From texts to town halls, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is rolling out a variety of tools to prepare Hoosiers on the Healthy Indiana Plan for new work requirements.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, Indiana will implement work requirements for new applicants and existing Medicaid members eligible under HIP, which provides healthcare coverage for the state’s Medicaid expansion population.

Those adults generally will have to complete and report at least 80 hours per month of work, job training, education, community service or another qualifying activity to remain covered. The state will review compliance at least every six months.

The state will look back at the previous three months of activity to determine eligibility. That means anyone applying starting Jan. 1 will have to meet the requirements going back to October. Current members will have to prove compliance on a rolling basis when their renewal date comes up.

The changes will not apply to everyone on Medicaid. Children, pregnant women, older adults, people enrolled in Medicare and many people with disabilities or caregiving responsibilities are among those expected to be exempt. A parent caring for a child age 13 or younger, for example, would not have to meet the requirement, while a child enrolled in Medicaid would never be expected to report work.

To help raise awareness of the new work requirements, starting July 21, the state will periodically text HIP members general information about the new requirements. The text message will be sent from the phone number 43816and will not contain or ask about case information or have an impact on an individual’s HIP benefits or application.

The agency has also created a screening tool for HIP members check to see if they would but subject to or exempt from the work requirements. To use the tool, individuals will be asked to provide information on:

• If an exemption applies to them
• Health-related questions
• Work activities
• Income

Once the information is entered, they will be able to review and submit their answers to see if they would be required to meet HIP Work Requirements. The information is entered anonymously and is not stored or shared. Responses are used only to generate an individual’s screening results and are not accessible after the session ends.

• August 17 – Ivy Tech Elkhart
  • Community Center 3 and 5 – 22531 County Road 18, Goshen, IN 46528
  • Time: 6  to 7:30 p.m. ET
• September 1 – Ivy Tech Fort Wayne
  • Auditorium – 3800 N Anthony Blvd. Ft. Wayne, IN 46805
  • Time: 6 to 7:30 p.m. ET

The post State rolls out tools to prepare for new Medicaid work requirements appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

By Leslie Bonilla Muniz
Indiana Capital Chronicle

Gov. Mike Braun fired Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioner Andy Zay from his post on Monday — just six weeks after Zay voted in favor of an AES Indiana rate hike and was demoted from IURC chair.

“Zay was discharged from employment with the State of Indiana today, August 3, 2026, for non-adherence to state policies and laws related to his role as Commissioner at the IURC,” agency spokesman Kirollos Barsoum said in an email to the Capital Chronicle.

More specifically, SPD said Zay was dismissed for “multiple potential violations of state policy; including failing to file a required financial disclosure after his removal as Chair, improperly awarding payments and personal gifts to employees, and directing staff to alter a public meeting agenda without consulting the new Chair.”

When reached by phone, Zay only said, “I cannot comment at this time.”

The firing is the latest shakeup to a typically quiet panel of regulators, and could impact a critical vote to reconsider the AES Indiana increase.

Braun first appointed Zay to the IURC — and named him chair — in December as part of the governor’s affordability push. Zay left a seat in the Indiana Senate in January to start the new gig.

In February, he launched an affordability inquiry, questioning the “big five” investor-owned utilities on their rates in March and holding a listening tour for frustrated ratepayers around the state through April.

But in June, Zay joined Commissioners David Veleta and David Ziegner in a 3-1 vote to approve a $71 million rate electricity rate increase for AES Indiana customers. Commissioner Bob Deig voted in opposition, while a fifth member, Anthony Swinger, recused himself from the case.

The amount was less than the $193 million hike AES Indiana originally sought, and below the $91 million proposed in a settlement agreement.

But Braun and Utility Consumer Counselor Abby Gray — who had recommended a decrease to current rates — denounced the decision. Gray’s office represents ratepayers in IURC cases.

Days later, Braun removed Zay as chair and elevated Swinger, a former member of Gray’s office, to the IURC’s top spot.

“I thought I was fairly clear when I said I want you (commissioners) to make sure you’re changing the dynamic, to where you’re not rubber-stamping what utilities have wanted,” Braun told reporters at the time. “… I made the adjustment there in terms of the chairmanship, because I thought that should have been clear.”

The termination marks a rare step for an Indiana governor. IURC members are appointed to four-year terms and can leave voluntarily at any time — but can only be fired “for cause.”

Gov. Mitch Daniels carried out the most recent firing in 2012, when he dismissed former IURC Chair David Lott Hardy for his role in an ethics scandal, The Indiana Lawyer reported. Hardy was aware that an administrative law judge had been communicating with Duke Energy while presiding over its cases, ultimately getting a high-paying job with the utility.

Membership changes could impact AES hike reconsideration

Zay’s not the only one out as a regulator in more recent months.

Veleta announced he would resign from the IURC in late June. Braun selected a successor, attorney Joby Jerrells, in July after a nominating committee winnowed 25 applicants to three finalists.

“I think he could see that it was maybe going to be going in a little (bit of a) different direction,” Braun said of Veleta.

At the governor’s behest, the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor last month asked IURC members to reconsider their approval of the AES Indiana hike. The filing contends regulators “erred” in granting some of the utility’s requests.

The vote on that petition is scheduled for Wednesday, according to a finalized agenda posted Monday.

Jerrells will replace Veleta — who was one of the “yes” votes in June — and Zay’s spot will be vacant.

That leaves Ziegner as the only commissioner remaining who previously voted in favor of the increase.

The nominating committee, meanwhile, will reconvene to help fill its fifth vacancy in less than a year.

Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian said “Braun is using Andy Zay as a scapegoat. Braun knew the AES case was being investigated when he appointed Zay. The buck must stop with the governor’s poor judgment. The only commissioner who voted against any recent major electric increase is former Democratic State Senator Bob Deig. We invite Hoosiers to elect more Democratic legislators this November who will put families before utility profits for a change.”

The post Andy Zay fired from utility regulator panel weeks after being demoted appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

Sabanna Yenna situates herself into a seat in the crowded Hinkle Fieldhouse, surrounded by 900 of her virtual classmates gathered in anticipation of Indiana Digital Learning School’s inaugural in-person commencement ceremony.

Yenna enrolled in the virtual school, now in its 10th year, her freshman year to escape bullies in her home North White School Corp. in White County.

Now that she could relax in class, she soon joined the FFA and became president of the school’s National Technical Honor Society chapter.

“I met teachers that were like family members to me, and they took me in like siblings and daughters,” she said. “I felt wanted — not being judged by who I was.”

Yenna is one of nearly 29,000 Hoosiers who attended virtual K-12 schools in 2025, according to an Indiana Capital Chronicle review of enrollment data through the state’s Graduates Prepared to Succeed portal.

The practice continues to expand despite ongoing legislative debate over state tuition support, financial and academic oversight.

Supporters say virtual schools are an outlet for students who fail to thrive in traditional school settings, allowing them to recover credits and work at their own pace until they can return to in-person schooling.

Critics see the continued expansion of virtual schooling as evidence of a breakdown in the state’s school funding model, with more oversight needed.

The growth is led by an unexpected partner: traditional public schools.

Lucrative arrangements

Public schools can enter into cooperative agreements with third-party virtual school providers to capture a portion of state tuition dollars directed to those students, in exchange for full accountability for their academic performance.

The arrangements can be lucrative, presenting an opportunity for financially challenged districts to offset declining student enrollment without raising property taxes.

“I don’t like the idea that school districts pick these systems up for financial reasons,” said Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat. “That tells you there’s a core problem in financing our public schools.”

The arrangements are not without consequence: Lawmakers approved an amendment to the budget bill last year to close the Union School Corporation, citing poor academic performance at the rural district, where virtual students now outnumber traditional students by a ratio of 25 to 1.

At least part of the district’s poor academic performance appears to be linked to virtual students, as a higher proportion of Union Elementary third graders met proficiency standards on the IREAD exam than their virtual peers at Indiana Digital Elementary School.

Union filed a lawsuit to stop the closure, set for trial in November.

But Indiana Digital Learning Schools, which have partnered with Union since 2016, won’t have to close if a jury upholds the law.

The virtual school, run by national for-profit network Stride-K12, signed new cooperative agreements with Beech Grove and MSD of Warren County Schools to keep Indiana Digital Learning Schools in operation — with enrollment to be divided between the three districts while the lawsuit proceeds.

Stride oversees other schools in Indiana, including a private college preparatory academy for Marian University and a public, tuition-free school similar to Indiana Digital through Clarksville Community School Corporation.

Ralph Shrader, superintendent of MSD of Warren County schools, said he initiated the conversation to partner with Stride after failed attempts at using other online platforms.

“We felt that we were missing out on servicing our students in our community in a way that allowed us to reach all students,” he said. “We were missing a population.”

The rural district is 13 miles from the Illinois border, with a student population of 1,332.

How oversight changed

The relationship between public schools and virtual school providers has evolved from the early days of online learning.

Initially, school districts could authorize or monitor virtual charters.

Lawmakers revised this setup after a state audit found two virtual charter schools authorized by Daleville Community Schools had collected $68 million through inflated enrollment or “ghost” students.

Now, public schools cannot authorize or monitor a virtual charter, but can still enter into agreements with online school providers — one of several reforms to rein in a troubled industry.

In practice, this means operational responsibility, salaries and academic performance of virtual schools are no longer segregated from public school partners, said Rep. Behning, an Indianapolis Republican who chairs the House Education Committee.

“Everything flows through the school district,” he said.

To monitor enrollment, the State Board of Accounts reviews attendance records for a sample of students. The Indiana Department of Education then recovers any tuition support if a student is found to not be enrolled.

Additional oversight of these arrangements is expected soon: The State Board of Education is drafting financial reporting and oversight rules for school districts that enter into or renew contracts with outside virtual learning providers, due by the end of the year.

Elizabeth Sliger, executive director of the Indiana Digital Learning Schools and its sister Indiana Digital Alternative School, said she welcomes transparency and accountability.

“I knew after Daleville I needed to prove what an accountable virtual school looks like,” she said. The schools require proof of Indiana residency for each child, and file annual financial reports to district partners.

Forthcoming rules are “just codifying what we’re already doing,” Sliger said. “We’re not afraid of accountability. What we need is transparency” of what compliant reporting means to lawmakers.

Virtual schools receive 85% of the funding that brick-and-mortar schools get per student, and there have been efforts in recent years for equal funding.

Are reforms working?

Reforms appear to be working to Behning, whose granddaughter attended Indiana Gateway Digital Academy for two years.

“She had her own counselor,” he said. “She was on student council. They had afterschool activities. She had tutors available if she felt like she was getting behind. She had one-on-one support if she needed.”

“What happened in the pandemic was a crisis mode,” Behning said — nothing like the organized virtual schools of today. Still, he said student success in either virtual or traditional schools is dependent upon parental involvement.

The potential for inadequate parental involvement concerns DeLaney, who likened virtual schooling to homeschool.

“You’re dependent upon the parental supervision,” he said. “Are they making sure their kid is there when that’s necessary, or when it’s asynchronous, are they putting their kid on adequate time? Are they giving him an environment and assisting the kid or not?”

Asynchronous means allowing students to complete work on their own time and schedule.

Kylene Varner, a homeschooling advocate for the Indiana Association of Home Educators, said even the most engaged virtual school parents typically aren’t supervising their child’s instruction for six hours a day, unlike the hands-on approach common to homeschooling.

“They might be popping in,” she said, adding “That is what some families need and want, and that is completely fine. That’s their choice. But when it comes to a homeschool family, we make all the decisions.”

Expanding virtual schooling beyond the small population of students who can’t acclimate to in-person schools for emotional or physical reasons still troubles DeLaney.

“If we were serious, if we thought this were a useful program, we’d have the state sponsor a program that was well-managed and well thought out and go from there,” he said. “But we’re not doing that.”

A day at Indiana Digital Learning Schools

Indiana Digital Learning School launched in 2016. At the time, only 400 students enrolled. Enrollment surpassed 9,000 last school year, according to a spokesperson. There are over one million public school students statewide.

Indiana Digital Learning Schools are tuition-free, available to any Hoosier from kindergarten through 12th grade, regardless of where they live in the state.

The alternative is a popular choice for students who fail to thrive in traditional classrooms, encompassing everyone from student athletes and teen parents who need flexible class schedules to advanced or credit deficient students who want to work at their own pace.

“I like to say that we’re a dichotomy of diversity,” Sliger said.

The school loans computers to families who don’t have their own.

Elementary students meet daily in online reading and math groups each day, reading aloud on Zoom-style platforms for their peers and teachers.

Parents are expected to act as a “learning coach,” recording attendance and reviewing student work as students gain independence.

High school students attend individual and group sessions each week, with attendance monitored Monday through Friday.

Students are expected to dedicate at least six hours per class a week, and can enroll in dual-credit classes, career technical programs, internships, apprenticeships and student clubs outside of class.

Sliger said it’s similar to traditional schooling, “but we’re just finding creative ways to use technology to create those tricks teachers have known for 50 years.”

A majority of Indiana Digital students enter two to three years behind grade level, she said.

Those students typically return to in-person schooling within two years, which means their gains don’t always appear on accountability reports — a reality Sliger hopes the State Board of Education will one day resolve.

“By the time we get them close to proficiency, they may then return (to in-person schooling,” Sliger said. “They come to us three years behind. We’re graded at what we do in 162 days without the ability to show, to reach the points that proficient students get.”

Shannon Wilson came from the public schools to Indiana Digital Alternative School as a special education teacher three years ago.

She maintains a regular schedule for live classes, but makes time for students to pop in for one-on-one video sessions, calls or text messages as needed.

Where she once saw students unable to cope with the chaos of the classroom, she now saw students at ease as they worked from the comfort of their home.

“They can really be authentically themselves,” she said, “and that makes such a difference.”

The post Students embrace technology in Indiana’s growing virtual school sector appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

As Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales faces mounting criticism and political pressure, newly obtained state records raise further questions about a recent payment to a software contractor and nearly half a million dollars in staff salary increases.

The records obtained by the Indiana Capital Chronicle show Morales’ office on May 6 paid $90,000 to Maverick Quantum Inc., an artificial intelligence development and software company, from Indiana’s Securities Restitution Fund — an account meant to compensate victims of securities fraud.

The payment appears to be the only vendor disbursement made from the fund since at least 2020, according to state records reviewed by the Capital Chronicle. Previous payments during that period went to individual claimants receiving restitution assistance.

The disbursement came just weeks after the Secretary of State’s office signed a contract amendment extending and expanding an existing agreement with Maverick Quantum. The Texas-based company’s original no-bid contract, signed Jan. 31, 2025, carried a maximum value of $1.15 million. An amendment signed last month added roughly $1.368 million.

Separately, salary data provided by the State Budget Agency shows Morales’ office approved $493,359 in annualized raises across 79 employees in August 2025, just two months after lawmakers questioned the office’s spending during a tense State Budget Committee hearing.

The Secretary of State’s office defended both decisions, telling the Capital Chronicle the restitution fund payment represented only 4% of the IT development cost and platform license tied to a broader Securities Division modernization project. Officials said the salary adjustments were based on state compensation studies, employee performance evaluations and available agency reserves.

Morales is seeking renomination at the Indiana Republican Party’s June 20 convention, where delegates will decide whether he will be the GOP’s secretary of state candidate. But his path has grown more uncertain in the past two weeks after several prominent Indiana Republicans — including U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and Attorney General Todd Rokita — withdrew their support.

Restitution fund payment

Indiana created the Securities Restitution Fund in 2010 to provide partial reimbursement to victims of securities law violations.

Under state law, money in the fund is continually appropriated for three purposes: awarding restitution assistance to claimants, paying expenses incurred in administering the program and making awards to informants.

The fund typically makes multiple restitution payments each year to individual claimants — including more than two dozen claim payments totaling about $253,000 during fiscal year 2025. But so far in fiscal year 2026, four claims totaling roughly $39,000 have been paid alongside the single $90,000 vendor payment to Maverick Quantum.

The office said it also received an “unrecorded number” of inquiries and applications “assessed as being ineligible” that were not formally processed or maintained.

State Budget Director Chad Ranney, an appointee of Gov. Mike Braun, said the fund currently carries a cash balance of $927,799, though only $800,001 was made available for use after the Secretary of State’s office sought and received a budget augmentation last year.

“Basically, we have … about enough to pay the number of claims we historically receive in four to five years’ time, not counting additional revenue that accumulates in the fund,” Secretary of State Chief Legal Counsel Jerry Bonnet told the Capital Chronicle.

Morales’ office told the budget committee in a 2025 letter that at least 85% of the fund would remain available for restitution payments, with no more than 15% used for administrative expenses such as maintaining the online claims system and processing claims.

That 15% cap allows up to $120,000 in administrative spending under the office’s requested $800,000 augmentation.

In a separate letter to the budget committee last month, Morales’ office requested the same $800,000 augmentation for fiscal year 2027, including a proposed $50,000 allocation for “claims administration IT system support” and $750,000 for “payment of approved claims (if any).”

But invoices do not clearly identify the specific work covered by the payment.

While a 90-page statement of work obtained by the Capital Chronicle references “restitution fund” as one of up to 16 portal workflows slated for modernization, the publicly posted contract documents on the Secretary of State’s website do not include anything related to the restitution fund.

Office spokesperson Lindsey Eaton said the payment to Maverick Quantum represented “approximately 4% of the IT development cost and platform license” associated with an ongoing three-year modernization of the Securities Division’s technology systems. She said the updated platform will support restitution claims processing while also enhancing the division’s ability to investigate securities fraud, recover losses and educate investors.

“The office determined that subject to sufficient availability of funds to pay claims, it would be fiscally appropriate and allowable to allocate operational expenses … across related department funds,” Eaton said.

A contract amendment signed April 14 between the Secretary of State’s office and Maverick Quantum expanded an existing agreement for AI development and software modernization work. The broader contract scope is tied to document migration, search portal development and artificial intelligence chatbot services for Secretary of State systems.

The contract amendment increased the agreement’s total potential value by approximately $1.368 million, according to records.

Maverick Quantum received $1.1 million in state funds during fiscal year 2025 and has received $340,000 so far in fiscal year 2026, including the $90,000 restitution fund payment.

Four restitution claim payments totaling $39,603 have also been made during fiscal year 2026, bringing total Securities Restitution Fund disbursements this fiscal year to $129,603.

The Maverick Quantum agreements bear signatures only from Bonnet and company CEO Vamshi Vaddiraja.

Indiana law generally requires state agency contracts to receive approval from the Indiana Department of Administration commissioner, the state budget director and the attorney general, or their delegated designees.

State code further provides that expenditures incurred in violation of those requirements are void and that payments made under void contracts may be deemed illegal.

The Secretary of State’s office maintains that those requirements do not apply in the same manner to separately elected constitutional offices.

“The Secretary of State’s office is functionally separate from state executive agencies under administration of the governor or other state officials,” Eaton said, adding that the office collaborates with state agencies on budgeting and contract development but that its contracting authority “is not dependent on authorization from other state officials or agencies.”

Donor ties

Indiana campaign finance records show Vaddiraja has donated $75,000 to Indiana political campaigns since 2024, including $55,000 to Morales’ campaign committee and $20,000 to Gov. Mike Braun’s campaign. The most recent contribution — a $15,000 donation to Diego for Indiana — was made Dec. 22, 2025.

Earlier reporting revealed Morales’ office awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to campaign donors, prompting lawmakers to scrutinize procurement practices and eventually make changes to state contracting transparency requirements.

The original Maverick Quantum contract, awarded Jan. 31, 2025, was not competitively bid.

Unlike most executive branch agencies and statewide offices, however, Morales’ office still does not post contracts through the state’s centralized transparency portal.

A no-bid legal services contract executed by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s office in 2025, for example, authorized up to $150,000 in payments to Noblesville-based Adler Attorneys for general counsel and consulting services.

Although the agreement drew its own scrutiny because of the firm’s ties to Beckwith’s church network, the contract and a subsequent amendment were both signed by all required state officials and posted to the Indiana Transparency Portal.

Raises followed budget committee concerns

Additional records show that Morales approved substantial salary increases across his office in August 2025 — at a time when other state employees have received no raises two years in a row.

The raises increased total annual payroll to $6,196,414.

Most employees — 62 of 79 — received 6% raises. But other increases were significantly larger.

Ten employees received 12% raises. Other raises included increases of 16.7%, 20% and 24%, while two senior staffers — Kegan Prentice and Elina Kupce — received promotion-related raises of 27.3% and 28%, respectively.

Kupce, Morales’ former chief of staff, has since become the focus of separate controversy after records revealed she had improperly registered to vote as a noncitizen years before joining the office in 2023. The registration was canceled in 2013, and she never cast a ballot.

Prentice is the office’s legislative director and was Morales’ 2022 campaign manager.

The raises followed a June 2025 letter from Morales to lawmakers in which he pledged fiscal restraint amid what he described as the state’s “adverse fiscal climate.”

That letter, obtained by the Capital Chronicle, said the office would freeze all but critically necessary hiring, identify budget cuts and adhere to “the spirit and requirements for public bid contracting and open procurement.”

The office also told lawmakers it expected “virtually flat staffing levels” and had identified more than $2 million in planned spending reductions.

When Morales appeared before the State Budget Committee later that month, lawmakers pressed him on whether those cost-cutting commitments would preclude significant staff raises.

Bonnet acknowledged during that hearing that the office would be “looking for ways to make sure that we’re still fair with employees.”

Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said at the time that he supported “investing in staff” but cautioned against “abnormal” or “out of the ordinary” pay increases that did not “align with the rest of the state.”

The Secretary of State’s office said the raises were largely calculated using the state’s 2022 employee compensation study, civil service salary grade benchmarks, manager performance evaluations and available fiscal reserves.

Eaton also noted that the office had initially sought funding for a 7.5% agencywide salary increase in its 2024 budget request, but that proposal was ultimately removed when lawmakers reduced the office’s biennial budget by more than 10%.

“The office believes its salaries are compatible and consistent with the state enterprise and other agencies with comparable responsibilities,” Eaton said. “The office has not received push back from other state agencies on the salary component of its bi-annual budget.”

* * *

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.

You can read the original version of the story here.

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Federal government payments to keep immigration detainees at an Indiana prison are lagging by five months, according to monthly reporting released under a new state law.

Indiana has not been paid since November, said the Department of Correction filings provided Monday to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. The state has spent about $10 million to accommodate detainees at the Miami Correctional Facility since then.

Hoosier officials agreed to a two-year contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold up to 1,000 detainees at a time in a previously unused wing of the prison.

Detainees sent to Miami are adult men classified as medium-maximum security for stays longer than 72 hours.

Under the agreement, which began Oct. 1 and runs through September 2027, ICE will pay Indiana $291.24 per bed per day — which DOC Commissioner Lloyd Arnold has said is about four times the $75 daily per-person cost for inmates at the prison.

The agency previously told the Capital Chronicle it had been paid $1.17 million for October and $3.86 million for November.

The DOC’s submissions to the State Budget Committee, however, list roughly $5 million in payments for November only.

The documents were filed pursuant to Senate Enrolled Act 76, a controversial immigration enforcement measure. Republicans accepted a Democratic amendment to require monthly reporting from DOC on expenses and revenue related to the ICE contract.

The provision — which took effect March 5, when the law was signed — required the agency to submit a “status update” by March 15, including money spent and received between Oct. 1 and March 1.

Future status reports are due monthly through 2027.

But the March and April reports “were mistakenly left off the April committee agenda” for the State Budget Committee, according to Department of Revenue spokeswoman Megan Kramer.

The committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon “to consider the two time-sensitive items on the agenda” — both state university campus projects on an abnormally short to-do list.

The reports show DOC has spent $12.5 million housing detainees since the contract began through March, but has received less than $5.1 million from ICE over that time period.

About $5.9 million of the expenditures were labeled “contractual services,” with $5.2 million going to ”personal services and fringe benefits.”

DOC also logged spending of $646,000 on supplies, parts and materials; $382,000 on capital costs; $340,000 on utilities and $67,000 on administrative and operating expenses.

The Budget Committee previously approved almost $15.8 million in upfront costs to prepare the prison along U.S. 31 near Grissom Air Reserve Base for its stint as what Trump administration officials dubbed the “Speedway Slammer.”

The money was intended to fund a wide range of infrastructure upgrades and equipment purchases, according to committee documents.

* * *

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.

You can read the original version of the story here.

The post Feds owe Indiana millions for immigration detention at state prison appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

Hoosiers in rural Indiana say drones are unlawfully tracking deer for poachers, inexplicably flying around chicken coops, and increasingly just making people uneasy.

The temptation for some is to simply shoot down the pesky contraptions. But, after consulting with law enforcement, many have learned that it isn’t a legal option. So they’ve found other ways to combat the rascals.

[caption id="attachment_130360" align="alignright" width="200"] Hunter Eric Pettit (Courtesy photo)[/caption]

Neighbors tired of seeing a drone follow a legendary and massive white-tailed buck in southeastern Indiana reported the matter to Indiana conservation officers.

An investigation led to charges against two men in what authorities believe may be the first prosecution under Indiana’s law banning the use of drones to track and hunt wildlife.

In northeastern Indiana, farmers fearful that drones might be spreading disease among livestock recently persuaded the Indiana General Assembly to pass a law that prohibits the devices from being used to harm or harass farm animals.

[caption id="attachment_130362" align="alignright" width="200"] Indiana conservation officer Josh Thomas (Courtesy photo)[/caption]

“Something has to move the ball forward here to be able to defend ourselves in the countryside from these kinds of operations,” Jay County farmer Lenny Muhlenkamp told a legislative committee earlier this year.

Unfair hunt?

Among hunters, the case that has caused the biggest stir unfolded last fall near Madison, along the Ohio River.

For months, some residents saw a drone seemingly tracking a fabled 17-point deer so recognizable and coveted by hunters that they had dubbed it the Nucor Monarch. That’s because the deer frequently bounded across the wooded terrain and open prairie near the Nucor steel fabrication plant.

So when the animal was suddenly bagged by hunters on Oct. 2, just one day into the crossbow hunting season, neighbors quickly grew suspicious, authorities said.

One witness contacted Indiana conservation officers and reported the animal likely had been taken with the aid of a drone in violation of a state law that seeks to prevent unfair hunts.

Investigators say their probe confirmed those concerns.

According to a probable cause affidavit, officers confiscated videos, photos and flight logs recorded by a suspect’s drone that showed the unmanned aerial aircraft was used to track the deer for weeks.

Ultimately, cousins Rodney and Eric Pettit were charged with misdemeanors in the case.

Rodney, who owned and operated the drone and killed the deer, was sentenced in February to 60 days probation. His hunting and fishing license was also revoked for a year.

Eric, who was accused of assisting Rodney in the hunt, agreed to a pretrial diversion program that will lead to dismissal of the charges if certain conditions are met.

Rodney Pettit did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Eric Pettit, a reserve officer for the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, chalked the case up to his cousin being a novice drone user who was unfamiliar with the particulars of the law and to jealous hunters who turned him in because they didn’t bag the prized deer themselves.

Conservation officers’ desire to prosecute the first deer-hunting case under the state’s drone law also was a factor, Pettit said. Indiana first banned drone-aided hunting in 2016. It tightened the law in 2024 and also clarified that drones could be used after a kill to help locate and recover a legally taken animal.

“There’s the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. (My cousin) broke the letter of the law, one hundred percent. But he did it unknowingly,” Pettit said. “His character is not one that is, you know, a lawbreaker.”

He said that while conservation officers made a big deal of the fact that his cousin flew his drone on the morning of the kill, he noted that it captured no video of the Nucor Monarch on that day.

State law, however, prohibits using a drone to track a deer starting 14 days before and throughout hunting season. Authorities said Rodney Pettit used his drone in the areas the deer had been spotted nearly every day in that 14-day leadup.

The great irony of the case is that no one really needed a drone to track the deer, Eric Pettit said. It was frequently spotted traveling the same area near U.S. 421, including on his cousin’s property. Motorists and covetous hunters often stopped along the roadside to get a better look.

But the deer’s prized antlers won’t adorn any hunter’s wall now. Instead, they were confiscated by authorities and are expected to soon be on display in the Department of Natural Resources’ “Turn in Poachers” traveling trailer that helps educate the public about the state’s hunting laws.

Indiana conservation officer Josh Thomas, who investigated the Pettit case, said it is the first deer-hunting case to be prosecuted under Indiana’s drone prohibitions and should serve as a warning to others.

He said the law was invoked during earlier investigations. One case involving waterfowl never came to fruition. Another case involved the hunting of coyotes in northern Indiana, but Thomas said he was uncertain of the outcome.

“It’s something that’s hard to enforce, it’s hard to detect and then hard to prove,” the conservation officer explained, while expressing certainty that drone-aided hunting is happening with some frequency.

Thomas said attention brought to the Pettit case by the hunting community has resulted in 15 drone-related tips in his southeastern Indiana district alone, raising the possibility of more prosecutions.

The most troubling aspect of the Pettit case was the level of detail the drone was able to gather about the Nucor Monarch’s movements, Thomas said, essentially turning the hunt into an unfair chase.

““It was unbelievable how much they knew about where that deer was anytime they wanted to,” Thomas said.

Farmer protections

In northeastern Indiana, concerns from farmers helped drive a new state law aimed at reining in unauthorized drone activity over private property.

The legislation, signed earlier this year and set to take effect July 1, expands Indiana’s “remote aerial harassment” law to cover not just people, but also livestock, crops and farm operations.

It makes it a crime to operate a drone over someone else’s property with the intent to harass or disturb animals, damage crops or interfere with agricultural activity. Violations are Class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000.

The push for the new law came after a wave of reports from farmers who described drones flying over barns, hovering near livestock and, in at least one case, entering a poultry barn.

Eric Beer, chief deputy for the Adams County Sheriff’s Department, said complaints about drones poured into his office for nearly a month last year and culminated one January evening with many concerned residents, including some from the Amish community, reporting a cluster of eight drones or more buzzing around poultry farms and elsewhere.

“We heard from different people throughout our county, both north and south, that there was one drone that was about as large as a small car,” Beer said.

At that time, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security issued a news release noting that drones were spotted flying around poultry farms in Adams, Allen, Jay and Jackson counties, where avian flu had been reported.

The news release warned that entry by the drones into infected barns could spread the disease and noted that the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration were monitoring the airspace in those areas.

When asked April 15 about the January 2025 drone activity, the homeland security department said in a written statement that “reports of unidentified drone sightings were determined to be mostly unfounded, and any drone activity in the area was tied to a legitimate purpose,” such as a local farmer using a drone to spray their crops.

The farmers’ lingering concerns prompted Rep. Kendell Culp, a Rensselaer Republican and vice president of Indiana Farm Bureau, to urge the legislature earlier this year to impose new drone limits.

While his House Bill 1064 failed to win approval, some aspects of it were incorporated into House Bill 1249, which addressed various criminal matters and was signed into law by the governor in March.

Farmers who testified at a House Courts and Criminal Code Committee meeting in January described a sense of vulnerability and frustration with how little they could do about unwanted drone activity.

Barry Miller, a Jay County farmer, told the committee that drones were flying over barns without the operators in sight and causing great anxiety about their intentions.

Others raised fears about biosecurity, noting that some of the drone sightings occurred just before outbreaks of avian flu—though no direct connection has been proven.

“It’s an inconvenient coincidence that wherever these drones were, that’s where we were also seeing bird flu happen,” said Muhlenkamp, a fellow Jay County farmer.

He also recounted an Amish farmer’s claim that a drone sprayed a substance into a barn, leaving a nearby child with respiratory problems for a week.

Farm industry groups say the concerns highlight how state law has struggled to keep pace with rapidly evolving drone technology.

“The proliferation has outpaced the legal development,” Ryan Hoff, Indiana Farm Bureau’s senior director of government affairs, said during committee testimony.

Hoff said in an interview this month that the updated law is meant to clarify that some property rights extend to low-altitude airspace by ensuring that unauthorized drone use — particularly when it threatens livestock or farm operations — can carry legal consequences.

At the same time, lawmakers tried to strike a balance by preserving legitimate uses of drones in agriculture, such as crop monitoring and chemical application, so long as those activities are conducted with a landowner’s permission.

Even with the changes, officials and industry advocates say the issue is far from settled — and that additional legislation is likely as drones become more common.

An uneasy balance

For Sandy Rush, the idea of balancing competing interests in rural communities isn’t abstract.

As a recently retired employee of the Shelby County Co-op ag service, Rush has seen firsthand how drones are becoming part of modern agriculture — and why farmers rely on them.

“They’re good,” she said. “They have their place.”

Drones can apply fertilizer when heavy equipment can’t reach muddy fields, monitor crops and help farmers respond quickly to changing conditions.

For someone who spent a career around agriculture, those benefits are obvious. But Rush also has also experienced the other side.

Last fall, a hunter on nearby property told her he was followed out of the woods by a drone. Then one night, Rush saw one herself — hovering just outside her home near Shelbyville..

She estimates it was only about 50 to 60 feet from the house, close enough to feel like it was watching her through a window.

“To me it was obvious that it was watching us,” Rush said. “And that kind of freaks me out.”

Rush doesn’t know who was operating the drone or why. But like many rural residents, she also knows there’s little she can legally do to stop them.

Drones are largely regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, which controls the airspace and allows the devices to fly over people’s homes.

If the drones are being used in the commission of a crime, the operators can be prosecuted. But gathering enough evidence to prove invasion of privacy can be tricky, authorities acknowledge.

“You’d really like to just go out and shoot the darn thing,” Rush said, while recognizing that’s not allowed.

For her, the answer isn’t banning drones. It’s finding a way to draw clearer lines about what’s allowed and what isn’t and protecting privacy when possible.

The post Rural Hoosiers lean on the law to fight drones; Deer hunting part of the problem appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

About 14,000 additional low-income children could soon nab vouchers for free and reduced-cost child care under a $200 million proposal announced Tuesday by Gov. Mike Braun’s administration.

The administration will ask the State Budget Committee to let it divert $200 million from the General Fund to another account — created to cover underfunding in other agencies — and use the money to reopen admissions for a key child care program.

The Child Care and Development Fund is a state-administered federal program that serves about 43,000 children in Indiana. Families must meet income and work requirements to qualify for the assistance.

“Every voucher represents a working parent that wants to take a step forward for both their lives and then also for the next generation of Hoosier lives here,” said Adam Alson, the director of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning, which administers CCDF in Indiana.

“This is not just a social service program,” Alson added. “This is an economic engine that supports Indiana’s workforce and the state’s long-term economic future.”

The program has been closed to new children for more than a year, since enrollment peaked at 69,000 in December 2024. Former Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration paused sign-ups and opened a waitlist.

Braun’s administration previously said the program would not expand until 2027, citing funding constraints after a dismal revenue forecast. But the latest forecast is significantly rosier.

Shortly after, lawmakers approved Senate Enrolled Act 4, allowing the state to spend money from the $300 million Financial Responsibility and Opportunity Growth fund on CCDF — or to direct more money to the fund specifically for CCDF.

The $200 million move would be subject to State Budget Committee approval. The lawmaker-dominated body next meets Thursday, for the first time since the end of the legislative session.

According to the March revenue report, Indiana is now $653 million ahead of the budget plan.

“We as an administration understand the importance of the CCDF voucher program, and we want to bring this to the State Budget Committee as quickly as possible … in order for child care businesses, families and children … (to) have more clarity around what the future holds,” Alson told the Capital Chronicle.

His office is part of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. As of February, almost 35,400 children were waiting for a CCDF voucher, according to FSSA’s child care subsidy dashboard.

The $200 million is projected to bring enrollment back up to 57,000, bringing a lucky 14,000 off the waitlist as soon as May.

Alson said there will be seats set aside for foster and kinship families, followed by slots for special needs and homeless children, as well as for the children of child care workers.

Indiana Public Media has reported that the voucher pause is forcing foster parents to pass on children they otherwise would’ve taken in.

“We don’t want the hindrance on that, for those individuals and those families that are looking to do that, to be the cost of child care,” Alson said.

The number of seats set aside per category hasn’t yet been determined, according to Alson. If the augmentation is approved at the Thursday meeting, implementation would begin late May.

That timeline is intended to give child care providers time to reopen classrooms and rehire staff. Many providers have constricted their operations or even closed amid the voucher enrollment crunch and deep cuts in voucher reimbursement rates from the state.

Regulated provider capacity has grown from about 170,900 in December 2024 to 175,600 in December 2025, according to FSSA quarterly financial reporting. But the state has lost 64 locations over that year.

Asked how to offer child care providers greater stability, Alson acknowledged the importance of “consistent funding,” as well as reduced regulatory burdens.

The $200 million influx will be paired with a statewide variance waiving state regulations on the mixing of different age groups at the beginning and end of the day, which Alson said increases staffing costs.

About 21,400 children are expected to remain on the waitlist, however.

“This $200 million is the largest one-time investment, one-year investment, in child care in the state’s history,” Alson said. “And it’s a significant step forward in … our acknowledgement of the importance of the child care space to the state of Indiana.”

“I think after we execute this, we’ll have a much better handle on what that demand for this program is as well — and we’ll be in a … more advantageous position going into the next budget cycle to address things like this,” he continued.

* * *

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.

You can read the original version of the story here.

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By Niki Kelly and Mackenezi Klemann
Indiana Capital Chronicle

Gov. Mike Braun issued an executive order Wednesday to enact a 30-day suspension of the 7% sales tax on gasoline — with the potential for extensions.

“I am declaring a gas tax holiday to give Hoosiers relief from the pain at the pump from high gas prices,” Braun said in a news release. “Affordability is my top priority.”

The order is in effect now through May 8. Braun called on retailers to pass savings directly to customers, noting the state will be monitoring prices to make sure.

Taxes on fuel in Indiana are made up of the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon, the state excise tax of 36 cents per gallon and the 7% state sales tax.

The current average cost for a gallon of gas in Indiana, according to AAA, is $4.14 — of which about 17 cents is attributable to the sales tax.

Braun estimated savings for Hoosiers could reach $50 million a month. He will revisit the emergency declaration in 30 days.

Attorney General Todd Rokita also announced that his office will actively monitor fuel prices across the state and enforce price gouging protections.

“Hoosiers deserve the full relief intended by this emergency measure and we will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that the removal of the tax translates into lower prices at the pump — and that consumers are not taken advantage of during this time,” Rokita said in a news release. “If a consumer suspects that a gas station in Indiana is still charging tax during the suspension, they should file a consumer complaint with our office.”

History of suspending gasoline sales tax

In 2000, then-Gov. Frank O’Bannon suspended the sales tax on gasoline for two 60-day periods heading into an election. It saved motorists more than $46 million.

At that time, gas was nearing $2 a gallon; the savings were between 8 and 10 cents per gallon.

O’Bannon cited a 1981 statute allowing him to declare an energy emergency if “an existing or projected shortfall of at least eight percent (8%) of motor fuel or of other energy sources that threatens to seriously disrupt or diminish energy supplies to the extent that life, health, or property may be jeopardized.”

The law doesn’t specifically mention fuel taxes, but it allows the governor to “suspend the provisions of any state statute regulating transportation or the orders or rules of any state agency if strict compliance with any of the provisions would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the energy emergency.”

Authority unclear

But in 2007, then-Gov. Mitch Daniels asked the Attorney General’s Office whether he had the authority to suspend the sales tax on gas.

The letter, signed by then Chief Deputy Attorney General Gregory Zoeller, said it was “clear that a suspension of a sales tax is not among those powers enumerated by this statute nor does it fall with the same category of those within the 1981 act.”

“Without further legislative action granting the governor the authority to suspend the gas tax, we agree that this authority is not within the intent of the 1981 statute,” the letter continued.

A message to Rokita’s office seeking clarity on authority wasn’t immediately returned. All AG opinions are non-binding.

“We feel this is within the latitude of what I’m able to do,” Braun told reporters Wednesday, citing the cumulative effect of inflation.

“The emergency was created by conditions outside our control,” he said, “and that was done in D.C. — not particularly on fuel, but in many of those years it was way above $4. We’ve been carrying that burden for a long time.”

The executive order said the ongoing war with Iran “has threatened the global supply of oil,” with 20% to 25% of the world’s crude oil production shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have blocked the strait in recent weeks.

When asked about the 8% shortage requirement, the governor’s office cited the executive order.

Braun praised President Donald Trump for negotiating a two-week ceasefire with Iran, which he said should lead to lower fuel prices over time.

“This is big news,” Braun said. “You can already see it in the markets. We’ll begin to see that peace dividend over time, and there’s now clarity in terms of what they’re doing.”

Legislative reaction

Half a dozen Senate Republicans released statements supporting the move, including the chamber’s leader.

“Senate Republicans have led on issues of affordability for years, resulting in one of the lowest costs of living in the country for Hoosiers, but the recent spike in gas prices is still leaving many Hoosiers feeling undue pressure on their budgets,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville. “With affordability top of mind right now, I’m supportive of temporarily suspending the state’s sales tax on gas.”

Many of those in support are facing primary challenges and have been attacked for earlier votes to raise the gas tax.

Markle Republican Sen. Travis Holdman, who is locked in a tough reelection race, called on Braun to suspend the gas tax moments before he did so.

“Despite everything we have done at the Statehouse to maintain our state’s low cost of living, the current price of gas is adding too much pressure on Hoosiers and their wallets,” Holdman said. “Today, along with some of my colleagues, I am calling on Gov. Braun to provide relief at the pump for Hoosiers by using his legal authority to suspend the state’s tax on gas.”

House Democrats backed the suspension on Wednesday but questioned the timing.

House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, noted the caucus repeatedly called for a suspension back in 2022, when gas prices jumped amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I want to be clear: House Democrats support this suspension, but Gov. Braun and Statehouse Republicans are only cleaning up a mess that they helped create,” GiaQuinta said in a Wednesday news release. “Hoosiers are tired of unstrategic and unfocused foreign wars that cost American lives, drive up gas prices and raise the cost of living.”

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Indiana nursing homes are owed hundreds of millions in back payments for services provided under the state’s Medicaid program for long-term care.

The federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services hasn’t yet approved the methodology for the 2026 state fiscal year, which is nine months old. The data was originally submitted in June 2025, but the federal agency has responded with questions and seeking more data.

“The feds are in no hurry. So, we’ve now missed our December payment and our March payment heading into our June payment,” said Jeff Huffman, chief operations officer for The Strategies.

The Strategies operates five nursing home and rehabilitation facilities across the state in Muncie, Loogootee, and Vincennes and employs roughly 300 Hoosiers to care for 230 residents.

At issue are supplemental payments received up to the Medicare rate for long-term care under Indiana’s PathWays for Aging system. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Congress in July 2025, added some wrinkles to the internal calculations behind the payments.

These payments are about $1 billion a year, and at least two quarterly payments have already been stalled. State officials said $462 million in payments to 496 nursing homes have been delayed.

“We understand why nursing homes are concerned about delayed supplemental payments. The reality is that CMS has not yet approved Indiana’s payment structure for the current policy year, and federal approval is required before any payments can be issued,” a statement from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration said.

“The current model — developed jointly with nursing home associations — was designed to maximize funding, and everyone involved understood that CMS could later require changes. That is what has happened. The state is working closely with federal officials to resolve this quickly, including exploring a new CMS grandfathering option that may preserve existing funding levels.”

The providers have received their standard base rates for services provided but not the supplemental payments. It’s still causing problems for some entities with tighter business margins.

“The only people this is really hurting are folks that are smaller companies, newer companies. We don’t get paid, so we have to slow pay our vendors, and it kind of snowballs,” Huffman said.

The Indiana Health Care Association, which advocates for senior care facilities around the state, acknowledged the situation but said providers were aware that last year’s federal reconciliation bill might delay state submissions.

“That said, we are hopeful for their approval soon and appreciate FSSA’s continued leadership as they work with their federal partners,” President Paul Peaper said. “In the interim, our caregivers continue to provide high-quality care without impact to their payroll or services.”

A CMS spokesperson provided the Indiana Capital Chronicle with this statement: “States are responsible for making provider payments, and CMS works with states on an ongoing basis to review financing arrangements and ensure compliance with federal requirements. In some cases, CMS may request additional information from a state as part of routine program oversight.”

The latest issues are causing more concern for Indiana’s controversial PathWays for Aging program.

PathWays for Aging began enrolling members in 2024, moving most long-term services and supports for older Hoosiers and certain disabled adults into managed care.

Under the existing model, the state pays private managed care entities a set rate to coordinate medical care and long-term services, including nursing facility stays and in-home and community supports designed to help people remain outside institutional settings.

The shift was intended to better coordinate care and control Medicaid spending, but providers have raised concerns about payment delays, administrative complexities and the growing waitlist for home-based services.

Indiana lawmakers in February passed legislation to reform the program. House Enrolled Act 1277 attempts to address the shortcomings by moving long-stay nursing home residents out of the PathWays for Aging program and into a fee-for-service model that is not run by insurance companies, starting July 1, 2027.

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