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Indianapolis councilors making decisions on $1 million in funding ahead of deadline

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Indianapolis councilors making decisions on  million in funding ahead of deadline


INDIANAPOLIS — A million dollars that comes with a deadline. Each of the 25 city-county council districts in Indianapolis will get $1 million to spend on infrastructure or parks projects, and they have until Friday, November 1st to decide.

“Where can we put our best money forth to really improve our environment,” said Mark Demerly with the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA). “I’m just hoping this is not a one-time opportunity.”

“Try to convince John [Barth] to spend all that money in Butler-Tarkington,” said Stephanie Patterson-Cline, President of the Butler-Tarkington Neighborhood Association. “We have, like, a lot of things that are coming in, but not like this, not like a million dollars for a project.”

“I got a lot to think about,” Councilor John Barth of District 7 said.

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A choice all 25 city-county councilors are facing: which projects— parks or public works— will get a million from the city’s 2025 budget.

Each councilor came up with their own method to decide how to spend the million dollars in their community. Some used surveys, data, or emails. Councilor Barth felt like meeting with his constituents Monday evening at the Broad Ripple Family Center, allowing them to see the projects and vote on their own was what he needed to do to make that decision.

“One of the most important things is to make sure that constituents feel heard,” Barth said. “I wanted to try to highlight areas in my district that hadn’t had as much investment to make sure that I’m equitably trying to spend money around the district.”

Demerly said he’s pulling for parks to get the funding, like Canterbury Park.

“Our parks department is at the bottom of the national list of funded systems and whatever we can do,” said Demerly. “I think parks are where we can make the best improvement.”

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While Cline hopes the money will go towards infrastructure.

“If you want to have a kid-centric neighborhood. You need to have streets that a kid can ride their bike on. But the streets are in such disrepair that if a kid wanted to go from one part to the other, even though it’s only four blocks, it’s really rough. You know? It’s just like they probably lose their teeth just going over the road,” Cline said.

Councilor Barth said he knows a million dollars will only stretch so far, but he wants to make the most out of the resources.

“If I could, I would do all of these things that do them tomorrow. But the truth is, we have limited resources, and we have to make tough choices, but if we make tough choices together, then we’re all in this together,” Barth said.

The Department of Public Works (DPW) provided each councilor with data on local complaints, to help them decide what areas they want to prioritize.

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Indianapolis councilman says ‘No Data Centers’ note was left at his home after someone opened fire

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Indianapolis councilman says ‘No Data Centers’ note was left at his home after someone opened fire


The home of a councilman in Indianapolis was shot at early Monday in what local police said was an “isolated, targeted incident.”

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The incident came less than a week after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission voted 6 to 2 on April 1 to approve rezoning to allow the construction of a data center.

Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents District 8 on the council, spoke out in support of the rezoning and the efforts to build the data center in his district.

“Earlier this morning, between approximately 12:45 a.m. and 12:50 a.m., just a few hours after Easter Sunday, an individual fired 13 rounds at the front door of my home and left a note on my doorstep that read, ‘No Data Centers,’” Gibson said in a Monday statement.


“No Data Centers” note, according to a photo taken by Councilman Ron Gibson. 

Councilman Ron Gibson

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The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it was called to the home on Monday morning, and officers found evidence that gunshots had been fired at the house. Police said no injuries were reported.

“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said in his statement.

The Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

The data center is set to be built by Metrobloks, a data center developer based in Los Angeles. Following the vote last week, Gibson shared a statement on social media promoting the project.

“Metrobloks has the potential to bring significant investment, create jobs, and generate long-term tax revenue that supports infrastructure, housing, and essential services,” the statement said.

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A data center boom is happening across the US, with companies pouring billions into building the infrastructure to keep up with demand in the era of AI. The data centers have faced increased opposition, with critics pointing to the high resource costs, from water to energy, and other issues like noise pollution, as detailed in a Business Insider investigation.





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Recorder Rewind: NCAA Division III basketball championship (Photos)

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Recorder Rewind: NCAA Division III basketball championship (Photos)


The University of Mary Washington men’s basketball team won the 2026 NCAA Division III national championship on April 5, defeating Emory University 75-73 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to secure the first national title in program history.



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Indianapolis City-County Councilor says IMPD officer shoved him during protest

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Indianapolis City-County Councilor says IMPD officer shoved him during protest


INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis City-County Councilor says he was shoved by a police officer during a protest Saturday night.

In a post on Facebook, Jesse Brown — who represents council district 13 — indicated that a member of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department approached a group of protestors and began shoving and grabbing them.

“Tonight, an IMPD officer approached a group of protestors from behind/beside them, did not identify himself or issue verbal orders, but started grabbing and shoving people and cussing at them to move (we were stuck behind other people blocking the sidewalk),” Brown wrote on Facebook.

Brown added that he asked the officer for his badge number and told him he was a City-County Councilor.

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“I told the IMPD officer who was shoving people that I wanted his badge number,” Brown wrote. “He refused to give it. I told him I was a City Councilor. He said that he didn’t care WHO I was and grabbed my arm to shove me as well.”

Brown finished his post by confirming that he filed a formal incident report on his encounter with the officer. He also offered some criticism for the officer in the final sentence of his post.

“Officers have a difficult job, but if this is how he treated two white male candidates / elected officials, I do not trust him to serve the public and de-escalate tense situations.”

Jackson Franklin, who is running for Indiana’s fifth district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was also involved in the incident. He made a Facebook post with greater detail on the incident.

Franklin said he, Brown and others were protesting near Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of Saturday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four games. Franklin said he and other protestors were at the Final Four “to demand the NCAA stop using the same airliners that ICE uses to break apart and deport families in this racist injustice system.”

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A report from The Athletic that was syndicated by Yahoo Sports indicates that at least one airliner has contracts with the NCAA to transport student-athletes to tournaments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants.

In his post, Franklin said the officer involved in the incident “shoved/assaulted many of the protestors, including Indianapolis City-council person Jesse Brown.” Franklin added that the officer did not provide any warnings before he began shoving protestors

“I thought initially it was going to be some MAGA person just walking past that was offended by our anti-ICE chants, but I turned around and noticed that he was wearing a uniform,” Franklin wrote in his Facebook post. “It was only then he gave his commands to continue to move and he immediately went to push around many others, using his uniform as an excuse to harass those he disagreed with politically.

“There was absolutely no need for violence and the protest organizers filed a complaint, but I have no hope of any action occurring because of this complaint. While the lone officer assaulted us, there were about 10-15 other officers looking around awkwardly unsure of what to do, not protecting our first amendment right while also probably realizing the officer was way out of line and should have just asked us nicely to keep the movement on the public sidewalk going quicker rather than using violence as the first and only answer.”

FOX59/CBS4 reached out to IMPD for a statement on Brown and Franklin’s comments. As of this article’s publication, the agency had not responded to those inquiries.

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Brown has been at the center of multiple city-county council disputes over the last 14 months. In February 2025, Brown — whose district encompasses portions of downtown and the near east side of Indy — said the city-county council’s democratic caucus expelled him from their ranks.

Brown also introduced a motion to remove the council’s president and vice president in July.

As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident Brown, Franklin and others were involved in had been made available.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

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