Indianapolis, IN
Indy wildlife: State and city parks offer wild views
Cooped up? Hiking trails await.
Here are five Hoosier hikes, from cakewalk-easy, to fiendishly difficult that you can plan to do in an hour, or a four-day weekend.
When Hoosiers need a break from phone screens and notification pings, there are plenty of opportunities to spend some time in the fresh air and see native wildlife in natural habitats.
You can spot Bald Eagles at Eagle Creek Park and maybe some coyotes at Fort Harrison State Park.
Here are some of the best places to visit to spot native wildlife in Indianapolis, or close by.
Fort Ben is bustling with wildlife
Fort Harrison State Park, in Lawrence, is a great birding spot with trails that wrap around Delaware Lake or trace the banks of Fall Creek.
Emilie Sweet, a naturalist at Fort Ben, said there are a variety of bird species that stop by the park, especially during migration season, which is in April and May in the spring and September and October in the fall.
While the park is a must-visit for birders, there also is a large white tail deer population that is best spotted during early morning hours, Sweet said.
There are also coyotes at the park, though Sweet said these aren’t as common to see, but there are mink, beaver and muskrats that can be seen along Fall Creek and near Duck Pond.
Herpers can find aquatic turtles basking on logs near different snake species that call Fort Ben home.
Visit Fort Harrison State Park at: 6000 N. Post Road, Indianapolis, IN 46216
Wildlife finds a home in Indy Parks
Eagle Creek Park is one of the largest city parks in the country as with trails through the woods and along the reservoir, wildlife is abundant.
Birders will enjoy scoping out trails, fields and meadows at Holliday Park, Marott Woods Nature Preserve, Southeastway Park and Riverside Park.
Alex Cortwright, with Indy Parks, said the Fall Creek and 30th Park has the Fall Creek Greenway that cuts through it, and wildlife enjoys using that trail, too.
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Wildlife spotting within a short drive from Indy
Out near Anderson, northeast of Indy, Mounds State Park offers excellent bird-watching opportunities as it’s on the Indiana Birding Trail.
Kelley Morgan, naturalist at Mounds, said even folks not wanting to hike the trails can take shelter at the wildlife observation area inside the park’s nature center. Birds and other wildlife can be spotted here from the comfort of the center’s couches.
There’s also a honey bee hive at the center. The park works with local veterans to help combat PTSD, and they tend the hives.
While no Bald Eagles are nesting at the park now, Morgan said some visit the park daily. There is also habitat to support great blue herons, green herons, egrets, kingfishers and many different songbirds.
If anyone is around the park during dusk, Morgan said there are screech and barred owls that call out as the sun is setting.
Much like Fort Ben, Mounds is surrounded by development but still sees its fair share of mammals. Deer, red fox and coyotes can be spotted traipsing around the park.
Visit Mounds State Park at: 4306 Mounds Road, Anderson, IN 46017
How to be responsible when viewing wildlife
While witnessing soaring eagles and spotting the white tails of deer is an experience, these are wild animals and must be treated with respect.
Hoosiers visiting these parks also are visiting the homes of these animals and should stay on marked trails and leave no trace of the visit.
Don’t disturb the wildlife’s natural habitat, Sweet said. Minimizing human interference is important to keep the park’s animal populations safe and healthy.
Do not try to touch wildlife unless they are in danger. Sweet said moving a turtle out of the road is fine, but don’t try picking them up out of the creek or other natural areas.
Ethan Plumier, with Indiana Department of Natural Resources, has six main tips for ethical wildlife viewing:
- Give wildlife space: The best relationship with wildlife is a long-distance one
- Keep it clean: Don’t litter and pick up trash
- Keep your hands to yourself
- Keep your snacks to yourself: wildlife can find their own food
- Keep pets at home or leashed
- Lead by example: help others become wildlife watchers
Tips for seeing wildlife in Indy
Strategies for viewing wildlife will depend on the species Hoosiers hope to spot, Plumier said. Bird spotting can be done from a car with binoculars but there are other ways to spot some off the roads.
One place Plumier recommends heading is where habitats transition. This can be from woods into a wetland or a field. These edges are a highway for wildlife and have everything an animal needs from food to safety.
“Just plop down along the edge of the woods and see what’s moving,” Plumier said. “Go as deep as you want, sit down, be quiet and see what happens.”
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Indianapolis, IN
Between Springfield And Indianapolis Is Illinois’ Cozy City With A Buzzing Main Street – Islands
Resting between the United States’s pulsing coasts and among its inland cities-du-jour (lookin’ at you, Austin, Texas), lies an embarrassment of bite-sized riches. Small, intimate locales that offer a counterweight to New York City’s megawatt pulse, or San Francisco’s erudite cool. Places like Monticello, a cozy Illinois city with a lively Main Street that may be the exact opposite of the Instagram-worthy destinations drawing masses of visitors. Sandwiched between Springfield and Indianapolis, the small city of about 6,000 instead offers a big dose of small-town charm and humility.
Monticello holds an underappreciated place in history. Abraham Lincoln, still a young lawyer, spent time in the local Tenbrook Hotel as he traveled the Eighth Judicial Circuit, cutting his teeth as an aspiring legal mind. He also had a knack for turning social events inside out. One infamous scene involved Honest Abe persuading children to heat an inflated pig’s bladder in a fireplace. The ensuing explosion sent hot coals all over the room, with Lincoln setting a broom on fire trying to clean up the mess.
You won’t find any bouncy pig bladders or flaming brooms, but his time in the area is commemorated with “Looking for Lincoln” plaques scattered at places he frequented during his time there and the rest of Illinois. Monticello gladly embraces its history, offering a perfect counterbalance to Urbana-Champaign, a trendy college town with thriving arts and vibrant culture that’s 30 minutes away. It’s an idyllic weekend getaway for travelers tired of slapping hashtags on everything.
Check out Main Street, dine, and ride the rails
The cozy city offers a Baby Bear’s porridge version of a big-ticket destination: not so overwhelming that the average traveler burns out from the heat, yet also not so chill that it leaves visitors twiddling their thumbs. The town’s downtown area, which orbits around Main Street, gives visitors a chance to see the small city’s best offerings and spend a little cash. There’s No Place Like Home, just off Washington Street, has a delightful collection of antiques, jewelry, and upcycled tchotchkes that make splurging a guilt-free exercise. Mary, Maude & Me, an antique store just two blocks away in a charming little brick house, has a similarly eclectic, well-curated inventory of vintage wares. Next, it’s time to chug along to the town’s biggest draw.
Any visit must include a stop at the Monitcello Railway Museum. Its weekend train rides offer a time portal back to an era when rails and steam engines helped small towns like Monticello expand. Bookended by two depots, the museum’s dozens of historic trains reward passengers with a sense they’re on the set of a “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Afterward, your stomach will likely grumble. Thankfully, Monticello offers plenty of dining options.
The smattering of small eateries covers a wide breadth of humble food options, sans white tablecloths. Hankering for some Mexican? Casa Real and Las Marias have you covered. Those in more of a lunch pail and hard hat mood can hit the Brown Bag Deli. Its mix of wraps, sandwiches, and full-on meals will satiate exactly the ravenous hunger one feels after spending time on a railroad.
The ins and outs of visiting Monticello
No matter where you’re traveling from, you’ll need a car to reach the city. Despite its proximity to several larger metropolises, Monticello’s closest airport is the University of Illinois Willard Airport, a comparatively small hub that often requires a transfer at Chicago O’Hare to reach. The closest major transit hub, Indianapolis International Airport, unfortunately, is two hours away. The drive in, however, offers plenty of worthwhile pit stops. About halfway between the airport and Monticello, you’ll find Danville, an underrated Illinois city that’s a peaceful lakeside retreat.
Monticello’s diminutive size limits your available accommodations. A single chain hotel and a smaller inn are the only available options, costing between $75 and $200. Decatur, itself an underrated Midwest gem with trails, public art, and a zoo, sits about half an hour away and offers some more places to overnight.
While there’s no wrong time to visit Monticello, the muggy summers and chilly winters mean the weather’s most pleasant during the shoulder season. If you’re in town between June and October, include a stop at the city’s farmers’ market. Local vendors offer everything from baked goods to flowers, along with the usual smattering of fresh produce. No inflated pig bladders, though.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday told News 8 tougher enforcement in Indiana and at the U.S.-Mexico border saved lives last year.
The Indiana State Police said state troopers seized 1,574 pounds of cocaine last year, including 1,100 pounds taken from a U-Haul truck. They also seized 88 pounds of fentanyl powder, nearly 73 pounds of heroin and 191,000 fentanyl pills.
State police said those are records as far as they know. For comparison, state police seized 919 pounds of cocaine, 73 pounds of fentanyl powder and 20 pounds of heroin in 2024.
In an interview with News 8, Braun said state police have changed some of their techniques, including how they approach commercial vehicle enforcement.
“You see the semis get pulled over, that’s generally for a safety check, maybe a taillight being out. Well, they’re going to the next step just to make sure nothing else is amiss,” he said.
Braun credits those enforcement efforts, along with supply disruptions due to the Trump administration’s tougher border policies, with a drop in drug overdose deaths. The state health department’s drug overdose dashboard shows 562 overdose deaths in the first half of 2025 compared to 869 during the same period in 2024, a drop of roughly 35%. The department’s data for 2025 and 2024 is preliminary and is current only through August 5 of last year.
Substance abuse treatment advocates said tougher enforcement and better access to treatment both play a role in reducing overdose deaths. Overdose Lifeline founder Justin Phillips said fentanyl is now present in virtually every illicit drug, so access to the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone is a must. She said the biggest obstacle people battling addiction in Indiana face is being able to navigate the treatment options that are available to them. Phillips said Indiana 211 is an excellent resource.
“Parents and caregivers and people who love someone with substance use disorder need tools to understand how to still navigate those resources and know what questions to ask and how to get their own recovery, because the whole family suffers, not just the individual,” she said.
Phillips said overdose deaths spike in the immediate aftermath of large-scale drug busts because users are unable to work with their usual dealers and turn to new dealers who might sell even more adulterated substances. In Marion County, Overdose Lifeline and the Marion County Health Department run a text alert system called CHARIOT that can alert users to bad batches and large-scale seizures, as well as connect them with naloxone and treatment services.
Braun said he plans to ask for increased funding for substance abuse and mental health programs when lawmakers begin their next budget session in 2027. He said the December revenue forecast indicates the state will have more money to work with than state economists feared during the final days of budget negotiations last year.
“When you are doing things that are working so well, you continue doing it,” he said. “And as we gather information in terms of new things to do, looking at what other states might do, we’ll do all of that. But when you go from over 1,600 overdoses (in 2024) to 562 (in the first half of 2025), that’s an Allelujah moment.”
Users can sign up for CHARIOT by texting that word to 833-274-7039.
Without a first round selection, when is the Indianapolis Colts’ first pick in the 2026 NFL draft?
Looking ahead to the 2026 NFL draft, what selections do the Indianapolis Colts have this year?
With a record of 8-9, the Colts finished the 2025 season with the 16th-best record. However, they won’t be picking at 16th overall in the first round.
In order to acquire cornerback Sauce Gardner from the Jets, the Colts traded away their 2026 and 2027 first-round draft picks to New York.
So the first time that the Colts will be on the clock come April is in Round 2 and with the 47th overall pick, according to Tankathon.
In total, the Colts currently have five draft picks in 2026. Along with trading away their first-rounder, GM Chris Ballard also traded the Colts’ sixth-round draft pick as part of the trade that brought Mekhi Blackmon over from Minnesota.
- Round 2, pick 47
- Round 3, pick 78
- Round 4, pick 113
- Round 5, pick 154
- Round 7, pick 230
Now, the Colts are projected to receive two compensatory picks in the sixth and seventh rounds. This would bring the Colts’ total number of selections up to seven.
According to Over the Cap, those picks will be awarded to the Colts for EJ Speed and Joe Flacco leaving in free agency last offseason.
At this time, however, those compensatory picks have not yet been made official by the NFL.
NFL.com lists quarterback, linebacker, defensive linemen, and offensive tackle as the Colts’ biggest offseason needs.
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