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Holy Cross residents cling to hope despite closure of neighborhood’s namesake church

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Holy Cross residents cling to hope despite closure of neighborhood’s namesake church


The 317 Project tells stories of life in all of Indianapolis’ vibrant neighborhoods – 317 words at a time. Have a tip for a story in one of Indianapolis’ neighborhoods? Let us know at 317project@indystar.com.

The bell tower soars above homes and trees in the Holy Cross neighborhood on the near east side of Indianapolis. 

The church itself has stood for more than 100 years at the intersection of Oriental and Ohio Streets: a landmark and gathering space for the community where parishioners stayed for hours after mass partaking in coffee and doughnuts and the gym served as a polling place for elections.

“Everything went around the church and the parish and the families and it was a very tight group,” said Ron Frazee, who grew up in the neighborhood, attended church and Holy Cross school and worked on church renovations in the early 2000s. 

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Indy Catholic churches: Demographic changes drove closing of 3 Catholic parishes in 2014

Holy Cross Parish shut its doors nine years ago. The school closed in May at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. It’s not clear what’s next for the neighborhood’s namesake.

Fencing and “Keep Out” signs surround the building. Boards cover openings that once held stained glass windows. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis in a statement said it is evaluating options for the future of the site but has no specific plans right now.

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Thérèse Reckley actually moved to the neighborhood in 2008 after working at the school for years. She loved it, which makes the church’s current state “devastating.” 

“It has a whole different meaning for me right now,” Reckley said. 

Closing Holy Cross created a “hole” in the neighborhood, said Jen Higginbotham, the neighborhood association president. The chainlink fence blocks access to the building where people once felt welcome inside the large wood doors, she said.

The church in the ’70s and ’80s was “a vibrant focal point” for the area, said Marion County historian Steve Barnett, who had his daughter baptized there.

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Neighbors continue to hope for the church to reopen its doors with a new purpose and welcome the community back in.

Contact IndyStar’s state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.





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Indianapolis, IN

1 dead, 1 critical in double shooting on Indy's northeast side

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1 dead, 1 critical in double shooting on Indy's northeast side


INDIANAPOLIS — One person is dead and another is in critical condition after a double shooting on the northeast side of Indianapolis Sunday evening, police said.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, around 7:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of person shot in the 10000 block of E. 42nd St.

Upon arrival, officers located two victims with gunshot injuries. Police said one of the victims was pronounced deceased and the second victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

An investigation is underway.

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Police have not released any further details.





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Indianapolis, IN

Former Colts Defender Says Goodbye to Indianapolis

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Former Colts Defender Says Goodbye to Indianapolis


One of the Indianapolis Colts‘ biggest Day 3 draft hits is moving on.

On Saturday, former Colts starting linebacker E.J. Speed agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the AFC South division-rival Houston Texans. Speed grew up in Fort Worth, TX, about 260 miles outside of Houston.

The Colts selected the little-known Speed out of tiny Tarleton State University in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In that time, he worked his way up from core special teamer to the unenviable task of replacing former All-Pro Shaquille Leonard in the middle of a season.

On Saturday, Speed took to social media to say goodbye to Indianapolis.

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“Thank you INDY, I LOVE YALL,” Speed posted to Instagram and X, including a highlight video of his career with the Colts.

What happens next for the Colts? Don’t miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second and sign up for our free newsletter and get breaking Colts news delivered to your inbox daily!

Speed’s posts received positive messages and well-wishes from former Colts teammates such as Laiatu Latu, Bobby Okereke, Dezmon Patmon, Jake Funk, and Jabaal Sheard.

Since coming to the Colts, Speed started 32-of-92 games, totaling 354 tackles (27 for loss), 2.0 sacks, 4 QB hits, 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception, and 12 pass breakups. He also blocked a punt in 2020 that was recovered for a touchdown, and he recovered two blocked punts for touchdowns in 2021.

Follow Horseshoe Huddle on Facebook and X, and subscribe on YouTube for multiple Colts live-stream podcasts per week.





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Indianapolis, IN

New Midwest Jazz Collective tour makes stop in Indianapolis; aims to bring more artists to the region

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New Midwest Jazz Collective tour makes stop in Indianapolis; aims to bring more artists to the region


A new Midwest collaboration between venues aims to create a more economically viable tour route here and bring more national jazz artists to the region. The Midwest Jazz Collective tour launched this month, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it makes its inaugural tour stop at The Jazz Kitchen in South Broad Ripple this weekend.

Founding member Kyle Knoke said he was inspired by the success of a Central Wisconsin collaboration he co-founded, the Jazz Coterie.

“We have the same desires in sharing the music of touring artists, but are always up against the financial challenges of being able to to make the booking happen,” Knoke said. “Working together again, I think that whole price point scenario and expense scenario shifts into the realm of something being possible.”

The collective started with emails and calls to clubs in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota.

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Owner of The Jazz Kitchen David Allee was in one of those calls.

“I mean, it’s a no brainer,” Allee said. “We want to bring more and more artists into the area.”

Allee said the collaboration helps everyone financially and also allows the sharing of ideas and resources to promote performances. 

“To have a little extra help from everybody making that happen, certainly is a plus, and it’s great for the artists too, because they can get a consistent amount of work,” he said. “It’s also maybe a beneficial thing for us to be able to leverage the fees.”

The roughly three week tour keeps travel time between clubs between two to four hours. The string of venues together, with short drives between each show, is similar to tours in Europe. It is also similar to the way touring was historically done in the U.S.

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“Back in the day there was a lot more artists like piling in the car, you know, putting the drums in the back seat and going from town to town,” reflects trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III. He is the Midwest Jazz Collective’s first artist to do the route.

“But the reality of the economics of everything, it just really became, you know, not feasible,” Benack said.

He also described how even well known musicians can struggle to break even on a tour.

“It comes out where the artists are saying, ‘well, we’re lucky to break even, you know, if we need to sell out every show just to cover our expenses.’”

He said the partnership between venues helps reduce potential financial losses, as clubs have shows on week nights that might otherwise be difficult to book. The tour also includes educational workshops, including one at Butler University, with the touring artist.

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“So not only do we come to the students and go into the schools and do a workshop, but also I’m encouraging a lot of the students to then come to the gigs and sit in,” said Benack.

Midwest Jazz Collective founding member and organizer Kyle Knoke said he hopes to learn from the inaugural tour what works and what might need adjusting.

“I am actually planning on taking the tour with the band,” Kanoke said. “It sounds a little crazy, but I would like to, first hand, be able to meet these presenters and these club owners and take kind of a real time temperature on everybody’s spirit with this collective idea.”

Kanoke said he sees the collective putting together a tour once a quarter.

For Indianapolis local jazz musician Rob Dixon, he hopes to see future collaboration with other jazz organizations and possibly have Midwest artists perform the tour route.

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“I’ve always strived for, like, to have a lot of Indianapolis artists just be involved more in the national scene,” Dixon said. “I’m just really on that, supporting, you know, getting Indianapolis more involved in traveling and touring.”

The Midwest Jazz Collective is in Indianapolis this weekend with Benny Benack III quartet performing at The Jazz Kitchen Saturday and Benack teaching a masterclass at Butler University Sunday.

The tour runs through April 10 and ends in Chicago.

Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org.



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