Indiana
New superintendent taking over at Indiana Dunes National Park
The new Indiana Dunes National Park superintendent will be Jason Taylor, a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service who has worked in areas ranging from Massachusetts to Alaska.
“Having spent most of my career in faraway places,” Taylor said in a National Park Service news release, “I am excited to return home to serve the people and resources of the Great Lakes states.
“I am looking forward to joining the talented park staff and contributing to the exceptional work already happening to care for a place that’s so special, ecologically and culturally, and to the community and partners.”
Taylor will start his job at Indiana Dunes this spring, working remotely at first before moving to the area in May.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan – Flint and his doctorate from the University of Michigan.
He succeeds Paul Labovitz, the park’s superintendent for nine years until retiring last June.
Chris Pergiel has been acting superintendent since Labovitz retired. He formerly was deputy superintendent.
During Labovitz’s tenure, Congress changed the park’s name and status from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to Indiana Dunes National Park, and the park started charging for admission.
labovitz retiring Vincent D. Johnson/Chicago Tribune
Paul Labovitz, superintendent of Indiana Dunes National Park, looks out over Lake Michigan at the Indiana Dunes National Park West Beach, in Gary on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Post-Tribune).
The name change enhanced the park’s stature.
Indiana Dunes also is said to be one of the more botanically diverse areas of the National Park Service.
Taylor has worked for more than three years as director of the U.S. Forest Service’s Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute in Missoula, Montana.
He previously worked for the National Park Service in 2013, serving at Cape Cod National Seashore as chief of natural resource management and science.
He also worked for the National Park Service as Alaska’s regional chief of natural resources.
He went on to be superintendent of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, Alaska, before joining the Forest Service.
National Park Service Midwest Region Director Bert Frost said, in the news release announcing Taylor’s appointment to Indiana Dunes, that Taylor’s “ability to manage resources through integrating science and ecology with land use principles will be a great asset to the park and the interdisciplinary team of professionals who steward it.”
Tim Zorn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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.
Candace Parker, Cynthia Cooper share thoughts on Knicks playoff run
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg asks WNBA legends Candace Parker and Cynthia Cooper to give their thoughts on the Knicks hot playoff run.
Sports Seriously
The Indiana Pacers lost 63 games this season for a chance at a franchise-changing lottery pick. On Sunday, May 10, they lost that chance, too.
All Pacers president Kevin Pritchard could do was apologize for taking the risk.
Indiana’s pick landed at No. 5 in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, one spot outside the top four protections attached to a midseason trade. The selection now belongs to the Los Angeles Clippers .
Shortly after the results were announced, Pritchard took social media and apologized.
“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” Pritchard wrote. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck.”
The Pacers entered the lottery with a 52.1% chance of securing a top-four pick after finishing 19-63, the second-worst record in the NBA. It wasn’t enough.
Indiana sent Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 first-round pick to Los Angeles in the midseason deal for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown, along with the conditional 2026 first-rounder. The pick was theirs to keep only if it landed in the top four.
Zubac appeared in just five games for Indiana after the trade because of a fractured rib.
“This team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year,” Pritchard wrote. “We have always been resillient.”
Pritchard will have to be resilient if he looks at the replies to his statement. About half of the Pacers fans’ comments were not happy, and fans of other teams called him out for “tanking.”
There were also a large number of fans who were supportive of Pritchard taking that risk.
Tyrese Haliburton is expected to return next season after tearing his Achilles in last year’s NBA Finals. The Pacers will have him Pascal Siakam and a roster they think is built to compete. They just won’t have that first-round pick to add to it.
The 2026 NBA Draft begins June 23 in Brooklyn.
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