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Experts: Indiana Communities Can Benefit from Clean Power Grid As the economy has changed with the pandemic in the past few years, Indiana's small communities have seen an exodus of jobs and people. However, experts say there's hope on the horizon in the form of community redevelopment through renewable energy. According to the Clean Grid Alliance, Indiana already has the second-most clean-energy jobs in the Midwest because millions of dollars are being invested in wind and solar energy. ...(Read More)

Gun-Safety Advocates Face Uphill Battle with Indiana Lawmakers Advocates of gun-law reform face an uphill battle to push their ideas through the Republican-controlled Indiana General Assembly, but say public sentiment on firearms safety may be moving some to action. Groups seeking to change Indiana gun laws say recent high-profile shooting incidents heighten the need for universal background checks, storage regulations, raising the minimum age to buy and carry a gun, and the banning of homemade or "ghost" guns. A poll by the Pew Research Center found more than 70% of Americans believe gun violence is either a "moderate" or "major" problem in the country. ...(Read More)

Report: Top 1% Income Leaves Working Families Behind During Pandemic The world's richest 1% took home almost twice as much wealth as the bottom 99 % combined during the pandemic, according to a new Oxfam International report. Morris Pearl, chair of the group Patriotic Millionaires, said current tax codes in Indiana and most other states are not cutting it anymore. He pointed out the rich keep getting richer while people who work for a living are making daily sacrifices on essentials like food or housing, which is not good for families or for investors who want to make money. ...(Read More)

Indiana Schools Adding Climate Change Studies to Science Curriculum Major changes are coming to Indiana schools, as state educators are adding a new climate change curriculum to science classes. New state science standards, which require more climate education, will go into full effect by next school year. A 2020 survey by science educators found a majority of the 50 states did not include elements of environmental science and climate change in their curricula. ...(Read More)

NFL Player's Cardiac Arrest Points up Importance of CPR Training Lifesaving measures are getting a lot of attention this week after an NFL player went into cardiac arrest during a game, and Indianans are being reminded about the importance of CPR training. Medical staff applied CPR and a defibrillator shock to Buffalo Bills' player Damar Hamlin after he collapsed on the field in front of a national TV audience Monday night. Chrissy Meyer, senior regional director of marketing and communications for the American Heart Association, said it is not only trained professionals who can help. ...(Read More)

Report: Drug Overdoses Killing More People in Indiana, Nationwide More Indianans are struggling with substance use disorders, according to the latest America's Health Rankings report. State data show six Indiana residents died each day from a drug overdose in 2020, a 21% increase from the previous year. Dr. ...(Read More)

Tougher EPA Methane Regulations Could Improve Indiana Air Quality As part of the U.S. clean-energy transition, the Biden administration has made slashing methane emissions a priority, and has new supplemental federal rules aimed at strengthening controls in Indiana and other states. This month, the Environmental Protection Agency said the methane-reduction regulations announced in 2021 would be augmented to include hundreds of thousands of existing oil and gas sources nationwide. ...(Read More)

Report: High Inflation Pushing Cost of College Education Even Higher Covering the cost of a college education just got more expensive as already stressed students cope with the highest inflation rate in more than 40 years. A new report finds that while direct expenses such as tuition and fees are on the rise, so are indirect costs such as housing, gas and groceries. Many students in Indiana and across the nation are working multiple jobs just to pay for life's necessities. ...(Read More)

Indiana Child Advocates Demand Action on Renewing Child Tax Credit As Congress moves toward the mid-December deadline to pass a new budget, advocates are urging lawmakers to reinstate the Enhanced Child Tax Credit. In 2021, the American Rescue Plan shifted the program from a tax reimbursement to direct monthly payments of as much as $3,600 per child. The move cut the child poverty rate almost in half. ...(Read More)

State of Lung Cancer Report has Indiana Behind the Curve The American Lung Association has released its 2022 State of Lung Cancer report, which shows Indiana has some work to do. The leading cause of lung cancer is smoking, and the state ranks high in the Lung Association report with 19% of Hoosiers doing so. Indiana also ranks high with the second leading cause of lung cancer, as 40% of home radon tests are at or above the Environmental Protection Agency action level. ...(Read More)

Small Business Saturday Keeps Dollars in Local Economies Holiday shoppers this week have no shortage of options, with Small Business Saturday being observed Nov. 26. Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday reminds shoppers to patronize local retailers, craftspeople and restaurants as they prepare for the holidays. ...(Read More)

Indiana Wild Turkeys: A Model for New Conservation Efforts As Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, many may not realize a century ago, wild turkeys were near extinction. Conservation groups point to their restoration as evidence of what is possible and needed for many other species facing threats. Congress is considering the Recovering America's Wildlife Act, to address the estimated one-third of U.S. ...(Read More)

Interest in Adoption Growing Despite Myths, Challenges November is National Adoption Month, and survey results suggest attitudes about adoption are changing. A recent Harris Poll survey commissioned by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption found that 37% of Americans are considering adoption, which is the highest rate since the survey began in 2007. More than 1,500 children in Indiana currently are in need of an adoptive home. ...(Read More)

Report: Nearly All Indiana Coal Power Plants Polluting Groundwater Nearly all Indiana coal plants are releasing toxins into the local groundwater, according to information released in a new report from two nonprofits, the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice. The report shows improper storage of waste material from coal-fired power plants is causing unsafe levels of groundwater contamination at 91% of U-S coal plants. The E-P-A implemented the Coal Ash Rule in 2015, requiring power plants to monitor local groundwater and regulating safe storage of the byproducts of coal combustion. ...(Read More)

Indiana School Districts Awarded $5 Million for Cleaner School Buses Six Indiana school districts have been awarded more than $5 million in funding for cleaner school buses. The Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus Program is an outgrowth of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill and will spend $5 billion over the next five years to begin replacing the diesel school bus fleet. Susan Mudd, senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said in addition to environmental benefits, there are public health considerations as well. ...(Read More)

Indiana University Awarded $50 Million to Continue Alzheimer’s Research November is Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, and researchers at Indiana University were recently awarded $50 million to study the field further. Research into late-onset Alzheimer's disease continues under the MODEL-AD protocol, which was established at I-U in 2016 and develops models of disease progression in mice and then opens those models to other researchers. Gene editing of mice is used to create genetic risk variants that are seen in humans. ...(Read More)

Experts Highlight Importance of Awareness in Bullying Prevention October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, and experts are reminding Hoosiers to be aware of the patterns within bullying. One in five students reports being bullied, says the National Center for Education Statistics. Cyberbullying has come to the forefront as a problem, but experts say there's frequently an offline component as well. ...(Read More)

Open Enrollment for ACA Insurance Begins Nov. 1 in Indiana Open enrollment season for health insurance is upon us, and Hoosiers who want to get the right kinds of coverage have a lot to consider. More than a half million people in Indiana are uninsured. The health insurance marketplace open enrollment period begins Nov. ...(Read More)

Million Meals Program Helping Needy Hoosiers While the most extreme impacts of the pandemic have eased, the demand at Indiana food banks has not. Indiana pork producers and Feeding Indiana's Hungry have an ongoing Million Meals program to attempt to provide one million meals in a year to Hoosiers in need. The effort seeks to include protein with those meals in the form of fresh and frozen ground pork provided on an ongoing basis. ...(Read More)

'Conscious Conversations' Tackle Racial Inequity in NW Indiana What it's like to walk a mile in another person's shoes isn't always easy to imagine, but one nonprofit group in Indiana is doing what it can to help broaden people's horizons in Lake County. The Legacy Foundation has been engaging the community with an old-fashioned form of shared experience: the book talk. Over the course of 2021, the "Conscious Conversations" program brought monthly public book discussions to northwest Indiana. ...(Read More)