LOPRESTI: Was 2015 a favorable year for Indiana sports? Yes and no
Disappointing Colts’ season countered by inspiring results on the court, in the pool.
Year in Review
Articles
2015 NEWSMAKER: Glenda Ritz
The Democratic state schools superintendent—frustrated by legislative action to strip her office of some powers—announced she’d run for governor. But after a lackluster start, she decided to seek a second term as the superintendent of public instruction instead.
2015 TOP STORIES: Other big news from the year
2015 has ups and downs for area firms, local governments and their leaders, including American Senior Communities, High Alpha, the Pacers, Blue Indy and more.
2015 TOP STORIES: Republic’s labor turmoil nearly kills the airline
The Indianapolis-based regional airline narrowly escaped a bankruptcy filing this fall when it finally reached a new three-year contract with its 2,100 pilots.
2015 TOP STORIES: Carmel, Westfield mayors get pat on back from voters
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard defeated Republican challenger Rick Sharp with 62 percent of the vote, even though the race had been expected to be much closer. Also in the primary, Westfield Mayor Andy Cook held off GOP challenger Jeff Harpe with 61 percent of the vote, despite fielding criticism for the city’s spending on the Grand Park Sports Campus.
2015 TOP STORIES: Fogle receives 15 years for child-porn, sex crimes
The former Subway pitchman pleaded guilty to one count each of traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and distribution and receipt of child pornography. A judge also ordered him to pay a $175,000 fine and required him to serve a lifetime of supervised release after his sentence.
2015 NEWSMAKERS: Bob & Tom
Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold—of “The Bob & Tom Show” fame—were inducted this fall into the National Radio Hall of Fame, where Kevoian announced he would retire at the end of the year.
2015 TOP STORIES: IU Health to spend $1B consolidating hospitals
The revamp is designed to help Indianapolis-based system save money in coming decades and to have facilities better suited to changes in health care that have sped up shifts in care from inpatient hospital facilities to outpatient facilities.
2015 TOP STORIES: Pence creates firestorm with passage of RFRA
While the national backlash has died down, several grass-roots and business groups will advocate for LGBT protections in the state’s civil rights law at the Legislature in January
2015 TOP STORIES: Retail star Ikea to open Fishers outpost
The Swedish home furnishings store—which won’t open for nearly two years—will be built on 35 acres along USA Parkway in the Exit Five Corporate Park, near the East 116th Street and Interstate 69 interchange.
2015 NEWSMAKER: Betsy McCaw
The president of the 16 Tech Community Corp. is collaborating with neighborhood leaders as she works to make the massive 16 Tech project a reality.
2015 TOP STORIES: Angie’s List’s new captain gets $512M buyout offer
CEO Bill Oesterle left Indianapolis-based Angie’s List so he could reengage in politics. The company hired former Best Buy executive Scott Durchslag in September to replace him.
2015 TOP STORIES: State’ HIP 2.0 signs up 360,000 Hoosiers
The Pence administration expects the program—which uses federal Medicaid money to pay for a state-designed health insurance system—to eventually serve 520,000 participants.
2015 TOP STORIES: Rolls-Royce launches $600 million Indy upgrade
The updates will include a wide-scale modernization of Rolls’ Tibbs Avenue jet-engine plant.
2015 TOP STORIES: Merger casts uncertainty over Dow Agro
Dow and DuPont—both major players in the agricultural chemical industry—plan to integrate those units and spin them off as an independent, publicly traded company by 2018.
2015 TOP STORIES: Justice center project falls apart
A deal that would have paid Paris-based WMB Heartland Justice Partners $1.6 billion over 35 years to build and operate a new courthouse and jail fell apart in the final months of Mayor Greg Ballard's administration.
2015 TOP STORIES: Kroger, supermarket rivals blitz area with investment
Cincinnati-based Kroger announced it will spend $464 million to beef up its operations in Central Indiana, as competition in the region heats up from Fresh Market, Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, Trader Joe’s and Earth Fare, as well as the addition of several Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets.
2015 NEWSMAKER: Stephanie White
The Indiana Fever coach became the first to lead a team to the WNBA Finals in her first year as a head coach.
2015 TOP STORIES: Tech companies scoop up tens of millions in funding
Through the end of the third quarter, Indiana firms landed $49 million in venture capital, just a hair under the figure for all of 2014.
TOP STORIES: Salesforce expanding downtown, seeking office space
The company’s local headcount is expected to grow from 1,400 to more than 2,000 in the next few years.