Operations are returning to normal at Bally’s after a strange incident this morning.
In the midst of the normal morning routine at Bally’s Casino, the sense of normal disappeared in one frightening moment when a car came crashing through the roof of the conference center. That car came from the top floor of the attached parking garage.
At the time of the crash, Koorsen Fire and Safety was hosting a conference for building inspectors and firefighters at the site. Koorsen is the fire protection company for Bally’s, and they aided in getting the building’s systems turned off. Firefighters and others attending the conference rendered aid at the scene.
The vehicle hit a concrete barrier, causing it to drop through the roof of the conference center, followed by the Ford SUV. The driver of the vehicle was the only injury.
A crane was brought in during the afternoon to lift the SUV and the concrete barrier out of the conference center.
The unanswered question is, “Why?” Police are putting together all of the information, looking at video footage, and planning to talk to the driver to determine what happened.
Bally’s was able to continue with normal casino operations through the day today and the parking garage will remain close until further notice.
Bally’s released the following statement: “We are currently investigating an incident involving a vehicle that drove off the seventh floor of our parking garage and will provide updates as necessary. Upon initial review, the incident appears to be the result of driver error. There are no signage or structural issues with the parking garage. The safety of our guests and staff remains our top priority.”
EVANSVILLE, IND. James Vogel ’52 and Marianna (Cubbison) Vogel ’52, devoted alumni whose lives were defined by generosity and service, have left a $100,000 estate gift to the University of Evansville (UE) to create the James and Marianna Vogel Endowed Scholarship.
Jim and Marianna, remembered for their warmth, humility, and commitment to helping others, shared 72 years of marriage and a belief that education transforms lives. Jim passed away in April 2025 and Marianna in June 2024, but their impact endures.
The scholarship will provide financial assistance to undergraduates with demonstrated need. This gift ensures future generations have the opportunity to learn, lead, and shape the world.
“Jim and Marianna Vogel truly embodied the spirit of compassion and leadership that defines the University of Evansville community,” said Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz, President of the University. “Their legacy is a powerful example of how generosity can open doors and inspire lasting change.”
During their time at Evansville College, Jim earned a degree in Marketing, excelled as a varsity baseball player, and was an active member of Pi Epsilon Phi fraternity. After graduation, he co-founded Dale Sales Co., Inc., a successful distribution business serving five states, and served on the boards of Deaconess Hospital and Permanent Federal Savings Bank, demonstrating his entrepreneurial spirit and civic leadership. Marianna earned a degree in Music Education, helped establish the Chi Omega sorority chapter, and later shared her love of music as an educator in Evansville, where she taught music and English at Lodge Elementary School and Glenwood Elementary School. Their student experiences sparked a lifelong connection to UE, culminating in decades of involvement, advocacy, and philanthropy.
Jim and Marianna were longtime members of the John Collins Moore Society, which honors donors whose planned gifts sustain the University’s mission. Their estate gift deepens that legacy, ensuring their values live on.
“This scholarship reflects the Vogels’ belief in the potential of every student,” said Abigail Werling, Vice President for University Advancement. “Their kindness and vision will lift up generations of Aces.”
Additional contributions to the James and Marianna Vogel Endowed Scholarship are welcome. To honor their legacy and support future students, please visit evansville.edu/give or contact the Office of Advancement at 812-488-1094.
The University of Evansville is a private, comprehensive university with a solid foundation in the arts and sciences and professional schools in business, engineering, education, and health sciences. Established in 1854, UE is recognized across the globe for its rich tradition of innovative, academic excellence and dynamic campus community of #Changemakers.
With basic costs continuing to outpace Hoosiers’ take-home pay, now is the time for Indiana policymakers to protect consumers and put a stop to the ‘scamification’ of Hoosiers.
The worrying trend is clear: Homeownership is declining in Indiana, especially among Black Hoosiers and low-income families, making inter-generational wealth-building harder than ever. Indiana now has the lowest renter household income in the Midwest and one of the highest rates of severe cost burden for vulnerable renters. And more than 4 in 10 Hoosiers have reported difficulty paying for usual household expenses.
As everyday costs rise but paychecks remain stagnant, Hoosiers naturally look for ways to make their income stretch, like an old blanket that no longer covers a growing child. That’s where our policymakers have allowed the ‘scamification’ to step in, by reducing consumer protections and sanctioning products that strip wealth away from Hoosiers with few options to make ends meet.
Unfortunately, the current federal administration is supercharging ‘scamification’, in part by freezing the critical work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just as frauds and complaints are on the rise. Since 2011, Hoosiers have submitted nearly 90,000 complaints to the CFPB, at a rate that has doubled in the last year alone. Hoosiers’ most common complaints regarding credit reporting, debt collection, mortgages, bank accounts, and credit cards won’t magically go away just because Congress recently slashed CFPB resources by nearly half in the ‘One Beautiful Bill Act’. But without a strong CFPB, Hoosiers will most certainly be left more vulnerable to more and worse scams in the future.
Other actions at the federal level will leave Hoosiers with less in their wallets as well. While a 2024 CFPB rule meant to crack down on ‘junk fees’ would have capped overdraft fees from an average of $32 to $8, under the new administration, the CFBP joined a banking industry consortium that successfully petitioned a judge to block the fee cap. The ruling will cost Americans $10 billion in savings annually. And while on January 7, the CFPB finalized a new rule to remove medical debt from credit reports, six months later a federal judge ruled those medical debts can remain in credit reports, a move that will negatively affect the estimated 1 in 6 Hoosiers with medical debt in collections.
Trailing in consumer protections
On top of the loss of federal consumer protections, Hoosiers must contend with a state landscape rife with debt traps that has earned an ‘F’ for consumer protections. The Private Equity State Risk Index lists Indiana at ‘High Risk’ for private equity takeover of our health care, housing, jobs, and pensions. Without guardrails, Hoosiers stand at risk of having many of the basics they count on ‘scamified’ into wealth-drainers.
Hoosiers also already face a consumer policy environment that allows payday loans with effective APRs up to 391%. Bipartisan legislation to cap payday loans at 36% APR (the same cap required in order to lend to active duty service members) has been filed each session for nearly a decade but has not made it across the finish line. This past session saw worrying new attempts to hike charges on supervised loans, such as unconscionably high new rates on auto loans. Time will tell if guardrails put on newly-sanctioned Earned Wage Access products will be enough to prevent them from becoming yet another debt trap.
So, what can be done to stop the ‘scamification’ of Hoosiers?
Employers can do their part by utilizing no-cost Community Loan Center alternatives to payday loans as an employee benefit. The State of Indiana should also consider Sen. Spencer Deery’s proposal to protect taxpayer resources by extending CLC protections to state employees. Above all, we need our policymakers to retake the reins of consumer protections and stop gutting watchdogs like the CFPB at the federal level. State lawmakers should re-think the trend of carve-outs to existing protections and instead set the bar higher with consumer needs at the forefront. These decisions can be hard, though, especially in the face of well-resourced special interests. To learn more Hoosiers can join Hoosiers for Responsible Lending and advocate for a stronger and more fair Indiana for all consumers.
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ new blackout plate, featuring a black background with white characters, will be available to Hoosier drivers starting August 8, 2025. (Casey Smith/ Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana drivers will soon have a new option at the license branch: the state’s first all-black license plate.
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles officially revealed the “blackout” plates on Monday, joining a growing number of states offering the “minimalist” design.
Beginning Aug. 8, the plate will be available for all Hoosier drivers registering a passenger car, light truck under 11,000 pounds, motorcycle, or RV.
A disability-accessible version will be released at a later date, according to agency officials.
“It’s very simple in its design, but it really gives car drivers and vehicle owners an opportunity to express themselves in a way that they haven’t had,” BMV Commissioner Kevin Garvey said at Monday’s launch event, held at the Indiana Government Center in downtown Indianapolis. “It’s a form of expression for them.”
‘Popular demand’ — and legislative backing
Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi and other states have already adopted similar plates.
Hoosier lawmakers authorized the plate during the 2025 legislative session in House Enrolled Act 1390, a wide-ranging BMV agency measure.
Bill author Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, said earlier this year that blackout plates would give Hoosier more options at the BMV and provide the state with “really simple” additional revenue that could total into the millions.
“The feedback that we have gotten from Hoosiers would tell me it’s going to be popular,” Garvey said. “But we really want to try to wait and see.”
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ new blackout plate, featuring a black background with white characters, will be available to Hoosier drivers starting August 8, 2025. (Casey Smith/ Indiana Capital Chronicle)
The blackout plate will carry an annual fee of $45, with an additional $45 fee if drivers opt for a personalized plate number. Personalized messages can contain up to seven characters and one space.
Drivers don’t have to wait for their current plate to expire, though; they can swap to the blackout plate early for an additional $9.50 fee.
BMV officials said the replacement charge helps offset the cost of the new metal plate, which otherwise would be replaced on a standard seven-year cycle.
The plate must be ordered through a BMV branch and cannot be purchased online or at a kiosk if it’s a replacement prior to expiration. For new registrations and renewals, it will be available via myBMV.com, at BMV Connect kiosks, or in person.
Officials also warned customers to avoid third-party sites claiming to offer Indiana blackout plates. Only BMV-issued plates are legally valid.
The design cannot be combined with any specialty or graphic plate options. But Garvey said other plate designs could be made available in the future. He pointed to Michigan for example, which additionally offers license plates with blue and green backgrounds.
A new BMV revenue source
Unlike most specialty plates, which largely cover only production costs, the blackout plate is expected to generate upwards of $3 million in revenue for the state in the first year of availability.
The BMV will collect a bulk of the fees from each blackout plate — far more than the $5 the agency gets from other specialty plates, Garvey said.
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Kevin Garvey speaks during the unveiling of the state’s new blackout license plate on Monday, July 21, 2025, at the Indiana Government Center in Indianapolis. (Casey Smith/ Indiana Capital Chronicle)
A legislative fiscal analysis showed that most of the revenue — $34 — will go to the BMV Commission Fund to support agency operations. The remaining amount is split between the Motor Vehicle Highway Account ($7) and the Crossroads 2000 Fund ($4).
Of the share sent to the highway account, $4.34 will benefit the Indiana Department of Transportation, while $2.66 will be distributed to local governments.
Garvey was cautious, however, about forecasting exact revenue potentials but said the agency anticipates around 100,000 blackout plates to be sold over the next 12 months.
“This is a revenue source for the bureau,” Garvey said. “We’re excited about the potential to reinvest that revenue back into our employees, but also into the agency.”
That includes fulfilling an executive order from Gov. Mike Braun directing the BMV to modernize and invest in new technology to improve customer service, the commissioner noted.
“There are over 6 million vehicles on the road (in Indiana), and we want to make sure that if folks want to get one of these, they know about it and are able to do so,” Garvey said. “This is going to be really, really exciting, and we’re certainly looking forward to seeing what happens.”
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CASEY SMITH
A lifelong Hoosier, Casey Smith previously reported on the Indiana Legislature for The Associated Press. Internationally, she has reported on water quality across South America. She holds a master’s degree in investigative reporting and narrative science writing from the University of California/Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. She previously earned degrees in journalism, anthropology and Spanish from Ball State University, where she now serves as an instructor of journalism.
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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CenterPoint has awarded approximately $3.5 million to support more than 1,700 projects since launching the Community Safety Grants program
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – July 22, 2025 –This year, CenterPoint Energy’s Community Safety Grants Program awarded 99 grants totaling nearly $220,000 to communities in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas. Grants are awarded to local government agencies located within CenterPoint’s service area for community safety equipment and projects.
Since launching the program in 2003, CenterPoint has awarded approximately $3.5 million in grants for more than 1,700 efforts.
“At CenterPoint, safety is our core value, and this drives every effort we undertake as a company for the customers and communities we are privileged to serve,” said June Deadrick, CenterPoint’s Vice President, Community Relations. “Through our Community Safety Grant Program, we appreciate the opportunity to fund vital safety equipment and projects helping emergency responders and public officials save lives and improve the health and safety of our customers.”
Grants have enabled communities to fund various projects, including public AEDs (automated external defibrillators), water rescue materials, personal protective equipment for first responders, traffic control signs, utility locate devices and extraction tools to rescue people after vehicle crashes.
CenterPoint awards program grants up to $2,500 to local government agencies working to fill funding gaps for safety materials and projects.
