Indiana
Terre Haute looking toward next chapter – Inside INdiana Business
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The city of Terre Haute has seen several major changes recently.
The city has a new mayor—the youngest in its history—as well as a new president at Indiana State University, a new casino that opened with great fanfare and big crowds in April, renewed investment in the city’s downtown, and a general feeling that west central Indiana is ready to make a statement.
That feeling was evident as more than 300 business and community leaders filled the floor at the Hulman Center on the campus of ISU for a conversation on important issues facing the regional economy as part of our Engage Indiana series.
“Terre Haute and west central Indiana spent a lot of time planning and doing research and really feeling what we could do to increase our population and increase per capita income,” said Jon Ford, chairman of the Wabash River Valley Regional Development Authority. “And right now, it’s all kind of coming together, along with new talented people moving into our area.”
Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sackman says the optimism is well founded, pointing to more than $80 million in downtown projects in the pipeline, including a new Courtyard Hotel on Wabash Avenue with walkways connecting to parking and additional hotel rooms.
The investment, which includes the restoration of the historic Indiana Theatre, is all part of a new vision for the city’s downtown.
“What we’re really doing is saying, ‘Hey, it’s not going to be like 50-60 years ago…but some of the characteristics will come back,” Sakbun said. “And that’s what’s important is we’re not going to go back to what the past was, but we’re going to build off of it and move towards the future.”
The bet on Terre Haute’s comeback is also riding on a $290 million casino and hotel that opened in the spring to big crowds and a boost to the region’s tourism efforts.
“We had over 12,000 people come in that first weekend,” a casino spokesperson told IIB. “We were just absolutely slammed. It was so great to see. We had people starting to line up starting at 6 a.m. that morning; we opened our doors at 11, and ever since then we’ve been open.”
After years of talk, efforts are moving forward around a Wabash River master plan focused on accelerating riverfront development and quality of place initiatives—all moves the mayor says position Terre Haute and the Wabash Valley to compete.
“It was not too long—decades ago—that Terre Haute was was beating the Muncies of the world, competing with the South Bends, the Evansvilles, the Fort Waynes,” said Sakbun. “So we’re really taking that hard look in the mirror saying, ‘Hey, let’s pivot and change some things up,’ and that’s what we’ve done through elections, through new leadership at organizations, and I strongly believe you’re going to see a lot of activity in the next 18 to 24 months, which will pay off not just for the next two years but the next two decades.”
One of the biggest issues facing communities in the Wabash Valley and throughout the state of Indiana is available housing. Just south of Terre Haute in Knox County, the city of Vincennes is taking the issue head on with a $35 million apartment project.
It comes as work begins on the $83 million AgroRenew bioplastics plant that is expected to create more than 250 jobs. Knox County Indiana Economic Development CEO Chris Pfaff says growth opportunities will drive demand for even more housing options.
“Now with the AgroRenew project, we’ve really got a unique opportunity to build a bioplastics cluster in this region, whether that’s right in Vincennes or Knox County or even in our surrounding community.”
Officials say increased communication and collaboration among local stakeholders has been key to the region’s growth thus far and will continue to be important moving forward.
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Indiana
Latest forecast: How much snow will Indiana get Friday? When will it fall?
The Bloomington area will get more snow today. Here’s how much the National Weather Service now expects to fall and when.
How much snow will Monroe County get Friday?
Aaron Updike, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis said the Bloomington area is expected to get between 2 and 4 inches of snow.
Southern parts of Indiana could see even more, with Bedford projected to get close to 4 inches and areas closer to Louisville possibly seeing 6 inches.
When will the snow fall today in the Bloomington area?
Updike said the NWS expects the snow to begin around 11 a.m. and end about 12 hours later. However, he said, the day will bring periods of lulls and peaks, though those are more difficult to predict.
Generally, Updike said, the heaviest accumulation will occur from mid-to-late afternoon, around 2 to 6 p.m.
He urged commuters to take extra time and care, as they may experience slippery roads and sidewalks on their way home.
What kind of snow will be falling in Indiana on Friday?
Updike said the snow should be light and fluffy. The NWS expects only light wind, with gusts of 10 to 15 mph, which means the area should not expect to see much drifting snow.
How cold will it get in the Bloomington area tonight?
The NWS projects that the cloud cover will hang around the area for a while, which will contribute to temperatures falling only to about 20 degrees.
Is there a chance of snowmelt any time soon in Indiana?
Updike said temperatures should rise to near freezing on Sunday, and the area also might see some pockets of sunshine, which should help melt some snow especially on pavement and roads.
However, he said temperatures will not rise enough in the next few days to melt all of the snow.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
Indiana
Indiana Fever linked to trade for 2-time All-Star
Satou Sabally was immediately linked to the New York Liberty after announcing that she has played her final game for the Dallas Wings during Unrivaled Basketball’s media availability on Thursday. However, the Indiana Fever are another team who were recently mentioned as a possible trade suitor for the two-time All-Star, via Chloe Peterson of indystar.com.
Sabally’s announcement was the primary discussion swirling around the WNBA world on Thursday. The Wings will have the option to core Sabally, which will likely lead to a trade given her comments on Thursday. The chances of Dallas simply letting Sabally walk in free agency while passing on the option to core her are slim, but Sabally will likely still end up with a new team for the 2025 season.
The question is which team will she end up with? The defending-champion Liberty have Satou’s sister Nyara Sabally on the roster, so that may catch Satou’s attention. Joining an up-and-coming team like the Fever may also entice Satou, though.
There will be other candidates aside from Indiana and New York, of course. The Fever and Liberty both make sense as possible trade destinations for Satou Sabally, however. At only 26 years old, Sabally features the ceiling of a true superstar. If she can stay healthy, Sabally can significantly impact any team she joins.
Fever could trade for Satou Sabally
Sabally would add more star-power alongside Caitlin Clark in Indiana. Clark instantly became one of the most popular players in the WNBA in her rookie season during the 2024 campaign. Adding a star or two would help Indiana, though.
The Fever reached the postseason but were quickly eliminated in the first round. Indiana’s future remains bright, but they need to upgrade the roster around Clark. Sabally would turn the Fever into serious contenders.
If the Liberty find a way to acquire Sabally, however, the rest of the WNBA may be in trouble. With Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones already on the roster, the Liberty project to be a championship contender once again. Assuming Stewart returns, the Liberty will compete with or without Sabally, but adding her to the roster would turn New York into a super-team.
Sabally’s announcement on Thursday is already changing the landscape of the WNBA. Rumors will continue to swirl over the next few months. If Sabally is traded, which is seemingly expected at this point, whichever team acquires her will take a big step forward.
Indiana
Winter Weather Advisory issued for Friday morning across central Indiana
It was the coldest morning of the season so far across Central Indiana. For Indianapolis, we had our coldest temperatures since January 21, 2024 with a low of 5°. Crawfordsville and Columbus both had balmy lows of -8°. The clear skies, light winds and fresh snowpack allowed more heat to be released into the atmosphere. For tonight, it will still be chilly. But, we’ll have increasing clouds overnight ahead of our next snowmaker.
Tracking our next snow
This behemoth of a weather maker prompts winter headlines across several states across the United States. This includes Winter Storm Warnings from Raleigh, North Carolina through Dallas, Texas. Some spots in the northern Dallas suburbs could approach half an inch of snowfall overnight and into Friday. We’ll get our share of the snow Friday, too and it will come with commute impacts. Winter Weather Advisory kicks in at 4:00 a.m. Friday and sticks with us through 4:00 a.m. Saturday.
Most of the Friday morning commute should be okay. However, the tail-end of the commute could see some snow showers starting SW and west of Indianapolis. Because of this, a few slick spots can’t be ruled out but those will be few and far between. That activity will gradually spread NE throughout the morning and afternoon. It will become a steady snow from that time and stick around through the Friday p.m. commute. We anticipate that the p.m. commute will come with slowdowns and headaches. So plan ahead!
The snow will taper through the evening before exiting into the overnight hours. When all is said and done, most will end up with 2-4″ of snow. This will be the story through much of Central Indiana. Less snow likely further NW but more possible south and southeast. Those spots could approach 5.0″ in spots.
This will continue what has been a busy winter season for Central Indiana. Since October 1st, Indianapolis has 12.0″ of snow under its belt. Compared to last year’s 2.2″ to date, we have 10″ more snow overall. It’s the most snow to date in 11 years. A typical season (October 1st to May 1st) sees 25.5″ for Indianapolis.
Cold (and more snow) follow
The cold temperatures aren’t going anywhere following Friday’s snow. High temperatures in the 20s will be around through the weekend. We’ll “peak” with highs near 30° Sunday ahead of a frontal boundary. This clipper system could bring some snow showers Sunday night into Monday but those chances are low. If any snow were to occur, amounts would be low.
That will pass through late Sunday into Monday which will give us our next cold blast. Temperatures will tumble during the day Monday setting the stage for more cold. Highs in the teens on Tuesday and Wednesday as we remain dry. Lows in the single digits with subzero wind chills are also likely.
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