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Northwest Indiana fireworks dealers say business has fizzled this year

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Northwest Indiana fireworks dealers say business has fizzled this year


Fireworks sellers throughout the border from Illinois say enterprise is just not booming this yr.

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In actual fact, it’s fizzled — they usually’re blaming the identical financial and provide chain points which have buffeted the economic system.

Jim Mertes drove from Bolingbrook to load up at Uncle Sam’s Fireworks, simply steps from the Illinois border in Hammond.

However this yr, the crowds have gone from growth to bust.

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“Final two years there was traces out the door. An hour to get into the shop, two hours. Now there’s no waits. We don’t have a whole lot of returning prospects,” stated Daniel Mota, proprietor of Uncle Sam’s Fireworks.

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Mota says inflation is placing the squeeze on lots of his longtime prospects and the price of fuel is making many suppose twice a couple of lengthy drive to northwest Indiana.

“The blokes name us and say they’re not in a position to buy this yr due to financial causes, fuel being too excessive. I’ve seen lots of people doing carpooling now as a result of fuel has gone up,” Mota stated.

“We now have loads of fireworks, however the trade as an entire has a scarcity of fireworks,” stated Greg Kaplan, proprietor of Krazy Kaplan’s Fireworks.

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Greg “Krazy” Kaplan says they’re additionally being squeezed by the skyrocketing value of delivery fireworks. It used to value Kaplan $10,000 to ship a container of fireworks from China.

Now, that very same container prices greater than $42,000 to ship and that doesn’t even embody the price of the fireworks.

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“I might say a few of the costs went up 30%,” Kaplan stated. “Once more, it’s not as a result of I wish to cost 30% … it’s as a result of the price of delivery it right here was 30% extra.”

And now with the vacation only a week away, Kaplan is hoping to gentle a fuse on gross sales.

“This week’s the Fourth of July week. This week is my Christmas week,” he stated.

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Provide chain points are additionally impacting the skilled fireworks exhibits. A lot of communities downstate have needed to cancel their Fourth of July festivities as a result of they simply can’t get their palms on the fireworks.



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Indiana

Study: Indiana migration balanced for the first time in nearly 30 years

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Study: Indiana migration balanced for the first time in nearly 30 years


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Migration in Indiana is balanced for the first time in nearly 30 years, according to a new study released by Atlas Van Lines.

The Indiana-based moving company uses shipping data to analyze global moving patterns every year. The nearly 30-year study gathers Indiana data.

“We measure all moves globally,” Lauren Piekos, vice president of business development at Atlas, says. “So that’s interstate, in between states, in between provinces and Canada, and in between countries.”

The team then uses those numbers to look at two factors: how many people moved out of each state or area and how many people moved to each state and area.

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If a higher percentage, or over 55%, moved out of the state, it is considered “outbound.” If a higher percentage moved to the state, it is considered “inbound.” Areas with a similar percentage for each are considered “balanced.”

By looking at data gathered between Nov. 1, 2023 and Oct. 31, 2024, the team determined Indiana’s migration was balanced. Atlas says the state has not been balanced since 1995.

“This is a change because historically, Indiana has been an outbound state,” Piekos said.

The findings align with data from the Census Bureau, Atlas says.

The change is not unique to Indiana.

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“What is interesting this year is that we have the most amount of balanced states across the country,” Piekos said. “There’s actually only six outbound states, and the six outbound states have been pretty consistent, namely, some of the more populated states, California, Illinois and New York. Those consistently remain on the outbound list, but, for the most part, a lot of states are balanced and that’s historically more than what we’ve seen.”

The company surveyed several consumers that chose to move in the past three years.

In Indiana, many people chose to moved to the Carmel and Anderson area. Experts say that choice is mostly due to the affordability the areas offer as opposed to some of their neighbors.

“When we look at Illinois, which is a neighboring state, they are consistently an outbound state,” Piekos said. “When you dig into other data sources, we know that 44% of people from Illinois that are moving out are coming to Indiana and we think it’s really based on affordability.”

To take a look at the study’s other findings, click here.

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Atlas Van Lines shares findings from migration study. (Provided Photo/Atlas Van Lines)



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What Teri Moren Said After Indiana’s 90-55 Win Against Oakland

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What Teri Moren Said After Indiana’s 90-55 Win Against Oakland


BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren spoke to the media after the Hoosiers defeated Oakland 90-55 in their last nonconference game of the season.

Here is what Moren had to say in brief comments to the press:

Opening statement …

Moren: A good win as we break here for a few days and then come back and have to prepare for Wisconsin (on Saturday). We had a few game goals throughout. I did want to get under … I felt like 10 turnovers was reasonable. We didn’t get that goal. But I wanted 20 plus assists. Got the 27 today. The kills, as you guys know, is a three stops in a row. The kids … they wanted eight of those. We got nine of those today. So lot of kids got to play. Balanced scoring.

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We knew the 1-3-1 was going to be a little bit of a mystery. There’s just not a lot of rules to it that we could find, other than they just try to be disruptive and turn you over. But I thought we handled it really well. I thought we got some really good shots. They didn’t go down like we would have liked them to, especially in the first half, but I think we found a way to have great balance throughout. So pleased, I thought more pleased in the second half than I was the first half, without question, defensively. Give our kids credit. Sometimes these are interesting games right before the holidays. You can be sloppy. They can check out a little bit, but I thought for the most part, our kids did a great job of staying focused in what we were trying to do.

On what’s encouraging going into Big Ten play …

Moren: It’s given Jules (LaMendola) and Henna (Sandvik) and Strip (Karoline Striplin) has played better for us. So I think it’s given those kids that we have on our bench that are waiting to come in and have an impact. Lex (Lexus Bargesser). I think it’s been really good to see those kids get a lot of time and meaningful time. We’ve been without (Sydney) Parrish, so it’s going to be nice to have her back. But I just think overall, it’s we’ve tried to get back to being cleaner offensively. I think being more engaged defensively.

We’ve really tried to take the days that we’ve had off, when there was a six day break or a seven day break and go back and really work on the fundamentals of being a good basketball team. That’s offensively and defensively. We’ve been able to install some stuff too as well. So we’re trying to take advantage of that. I do think that this is a very motivated group as we break for the holiday and return to play Wisconsin.

On confidence in the bench and whether subbing deep into the bench will continue …

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Moren: It’ll just really depend right on the game and the flow and the rhythm. I will say this. I think there’s great confidence in those kids. Lexi and Jules, Henna, Strip. I think it’s a matter of us being confident that we can count on those guys. They know what their role is. They also know what their jobs are. And again, it’s nice to be able to have some depth.

We haven’t been a team historically that has played eight or nine guys, but we feel like we can do that with this group. It’s great that Jules has gotten better. It’s great that Lexi has gained some rhythm and got back into playing shape. And I think Strip has just played really well. Maybe it was the Penn State game, but she’s playing with a tremendous amount of confidence right now, which is really good for us.

On Sydney Parrish’s return …

Moren: I think she was really excited to be back and be with her team. She’s the ultimate competitor. So for her to be out there today and play the minutes she did and play aggressive like we’ve seen Syd play was a really good sign for us. Throughout this week, with prepping and what not, she’s felt really, really good. Happy to have her back. No question.

On whether there’s been one thing to identify that has improved since the start of the season …

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Moren: I don’t know that I could would pinpoint one area. I think that again, from the beginning, I think we felt like there were going to be some ebbs and flows and peaks and valleys with the new team, but I will say this, there’s no doubt that we’ve become a better basketball team in the last month and three to four weeks. And that’s good as we head into Big 10 play. It’s a daunting league with tremendous players, coaches, and we want to be playing our best basketball in March, not at the beginning of the season.

It’s been good for us to grow as a team and I think improve as a team. We still have a lot of improvements to make, but it feels good to be able to take a break right now feeling like we can all catch our breath and be somewhat satisfied that we’ve finished non-con in the right way today. Because, like I said, these games can be tricky if you’re not careful. And I thought our kids did a great job of staying focused for 40 minutes.



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Curt Cignetti honest about Indiana's playoff worthiness after Notre Dame loss

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Curt Cignetti honest about Indiana's playoff worthiness after Notre Dame loss


In his first season at Indiana, head coach Curt Cignetti did the nearly impossible. He led the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff.

Once in the Playoff, Indiana suffered a convincing loss on the road at Notre Dame, leading to some questions about whether or not the Hoosiers belonged in the field. However, following the game, Cignetti emphasized that his team earned their spot.

Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”

“Well, this team earned it,” Curt Cignetti said. “The right to be here, you know. I’m not sure we proved tonight to a lot of people.”

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Now, the focus for Cignetti is going to be on finding a way to rebuild the team and prepare to make another run next season. That starts, as he explained, with recruiting this offseason.

“Everything is about recruitment and development and now retention. Every year you’ve got to start over now in college football. It’s not quite the NFL but it’s getting close. So, you can change a lot of things in a year,” Cignetti said.

“Now, the one thing about the way the calendar is set right now if you do make the College Football Playoff, you’re kind of penalized in the portal recruiting area because, like, we didn’t have official visits this week because I wanted 100 percent focus in preparation for Notre Dame. So, that’s time that last year we were spending on the portal. But we’ve got a good nucleus coming back, and we’ll be okay.”

Despite Curt Cignetti’s confidence that Indiana did belong in the Playoff, there have been frustrations from some thanks to the first round blowouts this season. That includes Paul Finebaum, who believes the selection committee made several mistakes.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so in on (the committee getting the teams wrong). It’s easy to say this the day after but few people were saying it the day after they made this field,” Finebaum said.

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“They made so many mistakes. Let’s start with some of the most obvious like Indiana and SMU. They looked at the gaudy record and they forgot to look at have they beaten anyone? No. Neither school beat anyone. Meanwhile, schools like Miami – yes, Miami – and Alabama and Ole Miss and South Carolina were sitting at home while we had to be subjected to unwatchable games.”

Of course, not everyone agrees that the committee made mistakes. Indiana only lost one regular season game in the Big Ten and SMU played for the ACC Championships, after all. However, in the first season of this expanded format, there is plenty of debate about how things have worked out.



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