Indianapolis, IN
Cost of living tops Indiana voters’ minds as primary nears
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A working mother told News 8 she’s not sure if any candidates have the answers to cost-of-living problems.
Lamia Nelson works as a nurse assistant and has her own home health care business. She also works multiple side gigs. Even with all that, she said she struggles to make ends meet for herself and her three children. Nelson pulled her two younger children out of their charter school and is having them take classes at home so that she can reduce transportation costs and avoid scheduling conflicts with her work.
Nelson said the rent for the home she and her children share has risen from about $900 a month eight years ago to $1,850 per month. She says it’s extremely difficult for working parents like her to properly invest time in their children while at the same time keeping the bills paid.
“Where’s the help here? If parents have to work all day because they need to be able to afford to keep a roof over their head, where are the programs at? Where is the assistance? Where’s the helping hand for single-parent families?” she said. “My kid needs help tutoring in school. I’m at work, I have to pull a double, who’s going to help with that? They’re putting so much money into the highways and streets, why don’t you do some programs for our children?”
Polling data shows she’s not alone. In a survey of about 1,500 voters conducted in February of this year for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, 37% of respondents said cost of living and affordability issues were the top issue they wanted Congress to address.
The second-highest category, protecting democracy, got top marks from 21%. An Ipsos poll conducted in October logged similar numbers, with 40% of respondents saying cost-of-living issues were their top concern.
According to Ball State University political science Prof. Chad Kinsella, cost-of-living issues dominate every election cycle because they affect every voter every day. Kinsella says voters tend to punish the party in power whenever their costs of living become too great.
President Donald Trump ran on affordability issues in 2024, and Democrats are doing the same thing in 2026. The Consumer Price Index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ measure of inflation, showed a 3.3% rise in costs for all items in March. Much of that was driven by a 12.5% increase in energy costs driven by oil prices. Those prices spiked as a result of the war with Iran and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil flows.
“Inflation and, you know, utility, gas prices, grocery prices, and everything, it affects people no matter where they are on the political spectrum,” Kinsella said. “And they’re aware of that. And people care. And so, I think talking about those matters, even if you’re in a primary election, it’s gonna matter.”
Lamia Nelson says gas prices are a problem for her, but rent and utilities are her biggest concerns. Moreover, she says whoever is running for office needs to come up with a plan to bring up worker pay.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average weekly wage in Indiana during the fall of 2025, the most recent quarter for which data is available, was $1,214, compared to $1,459 for the country as a whole.
That works out to about $63,000 per year in Indiana. Indiana’s minimum wage is tied to the federal minimum wage, which has been set at $7.25 per hour since 2009. The minimum wage would have to rise to $11.10 per hour to offset inflation since then.
“They need to focus on the rent prices, and I feel like the rent and utilities go hand in hand, and they need to focus on the pay. People cannot survive with these types of pay rates employers are giving. It’s ridiculous,” Nelson.
Nelson says cost-of-living issues are far and away her top issue when she goes into the voting booth, but says she doesn’t have high hopes about the candidates currently on the ballot.
“Of course, you’re going to want to go with who’s going to help us, but who is going to help us, in reality?” she said.
Early voting runs through May 4. Primary Day itself is on May 5. Click here to find out how to vote and check your voter registration.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Residents of Indianapolis’s near north side have a chance to help shape the future of their neighborhood.
Crossroads AME Church is hosting two community listening sessions to gather input on revitalizing the 32nd Street and Capitol Avenue corridor in the Crown Hill neighborhood.
The first session is 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Community Action of Greater Indianapolis, 3266 N. Meridian St. A second session is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 30, at the same location.
“We as a congregation do not want to undertake that initiative without getting input from the community,” said Reverend Jerry E. Davis III of Crossroads AME Church.
The corridor, located two blocks west of the Children’s Museum, has long been identified as an area in need of resources. Davis said the church’s research and conversations with community leaders have already surfaced concerns about access to food and pharmacy services. The area has been described by some as both a food desert and a pharmacy desert — a situation that worsened when a CVS near 38th Street and Illinois Street was replaced by a car wash.
“There is one less resource where perhaps within walking distance we can get the pharmaceutical needs that we have satisfied,” Davis said.
The July 14 session is designed as an open forum, with no limits placed on what residents can raise. Davis said the church wants to hear ideas that go beyond what research has already uncovered.
“We want to hear even beyond the numbers,” he said.
The July 30 session will give attendees a chance to return and prioritize the ideas and needs shared at the first gathering. Davis called the two sessions a “both and” opportunity, encouraging residents to attend both.
Both sessions offer in-person and virtual participation options. A free dinner will be provided at both in-person gatherings.
For more information, contact Crossroads AME Church.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Central Indiana is bracing for a prolonged stretch of intense heat as a strong ridge of high pressure becomes firmly established over the region. High temperatures are expected to climb into the low to mid-90s through Thursday, while heat index values — the combination of heat and humidity — will reach between 100 and 105 degrees each afternoon.
Today Through Thursday: Sustained Heat
A well-entrenched upper-level ridge will maintain hot, dry conditions through Thursday. Daytime heating coupled with suppressed atmospheric mixing will keep dew points elevated, and thus heat indices high, especially during peak afternoon hours between noon and 6 p.m.
Storm chances during this period are expected to remain very low as the stable, dry air mass suppresses convective development.
Late Week: Transition and Storm Chances
The heat will begin to subside by the end of the workweek as the high-pressure ridge weakens and shifts eastward. This opens the door for increased moisture return and the development of scattered showers and thunderstorms, particularly Friday and Saturday afternoons.
Models currently show some variation on the timing and extent of this moisture return, so forecasts may adjust as the weekend approaches.
Residual scattered storms will be possible into Sunday and Monday, but the main story shifts away from oppressive heat to more typical summer storm activity.
7 Day Forecast:
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is planning to close a few ramps connecting Interstate 65 and Raymond Street on the south side of Indianapolis later this month.
According to a release, the ramp from northbound I-65 to Raymond Street is due to close. The ramp ties I-65 northbound to both eastbound and westbound Raymond Street.
A ramp from westbound Raymond Street to I-65 northbound will also be shut down.
INDOT reported that the closures will allow crews to reconstruct the ramps with new asphalt. The closures will go into effect on July 24 around 6 a.m. The ramps are slated to reopen in October.
Traffic shift in downtown Indianapolis
In addition to the I-65 ramp closures, INDOT has also announced traffic shifts on Interstates 70 and 65 near downtown Indianapolis. The shifts are part of pavement improvements that are being made to portions of I-65 and I-70 between Fletcher Avenue and Washington Street.
Once the traffic shift is in place, northbound I-65 will be separated by a work zone and a barrier wall. The new pattern will force drivers who want to continue north on I-65 to keep left. Drivers aiming to exit for Washington Street will need to keep right before Fletcher Avenue.
Lane and ramp restrictions will be implemented when crews implement the shift. INDOT is expected to provide additional information on the timelines associated with the shifts next week.
While construction is ongoing, the speed limit on I-65 will be reduced to 45 mph.
The ramp closures and traffic shifts are both part of INDOT’s I-65 Safety and Efficiency project. The goal of the initiative is to replace pavement and add additional lanes along the interstate. Officials believe the project will help increase interstate capacity and improve pedestrian and traffic safety in the area.
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