Indianapolis, IN
How to buy Eras Tour merch in Indianapolis – and no, you don’t need a concert ticket
Swifties line up days ahead of Eras Tour shows to secure merch
Taylor Swift fans shake off nerves and grab merch early to avoid long lines at The Eras Tour shows this weekend in New Orleans.
Swifties hoping to bring home a souvenir from the Eras Tour’s stop in Indianapolis are in luck. Official Taylor Swift merchandise will be available two days before the singer arrives in town.
The shop is open to all, so fans don’t need a concert ticket to get in.
Merchandise will be also be for sale inside the concerts on all levels of Lucas Oil Stadium.
When is the Indianapolis Eras Tour merch shop open?
The Eras Tour Merchandise Shop will be open Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 at the Indiana Convention Center. Hours are:
- Wednesday, Oct. 30: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 31: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 1: noon to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 2: noon to 8 p.m.
How can fans find the shop in the convention center?
Merchandise will be available in Hall I at the Indiana Convention Center.
To get in line, enter the Convention Center at Door No. 9 and follow signs for Exhibit Hall K.
Door No. 9 is at the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Georgia Street. It’s housed within the Georgia Street Cube, a large glass structure.
Once inside, turn left and walk toward the Crowne Plaza Skywalk. Exhibit Hall K will be the second room to your right, just before the bathrooms and skywalk.
What will be available for purchase?
Fans looking for a sneak peek can browse Swift’s online merchandise shop. The singer releases exclusive designs for each city she visits, so check back after her New Orleans tour stop (Oct. 25-27) to see what the Indy options look like.
Swifties can expect to see T-shirts, sweatshirts, posters and — of course — friendship bracelets.
Indianapolis, IN
1 critical after shooting on near east side of Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS — One person is in critical condition following a shooting on Indy’s near east side.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, around 8:10 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on reports of a person shot.
Upon arrival, police located a 50-year-old man with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.
He is currently reported to be in extremely critical condition.
No additional information has been made available at the time of this article’s publication.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
Indianapolis, IN
Indiana regulators approve $71 million rate increase for AES
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on June 17 gave AES the nod to raise electricity rates enough to earn an additional $71 million each year, a decision that drew reproof from Indiana lawmakers who called it another blow to cost-burdened consumers.
The approved rate represents less than half of the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It’s also less than the $91 million increase proposed in an October settlement agreement between AES, the city of Indianapolis and major electricity consumers like Kroger and Walmart.
But the new rate is still significantly more than what the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agency representing ratepayers in the case, recommended in September. The OUCC’s proposal would have capped AES’s annual operating revenue at $21 million less than the current level.
The rate increase authorizes AES to earn a total of nearly $2 billion each year, or an estimated $384 million in profit.
The higher base rate comes as a double whammy for Indianapolis-area households, who are already paying more for electricity this summer after AES temporarily raised rates to account for higher-than-anticipated fuel costs during last winter’s storms. The increase also arrives against the backdrop of inflation, which rose to a three-year high last month, and surging gas prices due to the war in Iran.
Gov. Mike Braun wrote in a Wednesday post to X that he was “deeply disappointed” by the IURC’s approval of the rate increase.
“Hoosiers have spent years tightening their belts and making tough financial decisions,” Braun wrote. “It’s time for utility companies to do the same.”
The IURC’s decision also drew fire from the other side of the aisle. In a June 17 news release, five Democrats representing Indianapolis in the state Senate – J.D. Ford, Andrea Hunley, La Keisha Jackson, Fady Qaddoura, and Greg Taylor – chastised Indiana’s Republican supermajority for failing to rein in rising utility costs.
“Hoosiers pay more. Monopoly utilities collect more. And the leaders in the super-majority who promise affordability over and over again show those are just empty words,” the news release said. “Instead, they continue to defend a system that takes more and more out of our paychecks.”
The consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition also slammed the rate increase. Ben Inskeep, CAC’s program director, said the decision left him “less optimistic that this commission is willing to do things differently and to actually hold utilities accountable.”
He said the IURC should have penalized AES for issues that plagued customers after the utility updated its billing system in 2023, including duplicated withdrawals for the same monthly bill.
The rate increase will take effect in two phases, with rates going up in July 2026 and January 2027. AES officials anticipate the hikes “will be less than $5 per month per phase” for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, according to a Wednesday news release from the utility.
“The IURC’s decision reflects a thorough, transparent process and balances the need for continued investment in the electric system with a focus on customer affordability,” the news release stated.
Under a state law that Braun signed in February, AES cannot ask for another increase to its base rate until January 2030 — though electricity bills could still go up for other reasons, like the fuel adjustment charge hitting consumers this month.
Three members of the five-member IURC signed off on the rate increase: Andy Zay, David Veleta, and David Ziegner. Commissioner Bob Deig dissented. Commissioner Anthony Swinger recused himself from the decision because he worked on the AES rate case for the OUCC before he was appointed to the IURC by Braun in January.
“None of this was taken lightly,” Zay, the IURC’s chair, said at the Wednesday hearing, adding that the commission and its staff had carefully weighed concerns about affordability. The commissioners did not go into further detail at the hearing.
But the commission’s order shows some of the debates that played out during the rate case. One point of contention was AES’s authorized return on equity — that is, how much the utility can earn each year in profits. Other disputes hinged on how AES forecasts its operating expenses.
The OUCC accused AES of including more than 100 “phantom hires,” vacant positions it did not necessarily intend to fill in its calculations. Last year, AES said that the rising costs of vegetation management, or trimming trees around power lines, also drove the need to raise rates. The OUCC recommended keeping vegetation management costs flat.
One factor that’s not driving higher prices? Data centers.
AES does not currently provide service to any data centers and did not include them in its calculations, AES president Brandi Davis-Handy said in testimony before the IURC.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
Indianapolis, IN
Tornado watch, issued for 47 counties, includes Indianapolis area
Interactive radar | Weather alerts by county
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE
(WRTV) — A tornado watch has been issued through 1 a.m. EDT Thursday for much of Indiana, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said.
The watch area covers 47 of Indiana’s 92 counties, and includes Indianapolis and its surrounding counties.
Counties in the watch area are Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Decatur, Delaware, Fountain, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, and White.
WRTV Meteorologist Ryan Morse says Wednesday afternoon’s rain was the first of two rounds coming to the Hoosier state. A line of supercells were expected to form in Illinois and travel into central Indiana.
In neighboring Illinois, dozens of counties are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. CDT/11 p.m. EST.
All threats of severe weather were on the table: damaging wind, strong tornadoes, large hail, and flooding.
Severe storms should exit Indiana in the early morning hours.
WISH-TV Meteorologist Keith Gibson says people should have multiple ways of getting alerts and have electronic devices fully charged in case they lose power.
The next chance for rain after these storms could be on Saturday.
-
New Hampshire5 minutes agoPortsmouth Pride 2026 is a protest and a celebration
-
New Jersey8 minutes agoHistorical marker recognizing Lawnside, New Jersey, to be unveiled Friday
-
New Mexico13 minutes agoEight Black New Mexican artists explore the concept of land through art
-
North Carolina20 minutes ago
NC ranks 9th nationally in business using AI
-
North Dakota23 minutes agoA hero’s return for WWII POW Irvin Ellingson
-
Ohio28 minutes ago
Licking County real estate transfers for June 1-5, 2026, hit $865,000
-
Oklahoma35 minutes agoMost Oklahoma voters didn’t cast a ballot during June’s primary election
-
Oregon38 minutes ago
Oregon Lottery Pick 4 results for June 18