Are you familiar with the background of the famous historical Battle of New Orleans? The battle, fought Jan. 8, 1815, ended a five-month British campaign in the Gulf region. It was the war’s largest and bloodiest confrontation, and the final military conflict between Great Britain and the Un…

To some, the most wonderful time of year has arrived. It’s PSL season when regular coffee turns into Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I do love pumpkin pie and I’m a huge fan of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and ginger, but not in my coffee. Still, I love the homey smell of a hot PSL.

One reader made clear he was getting tired of hearing about the pandemic.

“I am not quitting; I am just not playing anymore!” - Anonymous

Last week we breezed through the migration of people into Indiana between 2015 and 2019. This week we speed up the process and look at the outmigration from Indiana with the resulting net-and-gross migration figures.

BLOOMINGTON — An Economist/YouGov poll puts congressional approval at 19%, while 59% disapprove.

What is a little girl worth?

This week, Indiana lawmakers will very likely approve legislative maps for Congress and those for the Indiana House and Senate. Critics say the maps were not drawn to create competitive races, but instead, the districts were gerrymandered for Republicans to keep their overwhelming majorities…

On Wednesday, Southern Indiana officially entered the autumn season. I also discovered that the White Water Valley Railroad in Connersville offers a scenic Fall Foliage Flyer Train Ride every Thursday and Friday in October.

Conservative governors and other politicians battling COVID-19 vaccines are betting—and betting heavily—that H.L. Mencken was right.

Almost daily a solicitation arrives in my mailbox trying to entice me into buying a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan. Open enrollment is approaching October 15. Advise, an outfit that claims they are health Plan Medicare experts, wants me to “get the most from Medicare.” Another outfit, eHealth …

It has been almost seven years since recovery efforts in Clark County ramped up.

Both my parents and grandparents used to use the idiom “Practice what you preach” when they were emphasizing the nature of our actions. Treat others the way you tell others to treat you. It is important that your behavior matches your beliefs.

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other”- Mother Teresa

Some of my best childhood memories are of going to the beach with my family. I grew up in Southern California in the San Fernando Valley, about 30 miles from Zuma Beach in Malibu.

In the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it seemed like most everyone eagerly awaited the development and approval of a vaccine that would end the nightmare.

I called it “Frankendistrict,” the old 4th Congressional District that existed between 2001 and 2011.

Former President George W. Bush spoke plain truth during his remarks commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

“I know it when I see it.”

University administrators have been anticipating that the number of students going back to college this fall would increase significantly over last year.

President Joe Biden spoke directly to the tens of millions of Americans still refusing to get a vaccine.

An interesting article came across the news feed this past week carrying a story from the San Luis Obispo Tribune serving the people near Grover Beach, California. The article contains some implications and applications for us as well.

As I reflect on the 20th anniversary of the attack on September 11th and the 3,000 men and women who died that day, I can’t help but think of the range of emotions Americans across the nation and political spectrum have been through over the last 20 years.

Pick a side. Politics and society have forced us into that position, haven’t they? You are either left or right, red or blue, Biden or Trump. Everything seems divided. Fifty years ago we were concerned about the gray areas of life, today it seems the grays have just about evaporated.

“This is the last time anyone will ever throw you a party for quitting!” — Anonymous

At my church we talk a lot about God making “all things new.”

The saga of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz demonstrates just how confusing it is to be a professional football player or fan these days.

MICHIGAN CITY – As we head into a weekend commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, ponder this question: Did Osama bin Laden win?

Some of the finest folks in Floyd County work at our animal shelter.

INDIANAPOLIS—That September Tuesday morning, I drove my children to their preschool.

“‘ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED SOULS LOST,’ SAYS LATEST WIRELESS FROM THE OLYMPIC”- Headline from The Washington Post- April 16, 1912, reporting on the sinking of the Titanic.

I have been in the educational world for a long time. My professional years number 44, and, if you count the years as a student, tack on another 20. I have seen many styles of teaching and many paths to learning.

My phone buzzed. “Hello,” he said. “I’ll write your column this week.”

“Little League baseball is a good thing because it keeps the parents off the street!”- Yogi Berra.

Over the last several weeks, we have spent some time considering the themes found in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. The apostle Paul shares reasoned arguments in all of his letters as a studied Greek scholar.

Most of us don’t remember what the world was like before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe vs. Wade.

One of my many useless talents is knowing the lyrics to old TV commercial jingles.

INDIANAPOLIS—U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana, fears for Hoosiers’ security.

MICHIGAN CITY – The people don’t always get it right. From slavery, to the right of women and minorities to vote, from the way we’ve treated our mentally ill, to Jim Crow laws and school segregation, it took “leaders” to cut through prevailing opinion, gossip and innuendo, and forge evolving…

Surely you remember the 40 Assets. At least you remember reading about them off and on for years and at the bottom of most columns is a tag sharing how to get more information about them.

It was a steamy late August night and I was in a hurry to get back to my car so I could file a story, but the heat from the debate I’d just witnessed was still boiling over as I neared the parking lot.

It’s been over a year since the Indiana Commission for Higher Education released its fourth strategic plan, Reaching Higher in a State of Change. At the time, we truly did not anticipate how applicable the title would be as the COVID-19 pandemic made lasting impacts on Indiana’s economy and …

The US Food and Drug Administration sent out a recent warning via Twitter.

This summer we have spent some time thinking about three important books that are worth spending time reading.

INDIANAPOLIS—There’s a reason three different presidents kicked the can down the road when it came to getting out of Afghanistan.

Homelessness is a word many find uncomfortable.

“Funny how we used to eat a cake after somebody had blown on it”- Unknown source

The email was both startling and frightening. A security hack compromised the information on numerous accounts. Fraudulent charges may occur on the account during the coming months. Close scrutiny and reconciliation are needed to ensure data integrity.

On paper, Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young looks to be in the catbird seat as he seeks a second term next year. He sits on a war chest approaching $5 million.

In 2008, Christianity Today writer Mark Galli wrote about a man who, at age 61, got laid off from his job. The man posted on the now-defunct social media site The Experience Project: “I have never, ever been laid off or fired from a job. I am livid! Not to mention, frightened.”