Indiana
Party chairs share races to watch on Election Day
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The chairs of Indiana’s Republican and Democratic parties said a handful of races could be a useful barometer for both the state and the country.
In interviews with News 8 for All INdiana Politics, Indiana Republican Party Chair Randy Head and Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl both said they feel confident in their candidates’ chances of success, particularly at the top of the ballot.
Head said as far as he is concerned, a win on election night is a win regardless of vote margin. He said he’s watching a pair of races for the Indiana House of Representatives closely. House District 62, currently held by first-term Republican Rep. Dave Hall, includes Brown County and portions of Monroe and Jackson counties. Hall won the seat by less than 100 votes two years ago and faces a tough challenge from Democrat Thomas Horrocks.
“That’s going to be a good bellwether, I think, to tell us if we’re going to have a fantastic night or just a good night,” he said.
Head said he’s also watching House District 71, in Jeffersonville and Clarksville. Democrat Rita Fleming had held that seat for six years when she resigned suddenly this spring. Area Democrats caucused in Wendy Dant Chesser, who faces Republican Scott Hawkins as she tries to win a term of her own. Head says that district is a potential Republican pickup.
For his part, Schmuhl said he’s focused on breaking the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly, a feat that would require his party to flip four seats in the Indiana House. Even though it only takes a simple majority to override a governor’s veto, Schmuhl said reducing the supermajority to a simple majority would force GOP state lawmakers to work with Democrats on everything from legislation to basic daily functioning of the chamber. Schmuhl said to watch Hamilton County closely both for state house races there and for presidential election results. He said Democratic statewide candidates have done well there in recent years despite Hamilton County’s history as a Republican stronghold.
“These are places that are changing very rapidly, that are growing very rapidly,” he said. “These are people that, I think, reject Trump-style politics and want a national government, a state government, that is more focused on normal issues.”
The biggest surprise of Indiana’s 2024 election cycle was the selection of Micah Beckwith as Mike Braun’s running mate over Braun’s recommendation of Julie McGuire. Head said he wasn’t surprised once he saw the supporters and the well-organized operation Beckwith brought to the Indiana Republican Party convention in June. When asked about Beckwith’s recent comments about Haitian refugees in Logansport, among others, Head said he expects Beckwith will grow into the role of lieutenant governor.
“Mike Braun will make the overall policy for the things the executive branch needs to do and I’m very comfortable with Mike Braun doing that,” he said.
Schmuhl said Beckwith’s selection provided an opening for Democrats. He said Braun’s roughly 40 percent vote tally in the Republican primary suggested weakness among that party’s voters, especially after Beckwith joined. Democrats have spent months highlighting some of Beckwith’s past comments, including his recent remarks on Haitian refugees and old social media posts in which he claimed God told him to send the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Mike Braun didn’t select him, doesn’t want to campaign alongside him but he’s stuck with him, and so we need to make sure that Hoosiers know the full extent of the extremism within that ticket,” he said.
All INdiana Politics airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WISH-TV.
Indiana basketball practice observations from June 25: Freshmen mixing in
IU has a game-changer, Thursday’s practice open to the media showed. IndyStar IU insider Zach Osterman explains what he saw.
BLOOMINGTON — Whatever he can.
That’s the answer. The question — one prompted by an urgency to add strength to his game — is what Vaughn Karvala, Indiana basketball’s athletic freshman wing, is doing to add weight. IU’s highest-ranked signee in the 2026 class, it’s not hard to envision a role for Karvala in Darian DeVries’ second season in Bloomington. The player himself knows that starts with meeting the physical demands of the college game.
Which starts with building onto to his 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame.
“The biggest thing for me is just putting on weight,” Karvala told reporters after practice Thursday. “That’s my biggest thing, getting stronger, trying to play with these guys that are three, four years older than me. I have to get stronger, I have to get faster, everything.”
A three-year letter winner at Oregon (Wisconsin) High School, Karvala spent his senior season at Bella Vista Prep in Arizona, bolstering a profile that saw him ranked No. 62 nationally per the 247Sports Composite.
Karvala averaged 26.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his final season with Oregon, shooting close to 42% from behind the 3-point line. He averaged another 14.7 points per game with Team Herro on the EYBL circuit.
He handed DeVries a major recruiting win last fall, when Karvala picked the Hoosiers over Xavier and Cal. Now, both at the rim and behind the arc, Karvala looks like a player who can contribute meaningfully in his first year in college.
“I know my athleticism catches the eye, but I can still shoot it,” Karvala said. “But another thing is just working on rebounding, trying to get extra possessions for us.”
Whether on the glass or elsewhere, embracing the physical challenge of college basketball has been an emphasis for Karvala since he arrived in Bloomington earlier this summer.
That manifests itself offensively, when he tries to push the ball downhill and leverage that athleticism to attack the rim. It shows up defensively, where Karvala said he’s comfortable guarding the two, the three and, matchup depending, the four.
It even plays out on the glass, battling bigs up to including 7-2 teammate Samet Yigitoglu, who Karvala described with a smile as “the biggest guy I’ve ever seen.”
“Physicality, 100%,” Karvala said, when asked where he’s challenging himself. “Just playing with all these guys that have 20, 30, 40 pounds on me.”
Which starts with the physical demand of more weight. Karvala said he’ll eat chicken, steak or “whatever we have in the locker room” that can help him in that effort. His focus, he said, is simply to “eat a lot, and work out every day.”
As that weight and strength begin to build, Karvala knows the next step — to mentally prepare for the rough-and-tumble nature of life on the floor in the Big Ten — is just as important. Preparing his body comes first. Challenging himself to toughen up once it’s required follows quickly after.
“Just getting fully there, mentally,” he said. “You’re going to have to push your body to get through this.”
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KOSCIUSKO COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — It’s fair season and a new law uncorks adult beverage sales!
The new Indiana law will go into effect July 1st, making it legal to sell alcohol at county fairs.
The Kosciusko County Fair is set to kick off in just a few weeks and Indiana is officially allowing alcohol to be sold.
The law is bringing back something that’s not necessarily new to this fair.
Here’s what you need to know
The new law will go into effect on July 1st. It officially allows county fairs to apply for fee-free permits to sell alcohol.
Officials with the Kosciusko County Fair say they are participating this year. They are implementing the same guidelines they used when they sold alcohol just at grandstand events.
The difference now is, you can walk around the grounds with your drink. But strict guidelines will be in place for purchasing a drink.
“Actually, we’ve never had any issues. Because we card everybody, so we take that seriously. We also got the ID guides so we can identify the different types of IDs,” said Sheal Dirck, Treasurer of Kosciusko County Fair.
The Kosciusko County Fair already have guidelines in place, so this was an easy transition for the fair.
They will be the only vendors selling alcohol, which will make it easier to control distribution.
The sales will also bring in more revenue.
“Hopefully it allows to keep our ticket prices where they are because right now, insurance, utilities and everything else is going sky high and it’s hard to make ends meet,” said Dirck.
However, some fairs cannot participate because of the July 1st start date, like the Pulaski County Fair, which is going on right now. Pulaski County officials said it is on the agenda for next year. Whereas other fairs are choosing to sit this year out.
“We wanted not spend some time to, to see what that really means for us. It was not a decision we wanted to rush into. But we are happy for the option of it,” said Shelly Steury, GM of Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds.
Leaders at the St. Joseph County and Elkhart County Fairs said neither of them are selling alcohol.
The Kosciusko County Fair is the only fair that will sell alcohol in our area this year.
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