calendar, the business that tracks celebratory days and works with companies, brands and organizations to get days recognized.

Pepperoni pizza gets love later this month, on Sept. 20; and sausage pizza is feted on Oct. 11. National Pizza Day is Feb 9, while National Pizza Month is October. Go figure.

Here are five primo spots to visit to hold the toppings on National Cheese Pizza Day.

Chicago-style at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

loumalnatis.com

Go solo with your one personal pizza or with a group for Chicago deep-dish or thin-crust pies to take advantage of deals at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria.

Get meal deals on pizzas and salads, and options for Carol’s Cookies, for as little as $10 per person.

Its $9.95 lunch specials include a personal Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria locations in Indiana

11435 Spring Mill Rd., Suite 170, Carmel

10706 Broadway, Crown Point

791 S. State Rd. 135, Greenwood

6320 Ferguson St., Indianapolis

Free pizza for a year from Toppers Pizza

toppers.com

Toppers Pizza is giving free pizza for a year to three lucky newlywed couples who enter its social media contest through Sept. 22 by sharing photos or videos from their ceremonies or receptions that include Toppers Pizza. Details are at toppers.com/sweepstakes.

Not getting hitched soon? There’s still the $7.99 large one-topping pie carryout-only special among the deals currently offered.

Toppers Pizza locations in Indiana

910 W. 10th St., Indianapolis

212 S. Indiana Ave., Bloomington

Detroit-style pizza at Sam’s Square Pie

2829 E. 10th St., Indianapolis

order.toasttab.com

After years of operating as a pop-up, Jeffrey Miner opened his own brick-and-mortar in 2024, a year that also saw him scoring national honors for his Detroit-style pie. His High Plains Drifter pie, made with hot Italian sausage, a brick cheese blend, pesto, jalapeno garlic ricotta and smoked maple syrup, took fifth place in the Pan Division at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas this year.

But keeping things cheesy, there’s Sam’s Square’s Crush Pie, made with a brick cheese blend, red sauce, Mike’s Hot Honey, pecorino and parmesan. A large (feeds four to six people)is $32. A small (feeds two to three) is $18.

New thick crust at Donatos Pizza

donatos.com

This Ohio-based chain just debuted its Bakery Crust Pizza, featuring a square cut, thicker bakery-style crust with smoked provolone cheese and fresh toppings.

With its introductory offer, customers can get two one-topping Bakery Crust Pizzas for $19.99 (or one for $11.99).

Donatos Pizza locations in Indiana

813 E. Main St., Brownsburg

4100 W. 106th St., Carmel

1311 S. Rangeline Rd., Carmel

8235 E. 116th St., Suite 230, Fishers

11760 Olio Rd., Suite 600, Fishers

825 W. 10th St., Indianapolis

5620 Crawfordsville Rd., Suite AA, Indianapolis

5688 Georgetown Rd., Indianapolis

2357 E. 62nd St., Indianapolis

5835 Madison Ave., Indianapolis

1465 W. 86th St., Indianapolis

7460 N. Shadeland Ave., Suite 600, Indianapolis

5650 S. Franklin Rd., Suite 100A, Indianapolis

10919 E. Washington St., Indianapolis

125 Fields St., Mooresville

2205 Conner St., Noblesville

1645 E. Main St., Plainfield

Free pizza challenge at Rockstar Pizzeria

922 E. Main St., Brownsburg

rockstarpizza.net

Here’s another shot at free pizza, and prizes.

Grab a friend and take the 30” Pizza Challenge. If the two of you can finish off a massive one-topping pie within 45 minutes, the pizza’s on the house, and you get two $25 gift cards and T-shirts.

If you don’t finish, you pay $50; but you get to take the leftovers home.

Chicken crust at Azzip Pizza

azzippizza.com

This Subway-modeled pizza place lets customers build their own individual-size pies and see them baked in a conveyor belt oven in about 2.5 minutes.

The setup at the Evansville, Indiana-based Azzip (pronounced “Ay-Zip”) chain, founded in 2014 by a Purdue University student, allows for 16 million variations including gluten-free and vegetarian options.

Among crust selections is the ZeroCarb Chicken Pizza Crust made with 100% premium chicken breast and seasoned with salt, olive oil and spices.

Azzip Pizza locations in Indiana

2894 E. 3rd St., Bloomington

2121 N. Green River Rd., Evansville

5225 Pearl Dr., Evansville

4660 N. First Ave., Evansville

1120 E. Stop 11 Rd., Indianapolis

9321 Michigan Rd., Indianapolis

105 Farabee Dr. S., Lafayette

8850 High Pointe Dr., Newburgh

4432 S. US-41, Terre Haute

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com:@cherylvjackson.

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Indiana

FBI thwarted ‘ISIS-inspired plot’ at Indiana school, but won’t say where

Published

7 hours ago

January 5, 2026

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FBI thwarted ‘ISIS-inspired plot’ at Indiana school, but won’t say where

At some point in 2025, the FBI helped a local police agency foil an “ISIS-inspired plot” that at least one minor planned to carry out at an unnamed central Indiana school, according to an annual summary released by the federal agency’s Indianapolis field office on Jan. 5, 2026.

FBI agents “disrupted an ISIS-inspired plot targeting a Central Indiana high school through rapid coordination with local partners,” according to the news release.

Beyond that, the agency provided few details, sharing neither the name of the school involved nor the city or town in which the school was located. Nor did the agency clarify why the report characterized the plot as ISIS-inspired.

Chris Bavender, an FBI spokesperson, declined to answer an IndyStar request for additional information about the foiled attack, responding in an email that “this matter is ongoing.”

“Because the student had immediate access to firearms, FBI Indianapolis worked closely with the high school and our local law enforcement partner to remove all firearms from the house, and the student was expelled from school. DOJ did not file charges as the individual is a juvenile,” Bavender wrote.

Bavender did not provide any information on whether the student is facing charges in the juvenile justice system.

Although high schools in both Mooresville and Westfield were the site of high-profile threat investigations in 2025, neither matched the details mentioned in the FBI report.

In February 2025, Trinity Shockley, 18, was arrested after sharing plans for a Valentine’s Day school shooting at Mooresville High School. Though the investigation into Shockley began after the FBI received a tip, Shockley was not a juvenile at the time of her arrest. Nor did court documents filed in her case reference any connection to ISIS.

The Mooresville Police Department did not immediately respond on Jan. 5 to a request for comment.

In September 2025, Westfield High School was placed on lockdown after a “potential threat.” Billy Adams, the assistant chief of the Westfield Police Department, said there’s no indication the lockdown “had anything to do with an ISIS-inspired plot.”

IndyStar reached out on Jan. 5 to multiple police agencies in central Indiana, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Southport Police Department, the Speedway Police Department and the Beech Grove Police Department.

Officials for IMPD, Southport, and Speedway police said their agencies handled no such threat. Beech Grove’s police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.

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Unseasonably mild temperatures for central Indiana this week | Jan. 5, 2026

Published

19 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Unseasonably mild temperatures for central Indiana this week | Jan. 5, 2026

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Temperatures in Central Indiana are expected to remain above normal through late this week, with highs near 60 degrees expected by Thursday and Friday. Rain showers are predicted from Thursday through Friday night, with the possibility of isolated thunderstorms.

Today:

Dry and mild, with high temperatures ranging from the mid 40s to low 50s. Just a mix of sun and clouds with light winds should make for a pleasant afternoon.

Tonight:

Lows in the mid 30s to low 40s, with patchy drizzle or fog possible late.

Tuesday:

Mostly cloudy skies and breezy conditions with wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph, elevating highs into the lower to middle 50s. A few light showers will be possible through the day as well.

Wednesday:

Should be the best day of the week, featuring more sunshine and lighter winds, with highs in the low to mid 50s.

Late week storm system:

Highs on Thursday and Friday are set to approach 60°, which will be pushing a few records across the state.

A warm front moving through Thursday evening will spark scattered showers and possibly some thunderstorms across the area starting Thursday afternoon.

A stronger storm or two can’t be ruled out.

Showers will continue into the first half of Friday, before the cold front pushes out of the state later in the day.

As the weekend approaches, the cold front will move through, leading to a significant drop in temperatures. Conditions will become cooler and breezy, with spotty flurries possible as temperatures return to seasonal norms for this time of year.

Looking ahead, the weekend is expected to bring a return to cooler temperatures and near-seasonal norms, with potential light snow flurries in the forecast as a cold front passes through Central Indiana.

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Indiana football adds explosive running back out of transfer portal

Published

1 day ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Indiana football adds explosive running back out of transfer portal

BLOOMINGTON — Curt Cignetti reinforced his running back rotation, which will need an offseason makeover due to eligibility related attrition, on Sunday with the commitment of Boston College running back Turbo Richard according to multiple media outlets.

Richard helps relieve the stress created by the departures of Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, the Hoosiers’ leading rushers in 2025, both of whom will exhaust their eligibility at the end of the current season. Cignetti and his staff add Richard to a running back room already anchored around Lee Beebe Jr., returning from injury, and Khobie Martin, the one-time Fishers star who flashed meaningful potential this season.

Here’s what to know about IU’s newest running back:

Turbo Richard provides proven production

Indiana has, in Cignetti’s two seasons in Bloomington, shown a repeated desire to add skill players who’ve shown impact in numbers and film. Richard fits that bill.

Across two seasons in Chestnut Hill, he posted 1,027 yards and 11 touchdowns on 200 carries, with another 275 yards receiving and two more touchdowns through the air.

Last season, Richard accounted for 962 total yards and 11 scores.

He’s shown explosiveness too: Richard posted at least one carry of 10-plus yards in seven different games last season, with single-game highs of 18, 43, 46 and 71 yards.

How much eligibility does Turbo Richard have remaining?

Cignetti often refers to players with more than one year of eligibility remaining as more valuable in the portal. His program will get as many as two from Richard.

Additionally, the Charlotte native played right away at Boston College, in 2024, meaning he has a redshirt year if he needs it for any reason as well.

Fit to type

Listed at 5-8, 207 pounds, Richard looks on film a lot like the kind of back Indiana has had success with in Cignetti’s tenure.

He’s quick and nimble enough to get involved in the pass game, but powerful enough to make an impact between the tackles. He also shows excellent burst — as evidenced by those explosive numbers — potentially replacing the second- and third-level burst that made Black and Hemby so dangerous this season.

Indiana led the Big Ten in rushes of 10-plus yards in 2025. Richard profiles as the kind of back that can help sustain that production into 2026.

Back rotation settled?

It’s not clear exactly where Beebe stands in his recovery from a season-ending injury suffered in September. If IU is confident in his return to form, coupled to Martin’s development, this could wind up as Indiana’s running back rotation into next season.

The Hoosiers have reportedly hosted other portal running backs, so it’s possible IU isn’t done here. But especially given Martin’s flashes this season (74 carries, 463 yards, six TDs), if Indiana is settled here, then the Hoosiers appear to have handed position coach John Miller another healthy stable of backs to build a run game around.

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