Another 2-4 inches of snow are expected to arrive in Central Indiana on Friday.

If you are headed out to shovel a path out of your home after the heavy snowfall, the American Heart Association encourages Hoosiers to protect their hearts while shoveling. Shovelers should seek immediate treatment if they experience any signs or symptoms of a heart attack, the American Heart Association says.

Research shows that many people may face an increased risk of a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest after shoveling heavy snow.

“Shoveling snow can be a very vigorous activity, and you’re basically doing it in a freezer,” says Dr. William Gill, a cardiologist who is president of the American Heart Association board of directors in Indianapolis. “Those conditions can very quickly lead to stress on the heart.”

Here’s everything you need to know about snow removal in Indianapolis.

❄️: Expect more snow Friday in Indianapolis. See the forecast as winter advisory issued

Shoveling heavy snow (4 or more inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service) is a strenuous activity.

According to the American Heart Association, adults over the age of 45 should be cautious when shoveling snow as they may be at higher risk for a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest as a result of shoveling.

If someone has heart disease, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, they are at a higher risk of experiencing a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest as a result of shoveling snow.

Depending on where you live, snow removal might be required by your local government — and it may cost you if you don’t.

You may face fines if your local city ordinance mandates they should be promptly shoveled, and Indianapolis does have such an ordinance. Also if someone is injured after walking on a walkway that you should have shoveled, you could be held responsible.

For more information on when snow should be shoveled and how much the fines are, read the article below.

Winter weather: Fined for not shoveling snow? It could happen in Indianapolis

If you decide to hire someone to shovel your driveway, how much can that cost?

According to Lawn Love, the price of snow removal can vary depending on how large of a driveway, how many walkways and how much snow there is to remove.

In general, Lawn Love says the typical cost per visit for snow removal from a driveway can range $45 to $160. Most companies offering snow removal typically charge anywhere from $25 to $75 an hour. The prices could also vary if you add salt application.

If you’re going to shovel your own snow, the American Heart Association suggests these tips to make sure you are doing so safely:

• Give yourself a break. Take frequent rest breaks during shoveling so you don’t overstress your heart. Pay attention to how your body feels during those breaks.
• Don’t eat a heavy meal prior or soon after shoveling. Eating a large meal can put an extra load on your heart.
• Use a small shovel or consider a snow thrower. The act of lifting heavy snow can raise blood pressure acutely during the lift. It is safer to lift smaller amounts more times, than to lug a few huge shovelfuls of snow. When possible, simply push the snow.
• Learn the heart attack warning signs and listen to your body, but remember this: Even if you’re not sure it’s a heart attack, have it checked out (tell a doctor about your symptoms). Minutes matter! Fast action can save lives — maybe your own. Don’t wait more than five minutes to call 9-1-1
• Don’t drink alcoholic beverages before or immediately after shoveling. Alcohol may increase a person’s sensation of warmth and may cause them to underestimate the extra strain their body is under in the cold.
• Consult a doctor. If you have a medical condition, don’t exercise on a regular basis or are middle aged or older, meet with your doctor prior to the first anticipated snowfall.
• Be aware of the dangers of hypothermia. Heart failure causes most deaths in hypothermia. To prevent hypothermia, dress in layers of warm clothing, which traps air between layers forming a protective insulation. Wear a hat because much of your body’s heat can be lost through your head.

The American Heart Association urges people to learn the signs of a heart attack so they can recognize the signs and to call 9-1-1 immediately if they experience any of those signs.

Some heart attacks are sudden and intense like they are shown in movies and TV shows. This is what the American Heart Association calls a “movie heart attack,” where no one doubts what’s happening.

In reality, most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren’t sure what’s wrong and wait too long before getting help.

Here are signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

Calling 9-1-1 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Emergency medical services (EMS) staff can begin treatment when they arrive — up to an hour sooner than if someone gets to the hospital by car. EMS staff is also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Patients with chest pain who arrive by ambulance usually receive faster treatment at the hospital, too. It is best to call EMS for rapid transport to the emergency room. If you can’t access EMS, have someone drive you to the hospital right away.

“I can’t stress enough the urgency of getting proper treatment for a heart attack,” Dr. Gill says. “Don’t die of doubt. If you’re experiencing symptoms or something just doesn’t feel right, go get it checked out. Hospitals offer life-saving treatment.”

Jade Jackson and Monahil Ahmad contributed to this report.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news reporter at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman or Bluesky @katiewiseman

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The redevelopment of the City Market campus in downtown Indianapolis will start on the west side of the block this year, leaders say.

One of the most notable parts will be to take the historic catacombs and expose them for people to see from the street. The West Plaza will be sunken in to expose the catacombs, all while providing recreational green space.

Megan Vukusich, the director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, said Wednesday during a news conference, “We’re working with Indiana Landmarks, which really is helping provide that technical expertise from a historic preservation standpoint, but we are going to be daylighting the catacombs that sit below the West Plaza today, still retaining a portion of them.”

The City Market, located at 222 E. Market St. just south of the City-County Building, was closed March 1. Both the east and west wings of the building will be demolished as a part of this year’s project. They are not historic buildings, although the center Market House is.

Bill Taft, the senior vice president for economic development at the Local Initiatives Support Corp. in Indianapolis, said Thursday, “We were really happy to see this get used for 13 years or at least 12 years as a place where the community came together, and it has become a place that has a lot of great memories for me, and I am a little sad to see it going.”

The redevelopment of West Plaza will be part of the first phase of the project, which will also see a vacant office space known as the Gold Building transformed into 354 apartment units. About 10% of those apartments will be available as affordable housing. The cost will be $185 million, according to a Department of Metropolitan Development news release issued Thursday.

Vukusich said, “We’re excited to bring that building back online as residential units which addresses the need for housing in our community.”

Leaders says the West Plaza green space will serve as an amenity for the community and the people in the new apartments living directly above this area.

Redevelopment of the Market House will start in Phase Two.

A date to start redevelopment of the east side of the block has not yet been determined.

Previous Coverage

Indianapolis police announced on Wednesday that they had re-arrested the 18-year-old man who was allegedly involved with the Dec. 23 shooting at Castleton Square Mall.

Police re-arrested the 18-year-old Tuesday after discovering that an altercation in a Walmart chip aisle a few months prior led to the shooting inside of the mall, according to court documents.

Police preliminarily charged the man with intimidation. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department also said officers arrested a 17-year-old for his alleged role in the shooting and preliminarily charged them with dangerous possession of a firearm.

IndyStar is not naming the two people because they have not been formally charged with the alleged crimes.

The interview that led to the teen’s arrest

Chaos broke out at Castleton Square after gunfire could be heard inside the mall’s hall late Dec. 23, prompting people to run outside.

After evacuating and closing the mall early, police learned that a person may have been hurt in the shooting.

Security footage captured an 18-year-old man chasing someone with his right hand on a handgun tucked in his pocket. He left the mall’s camera view, and when he returned in the footage a short time later, police said he was seen with a noticeable limp and looked down at his left leg.

At the time, it was unclear what had specifically led up to the shooting, but a new preliminary arrest affidavit has answered several of those questions.

On Jan. 1, police interviewed the man seen on mall security footage running away from the teens before the shooting on Dec. 23, according to court documents.

The man explained that while he was shopping with a friend and his sibling, he noticed the teens staring at him, which made him feel “uncomfortable.”

While the man was walking toward a clothing store, the teens attempted to get his attention and confronted him outside of the store, according to court documents.

The man told police that he recognized the 18-year-old from a confrontation that happened at a Walmart in Avon earlier in the year, after the two had bumped hands in the chip aisle.

The 18-year-old told the man that he had “been waiting to catch up with you,” according to a record of the interview.

The man believed that the 18-year-old was one of his dead brother’s former “enemies” and assumed that’s why he was threatening the man. The man’s brother was an artist but after his death, the man had adopted his brother’s artist moniker and began publishing music using it, he told police.

When police asked the 18-year-old what led to the shooting, he explained that the man was threatening to fight him because of an altercation at Walmart. When asked if he had filed a police report about the matter, he told police that he had not, according to court documents.

Before the situation escalated, the man told police he asked the 18-year-old, “Y’all tryin to do this here in the mall? They got cameras everywhere.”

That’s when the 18-year-old allegedly threatened the man with his gun, prompting the man to run away.

Security camera footage captured the teens chasing after the man. The 18-year-old could be seen with a handgun with an extended magazine protruding from his pocket before the teens and the man ran out of the camera’s view, according to court documents.

At some point during the chase, the man ran into something and fell to the ground. When he turned around he saw the 18-year-old pointing a gun at him. Believing that he was about to be shot, the man pulled out his 9mm handgun and fired at the 18-year-old three times, according to court documents.

The man escaped into a store, ultimately exiting the mall through a storage room.

The 18-year-old could then be seen on security footage leaving with a noticeable limp to his left leg, according to court documents.

Police later interviewed the 18-year-old about the shooting while he was receiving care for the gunshot wound at an area hospital.

The 18-year-old’s re-arrest

The 18-year-old was initially arrested and charged by police immediately after the shooting, but the teen was released from police custody on Dec. 27, 2024, after the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office decided not to file criminal charges against him.

At the time, the prosecutor’s office noted that it did not file charges against the teen, instead opting to allow police to finish their investigation and determine what led to the shooting.

After interviewing the man, police investigated the matter further and determined that the 17-year-old was an acquaintance of the 18-year-old based on photos they found of the teens together on social media.

On Jan. 7, police obtained a search warrant of the 18-year-old’s home, and inside his room found pieces of clothing and accessories that the two had been wearing on the day of the shooting. Police then arrested the two teens.

Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com or follow him on X @1NoePadilla.