INDIANAPOLIS — Now retired, Michigan fans Glenn and Elizabeth Pluhar have time on their hands. Time to follow the Wolverines to their third-straight Big Ten championship.

“We’ll always try to make it here when Michigan is here,” Elizabeth Pluhar said. 

The Pluhars live a couple hours north of Ann Arbor, which is a four-hour drive to Indianapolis. They haven’t had a chance to come he for the championship game before this year, but so far, Indianapolis has exceeded expectations.

“I’m amazed at how clean the city is,” Glenn Pluhar said. “It looks like there’s a lot to do, although we didn’t have the luxury of spending a lot of time here because we drove in.”

Indianapolis has hosted the Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium since its inception in 2011. With Washington, Oregon, UCLA, and USC joining the conference next year, though, the Big Ten said it will consider bids from a variety of cities — including on the West Coast.

More: What happens in Vegas… may not be the Big Ten football championship game.

Ahead of the Big Ten Championship Game between Michigan and Iowa on Saturday, IndyStar talked to Michigan and Iowa fans outside the stadium

The two fanbases agreed on one thing: They don’t want the Big Ten Championship Game to move to the West Coast, whether that be Las Vegas, Southern California, or anywhere else.

“Indy has a good reputation of putting on a good show for events,” Michigan fan Jake Castle said. “It’s also a good neutral site.”

Proximity was one of the main factors Castle likes about Indianapolis as a host — no matter what current Big Ten team makes the championship, he said, it’s within the same part of the country.

Dave Rozendaal, an Iowa fan who now lives in Missouri, also likes the proximity. Iowa City is about five and a half hours from Indianapolis; where Rozendaal lives is about seven hours.

“It’s an easy, easy drive to get here,” Rozendaal said. “There’s lots of room to spread out, and it’s a wonderful venue.”

When it comes to the Big Ten Championship Game, Michigan fan Joe Feliz doesn’t think there is any competitive advantage with the West Coast teams potentially coming to the Eastern side of the country.

“I think it’s pretty even for them to get into the Big Ten championship game,” Feliz said. “They would have already had to beat teams on the east coast, and I don’t think having it here would be a big enough advantage for one of the original Big Ten teams.”

And before the game can come to the West Coast, Rozendaal thinks those teams need to prove themselves.

“I know that they’re bringing in those schools from the West Coast, so I’m sure that’s what’s helping make that decision,” Rozendaal said. “I think, still, if they’re going to come to the Big Ten, they need to come to the Midwest.

“Let’s let them develop and get into the conference first, and then if they have good years of work here, so be it.”

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Animal experts are giving dog owners across Indiana guidance on how to best protect their pets from a respiratory illness that has been affecting dogs across the country.

Case reports show that the illness can impact all breeds and sizes of dogs. In a news release from the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, veterinarians from throughout Indiana, including Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Evansville, are reporting cases of the mystery illness.

Dr. Melissa Justice, a veterinarian with the Board of Animal Health, suggests travel and boarding may generate a spike in cases in the coming holiday season.

“Dog owners should not be worried—instead, exercise caution and be intentional in protecting the health of their pets,” Justice said.

To keep your beloved pet from getting sick, Justice says to reduce contact with large numbers of unknown dogs when possible and avoid communal water bowls shared by multiple dogs. Dogs that are commingled could be at greater risk for developing illness.

Justice also says dog owners should be vigilant in monitoring dogs for signs of illness.

Keep sick dogs at home whenever possible, and if a dog develops a persistent cough or lethargy, a veterinary visit is recommended.

Most cases start with a dry, hacking cough that resembles “kennel cough.” Within the next one to two weeks, dogs may start to show signs of lethargy, fever, decreased appetite, nasal and/or eye discharge, respiratory distress, or pneumonia.

If the cough persists longer than a week, Justice says dog owners should contact their veterinarian.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department released bodycam footage Friday from an October police shooting at a Speedway gas station on the near southeast side.

The officer who fired his weapon was identified as IMPD Patrol Officer Ryan Thomas, who has been with the department for eight years.

Around 7 a.m. on Oct. 19, several Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were wrapping up an unrelated robbery investigation at a Speedway gas station, 2053 Shelby St., when someone told them a man in a car in the parking lot had an active warrant.

The man was later identified as 38-year-old Antoine Beech.

Officers found Beech sitting in the front passenger seat of a white Chevy Impala parked at the gas pumps. Three officers approached Beech, and police say they saw a firearm within his reach.

Officers can be heard in the bodycam footage commanding Beech not to go for his firearm and to show his hands. Police then saw Beech move for his gun, and that is when Thomas shot him in his right hand.

IMPD says Thomas’ bodycam did not activate during the incident. Another officer’s bodycam also did not activate, but was manually activated following the shooting.

Police say that due to the low quality of the gas station’s security camera video, the moment Thomas fired his weapon was not visible.

Officers provided Beech medical aid until emergency services arrived. Along with the gunshot wound to his right hand, IMPD says he had a laceration to his chest.

Beech was stable when transported to Eskenazi Hospital. He was arrested on active warrants for dealing cocaine, resisting law enforcement, and driving while intoxicated. He is facing an additional charge of unlawful possession of a firearm. A court date is set for Feb. 14.

No officers or uninvolved people were injured.

The shooting is being investigated by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, the IMPD Critical Response Team, and IMPD Internal Affairs.