(WISH) — A tornado watch was issued until 3 a.m. EDT Saturday for counties northwest and west of Indianapolis, and into Illinois.

Indiana counties in the watch area are Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Elkhart, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Kosciusko, La Porte, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Parke, Pulaski, Putnam, St. Joseph, Starke, Tippecanoe, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren and White. The watch area includes the cities of Crawfordsville, Elkhart, Lafayette, Lebanon, South Bend, Terre Haute, and West Lafayette.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has issued two watches in Indiana. The other one until midnight EDT Friday includes the Indiana counties of Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter. That includes the city of Gary. That watch also extends into Illinois.

Storms on Friday night in central Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota led to dozens of confirmed tornado warnings. The storms in central Illinois has gusts up to 80 mph, and tornadoes embedded in heavy rain.

An alert issued after 10:30 p.m. Friday from the National Weather Service at Indianapolis said, “A line of strong thunderstorms is nearing the state line with a history of widespread damaging winds and tornadoes. The line is expected to continue to produce damaging winds as it moves into Indiana with the potential for additional tornadoes. The line is then expected to gradually weaken as it moves further into the state.”

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Athenaeum in downtown Indianapolis is getting ready to welcome spring with its annual St. Benno Festival this Saturday.

Organizers say it’s one of the longest-running cultural festivals in Indianapolis.

St. Benno Festival is based on the German tradition of “Frühlingsfest,” the springtime version of Oktoberfest, Athenaeum Foundation President Craig Mince says.

“It would always be the festival that would open up the beer garden,” Mince said. “So that was kind of their kickoff of the spring and that warmer season. “

The Athenaeum’s celebration focuses on St. Benno, the patron saint of anglers and the city of Munich, Germany.

There’s a lot of folklore surrounding St. Benno. He’s said to have created Bach beer. He also had a sidekick, “Einbeck,” which means “billy goat” in German.

Legend has it that when the invaders were coming to Munich, he threw the key to a church into a body of water. Years later, he caught a fish that had eaten the key and retrieved it.

“When the German immigrants came here to central Indiana, Indianapolis in particular, they started to organize,” Mince said. “They celebrated Benno. They celebrated Bach beer. So that was kind of the beginning of this institution.”

St. Benno Fest will include lots of beer, pretzels, and Gomez BBQ’s doner kebab.

Francene Thomas, the Athenaeum’s event and festivals manager, says there’s a lot of thought that goes into the menu.

“We want to definitely bring the tradition of this festival and continue that, but also, just bring some fresh flavor to it, too.”

The celebration serves as a fundraiser for the Athenaeum. Money raised will go back into maintenance and other events that promote German culture. 

Tickets are $25 and can be bought in advance on the Athenaeum website. St. Benno Fest is a 21+ event and runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

LAWRENCE, Ind. (WISH) — Lawrence Mayor Deb Whitfield on Thursday evening delivered this year’s State of the City address, outlining her vision for the city’s future.

Her address focused on community growth, development, public safety and the Live Longer in Lawrence initiative. The initiative was designed to reduce barriers to health care for residents.

The city also plans to emphasize arts and culture to ensure Lawrence’s 49,800 residents feel connected to the community.

The Democratic mayor emphasized her administration’s commitment to turning goals into tangible results. “In Lawrence, we are not in the business of ideas that sit on the shelf. We are turning vision into momentum. We are making plans and putting them into actions. We are taking opportunities and turning them into results.”

This story, created from a script aired on WISH-TV, was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and edits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness.