Gov. Mike Braun recently ceremonially signed into law a bill co-sponsored by State Rep. Cindy Ledbetter (R-Newburgh) criminalizing the sale, possession and use of signal jamming devices.

Illegal under state and federal law, signal jamming devices pose a dangerous threat to public safety by blocking electronic communications systems. Ledbetter said that jammers can prevent people from making crucial 911 calls and interfere with communications used by first responders, leaving them without vital situational awareness.

“This new law helps protect our law enforcement officers by ensuring this technology doesn’t prevent them from using their electronic communications tools,” Ledbetter said. “A critical part of our job at the General Assembly is updating state laws to encompass any threat posed by new technologies. Remaining vigilant empowers public safety officials to keep our communities safe.”

Ledbetter said the law goes a step further to protect public safety officials by elevating penalties for using signal jammers to disrupt the communication of a public safety agency.

The law also protects critical communications infrastructure such as wires and equipment used to provide communications services to customers.

SEA 26 received bipartisan support in both chambers during the 2025 legislative session. To learn more, click here.

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 2, 2025) – The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and partners throughout the state have worked with the Gulf Hypoxia Program (GHP) to develop a no-cost program with a focus on increasing the knowledge and use of soil sampling as a nutrient management practice to benefit farm operations. The program, titled Indiana’s Mississippi River Basin Soil Sampling Program, is open now for applicants.

“This program is helpful and valuable for our Hoosier farmers,” Lieutenant Governor Beckwith, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture said. “By offering no-cost access to soil sampling, this initiative supports farmers with the tools and knowledge to make smarter nutrient management decisions. I encourage our farmers to apply!”

ISDA promotes the importance of nutrient management and the principles of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship framework. The 4R framework incorporates using the “Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time, and Right Place” to achieve cropping system goals. This program focuses on soil sampling and testing as it is a key component, and first step, of developing a plan for nutrient management. Soil sampling provides an assessment of the soil’s fertility which can be used for making fertilizer application recommendations, assessing available nutrients over time, increase farmer profitability and enhance environmental protection by reducing the risk of nutrient loss. This project was developed to help further Indiana’s State Nutrient Reduction Strategy efforts.

“A no-cost program for farmers to utilize for soil testing is a great tool in this farm economy,” said Don Lamb, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “Healthy soils are vital for crop health, animal health and conservation. I am very proud of our department for managing this crucial on farm program and we encourage both row crop farmers and pasture owners to apply!”

This program includes row crop fields, pastures, hay and specialty crops located within Indiana’s portion of the Mississippi River Basin. Eligible landowners will be prioritized by acreage enrolled (i.e., 100 acres or less), fields that have never been soil sampled and fields that haven’t been sampled regularly (i.e., within the last four years). Further prioritization may be implemented based on ISDA’s workload capacity. This program excludes hobby gardens and private lawns.

Interested landowners can sign-up online at ISDA’s website or by reaching out to Nutrient Stewardship Program Manager, Ophelia Norman at soilsampling@isda.in.gov.

Sign-ups begin Tuesday, September 2, 2025, and ISDA is accepting registrations until Friday, October 17, 2025, or until funds are exhausted.

This program was made possible thanks to ISDA, Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Agriculture Nutrient Alliance (IANA), Indiana Conservation Partnership (ICP) members, farmers, and crop advisors.

STATEHOUSE (Sept. 2, 2025) – State Reps. Tim O’Brien (R-Evansville) and Matt Hostettler (R-Patoka) are commending a historic increase in third grade literacy rates for Hoosier students following results from the 2024-2025 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) assessment.

O’Brien, who serves as Chair of the House Ways and Means K-12 subcommittee, said third grade reading scores improved by nearly five percentage points, which is the largest single-year increase since Indiana launched IREAD in 2013. More than 87% of Hoosier third graders demonstrated proficiency in reading, putting Indiana’s literacy rate at this grade level back to pre-pandemic levels.

The lawmakers thanked Indiana’s education leaders, schools, teachers and families for their dedication to help Indiana students achieve these results.

“Indiana is already recognized as a national leader in education and it’s exciting to see continued progress for our students,” O’Brien said. “It all starts with the hard work of Hoosier educators and students showing up day after day with perseverance and a commitment to learn.”

Hostettler said these IREAD results follow Indiana placing sixth in the country for fourth and eighth grade reading in the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) rankings.

“These results reflect a strong focus on improving reading at the third grade level to ensure our students are set up for success,” Hostettler said. “I am grateful for the hard work of students, parents and educators in our communities for contributing to this positive growth in literacy rates.”

To improve Indiana’s literacy rates, the General Assembly passed a law in 2023 implementing science of reading standards, which is evidence-based instruction that increases students’ reading competency through phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, oral language skills and comprehension. A law passed in 2024 added screenings for students at risk of falling behind on reading proficiency and providing earlier intervention.

Results from the 2025 IREAD for individual schools and corporations are available on the Indiana Department of Education’s website. Click here to learn more about the state’s literacy standards.