AGP Executive Report

Data Center Policy: Indianapolis commissioners advanced a special zoning district for data centers, voting 5-3 to require noise limits, decommissioning plans, and setbacks—while residents pressed for a moratorium over water, power, and generator impacts. Statehouse & Local Governance: Indiana’s new public camping law (SEA 285) starts July 1, setting penalties for sleeping on unauthorized public land while requiring steps to connect people to shelter and services. Consumer Finance & Enforcement: Indiana AG Anthony G. Brown announced a $45 million multistate settlement with Block over alleged Cash App fraud and misleading claims about protections. Public Safety & Infrastructure: Clark County’s 911 expansion cleared a resolution to reserve 3.4 acres for future emergency operations, aiming to secure funding and finalize plans. Business & Labor Pipeline: A new aviation maintenance A&P certification pathway is placing graduates into jobs amid a broader labor shortage. Sports Business: GOP lawmakers urged WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to address “multiple attacks” against Caitlin Clark, citing safety and potential civil-rights concerns.

Ports & Infrastructure: Ports of Indiana landed a record $25 million federal BUILD grant for a $32 million Jeffersonville port expansion, boosting lift capacity from 35 tons to 300 tons and adding a 300-ton crane, new dock and multimodal terminal upgrades. Public Safety & Consumer Protection: Indiana and other state attorneys general are pushing the FCC to tighten rules so robocallers can’t buy legitimate phone numbers to scam people, after spoofing crackdowns shifted fraudsters to real-number schemes. Health Insurance Costs: A KFF analysis says ACA marketplace insurers are seeking another round of double-digit premium hikes for 2027, with no decreases proposed. Local Business Growth: Riverside Mfg. celebrated opening a new Fort Wayne headquarters after investing more than $10 million to consolidate operations under one roof. Sports Business & Indiana Ties: Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark is again at the center of Capitol Hill pressure on the WNBA over player protection and officiating concerns.

Local Public Safety Funding: West Lafayette City Council backed Wabash Township’s $750,000 fire department request, a move that still hinges on Tippecanoe County Income Tax Council approval. Retail M&A: Kroger’s $1.65 billion deal to buy Giant Eagle is set to close in 2027, with likely store divestitures in Columbus to address antitrust overlap. Logistics Expansion: Amazon cleared the way for a 50,000-square-foot distribution center in Tilton, targeting completion by April 2027. Infrastructure Grants: Indiana’s Community Crossings program is sending more than $4 million in matching road and bridge funds to multiple local governments. Energy & Water: Indiana’s data center boom is colliding with water planning concerns as officials work on a statewide water inventory and management plan. Workforce & Education: Indiana’s Workforce Pell push and other training efforts keep spotlighting the state’s talent pipeline needs. Business Climate Watch: A Marshall County commissioner renewed opposition to Flock automated license plate reader cameras, citing privacy and data-handling concerns after an Oregon court ruling.

Entrepreneurship & Small Business: Gov. Mike Braun awarded $757K in grants through Indiana’s Community Collaboration Fund to back 22 community-led projects aimed at entrepreneurial education, tech enablement and small-business acceleration. Utility Rates: Indiana’s utility watchdog filed to challenge a $71M AES Indiana rate increase, arguing regulators didn’t properly weigh affordability and that ratepayers shouldn’t cover items like storm costs and rate-case expenses. Manufacturing & Trade: Toyota will shift Tacoma production from Mexico to its San Antonio, Texas plant as a $3.6B investment adds a second assembly line and about 2,000 jobs by 2030, citing stalled U.S.-Mexico trade talks. Steel & Environmental Pressure: Gary residents are urging U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel to use a planned $3.1B investment for cleaner, safer upgrades rather than extending coal-based blast furnaces. Healthcare M&A: Spero Health acquired CleanSlate Centers, keeping the opioid-treatment provider from closure and doubling its multi-state footprint, including overlapping Indiana operations. Local Government & Permits: Bloomington moved to streamline permitting with more electronic reviews, parallel department checks and clearer timelines after developers criticized the process.

Northeast Indiana Business: Axel Johnson Inc. completed its ownership transition of Fort Wayne Metals Research Products, keeping the company headquartered in Fort Wayne, while Scott Glaze launched Glaze Development Group as the next investment platform for the Glaze family. Grocery Competition: Kroger is reportedly weighing divesting some Giant Eagle stores in the Columbus, Ohio market to satisfy antitrust regulators tied to its $1.65 billion acquisition. Child Care Policy: Hoosier childcare providers and advocates pushed back hard at proposed FSSA rule changes that would loosen staff education requirements, with new rules slated to take effect Oct. 11. Local Infrastructure: Floyd County is moving ahead with the long-planned Blackiston Mill Bridge replacement, building a new span upstream to reduce flood risk and keep traffic flowing through most of construction, targeting completion by Oct. 2027. Workforce & Education: Indiana’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application is open statewide via local community foundations, including Fountain County, offering tuition support for eligible Indiana students. Healthcare Earnings: Elevance Health set a July 15 conference call and webcast for its Q2 2026 results. Data Center Backlash: In Hubbard, residents heard from a thermal engineer who argued data centers could strain water, electricity use, and air quality.

Childcare Workforce: Indiana childcare workers are urging FSSA to reconsider proposed rule changes that would lower education and training requirements for directors and lead caregivers, warning it could mean lower pay and higher risk for kids. Education & Workforce: Schools are stepping up efforts to cut chronic absenteeism, with Indiana reporting more than 16% of K-12 students chronically absent in 2024-25. Local Infrastructure: Gov. Mike Braun announced new Community Crossings Matching Grant awards, including Madison’s $460,672.50 for paving projects, as Indiana pushes more than $165 million in FY2026 road and bridge funding. Banking & Fiduciaries: Wintrust will buy Northern Trust’s guardianship services business, adding about $1.2 billion in assets under management and moving the team after the deal closes later this year. Business & Community: Raptor Roofing is backing Center Grove athletics with a golf outing sponsorship and dugout roofing work, while First Financial Bank in Georgetown opened a Little Free Library to promote early reading. Energy Costs: GasBuddy price reports show Indiana-area fuel pressure remains a live issue as regional gas prices fluctuate heading into summer travel.

Indiana Higher Ed & Governance: Virginia’s Spanberger-era higher education shakeup shows how board appointments can quickly reshape university leadership and priorities, a reminder for Indiana watchers that governance changes can drive real operational outcomes. Workforce & Pay: Some weekly and biweekly workers could see an extra paycheck in July, depending on how pay cycles line up with the calendar. Energy & Data Centers: Hanwha Qcells won a 200MW solar project in Gibson County to supply Meta via a power purchase agreement, underscoring how Big Tech’s electricity demand is pulling more renewable buildout into Indiana. Retail M&A: Kroger’s $1.65B plan to buy Giant Eagle could trigger store divestitures and raises the stakes for federal antitrust review. Local Resilience: Elkhart volunteers packed a truck of supplies for Venezuela earthquake victims, with local businesses helping move the aid fast. Storm Aftermath: Power restoration continues after Fourth of July weekend storms, with hundreds still out in Indiana’s La Porte and St. Joseph counties. Education & Environment: Claypool Elementary students are building and maintaining a compost bin to turn organic scraps into soil for school gardens.

Local Education Meetings: Lake County school boards are lining up NEOLA policy updates before classes resume, with Merrillville (July 7), Gary (July 9), and Griffith (July 9) all on the agenda. Labor & Industry: Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott says the city “sends the wrong message” by dropping BP as a Festival of the Lakes sponsor amid a USW Local 7-1 contract fight, where BP has proposed a 13% pay increase but also wants to cut 65 union jobs. Utilities & Storm Recovery: Indiana Michigan Power reports about 86% of storm-affected customers restored, with roughly 5,900 still without power and crews continuing circuit-by-circuit repairs. Housing Costs: A mortgage expert warns home prices may keep climbing even as rates ease, citing Indianapolis two- to three-bedroom pricing around $250,000–$300,000 and urging buyers not to wait for a rate drop. Energy & Fuel Prices: GasBuddy spotlights Indiana-area price pressure tied to refinery outages and global oil tensions, while solar growth continues nationwide—solar now leads new capacity additions, with the biggest U.S. solar-plus-storage site in California. Community Business Briefs: NIPSCO is donating $25,000 for storm relief via the Salvation Army, and a Portage author won a Catholic Media Association book award.

Indiana Economic Development: Do it Best Group will align the headquarters of Do it Best and True Value at Fort Wayne’s Electric Works, creating a single global hub for the hardware and home improvement brands after Do it Best acquired True Value in 2024. Local Business & Growth: Ruoff Mortgage Stadium’s grand reopening in Fort Wayne signals continued expansion of major event space, with Fort Wayne Football Club’s USL League One win marking the venue’s next phase. Workforce & Training: Meta, Google and Compass are all pushing large-scale construction and trades hiring models—Meta guarantees jobs for graduates, Google funds training without job guarantees, and Compass donates facilities for employer recruitment. Public Policy: New Indiana laws take effect July 1, including a ban on cellphones during school days and new state/local authority to enforce federal immigration laws. Consumer & Safety: The National Safety Council added Rhythm Innovations and the Rath Family Foundation as sponsors for its Green Cross for Safety Innovation award. Transportation Tech: Indiana’s BMV says “blackout” license plates aren’t optimized for ALPR capture and should be read like any other plate.

NBA Roster Shake-Up: The Detroit Pistons are trying to build a contender as the Eastern Conference gets reshuffled by major trades, including Kawhi Leonard to Toronto and Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia—moves that raise the bar for Indiana’s rivals. Power & Storm Recovery: After Friday storms, more than 350,000 Michigan customers were still without electricity Saturday, with Indiana Michigan Power also referenced for outages near the state line. Indiana Energy Policy Watch: Indiana’s gas-tax suspension is pushing municipalities to seek reimbursement for lost revenue, while the state continues to weigh how to handle utility-rate pressure. Retail & Grocery M&A: Kroger’s planned $1.65B acquisition of Giant Eagle is set to reshape the Midwest grocery landscape. Fuel Prices Context: National gas prices remain sensitive to refinery outages and oil-market tensions, with reporting noting Illinois and Indiana refinery capacity disruptions contributing to higher Midwest prices. Local Community Spotlight: Indiana’s farmers and food banks are partnering to fight hunger, adding a steady economic-and-social thread to the holiday week.

Indiana Utility & Storm Recovery: Indiana Michigan Power said severe winds left about 3,700 Indiana customers without power Friday, with crews working around the clock as another round of weather threatens restoration. Housing & Homebuying Pressure: A Pew analysis finds the price-to-income ratio for under-40 households has climbed sharply since the 1970s, helping explain why first-time buyers are a shrinking share of the market. Education for Military-Affiliated Students: Indiana’s Collegiate Purple Star designations went to 11 schools in 2026, including IU Fort Wayne, highlighting admissions, financial support and student services for veterans and service members. Corporate/Tech Moves: Microsoft’s Xbox is reportedly reshuffling leadership at Arkane Studios and MachineGames as it resets costs and studio strategy. Local Business & Workforce: A Fort Wayne climbing gym co-founded in 2024 is being recognized for community impact and youth programs, a reminder that talent pipelines are increasingly built locally. Real Estate/Policy: Indiana’s assessed value rose nearly 10% since 2025, with residential growth the slowest statewide. Sports Business: The 76ers’ Jaylen Brown trade and Indiana’s Purple Star awards both underscore how money, branding and talent decisions ripple through local economies.

Utility Rates: Indiana’s Office of Utility Consumer Counselor says it will file a petition to reconsider a $71 million AES Indiana rate increase after Gov. Mike Braun called the IURC approval “unacceptable,” with a July 7 deadline. Real Estate & Housing: Indiana expands restrictions on foreign ownership of real property effective July 1, a change aimed at real estate investors and developers. Roads & Costs: A debate is heating up over how to fund Indianapolis street repairs, with critics arguing potholes hit low-income drivers hardest through unexpected vehicle damage. Community Economic Development: Prosperity Indiana will host a Fort Wayne session focused on wage and housing gaps, safe housing access, and barriers to financial stability, with a goal of turning local fixes into statewide advocacy. Entrepreneurship & Civic Life: Commentary highlights how Indiana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and civic engagement can help retain talent and support small-business growth. Energy Prices: GasBuddy price reports show wide variation across Indiana counties for regular, midgrade, premium, E15 and diesel during the week ending June 27.

Retail & M&A: Kroger agreed to buy Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion, paying $1.25 billion in cash plus about $400 million in assumed liabilities, expanding its footprint across roughly 200 stores in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Education & Workforce: Indiana is opting into federal Workforce Pell grants to help students fund career training, as school board races in central Indiana shift under new partisan rules. Public Policy & Costs: Gov. Mike Braun extended Indiana’s gas tax holiday and directed the state to reimburse local governments for lost revenue, aiming to keep road budgets from getting squeezed. AI & Local Planning: Indiana communities are wrestling with data-center and AI infrastructure growth, with one Indiana county moving toward water-protection rules as it prepares for potential large facilities. Health Coverage: A new report finds Indiana leads the nation in CHIP enrollment declines, tying the drop to 2025 state law changes adding red tape. Local Business & Fraud: A Seymour electrician faces federal wire-fraud charges tied to an alleged multi-year scheme stealing more than $200,000 from his employer. Energy & Markets: Gold miners rebounded as gold prices rose ahead of reporting season, while farm input costs are projected to hit record highs for 2027.

Gas Tax Relief: Gov. Mike Braun extended Indiana’s gas tax holiday for a fourth time, cutting about 61–62 cents per gallon and pushing the suspension through early August, while also moving to reimburse local governments for revenue losses. Real Estate Finance: Kite Realty Group set its Q2 2026 results for July 30 and closed an offering of $345 million in 3.25% exchangeable senior notes due 2032. Retail M&A: Kroger’s $1.65 billion deal to buy Giant Eagle keeps reshaping grocery competition, with implications for shoppers and Kroger’s retail media push. Workforce & Health: A new look at behavioral health providers finds winners and losers as policy and reimbursement pressures continue to shift care capacity. Indiana Business Culture: Pacers Sports & Entertainment named Jas Bell its first global design and product director to scale merch and brand identity for the Pacers and Fever. Energy Demand: A heat dome is stressing the regional grid, with federal emergency steps allowing large users like data centers to shift to backup power if ordered.

Grocery Deal: Kroger will buy regional grocer Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion, keeping the Giant Eagle name and loyalty program while expanding Kroger’s Midwest footprint; the deal is expected to close in 2027 after regulatory review. Workforce & Education: The Indiana Chamber and Aspire Johnson County are teaming up to expand work-based learning, using an updated “Work and Learn Indiana” map to connect employers with educators and students. Public Health & Safety: Indiana is under dangerous heat advisories ahead of Fourth of July events, with city officials urging residents to stay weather-aware and hydrate. NBA Free Agency (Indiana angle): Kelly Oubre Jr. agreed to a two-year, nearly $17 million deal with the Indiana Pacers, adding a wing after his recent run with the 76ers. Community & Aging: Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana and Anthem launched a “Friendly Visitor” pilot to reduce social isolation for older adults through regular check-ins.

Grocery M&A: Kroger agreed to buy Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion—$1.25 billion cash plus about $400 million in liabilities—expanding Kroger’s reach across Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana; Giant Eagle stores and pharmacies keep their brands and Kroger expects limited divestitures before a likely 2027 close. Healthcare Access: A nationwide study finds nearly half of kidney transplant referrals never start evaluation, and fewer than one in five reach the waitlist, with barriers tied to rural life, income, age and smaller transplant centers. Local Business/Real Estate: Do it Best Group and True Value are centralizing their headquarters into one Fort Wayne location, aiming to streamline leadership and support independent retailers. Workforce/AI: Former Gov. Eric Holcomb is co-chairing RAISE US, a nonprofit backed by $500M in commitments to help states and employers retrain workers for an AI-driven economy. Higher Ed Governance: Gov. Braun named three new IU Board of Trustees members—Steve Henke, Matthew Ferguson and Mel Raines—each serving through June 30, 2029. Banking: Horizon Bancorp scheduled a July 23 conference call to review second-quarter results.