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Commentary: National Indecision Could Make Indiana Relevant

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By Mary Beth Schneider
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana touts itself as the “Crossroads of America.”

But where presidential politics is concerned, we’re more like the Backroads of America.

Most years, we don’t play; we ride the bench. Our voters are bystanders to election dramas playing out in Iowa, New Hampshire and the slew of “Super Tuesday” states during the primaries, and to the few swing states like Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin in the general election.

That could change this year, as it did in 2008 when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were still competing for the nomination by the time Indiana’s May primary rolled around and as it did in 2016 when Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas were making a last-ditch effort to stop Donald Trump.

Right now, there is no single front-runner in the Democratic primary field. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is clinging to a small lead in the overall delegate count after having apparently won the mucked-up Iowa caucuses and coming in second in New Hampshire to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has new-found momentum after surging to third in New Hampshire. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren aren’t giving up yet.

Potentially overshadowing them all is former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, whose sizable fortune is now directed squarely at Trump. You can tell who Trump considers a chief rival by the vitriol he aims at them in Twitter, and lately it’s aimed with juvenile insults at Bloomberg.

Indiana’s primary — this year being held on May 5 — is ridiculously late. By the time Hoosiers make their nominating preferences, 40 states will have already held their primaries or caucuses.

For Indiana votes to matter, we have to hope no one has locked up the 1,991 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.

Please let it happen.

In 2008, I saw the difference it made as Obama, Clinton and their surrogates, including former President Bill Clinton, crisscrossed Indiana personally appealing to voters. I’d covered Iowa New Hampshire and other early primary states and witnessed the engagement and excitement that face-to-face contact with candidates propels. I just never thought I’d see it here.

It mattered. In a typical primary election in Indiana, only about 20 to 22 percent of voters bother going to the polls. In 2008,  primary turnout was 40 percent. That November, the organization Obama maintained in Indiana helped him narrowly win this state’s electoral votes, with an increased general election turnout of 62 percent.

In 2016, when Republicans were competing in the primary here, turnout went up to 38 percent.

Kip Tew, a former Indiana Democratic Party chairman who was state chairman of Obama’s presidential campaign here, wrote about that 2008 election in his book “Journey to Blue.”

“It was the best time of my life in politics,” Tew told me. “There’s nothing that comes close to 2008 as far as feeling like I was part of something that mattered… Citizens of Indiana were completely engaged on the Democratic side, so it was wonderful.”

The impact is still being felt, he said.

“Most of the people that were deeply involved in 2008 that I’d never seen before in politics ended up staying in politics, in a good way,” Tew said. “They got involved. They stayed involved. They understood the importance of civic engagement. It was a wonderful infusion.”

He sees a trend: 2008, 2016 and, potentially, this year.

“It’s looking increasingly like (Indiana’s primary) is going to matter,” Tew said. “I see at least three candidates with staying power: Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Sanders. There may be a clear leader by then but we sure as hell don’t know now. And I think actually the fourth and fifth-place finishers in New Hampshire (Klobuchar and Biden) still have a path. You can’t count out Biden.”

The idea of the Democratic nomination still being up in the air sends shivers down the spine of many national Democrats who envision a bloodbath convention and sore losers hurting the eventual nominee.

But I want national politics to be more than a spectator sport in Indiana. The Electoral College — despite being an anachronism that doesn’t function the way Alexander Hamilton expected and which values empty land over actual voters — isn’t going to change any time soon. A meaningful primary is, however, a realistic possibility.

Happy days may be here in Indiana again.

Mary Beth Schneider is an editor at TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalists.

Aces Close Out Indoor Regular Season at IU

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The University of Evansville men’s and women’s track and field team posted a number of strong finishes in a highly competitive IU Hoosier Hills Invitational, Friday night.

Breaking the mile run school record in back-to-back weeks, Anna Lowry took eighth with a 5:01.40-mile time, moving into the top-10 fastest miles ran in the league.

Michael Boots broke the school record in shot put with a 15.22-meter toss to finish in sixth place, while also taking seventh in the weight throw with a 14.79-meter attempt.

Haylee Harmeyer again bested her own 400-meter dash program record time to 1:01.15 to finish seventh in the event.

The Purple Aces will return in two weeks for the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, held in Cedar Falls, Iowa, February 29 through March 1.

Evansville softball defeats defending C-USA champs

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Aces split opening day of Jaguar Challenge

Week two for the University of Evansville softball team got off to an excellent with the Purple Aces earning a win over defending Conference USA champion Louisiana Tech on its way to a split in the opening day of the Jaguar Challenge.

“It was awesome to finally be playing outside.  We have only had two practices on the dirt this spring, so today was more about getting our feet under us,” UE head softball coach Mat Mundell said.  “It was a really windy day, so it presented some challenges for all of the teams.  I thought we did a great job of competing in the circle in both games.  This team continues to get better; we created some great scoring chances but left too many baserunners stranded today.”

Emily Lockhart earned her third victory of the season, tossing a complete game in a 5-4 win over Louisiana Tech top begin the day.  She allowed four runs, three earned, on nine hits.  The Lady Techsters struck first with two runs in the top of the first before the Aces cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame.  Jessica Fehr reached on a 1-out double and would come home on an error.

Katie McLean got the second inning started with a double to left and scored on a Lindsay Renneisen base knock to tie the score up at 2-2.  The big inning for UE came in the fourth when the duo of McLean and Renneisen struck again, each hitting a single to lead off the inning.  Kat Mueller advanced the pair on a sacrifice to put them in scoring position.  Renneisen would score the go-ahead run on a single by Eryn Gould before Halie Fain came home on a La. Tech error.  Gould would wrap up the scoring as she crossed the plate on a Jessica Fehr single.

Louisiana Tech inched back with a single run in both the fifth and sixth innings, but Lockhart would not let them get any closer, finishing off the win.  UE had nine hits with Fehr, McLean and Renneisen posting two apiece.

Austin Peay scored first in the second contest of the day for the Aces.  A single run crossed the plate in the bottom half of the second before UE tied it up in the third.  Alyssa Barela reached on a 1-out single before Haley Woolf (HBP) and McLean (walk) would load the bases.  Hannah Hood picked up the RBI when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Halie Fain, who pinch ran for Barela.

The Governors struck again in the bottom of the third, plating three runs to go up 4-1.  Evansville made an effort to come back, scoring a single run in the fifth on a Jenna Lis RBI single, but APSU hung on for the 4-2 victory.  They posted 11 hits while the Aces finished the game with six.  Izzy Vetter tossed three innings and allowed the four runs with three being earned.  Erin Kleffman went three scoreless inning and allowed three hits.

Tomorrow, the Aces face Louisiana Tech at 12:15 p.m. before the first of two meetings against host South Alabama at 4:45 p.m.

Eagles split opening day with Davenport

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The University of Southern Indiana baseball team opened the 2020 campaign Friday with a doubleheader split against Davenport University at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex, taking the season-opener, 8-6, before dropping the nightcap, 10-1.

The Screaming Eagles (1-1) were led at the plate with a three-for-six afternoon from sophomore outfielder Austin Moody, including a pair of triples, two RBI, a run scored and a walk. Sophomore infielder/catcher Lucas McNew also tallied three hits, with two in the opener, including an RBI-double.

Senior pitcher Tyler Hagedorn picked up the day’s first decision in relief, with three innings pitched and three strikeouts.

Game One: USI 8, Davenport 6

Senior right-hander Austin Gossmann took the first start of the season for the Eagles. The Avon, Indiana-native did not register a decision despite collecting four strikeouts over six innings pitched, allowing three runs, just one earned.

USI answered the Panthers’ (1-1) second-inning pair with a bases-loaded walk by Moody, tallying his first RBI as an Eagle by scoring junior first baseman Aaron Euler. The Eagles tallied six walks total in the game, three to this point in the contest. The Panthers’ scoring came from what was eventually Gossmann’s earned run on a fielding error, followed by a fielder’s choice.

Moody returned to the plate to tie the game, 2-2, in the fourth with his first collegiate hit, a triple in the left-centerfield gap, to score senior catcher Wyatt Daly. The ensuing groundout to second from sophomore leftfielder Bryce Krizan scored Moody to take a 3-2 lead into the fifth.

Both teams began trading runs in the sixth inning. Gossmann left the game after the sixth in a 3-3 deadlock before Euler crossed the plate a second time. Hagedorn was dinged early on in his relief appearance for a pair of runs in the seventh inning before the Eagles put together a four-run bottom half of the frame.

Down 5-4, senior shortstop Kobe Stephens scored on a double off the bat of McNew, who was then pushed home by a single from senior designated hitter Manny Lopez. Junior second baseman Ethan Hunter capped the scoring with a single to right, scoring Daly and Lopez with help from a Panther’s fielding error.

Davenport added one final run on an RBI-triple in the ninth before Hagedorn shut the door for good. The 8-6 final tally earned the Evansville-native his first victory of 2020, and the eighth of his career, with three punchouts in three innings of relief.

Game Two: Davenport 10, USI 1 

Freshman centerfielder Steven Molinet picked up his first collegiate hit with a leadoff triple to open the second game, scoring on a subsequent groundout from Stephens. The Eagles did not carry the 1-0 lead for long, however.

Senior pitcher Paul Perez took the mound for Friday’s B-side, though it was short-lived; the righty was chased from the mound after allowing four runs in the second inning before getting the hook, leaving men on first and second with one out for sophomore reliever Sammy Barnett. The Panthers added one final blow in the stanza as Davenport’s Travis Harve belted a three-run home run to left field scoring both inherited runners, closing Perez’s line with six runs on three hits and four walks.

The Panthers added three more runs before the end of the night, picking up one more on Barnett before the end of the fourth, while the other two came from a triple allowed during freshman infielder/reliever Trent Robinson’s three innings to conclude the game. The Louisville-native racked up five strikeouts in his relief appearance.

Up Next

USI Baseball returns to the Hoover Metropolitan Complex tomorrow for the rubber match with Davenport. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. CT.

The Eagles make their way back to Evansville February 21 to begin a home-opening three-game set against Trevecca Nazarene University at the USI Baseball Field.

EPD REPORT

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EPD REPORT

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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https://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/jail-recent-booking-records.aspx

Commentary: Scary Stories For Grownup Children

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INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, took some time out of his busy schedule the other day so he could scare some schoolchildren.

The moment came at a Third House session in Columbus. Lucas, who rolls over and retrieves for the gun industry whenever the National Rifle Association snaps its fingers, was one of the lawmakers in attendance.

The Republic reported that about 60 people were in the crowd at the Third House. Among them were a handful of students from ABC-Stewart School.

One of the students, a sixth-grader named Jackson Brewer, asked the lawmakers their thoughts on a proposed new state law that would allow teachers to receive firearms training and permit retired law enforcement officials to carry guns on school property.

In response, Lucas recited his NRA-drafted-and-approved talking points. Gun laws can’t prevent school shootings. Arming teachers can make schools safer. And a federal court has ruled that the police don’t have a duty to protect students while they’re being shot.

As is almost always the case with Lucas, each one of those arguments is either misleading, false or wrenched out of context.

That’s because his priority is protecting guns. If the truth takes a hit in the process, so be it.

For the record, just about every study or survey not paid for by the gun industry shows that violent crime rates tend to be lower in states and countries that have stricter gun laws. There is no evidence that arming teachers will decrease school shootings. And the federal court ruling Lucas refers to says that neither police nor the schools themselves can be held liable for school shootings, just as we cannot sue fire departments for not saving our houses when they burn down.

It was after Lucas ran to the end of his scripted talking points that the weirdness truly began.

The student asked the lawmaker if Lucas thought having more guns around would make students feel safer.

Lucas, The Republic reported, answered “absolutely.”

Then he said, “I’m carrying right now. Does that scare anybody?”

About a third of the people in the room raised their hands. Still, others verbally said, “Yes.”

It’s not surprising Lucas was caught off-guard. Because he only listens to people who think exactly the way he does, it doubtless does amaze Lucas that there are people in the world who don’t see a gun as the answer to every problem.

Some of the gun advocacy groups picked up on the story, which gave Lucas a chance to crow, once again, that he had won national attention for “standing up” for Second Amendment rights.

It’s easy to see why he was so pleased with himself.

Those sixth graders can be a scary bunch. It’s surprising that Lucas didn’t bring an anti-aircraft gun to the Third House event. Some of the paper airplanes elementary school students fashion these days can be positively terrifying.

All this might amount to just another performance of Jim Lucas’s theater of the absurd but for one thing.

His argument is circular and serious.

Deadly serious.

What he and his NRA brain trust contend is that, because the gun lobby and the gun industry have been so successful at flooding this country with guns, it now is an incredibly dangerous place. Because it is so dangerous, we need still more guns to protect ourselves. This, in turn, makes the country still more dangerous, so we will need even more guns.

And on and on and on.

It’s the kind of thinking only a gun profiteer or fetishist could love.

To keep that circle expanding, Lucas and his fellow travelers want us – need us – all to be scared.

That’s all the time and that’s everyone.

Even schoolchildren.

FOOTNOTE: 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.

 

Selby: AG Hill Should Get 60-Day Suspension, No Automatic Reinstatement

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Selby: AG Hill Should Get 60-Day Suspension, No Automatic Reinstatement

| IL Staff

The hearing officer presiding over Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s discipline case has recommended that the state’s highest-ranking attorney serve a two-month suspension without automatic reinstatement for violations of two professional conduct rules related to sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Myra Selby, a former justice of the Indiana Supreme Court who now works as an Ice Miller LLP partner, filed her hearing officer’s report Friday afternoon, recommending Hill be suspended for 60 days without automatic reinstatement.

She concluded the AG violated Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(b) and (d) and committed Class B misdemeanor battery against four women – State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon and legislative staffers Gabrielle McLemore Brock, Niki DaSilva and Samantha Lozano. The rules violations are for a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer and engaging in conduct is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Selby’s recommendation will go before the Indiana Supreme Court, which will make the final determination on what, if any, discipline Hill should face.

The four women accused Hill in 2018 of sexual misconduct by groping and/or touching them without their consent. Hill has vehemently denied the allegations and has resisted calls for his resignation. Additionally, a prosecutor declined to file criminal charges against him.

“The position of Indiana Attorney General is an executive branch equivalent of a judicial officer,” Selby wrote. “The Indiana Attorney General is the highest level of attorney in the State of Indiana. The Indiana Attorney General and the Office of the Indiana Attorney General serve the citizens of the State of Indiana by enforcing the laws of the state.

“Accordingly, the Indiana Attorney General’s duty to confirm his or her behavior to the law arises from more than his or her status as an attorney,” Selby continued. “The Attorney General is the state’s chief law enforcement officer and is charged with the administration of the law. The Indiana Attorney General holds a position of public trust and engages in work that has a wide impact across the state.”

Selby then wrote that Hill’s conduct caused injury to his accusers and was “offensive, invasive, damaging, and embarrassing.” He has “showed no insight regarding the impact of his actions,” she said.

But Selby did not find evidence supporting the third charge against Hill — that he violated the Oath of Attorneys, Admission, and Discipline Rule 22.

Selby’s report also focused on Hill’s actions after the allegations became public. “As Attorney General, he used his state office staff and others to engage in a public campaign to defend himself and intimidate the complainants,” her report concluded.

The hearing officer’s report comes after a four-day evidentiary hearing in October during which Hill, his accusers, and numerous witnesses took the stand.  Hill is also in the midst of a crowded re-election campaign. If he were suspended, it is unlikely he would be legally permitted to carry out the duties of the office of the attorney general.

According to an Indiana Supreme Court spokeswoman, the parties have 30 days to file for review of Selby’s report and/or briefs on sanction.

FOOTNOTE: The case is In the Matter of Curtis T. Hill, Jr., 19S-DI-156.

 

Workers In Indiana Could Earn Up To $25 An Hour Working For Census Bureau In 2020

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By Victoria Ratliff
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS—Workers in Indiana could earn up to $25 an hour working for the United States Census Bureau in 2020.

Nearly 500,000 census workers nation-wide will be hired for field and office, including census taker positions which collect data door-to-door.

Indiana’s unemployment rate is currently at 3.2% and Carol Rogers, the governor’s liaison for the census, said she believes the impact of fewer workers has already been felt. She is a co-director of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.

Some positions in Indiana could pay up to $25 an hour because the wages were recently raised because of the low number of applications.

She said the Census Bureau is countering the unemployment rate’s effects by offering flexible part-time jobs with high pay rates.

The United States Census Bureau conducts the survey every decade as required by the U.S. Constitution to count every person living in the United States, collecting demographic data including age, race, sex, and date of birth of every person living in the residence as of April 1, 2020. Other information gathered includes whether the residence is rented or owned, whether anyone is of Hispanic or Latino descent, and the relationship of each person to the individual filling out the form.

The data gathered through the census provide a snapshot of the United States and the statistics are used by businesses, government officials and others.

As the population of the country shifts, census data are used to redraw legislative district boundaries at the federal, state and local levels. Indiana currently has nine congressional districts, down from 10. The state lost one representative following the 2000 census.

Indiana’s current main goal is to amplify the Census Bureau’s messages, which is to encourage every person to fill out the form when it arrives, Rogers said.

Every state, including Indiana, has Complete Count Committees, which conduct meetings in cities and towns across the states meant to increase local awareness about the census.

Rogers said these meetings, along with state agencies promoting the census, is the state trying to inform locals and do their part to help with the census process.

This year, the Census Bureau is also expanding how it collects data. There are now options for those who might have found difficulty in filling out the physical form, including online, over the phone, or on paper through the mail. The online option is designed to make filling out the census easier for the public.

The Census Bureau is also taking other measures to count those living in special situations, including college students, those living in remote areas, and those experiencing homelessness.

The bureau has also extended the deadline to self-respond and has built a network to secure the online census.

“We’ve got people working around the clock to make it confidential,” Rogers said.

All responses to the census will be collected by July, and apportionment counts will be delivered to the president and Congress by December. The data will be publicly available early next year.

FOOTNOTES: Victoria Ratliff is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

 

Bill Could Remove Financial Barriers For Students

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Bill Could Remove Financial Barriers For Students
by Wendy McNamara
Some students may turn down valuable experiences, such as paid internships, apprenticeships, and work-based programs because the income they earn could put their families at risk of losing their benefits.

Because every student should be able to take advantage of these experiences regardless of their family’s financial situation, a bill I supported would exempt students’ income earned through these programs from their families’ eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

This legislation also comes at a time when Indiana needs to strengthen and grow its workforce to meet employers’ demands.

House Bill 1009 is a win-win for young Hoosiers and Indiana’s workforce as it breaks barriers for low-income families and supports a solid pipeline of skilled employees to keep the state’s economic momentum moving forward.
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