Board backs site for $2.1B Indiana fertilizer plant
Posey County's Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday approved a permit for the project on 219 acres of farmland in an industrial area near Mount Vernon.
Environment
Articles
City officials aim to build on momentum for cycling
Indianapolis has become a more bike-friendly city, and city planners are looking to ensure the progress continues. The Metropolitan Development Commission will vote Oct. 16 on a bicycle master plan that lays out a host of educational and policy initiatives to encourage two-wheeled transportation.
State tourism destinations hope shutdown is short
The shutdown has closed or limited access to Indiana’s federal forests and parkland, including the 13,000-acre Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Eco-friendly lighting firm gains wattage after recession
Eco Lighting Solutions in Fishers designs and sells induction lighting, which costs less to install than LED and requires less energy than fluorescent. Induction lights work a lot like cheaper fluorescent ones, but don’t burn out as quickly.
Sides speak out in hearing over so-called ag-gag bill
The debate before the Economic Development Study Committee comes five months after House Speaker Brian Bosma killed a bill that would have made it a crime to secretly shoot photos or video on private property with the goal of harming a business.
Obama takes on coal with first-ever carbon limits
New requirements could have a major impact in Indiana, which gets more than 90 percent of its electricity from coal plants and ranks sixth in the nation in coal production.
New vision for Eastgate includes solar farm
A former east-side shopping mall will soon be covered in solar panels, possibly the most transformative of property owner Alex Carroll’s various redevelopment efforts.
Biofuel fraud case shines light on Imperial CEO
Federal prosecutors say Jeffrey Wilson did not initially know about a fraud scheme in Imperial Petroleum’s new subsidiary, E-Biofuels, but allowed the deception to continue once he did, costing investors tens of millions of dollars.
Ruling: Indiana failed to study mine’s water impacts
An environmental law judge has found that Indiana failed to fully assess the impact of coal waste runoff on local waterways when it issued a permit for a southwestern Indiana surface coal mine that’s the largest such mine east of the Mississippi River.
Purdue uncorks web series on Indiana wine industry
Series organizer Natalie van Hoose says “Indiana’s wine industry may be small, but it’s really quite remarkable.”
Indiana corn deteriorating under hot, dry conditions
A Purdue Extension corn specialist says the combination of dry weather and extreme heat during critical weeks for kernel-weight development is causing Indiana's once-thriving corn crop to decline.
IndyGo to use $10M grant for all-electric buses
IndyGo will use a $10 million federal grant to convert 22 city buses to all-electric power. Each bus will cost about $550,000 to convert and will have a range of about 100 miles.
Tesla luxury electric car seeking outpost at Fashion Mall
Tesla Motors Inc. is eyeing space in the Fashion Mall at Keystone and is seeking a zoning variance to sell cars there and to install charging stations within the parking garage.
Long dry spell hurting Indiana corn, soybean crops
Two-thirds of Indiana’s top soil is listed as short or very short of moisture.
Duke Energy to retire five Indiana coal-fired plants by 2018
A state administrative law judge oversaw the settlement, which was signed Wednesday by Duke Energy, the Sierra Club, Citizens Action Coalition, Valley Watch and Save the Valley.
Panel questions cuts to Indiana recycling programs
Legislators and recycling advocates asked the state environmental chief Wednesday why millions of dollars had been shifted out of recycling programs since the recession, saying the initiatives could have created thousands of jobs.
Drought didn’t stop Indiana farmland value growth
High net farm income, low interest rates and high farmland demand with supply combined to increase land values upward by 14.7 percent to 19.1 percent, depending on productivity, according to the study.
Recycling group’s leader changes mind about leaving
The Indiana Recycling Coalition said Executive Director Carey Hamilton, who announced she was leaving earlier this month, would remain with the organization in a restructured role.
Legislators mull allowing farm wineries to sell direct
Indiana wineries complain that current rules about selling to retailers and dealers are onerous and can mean splitting up a family business.
Chemical cleanup planned at old factory site
The trust created to revitalize and market former General Motors properties has set aside about $7 million to clean up a contaminated site in Kokomo where a factory stood from 1915 to 1993.