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CenterPoint Energy Restores Power To All Customers Affected By This Week’s Severe Weather

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Center Point Restored Energy 97% Of Customer Outages Within 48 Hours

 Evansville – Aug. 5, 2022 – CenterPoint Energy has issued the following update in Southwestern Indiana:

Following the severe weather on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, nearly 48,000 customers were left without electric service across the Evansville area. Approximately 48 hours after the storms, CenterPoint Energy restored power to 97% of affected customers, leaving only approximately 1,000 without service.

As of 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, all customers affected by the storms earlier this week have had their electric service restored.

“We are proud of the hard work and efforts of our crews to safely and quickly restore power to the majority of customers within 48 hours of the storms,” said Richard Leger, Senior Vice President, Indiana Electric. “The extensive damages caused by multiple lines of storms with lightning and winds that exceeded more than 50 miles per hour, and gusts of nearly 70 miles per hour over a 13-hour period presented many challenges for our crews.”

Over the last four days, 60 crews performing tree trimming and service restoration worked around-the-clock on approximately 320 individual outages affecting nearly 48,000 customers. On Monday evening, customer outages peaked at 30,000. Over the course of the entire four-day severe weather event, outages affected a total of 48,000 customers. In the last 24 hours, repairs to the hardest-hit areas required more than 40 pole replacements to reconnect electric service.

Leger added, “We understand the severity of the damage and unexpected extended outages were disruptive for many of our customers this week. We appreciate their patience and understanding. Additionally, we are thankful no injuries were reported as a result of one of the most significant storms to hit our region in six years.”

CenterPoint Energy reminds customers these storms may have caused damage to customer-owned equipment, such as their meter box or weatherhead – the point where the line enters the home through a pipe. In those cases, customers will need to contact a qualified electrician to make sure the damage is repaired before the company can restore service to them. After repairs are made, customers can call 1(800) 227-1376 to request reconnection of service.

Vanderburgh County Crash Report

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Vanderburgh County Crash Report

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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Booked Last 24 Hours-Public

With Senate Concurrence Friday Night, Bill To Ban Abortion With Narrow Exceptions Goes To Holcomb

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With Senate Concurrence Friday Night, Bill To Ban Abortion With Narrow Exceptions Goes To Holcomb

    • By Zachary Roberts, TheStatehouseFile.com
    • Aug 5, 2022 

By Zachary Roberts, TheStatehouseFile.com.

INDIANAPOLIS—With a vote Friday night in the Indiana Senate, a bill banning abortion with only a few narrow exceptions cleared its final legislative hurdle and is on the way for Gov. Eric Holcomb to veto or sign into law.

If the bill is signed into law, Indiana would become the first state to approve legislation to change its abortion laws since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The 28-19 vote by the Senate was to concur with amendments to Senate Bill 1 – passed by the Senate 26-20 on July 30 – approved in the Indiana House this week. The bill would be a total ban on abortions in Indiana with exceptions only for rape, and incest, to save the life of the mother, and – as the result of a House amendment – in the event of serious health risks to the mother.

Pro-choice protesters could be heard from inside the Senate chamber Friday night..

The bill author, Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, said she had been asked why she and other Republicans rushed to get this issue legislated.

“In 2021, 8,400 lives were lost to abortion,” said Glick.

Glick acknowledged that abortions will still happen illegally, but the bill is a step in the right direction to lower that number.

Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, supported the bill but said it isn’t where she or many other Republicans want yet.

“I know some of my colleagues here have been warriors for these babies, and women, are disappointed. Because we won’t save every baby from an untimely death,” said Brown. “I too am heartbroken, because we all believe that every life matters. But I know that what we are doing today is just the beginning, and our actions today will save so many lives.”

Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, and Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, were not as accepting of the exceptions allowed under the bill.

Young had many criticisms of the bill, saying that not only did it not go far enough but most of it didn’t make sense. He also thought the bill was rushed.

“We’ve got nine days left and I’m told we gotta get this done,” said Young, referring to the remaining time allowed in the special legislative session. “It’s our job (to fix the bill), we’re here right now.”

“ … My job is this. To protect every beating heart, born or unborn,” said Young.

As he said in opposing the bill when it first passed the Senate, Tomes explained he did not want his any vote to get confused with those of the Democrats or others. He said he was voting no because the bill didn’t go far enough.

“My no vote is because it (SB 1) doesn’t protect these unborn babies, not all of them,” said Tomes. “I would like to see a true pro-life bill that protects each and every one of these babies.

Sen. Mike Bohachek, R-Michiana Shores, changed his vote from yes in its Senate passage to no on the concurrence, saying that he had realized the bill did not provide protections for the mentally handicapped. Bohachek has a daughter with Down Syndrome.

“This bill offers no protection for them… and unfortunately they are assaulted at 10 times the rate that everybody else is. The underreporting is almost 85%…

“And I’m pro-life, I am… but this concurrence misses this opportunity to be able to address this… My daughter is 21 years old. If she lost her favorite stuffed animal, she’d need to be consoled. So imagine her carrying a child to term… I…,” said Bohachek emotionally before exiting the chamber.

Sen. Minority Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, also had many criticisms of the bill, including that it was rushed, was an attack on women, and could result in future rights being taken away.

“It’s not our fault what the Supreme Court did, but it is our fault if we push this through,” said Taylor.

Earlier Friday, the House passed the bill in a 62-38 vote, with nine Republicans breaking from the House supermajority to join all Democrats in opposition.

In her closing remarks before the bill’s passage, Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, the House sponsor of the bill, expressed gratitude to members of the chamber on both sides of the issue.

“There’s been utmost respect given to everyone on both sides,” said McNamara.

The bill, she added, helps both families and the unborn.

“This bill restores faith that human life has value,” said McNamara

Although all 29 House Democrats voted no, there were Republicans on both sides of the issue.

Rep. Ann Vermilion, R-Marion, opposed the bill, saying the bill had been rushed and not given “fruitful discussion.” Vermilion said she realizes she can be pro-life, pro-women, and pro-choice all at the same time.

“The last two weeks have changed me profoundly,’’ she said. “I have moved my ideology in ways I couldn’t imagine.”

Vermilion said as a Republican, she believes in limited government.

“I am a proud Republican,” said Vermilion. “No government should take away a woman’s ability for safe medical care.”

Vermilion also said the process has been very hard on her and the other lawmakers, who have likely cried, lost sleep, and had knots in their stomachs the past few weeks.

“I believe in the sanctity of life and I am a Christian,” said Vermilion. “Those that persecute me for this middle ground that most Republican women are on, I say I’ll see you in heaven.”

Rep. John Jacob, R-Indianapolis, also opposed the bill, but for a very different reason – because he opposed the exceptions it allowed.

“Pro-life means for life. Not just some lives, that means all lives,” said Jacob. “If you say you are pro-life, you would be for all lives …

“It (SB 1) is a weak pathetic bill that still allows babies to be murdered.”

After Jacob referred to women who have had an abortion as murderers, Rep. Renee Pack, D-Indianapolis, shared she had an abortion 30 years ago so she could continue her career in the U.S. Army.

“Sir, I am not a murderer, and my sisters are not murderers either,” said Pack, addressing Jacob.

“This is not necessarily a partisan issue. It really is not. Because outside of the Statehouse, it is bipartisan. And I’ll tell you why,” said Pack. “You have daughters, granddaughters, wives, sisters, girlfriends, mistresses, that have all had abortions, whether they be Democrat or Republican.

Although agreeing that the bill should not have exceptions to the ban, Rep. Jeff Ellington, R-Bloomfield spoke out in support of it.

Ellington explained his decision was to save as many unborn children as he can, using a military metaphor.

“This is not an easy vote, but if I’m on the battlefield and I’ve got 100 troops…if I’ve got the opportunity to save 93 of my men and work for the future, I’m going to do it.”

Rep. Elizabeth Rowray, R-Yorktown, also supported the bill, saying that it was an appropriate middle ground between two extremes.

Rowray said she had been pro-choice until the moment during pregnancy that she had her first ultrasound. She said after seeing it, she completely “flipped” her outlook.

She also added that the issue hits close to home because her mother would have had an abortion if it had been legal at the time that she became pregnant.

“I am going to vote on and pass this bill because if abortion had been legal in 1968 I wouldn’t have been alive to cast this vote”

Also Friday, the House passed and the Senate concurred on Senate Bill 2, which Holcomb also has indicated plans to sign into law. The bill uses $1 billion in federal reserves to give taxpayers a $200 refund check, repeals the tax on baby diapers, and provides $74 million to support programs to help mothers and families as a result of the abortion ban. It also caps the gasoline tax to $0.295 per gallon, puts $1 billion towards the Pension Stabilization Fund, and deals with other fiscal matters.

FOOTNOTE: Zachary Roberts is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

Another Morning Cup Of Coffee “News” 

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Another Morning Cup Of Coffee “News” 

AUGUST 6, 2022

By Dannie McIntire

A cup of coffee in hand this morning I perused the internet headlines for articles that many readers may have skimmed by or missed entirely.

An article titled “Researchers discover how to delay the decay of cells and tissue, restore function” caught my attention.

Apparently, researchers have recently discovered, through experimenting on pigs, that the decay of tissues after death can not only be halted but the tissue functions can even be restored.

First stopping the hearts of anesthetized pigs, after 60 minutes researchers restored circulation using specialized equipment, which corrected the damage to organs and veins which begins occurring after death.

The researchers hope this will allow keeping a body viable longer for organ transplants.

All good and well for mankind, but what really caught my attention was the researchers stated “During the entire experiment the pigs had no evidence of electrical activity in the brain”.

Now, this got me thinking about our congress and the possible ramifications of this medical breakthrough.

We already have many in congress that apparently show little or no brain activity. 

Without term limits, is it now conceivable that current congressional members such as Nancy Pelosi or Mitch McConnell may one day simply be hooked up to such equipment and remain in office as neither one has displayed any brain activity as of late?

Another cup of coffee, back pursuing the internet for news of importance;

Now, the next article that piqued my interest was about Spam, the lunch meat.  At a Duane Reade’s store in New York City, cans of Spam are now being locked up in individual  anti- theft cases, once taken to the checkout, the cashier removes the can from the case. 

Now I like Spam myself, usually, we keep a can or two in our pantry.  Always looking for an investment, I wondered if due to inflation my wife and I now had a valuable commodity sitting in our pantry we might be able to sell for an unexpected windfall.

Reading further, the store’s price for a can of Spam was $3.99, while not quite a windfall, it was an eye-opening revelation on the state of our economy when a can of Spam has to be displayed in an anti-theft case. You can’t make this kind of stuff up.

Another cup of coffee, back to pursuing the internet for news.

Having just referenced the state of our nation’s economy, it appears the democrats in congress are ready to ride to our rescue, hoping to pass their “Inflation Reduction Act”.

 U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (democrat-Arizona), appeared to be a hold out on passage of this bill until her cohorts agreed to remove a provision that would have imposed new taxes on “carried interest”. With this provision now removed from the bill, hedge fund managers/investors will continue to pay a lower capital gains tax rate on much of their income, instead of the higher income tax rate paid by “normal wage-earners”.

It appears that “hedge fund” political contributions “do talk”.

Now, the bill also includes an additional $124 billion to the Internal Revenue Service for the enforcement and collection of taxes to generate additional revenue for the government. I’m thinking the above hedge fund managers and investors are safe from added tax scrutiny, but I’m betting the small business owner and the average taxpayer had better be prepared to “cough up” the additional revenue.

Now not everything in this bill causes me heartburn. The bill allows for our government to negotiate with drug manufacturers to lower the cost of prescription drugs covered under Medicare while putting a $2.000 cap on annual out-of-pocket drug expenses. 

Just saying, with the amount of money drug manufacturers donate to various political causes on both sides of the political spectrum, perhaps the word “negotiate” is more of a misnomer. 

 What else piqued my interest today?

Governor Abbott of Texas continues to be my hero. He just sent New York City their first busload of migrants apprehended in Texas crossing the border illegally. Since the Biden administration is doing little to stem illegal immigration, the Texas governor has been sending busloads to sanctuary cities. His ploy may be working, but the Biden administration recently “quietly announced” it had authorized US Customs and Border Protection to close gaps in a border wall in Arizona to “protect immigrants from drowning while trying to illegally cross the Colorado river”. 

Notice the terminology used in the announcement, President Biden is not attempting to stop illegal immigration, just protect them from drowning. Pro-legal immigration Democrats should be able to live with that “wording”.

  Second Disinfectant Switch of the Year Starts August 15 and Ends October 3

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  Second Disinfectant Switch of the Year Starts August 15 and Ends October 3
 
August 6,  2022
EVANSVILLE, IND. – Starting August 15 and continuing until October 3, 2022, Evansville
Water and Sewer Utility (EWSU) will temporarily switch the disinfectant used in the water
treatment process to ensure the delivery of high-quality, safe drinking water to EWSU
customers. During the switch, you may notice a slight change in the odor of your tap water.
The switch to free chlorine from the regularly used disinfectant chloramine is a standard
preventative maintenance practice water utilities use to keep water mains clean and free of
potentially harmful bacteria throughout the year. EWSU switches disinfectants twice a year. 
The first switchover occurred from May 16 through July 5.
Here’s what you should know
 
What is Chloramine?
Chloramine is a disinfectant used in drinking water to remove bacteria and viruses
that can make you sick. It is made up of chlorine and ammonia. EWSU has used
chloramine as the disinfectant in its water treatment process since 1999.
 
What is Free Chlorine?
Free chlorine is a slightly more potent disinfectant than chloramine, and it is used
to remove more resistant bacteria and viruses that may be found in the water
distribution system.
 
Why would EWSU Convert from Chloramines to Free Chlorine?
State drinking water guidelines recommend that utilities that use chloramine
periodically switch to free chlorine for a while. The temporary use of chlorine will
ensure that a proper disinfectant level is maintained throughout the network of
water mains and pipes that deliver your drinking water.
Free chlorine is a more aggressive disinfectant than chloramine. This temporary
change in the water treatment process denies bacteria the ability to form a resistance 
to the usual disinfection treatment process. Switching to free chlorine is a proactive 
step to maintain optimal disinfectant levels in the water distribution
system.
As always, the drinking water will be regularly monitored to ensure that the water
delivered meets or exceeds federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
 
Why Does EWSU Use Chloramines Most of the Year?
While chlorine is an effective disinfectant, chlorine alone creates byproducts that
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates. These byproduct levels can
be significantly and cost-effectively reduced through the use of chloramine. Also,
chloramine has less smell than chlorine and remains in the distribution system
longer to prevent bacterial growth. As such, chloramine is a better long-term
choice as a regular disinfectant.
 
Will I Notice a Difference in My Water?
During this period, some customers may notice a slight change in the taste or odor
of their tap water. Free chlorine may have more of a chemical odor, slightly like
that of swimming pool water. Each customer has a sensitivity level to the taste
or odor of free chlorine. Many detect no change at all. The mild chlorine taste and
odor are typical and pose no health risk.
Are Free Chlorine and Chloraminated Water Safe?
Yes, chlorine and chloramine are effective and safe for people and animals for
drinking, cooking, bathing, watering the garden, and other standard uses.
However, precautions should be taken to remove or neutralize chloramine and free
chlorine during the kidney dialysis process, when preparing water for fish tanks
and ponds and businesses requiring highly-processed water. A dechlorination
procedure optimized for chloramine removal will work equally well with free
chlorine.
People and businesses that typically take special precautions to remove
chloramine from tap water (such as dialysis centers, medical facilities, and aquatic
pet owners) should continue to take the same precautions during the temporary
switch from chloramine to free chlorine.
Most customers will not need to take precautions as the water remains safe to
drink and is treated according to state and federal standards.
 
Information for Kidney Dialysis Patients
Just like chloramines, free chlorine must be removed from water used in kidney
dialysis machines. EWSU has contacted representatives from the medical
community to inform them of this temporary conversion. We advise dialysis
patients to call their physicians or dialysis centers if there are any questions.
 
Information for Fish Owners
Like chloramine, free chlorine is toxic to fish. Therefore, fish owners need to
remove chlorine, ammonia, and chloramine from the water before using it with
tropical fish. Local pet stores carry water conditioners that remove chloramine and
free chlorine. If customers have questions, we recommend contacting their pet
store for information and detailed instructions.
 

GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

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redline

GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

GAVEL GAMUT By Jim Redwine

“Mr. Redwine, this is the medical laboratory at the Palace of Pain. We have the results of your recent CT Scan. Would you like the good news or the bad news first?” 

“Oh, let’s go with the bad news; lay it on me.” 

“Okay Jim, the bad news is there isn’t much good news. However, you show no signs of any fatal health condition. On the other hand, you probably should stay away from any sharp instruments or loaded pistols until after we can remove the large kidney stone that showed up on your CT Scan.”

“What about just ignoring the stone; will it simply dissolve or pass on its own?”

 “I’m afraid not. What is most likely is the large calcified mass will dislodge on its own and seek to escape out of your kidneys. Of course, as a member of the male part of the species, you know the route the large stone must take to get free. Yes, that’s right, that is how it must escape if we just leave things up to Mother Nature. Or we can go in there and break it up and wait as the pieces work their way along the aqueduct system until they achieve the end of the waterway. What’s your pleasure (if you don’t mind the expression?)”

“Ugh, can’t you just shoot me? After all I’m almost 80 years old and it’s already been a pretty good run?”

“Actually, we’d be willing to shoot you but they won’t let us. We’ll have to dig out the kidney stone. It’s an easier procedure than Peg’s second hip replacement that’s scheduled in two weeks. She isn’t whining; it looks like she’s the one with the manly equipment. When do you want to get this rodeo started? It could break free at any time and, if it does, you know where it will get stopped up. You do not want that! We’ll give you a silver bullet to bite on. How about next week?”

“Can you give me a few more details?” 

“Sure, we’ll go in with a tube and break the stone up, leave a stent in to keep the passageway open then spend about the next week watching the pieces work their way out.” 

“Work their way out of where?” 

“Out of your kidneys, of course.” 

“How do they get out of my urine?”

“You already know where the urine comes out.” 

“Yeh, I know that but how do you get up there to get the pieces?” 

“We have to insert a long rubber tube up there, you know, there.” 

“How do you do that?” 

“We insert it in the end of the device Mother Nature gave you and let things progress, more or less, naturally.” 

“Okay, back to Plan B; let’s use that silver bullet for its truly intended purpose.”

“Nope, I lied we won’t shoot you. Not for your sake, but because we are all younger, we don’t have kidney stones and we’re not going to jail just because you’re a wimp. Buck up! Plenty of men, and a lot of women too, have survived kidney stones. As for me, I am ready to do this now. I’m not afraid.” 

“I’m impressed with your courage.”

Well, here we are. Two female nurses, Peg, one Marquis de Sade trying to pass for a Galen and me naked and exposed. “Isn’t that tube rather large and awfully long? What about a general anesthetic. And you better keep that sharp scalpel out of my reach.”

Well. Gentle Reader, it’s now two days after Peg’s surgery, one week after my two surgeries (yes, I had to have two), and I got the last laugh! Just as Peg got finished typing this article a mouse ran over her feet and she is now the biggest wimp at JPeg Osage Ranch! At least for one brief shining moment.

For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com

Or “Like/Follow” us on Facebook & Twitter at JPegOsageRanch

GOVERNOR’S PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSION RELEASES RECOMMENDATIONS

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Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Meeting

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 The Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation will meet for the regularly scheduled Board meeting Monday, August 8, 2022 at 5:30 PM in the Board Room of the EVSC Administration Building located at 951 Walnut Street, Evansville, IN. Board meetings can also be observed by tuning to EVSC’s radio station, 90.7 WPSR or live streamed online at https://www.wpsrhd.com/. 

Prior to the regularly scheduled Board meeting, three members of the Board, along with district administrators, will hold a Town Hall beginning at 5:00 PM. This Town Hall is for Vanderburgh County residents to speak directly with Board members in attendance about issues involving EVSC schools. The Town Hall will be held in the Technology and Innovation Center located at 951 Walnut Street, Evansville, IN. Members of the public who would like to attend the Town Hall should register by completing the Town Hall Registration Form located on our website at district.evscschools.com. 

WINNER OF INDIANA’S HIGHEST AGRICULTURAL AWARD

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the Indiana State Fair, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch presented Dr. Karen Plaut, Dean of Agriculture at Purdue University, and Gary Truitt, Chairman of Hoosier Ag Today and the Indiana Farm Equipment & Technology Expo, with the state’s highest agricultural honor, the AgriVision Award.

Now in its 16th year, the award is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to the agriculture industry and their communities.

“The agriculture industry is constantly growing and advancing thanks to businesses and education systems run by outstanding Hoosiers such as Dr. Plaut and Gary Truitt,” said Lt. Gov. Crouch. “They are taking technology and community involvement to the next level through their careers and many projects. These individuals are serving the State of Indiana to better the lives of future generations to come. These two agriculturalists and their families are well deserving of being awarded the state’s highest agricultural honor.”

Dr. Plaut came to Purdue in 2010 as Associate Dean and Director of Agricultural Research Programs and was promoted to Senior Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs in 2013. In May 2018, she was named the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture. In this role, she leads a college of nearly 300 faculty, more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students, with 280 Extension educators across all 92 Indiana counties. The college is ranked #8 globally and #4 nationally among colleges of agriculture and forestry.

In 2013, Dr. Plaut took the lead in writing the proposal that led to more than $20 million in funding for the Purdue Moves Plant Sciences Initiative. Some of the many accomplishments of this initiative include establishing the Center for Plant Biology and the hiring ten new faculty members, creating Ag‐Celerator™, a $2 million plant sciences innovation fund within the Purdue Foundry that provides critical startup support that helps Purdue/Indiana as well as developing new industrial and stakeholder partnerships that resulted in major funding to build and equip the Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center, the first field phenotyping facility in North America.

In 2021, she worked to secure more than $20 million in funding for Purdue Next Moves Plant Sciences 2.0 – the only Purdue Moves initiative to receive additional funding from the Board of Trustees. This second round of funding will leverage and expand Purdue Agriculture’s expertise in digital agriculture, phenotyping and agricultural economics to add value to plants and forest products by optimizing productivity, nutrition and sustainability traits and coupling these to consumer preferences. Recognizing that Purdue had the expertise in both forestry and data science, Dr. Plaut added a digital forestry component to this round of funding to better support Indiana’s hardwood industry whose annual economic impact is $10 billion and set up Purdue – and our state – to be a leader in developing digital platforms to revolutionize forestry and support critical efforts to monitor and mitigate devastating forest fires and pest/disease outbreaks.

Under Dr. Plaut’s leadership, Purdue’s College of Agriculture is a strong partner in growing economic opportunities and innovation in Indiana agriculture. The college supports entrepreneurship opportunities among its faculty and students and this focus has resulted in 24 new startups from within the College over the last five years. One specific area of success is within the plant sciences, which now accounts for 20 percent of the new startups at Purdue University. Dr. Plaut sits on the Board of Directors of AgriNovus Indiana, the state’s initiative to advance the agbiosciences sector. She works closely with the AgriNovus team to engage companies looking to locate or expand in Indiana to showcase how Purdue can collaborate with them in research, as well as provide a highly‐trained workforce. Since 2018, these efforts have resulted in 2,175 new jobs and $848 million in new capital investment in the state from companies like Inari Agriculture, Inc., Elanco, and Solinftec.

With more than 622,000 Hoosiers – including 130,000 4‐H youth – engaged through Purdue Extension programs in 2021, Dr. Plaut recognizes the important, yet evolving, role the college’s outreach programs play in both rural and urban communities across the state.

Both professionally and personally, Dr. Plaut actively seeks to engage others to build a stronger sense of community and an environment where all can thrive. Dr. Karen Plaut is playing a pivotal role in preparing the next generation of Indiana agriculturists and in building Indiana’s agricultural and agbioscience economy. She is advancing science to benefit people, animals and our environment while making a difference in the lives of others.

Gary Truitt arrived in Indiana in 1985 to begin the first of several ventures all designed to serve Indiana farmers and the agriculture community. The first project was to create the very first of its kind, live, daily farm radio network, serving only the Indiana audience. So was born the Indiana Agribusiness Radio Network, which was later renamed the AgriAmerica Network by new owners Emmis Communications. For his efforts in creating a radio network that touched all parts of Indiana, he was awarded the Farm Broadcaster of the Year from the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in 1988.

In 2006, with that network being sold a year prior by Emmis, and seeing Indiana again void of a state-based farm radio network, Gary founded his second network from the ground up, this time as the principal owner. Hoosier Ag Today is now the most listened to farm network in Indiana with over 70 affiliates statewide.

In 2018, he partnered with Farm World Newspaper to purchase the struggling Indiana/Illinois Farm and Outdoor Power Equipment Show, now named the Indiana Farm Equipment and Technology Expo. After many decades, and again to better serve Indiana farmers, the Expo was moved from its prior location to the new Grand Park Event Center in Westfield, Indiana. Exhibitors and visitors alike praised the move to the new, modern facility in December 2021. The future for this farm show, once on its last leg, looks very promising.

In 2019, Gary saw another opportunity for growth by purchasing the Michigan Agriculture Information Network. Now named Michigan Ag Today, this is another venture that is flourishing under the leadership of Gary Truitt.

Gary has cultivated lasting relationships over the years with national, state, and local farm leaders. He has traveled to 17 countries to bring the story of agriculture back to Hoosiers. His work ethic on the international trips has become legendary.

At present, he is the only two-time winner of the Farm Broadcaster of the Year award. Twenty-seven years after receiving it for the first time, he was honored again in 2015 with Hoosier Ag Today. Additionally in 2020, Gary joined the ranks of other legendary farm broadcasters by being inducted into the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Hall of Fame. This is the highest honor a farm broadcaster can receive within the industry.

Gary has been serving Indiana agriculture since 1985 bringing farmers and agribusinesses the news and information they need each day. This includes the markets, weather, and farm news that farmers rely on daily via their radio, website, the daily podcast offering, and daily newsletter. During this long career, Gary’s devotion has been to his Indiana farmer listening audience and readers. It is his unique media skills and vision that created each of the entities that have endured in economic good times and bad.

“Both ventures run by Gary Truitt and Dr. Plaut are pillars within the Hoosier agriculture industry,” said Bruce Kettler, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “Their passion is seen well beyond their operations and does not go unnoticed in their community. It is an honor to be awarding these outstanding individuals and recognizing their services to the citizens of Indiana.”

Above. Dr. Karen Plaut, recipient of the 2022 AgriVision Award, and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and ISDA Director Bruce Kettler.

Gary Truitt, recipient of the 2022 AgriVision Award, and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and ISDA Director Bruce Kettler.

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