2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: Dems come up short in Hamilton County
Voters on Nov. 3 dashed Democrats’ hopes of finally making big inroads in Hamilton County, where the GOP has long held a tight grip.
Year in Review
Articles
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: Trump’s defeat clouds Mike Pence’s future
After spending the last four years as the president’s most loyal soldier and the past year doggedly campaigning on his behalf, the vice president is contending with an uncertain future.
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: Holcomb sails to reelection
Myers was the state’s first Black gubernatorial nominee from either major political party—a significant milestone in an election year where race was a top issue. But that did not translate into the support needed to topple an incumbent.
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: Indians cancel season
The Indianapolis Indians didn’t throw a single pitch in 2020.
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: Pandemic forces restaurants, bars to close across central Indiana
Dozens of central Indiana restaurants have closed since the pandemic hit in March—some almost right away, unable to weather the forced closure of their dining rooms. Others gave up the ghost later, after takeout or restricted indoor dining failed to keep them afloat.
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: Delayed 500 runs without fans
In June, the IMS said it planned to run the race at 50% capacity. It lowered that figure to 25% later that month before announcing the zero-fan plan on Aug. 4.
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: City passes on BlueIndy assets
The city of Indianapolis in September decided not to exercise its option to purchase BlueIndy’s electric-charging stations, kiosks and other assets after concluding they are too old to be valuable.
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW: The pandemic changed everything—business, sports, travel—in 2020
The virus already has cost the region hundreds of millions of dollars, tens of thousands of jobs and more than 1,800 lives. Those losses are all but certain to grow as the calendar turns to 2021, amid an international effort to roll out an effective vaccine.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Lawmakers OK funding plan for arena updates, soccer stadium
The law, which passed with bipartisan support in April, created funding plans for most of a $360 million renovation of Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the construction of a $150 million soccer stadium for the Indy Eleven by diverting millions of dollars in annual state tax revenue to the Capital Improvement Board.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Penske Corp. acquires IMS, IndyCar Series
Penske—one of the most influential companies in the history of auto racing—will become just the fourth owner of the iconic track and will take over a series that many believe is on the upswing after many years of struggle.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Big year for Hogsett, Buttigieg and Dems in Boone, Hamilton counties
Despite no state or federal elections in 2019, Indianapolis and its suburbs made plenty of political news. Voters across the state cast ballots in municipal elections, re-electing Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett plus three Hamilton County mayors. The year also brought plenty of 2020 news.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Elanco strikes $7.6B deal for Bayer’s animal-health unit
The deal, which is expected to close by mid-2020, will swell Elanco from the world’s fourth-largest animal health player to the second-largest, behind only New Jersey-based Zoetis.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Ambrose pulls out of GM stamping plant project
Ambrose had detailed plans in 2018 for a $1.4 billion, mixed-use development called Waterside—and said construction would start in 2019. But on Sept. 27, Ambrose said it planned to reposition its business and move away from mixed-use and office projects, including Waterside.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Scotty’s Brewhouse, Palomino, Granite City among 2019’s biggest restaurant closures
When Scotty’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2018, it had 19 locations, including seven Indianapolis-area Scotty’s Brewhouses and a Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. in Broad Ripple. By the middle of this year, most of those had closed, including all the Indianapolis-area sites.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Celadon abruptly shuts down, wiping out nearly 4,000 jobs
The December announcement brought to a bitter close one of central Indiana’s great entrepreneurial success stories. Stephen Russell, the son of a New York City taxi driver, launched the business with a single truck in 1985 and grow it into the largest provider of international truckload services in North America, with more than 150,000 annual border crossings between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Indy Star, WISH get new owners, while Nuvo ends print publication
In August, GateHouse Media, a chain backed by an investment firm, announced it was buying Virginia-based USA Today and Gannett Co., which owned The Indianapolis Star, for $12.06 a share in cash and stock, or $1.4 billion. The deal closed in November.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: ClearObject, Doxly, Synovia among year’s big tech acquisitions
In one of the year’s highest-profile tech deals, two out-of-state private equity firms took a majority stake in Fishers-based tech company ClearObject, which for years has ranked among the fastest-growing firms in the Indianapolis area.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: IPS picks its new superintendent from within school district
Aleesia Johnson, a longtime ally of charter schools, was named superintendent of the state’s largest school district—Indianapolis Public Schools—in June, after filling the job on an interim basis for several months.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: New IndyGo CEO Inez Evans takes data-driven approach
Inez Evans started as IndyGo’s president and CEO just before the Red Line launched in September—a time of great promise but also complications.
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW: Bade abruptly changes direction after split with Ambrose partner
Aasif Bade has brought in a new team and made a series of promotions as he’s looked to pivot the Ambrose’s focus from a mishmash of developments to more projects in the e-commerce and industrial sectors—in hopes of capitalizing on continued growth and market demand.