Health care, life sciences, utilities and philanthropy reporter

Before joining IBJ in 2016, Russell was a newspaper reporter for 30+ years in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania at papers as small as a monthly trade journal and as large as the Chicago Tribune. Most of his career has been as a business reporter, focusing on large companies. He lives on the Northeast side of Indianapolis and enjoys riding his bike, growing wildflower gardens, playing chess and reading.

Quick facts:

Family: Wife, Colleen; two grown sons; three cats

Favorite podcast: “War on Cars”

First job: Delivering the Cleveland Press to 25 houses on his block after school at age 10. “I’ve been a news man ever since,” he said.

Articles

abn airport campus 2col

Airport delays vote on $500 million medical complex proposal

A vote on a proposal to build a $500 million medical complex at Indianapolis International Airport has been delayed so the board can take another look at the plan. The delay was announced after an IBJ story raised questions about the track record of the executive behind the plan.

Read More

Higher, higher, higher!

The FDA approved 98 percent of all applications for high-risk medical devices last year. That was the highest rate in at least 15 years.

Read More
abn airport campus 2col

CEO behind $500M airport proposal has mixed track record

The top executive at an Indianapolis start-up that wants to build a $500 million medical complex at the Indianapolis International Airport launched a 200-location Dunkin' Donuts business that went bankrupt in 2009 and he filed for personal bankruptcy in 2013.

Read More
rop-nursing-020816-2col.jpg

Retirements, aging population cause nursing shortage

Facing a surge of retiring nurses and a growing number of patients, Indiana hospitals are scrambling to fill thousands of nursing positions, raising questions about whether they will be able to keep operations fully staffed.

Read More
rop-towing-012516-2col.jpg

Lawsuits deluge operator of towing business

Brian Fenner, owner of Sperro Towing and Recovery and a former repo man, has been sued at least 14 times since October 2014 in Marion and Hendricks county courts, with lenders demanding he give back dozens of cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Read More