FOOTNOTE: EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
Jones homers as Otters fall in middle game
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Evansville Otters (21-25) couldn’t find enough offense Wednesday as they fell to the Mississippi Mud Monsters (21-25) by a score of 5-1.
The Otters sent out Garret Simpson to start his third game this season. He went a strong first three innings, striking out three and not allowing a hit.
Mississippi was able to score in the fourth after a two-RBI double and a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-0 ballgame. They extended their lead in their half of the sixth to 5-0.
Jon Beymer came in for relief in the sixth and forced a clutch double play and timely ground out to escape the inning without further damage.
The Otters did show some fight in their half of that sixth inning. LJ Jones unloaded on a ball to left center field to put Evansville on the board for the first time. The solo home run went 425 feet and was a scorching 109 mph off of the bat.
The Mud Monsters closed it down after that and ended up with the 5-1 win.
The Otters bullpen was solid in the loss. They pitched four innings, not allowing a run and striking out four in total.
The Otters are back for the series finale tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. CT for Red, White and Blue night. There will be postgame fireworks as well as Thirsty Thursday deals around the park.
Governor Braun Identifies Environmental Regulations to be Revisited or Rescinded
d
INDIANAPOLIS – Today, Governor Mike Braun and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management released a report identifying regulations to be changed or rescinded to “support business development, job creation, and economic growth, while also striving to ensure responsible environmental protection and stewardship.”
“Government naturally drifts toward over-regulation, and it’s important to go through these regulations to make sure they aren’t stifling innovation an raising the cost of living for no benefit. My agencies have been directed to identify regulations that are raising the cost of living without benefiting our environment so they can be changed or rescinded; we can grow our economy while also safeguarding Hoosiers’ health and preserving our natural resources.” – Governor Mike Braun
On March 12, Governor Braun signed an executive order focused on growing our economy while preserving our natural resources by limiting environmental regulations to the robust federal standards.
Part of this executive order was a directive to state agencies involved with environmental regulation to identify “state environmental regulations that are unduly burdensome, significantly raise the cost of living for Hoosiers, are not supported by current law and the best available science, or do not benefit Indiana’s environment” and report them to the Governor to be revisited or rescinded.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued this report today on regulations that may be “unduly burdensome, significantly raise the cost of living for Hoosiers, not supported by current law and the best available science, or do not benefit Indiana’s environment.”
The report identifies 10 regulations for consideration to be changed or rescinded.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management also solicited public feedback on regulations and received ideas from farmers, small business owners, and local government on regulations and practices they view as outdated, overly burdensome, or could be improved to work better for its intended purpose.
‘Big, beautiful bill’ prompts a shopping spree
-
At least the pretense and make-believe games are over.
And we can see things as they really are.
The battle over President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”—the set of economic and policy priorities that are at the heart of his agenda—has torn away many masks and allowed Americans to see the snarling features beneath those masks.
When Trump first ran for president in 2016, he vowed to “make America great again” by restoring middle-class and working-class Americans to financial and cultural security. He blamed the perils they supposedly faced on outsiders, undocumented immigrants he labeled “dangerous hombres” who raped and murdered innocent U.S. citizens on a routine basis.
That there was little to no statistical evidence to back up his claims bothered neither Trump nor his followers, who seemed willing to accept anything he said.
Certainly, they accepted the fact that he devoted the first two years of his first term in office—his moment of greatest political leverage because his Republican Party controlled both chambers of Congress—not to building the wall along the southern border he’d promised or reinvigorating America’s industrial infrastructure, but instead to giving himself and other billionaires a massive tax cut.
Flash forward to now.
Trump is in the White House again, once more with the GOP controlling both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
And once again, he’s putting his own interests ahead of the people who put him in office.
The highest priority in Trump’s Frankenstein monster of a bill is the continuation of the massive tax cut for the uber-wealthy.
He and his cronies seem to think that it’s far more important for mega-billionaires to be able to afford that desperately-needed seventh luxury yacht than it is to provide health-care coverage to senior citizens, veterans and children.
Trump’s bill will result in nearly 18 million Americans losing their health care benefits. Many—perhaps even most—of those who will find themselves without coverage live in rural communities and states.
In other words, in the heart of Trump’s America.
But Trump’s focus never has been on helping the people who have offered him their devotion and treasure and twice made him president of the United States.
No, Trump’s focus, as always, has been on helping himself. He doesn’t want to make America great again.
He wants to make Donald Trump even richer.
That’s why this presidency has come to resemble one of those old-fashioned TV supermarket shopping sprees—a primitive game-show concept in which participants were turned loose in a store with instructions to grab anything they could carry away within a set period.
The haggling and infighting over this “big, beautiful bill”—which will add trillions to the national debt—has revealed the greedy, graspy nature of this second Trump era.
The bill started in the House, where Trump and Republican leaders arm-twisted and horse-whipped recalcitrant Republican members into supporting it. Many of those GOP House members beseeched the Senate to strip the measure of its more noxious features.
In the Senate, the process repeated itself—with one key difference.
One U.S. senator saw she had the leverage necessary to protect her state from the carnage that will ensue and used it.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, initially sent signals that she opposed Trump’s bill and its deep cuts to Medicaid. She was one of four Republican senators—Maine’s Susan Collins, Kentucky’s Rand Paul and North Carolina’s Thom Tillis were the others—who had done so.
Trump needed at least one of them to force a tie vote in the Senate that Vice President JD Vance then could break.
Murkowski has been vilified by left and right for “selling” her vote to protect Alaska’s most vulnerable citizens from this tragic fecklessness.
But all she did was read the situation. Murkowski realized that the passage of Trump’s bill was inevitable—does anyone really believe that Collins and Paul also wouldn’t have had prices?—and, in such a transactional environment, saw a chance to spare her constituents harm while millions of others suffered.
After Murkowski took care of her own, she along with other senators who voted for the bill then began all but begging the House to clean up the mess they’d just made.
Given that House Republicans have only three votes to spare, the shopping spree doubtless will continue.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. The views expressed are those of the author only and should not be attributed to Franklin College.
STRATEGIC MEDIA BUY UNDERWAY TO PRESERVE NUTRITION PROGRAMS FOR HOOSIERS
Feeding Indiana’s Hungry announced an aggressive, targeted media buy in Indiana this week to preserve federal nutrition funding, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is under threat in reconciliation legislation currently being considered by the United States Senate.
The media buy includes digital advertising across the Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Evansville media markets, as well as digital outdoor advertising in the 4th Congressional District, which will continue throughout the week. This paid media buy is in concert with Feeding Indiana’s Hungry’s ongoing earned media efforts to highlight the increased need for nutrition funding.
Based on preliminary estimates from Feeding America, the proposed cuts would reduce critical SNAP support by up to 6 billion meals to as much as 9 billion meals each year. By comparison, the entire Feeding America network, comprising over 200 food banks and 60,000 faith-based and charitable partners, provided 6 billion meals last year. Additionally, Medicaid cuts could leave 8 million people without healthcare, potentially resulting in 800,000 more people lacking adequate resources to access sufficient nutritious food.
Feeding Indiana’s Hungry is asking Hoosiers to contact their U.S. Senators and Representatives to vote against harmful cuts to programs and instead champion solutions that support the neighbors in your states and districts by creating thriving communities.
“Hoosiers will continue to struggle feeding their families with the drastic cuts Congress is currently considering,” said Emily Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. “The nonprofit sector is already scrambling to meet the need— the lines at food pantries are getting longer by the day— We call on Congress to act now to save lives.”
#
Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Otters drop opener after tough early innings
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Evansville Otters (21-24) dropped the opener to the Mississippi Mud Monsters (21-25) Tuesday night, 12-2.
The Otters sent out Anthony Patterson III for his fourth start and after his quality start in Gateway, he struggled early. He went four innings and allowed 10 runs while striking out four.
Evansville’s bats went cold after a great weekend against Florence. The Otters managed four hits, scoring one in the fourth and one in the seventh. JT Benson and Pavin Parks both hit doubles, Keenan Taylor singled in a run in the fourth and Ellis Schwartz got the fourth hit after entering in the seventh. He eventually came around to score the second run for Evansville.
Tyler Martin entered the ball game in the fifth and pitched solid in his three innings of work. He struck out two and allowed two runs.
Nolan Thebiay pitched two scoreless innings to finish the night for the Otters while striking out three.
The Otters are back in action tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. CT for Military Appreciation and First Responders Night. Gates open at Historic Bosse Field at 5:30 p.m..
July 4th: Red Cross Offers Safety Tips for a Harmless Holiday
From fireworks to time spent at the pool, remember tips to stay safe
INDIANA, (July 2, 2025) — With summer in full swing, it’s time to enjoy the great outdoors and warm weather. As Independence Day approaches, many people plan to attend fireworks displays and enjoy time in the water. The Red Cross recommends steps you should take to help celebrate safely.
FIREWORKS SAFETY The safest way to enjoy fireworks is to attend a public show put on by professionals. Consider celebrating with glow sticks, noise makers or silly string. If you choose to set fireworks off at home, follow these safety steps:
- Never give fireworks to small children, and never throw or point a firework toward people, animals, vehicles, structures or flammable materials.
- Always follow the instructions on the packaging.
- Keep a supply of water close by.
- Make sure the person lighting fireworks always wears eye protection.
- Light only one firework at a time and never attempt to relight “a dud.”
- Store fireworks in a cool, dry place away from children and pets.
- Never use fireworks around pets and keep them indoors. Exposure to lit fireworks can potentially result in severe burns or trauma, and many pets are also fearful of loud noises and can become lost, scared or disoriented.
WATER SAFETY Families should build confidence in the water by learning to be safer, making good choices, learning to swim and knowing how to handle emergencies. Preventing unsupervised access to water, constant, active adult supervision and knowing how to swim are critical layers of protection to prevent drowning.
- Designate a “water watcher” to keep a close eye and constant attention on children and weaker swimmers in and around the water until the next water watcher takes over.
- Have young children and inexperienced swimmers wear a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
- Teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
- Don’t dive in headfirst – protect your neck. Check for water depth and obstructions before diving and go in feet first the first time.
- If at a beach or water park, make sure lifeguards are on duty before you go in the water and follow all their instructions.
- Swimming in the ocean, a lake or river is different than swimming in a pool. Be sure you have the skills for these environments.
- Use waterproof sunscreen before leaving home and reapply during the day and drink plenty of fluids.
HEAT SAFETY The American Red Cross recommends taking three steps in extreme heat – stay hydrated, stay cool and stay connected. Extreme heat can happen anywhere and be deadly for anyone.
- Stay hydrated by drinking a cup of water every 20 minutes, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid sugary, caffeinated and alcoholic drinks.
- Stay cool by spending time in air-conditioned places. If your home is too hot, go to a mall, library or cooling center.
- Stay connected by checking on others and asking for help if you need it. Make sure pets have access to fresh water and shade.
- Heat cramps are an early sign of trouble signaled by heavy sweating and muscle pain.
- Heat exhaustion is more serious and signaled by heavy sweating, weakness, cool and clammy skin, muscle cramps, dizziness, fainting, nausea or vomiting.
- Heat stroke is a deadly condition signaled by high body temperature, rapid heartbeat, confusion, headache, dizziness, fainting, nausea or vomiting.
- Wear loose-fitting, lightweight and light-colored clothing. Avoid dark colors because they absorb the sun’s rays.
- Some people are at higher risk of getting sick because their bodies have a harder time staying cool. This includes older adults, children, pregnant women, people who take medication and people with chronic conditions or disabilities.
VHS Provides Recommendations on Keeping Pets Safe July 4th
(Evansville, IN – Our nation’s birthday is right around the corner. The Vanderburgh Humane Society is offering tips for how to keep everyone safe & happy for the holiday weekend!
While celebrations with fireworks are exciting for people, those same booms can terrorize animals. Nationally, the first business day following July 4th is the busiest at animal shelters for lost and found pets. “The thunderous noise from firework displays often frightens and disorients pets. They’ll do anything to get away from that noise,” says Amanda Coburn, VHS Director of Advancement. “Even the most social, easygoing pets are often affected. And sometimes it also happens to pets as they get older who may not have reacted as much in the past.”
When fireworks begin, dogs have been known to jump fences, dig out of their yards, break chains, and even bust through glass windows because of their fear. When pets are left alone to panic while owners are at holiday celebrations, ordinarily well-behaved pets may become destructive and unpredictable.
How to Keep Pets Calm During Fireworks
- Leave pets at home and inside. Fireworks can be terrifying to pets, even pets who are accustomed to being around crowds and commotion. Do not take them to crowded celebrations with you – they are often not permitted anyway!
- Create a home sanctuary. Whether you’re home or not, set up your pet in an area of your home where he or she is safe, comfortable and sheltered from any outside noise and lights. An interior room without immediate access to the outside is preferred. Playing a radio with relaxing music may help mask the sound of fireworks.
- Pet-proof your home. When scared, some animals may become destructive so be sure to remove anything from reach that can become damaged or may harm the pet if chewed or eaten.
- Consult a veterinarian for pets with anxiety. Reach out well before the Fourth of July to seek out potential medications for lowering pets’ stress level if this is a known issue. (Do not wait until the day before!)
- Wrap the pet in a Thundershirt. Similar to weighted blankets for humans, Thundershirts are a sort of security “swaddle” for pets. They are sold at most pet stores in various sizes!
What Happens If a Pet DOES Get Lost?
” src=”blob:https://city-countyobserver.com/9d6e3f23-545a-4c4d-932c-e805f9545867″ alt=”image006.jpg” align=”left” hspace=”12″ v:shapes=”_x0000_s1035″ class=”Apple-web-attachment Singleton” style=”opacity: 1;”>
- Identification is essential. Updated identification is critical to ensuring lost pets are reunited with their families. There are 2 very important ways to keep identification on your pet:
- A properly-fitting collar WITH an ID tag! The ID tag should include at least one current phone number, preferably two, along with your pet’s name.
For pets who do not have ID tags, the Vanderburgh Humane Society sells engraveable MyFamily Pet ID tags in their lobby during business hours! (Shown at right.) Tags range from $10-$20 (plus tax) and come in a variety of designs. Tags take only 2 minutes to engrave!
- A microchip! Microchips greatly increase your chances of getting your beloved pet home safely and promptly if someone finds them. Make sure that all of your contact information is up-to-date with the microchip company. (You can use a universal registry site like make www.petmicrochiplookup.org to check your pet’s chip if you have the number.) Put your pet’s microchip number as well as the name of the chip company andtheir phone number in your phone now so you have it handy in an emergency!
For pets who are not yet microchipped, Evansville Animal Care & Control offers this service during business hours for $25. It is a simple insertion with a small needle and takes just a few moments.
- Notify Everyone! If your pet is missing, quickly find recent photos of them.
o Share those photos on social media (make sure the posts are public so they can be shared.)
o Post them in the Evansville Lost Pets 2.0 Facebook group.
o Utilize online platforms like Nextdoor, Pawboost, and Petco Love Lost.
o Make some quick flyers to post in your neighborhood and hand some out to your Amazon & USPS carriers.
o Notify your pet’s microchip company that they are missing.
o Lastly, check local shelters in person every day. Things are very busy in shelters, especially after the 4th of July. Keep checking!
Additional 4th of July Safety Tips
- Do not leave fireworks out where your pet can eat them. Whether lit or unlit, fireworks are made of toxic materials that will make your pet sick!
- Use caution with pool chemicals. Many common pool treatments are poisonous to animals!
- Grapes/raisins, onions/garlic, and peanut butter sweetened with xylitol are all harmful to dogs. Be sure your pet is not getting table scraps at family barbecues & gatherings.
- NEVER leave your pet in a vehicle, even for a few minutes. Temperatures rise much faster inside cars even with the windows down. Dogs (and children!) die every year in hot cars.
Let’s make this a safe and happy Independence Day for people and pets by starting with prevention!
The Vanderburgh Humane Society is CLOSED on Friday, July 4th in observance of the holiday. Regular business hours resume on Saturday, July 5th from 12-6.
U.S. budget bill reactions, new Indiana laws, cut to Purdue degree programs
In response to Indiana Republican Sens. Todd Young and Jim Banks voting for the GOP’s budget, Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian released the following statement:
“Todd Young and Jim Banks once again failed Hoosiers by caving and passing Donald Trump’s disastrous billionaire-first budget. This budget is the worst bill to pass the Senate in over 40 years and it will rob Hoosiers of their health insurance, take food off the table, and kill good-paying jobs—all to line the pockets of the GOP’s billionaire donors. This budget is an attack on working families across Indiana. Hoosiers Democrats are mobilizing to hold Republicans accountable everywhere because the stakes have never been higher. This budget is retaliation to against states who expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and will strip healthcare coverage from 230,000 Hoosiers and lead to hospital closures in places like Logansport, Rensselaer, Portland, Sullivan, Washington, Bremen, Winchester, North Vernon, Brazil, Salem, Decatur, and Corydon. It’s shameful.”
Shortly after noon Tuesday, U.S. senators voted 50-50 on the “big, beautiful bill” and Vice President J.D. Vance broke the tie to send it back to the House.
Erin Macey, director of the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute: “We know that when Hoosiers are financially stable, they can better contribute to their families, communities, and the world. Making dramatic cuts to the programs families rely on to stay healthy and feed their families to give tax breaks to those who don’t need them hurts us all.
Olivia Smith, tax and budget policy analyst at the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute: “The most recent analysis we’ve seen suggests that Hoosiers in the bottom income bracket will see tax savings of only about $80—barely enough to fill the car’s gas tank or pay for back-to-school supplies—while those in the top 1% will receive an additional $60,000 in tax relief. The tax breaks for the top 1% provide more than what most working Hoosiers earn in a full year! While they can use this windfall to buy a luxury car or a lavish vacation, regular families will be worrying about how to keep food on the table. The cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will likely mean increased grocery bills and medical debt, while cuts to the funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will leave Hoosiers with an underfed, weakened watchdog. It’s distressing to consider the far-reaching impacts this will have on those who are already struggling to make ends meet and the domino effects on grocery stores, hospitals, and other corners of our local communities.”
Last week, Statehouse leadership selected topics for legislators’ interim study committees.
Rep. Gregory W. Porter, D-Indianapolis: “There are some valuable study topics this year, but there are a lot of missed opportunities. Indiana’s seeing cuts from the revenue shortfall, and the sword is hanging over our head with the One Big ‘Beautiful’ Bill. But we’re not going to discuss how these cuts or potential changes impact Hoosiers. We don’t know what will be in the final version, but we know things will change. We also need to look into the impact of tariffs on our small businesses, farmers and factories. Indiana will be going into these changes blind.
“We could lose nearly a trillion in federal Medicaid funding, but the Medicaid Oversight Committee isn’t meeting. We’re not going to discuss the change to HIP 3.0, the implementation of work requirements or the FSSA’s plan for increased eligibility checks. None of my submissions to examine additional revenue streams were considered, including adjusting the alcohol tax, free play casinos, or a small tax on soda. Even a small tax increase could bring local public health funding back up to its original appropriation.
“But we’re not going to look into solutions for the revenue shortfall. Even if our state revenues do rebound, the One Big ‘Beautiful’ could sink us again. There are several devastating problems we could have addressed this summer but chose otherwise.
“Indiana’s at a fork in the road, and instead of continuing the journey, we’re stopping for a picnic.”
House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, issued the following statement on the new laws going into effect July 1:
“Today, Indiana’s misguided budget and Medicaid cuts go into effect. In recent weeks, we’ve seen our state pre-K program get cut. Just yesterday, the Commission for Higher Education announced that over 400 degree programs at public universities will be cut or merged.
“What this all means is this: Working people get ripped off while the wealthy get richer. You’ll have fewer health care options and your local public school will have less funding. Meanwhile, you’ll be paying more taxes and receiving less services. But at least a few corporations no longer have to pay some business taxes, and wealthy families who already were sending their children to private school will get a tax break for it.
“This doesn’t have to be Indiana’s future, though. Indiana House Democrats are committed to fighting for laws that invest in public education, protect health care, and ensure working families aren’t left behind.
“The message from Statehouse Republicans is that you should be happy with less. House Democrats believe you deserve more. You deserve an Indiana you can afford.”
On June 30, the Commission for Higher Education (CHE) announced that more than 400 degree programs across six of Indiana’s universities would be eliminated, suspended or merged. The state budget included a statute setting a minimum threshold of graduates for all degree programs. Across all Purdue University campuses, 83 programs will be impacted. Programs include bachelor’s in various disciplines of engineering, foreign languages, special education, economics and mathematics.
Rep. Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette: “This is an overreach of government into higher education, echoing a dangerous national trend. The majority isn’t outright controlling students’ education, but they’re restricting it, which achieves the same goal. Students should be able to study whatever they choose, especially since they’re paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for it. Programs impacted include economics, secondary education, finance and three engineering disciplines. I was especially shocked to see special education degrees on the list.
“When I got my master’s in audiology at Purdue, it was a relatively small program. But the size of the program didn’t matter. It was offered because students were interested, and even though the discipline is small, audiologists provide essential services.
“Our public university is arguably our state’s greatest strength. Purdue is globally recognized. But to continue their record of success, Purdue has to be a great place to work and study. The General Assembly has continued to undercut these efforts with tenure reviews, monitoring instruction and now eliminating degree programs. It will get harder and harder for Purdue to pitch itself to out-of-state students and the nation’s top researchers.
“For the party of small governance, this is a gross overreach into students’ academic opportunities.”