The IBJ Podcast

Group recruits IU athletes to help not-for-profits via NIL deals

Hoosiers For Good Inc., the brainchild in part of Cook Medical Group President Pete Yonkman, is a new organization that is looking to pay Indiana University athletes to represent and promote Indiana not-for-profit organizations.

Just a year ago, such an arrangement would not have been possible. But last summer—under pressure advocates for student-athletes as well as  states legislatures and Congress—the Indianapolis-based NCAA approved new rules that let student-athletes be paid for endorsements, autographs and more.

In most cases, companies will pay athletes for the right to use their name, image or likeness—referred to as NIL—to sell shoes or endorse other products. In many cases, that will involve athletes using their social media accounts to align with brand.

But the organizers of Hoosiers for Good thought the new rules could also be used to pay athletes to endorse causes or charities. So the group has well more than $1 million, according to Yonkman, and will use that to connect athletes with not-for-profit groups they believe in. The goal is to benefit the not-for-profit but also to help student-athletes become community leaders. 

Host Mason King talks with Yonkman and the group's executive director, Tyler Harris, about the mission.

To learn more, read IBJ reporter Mickey Shuey's story about Hoosiers for Good.

 

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

These women wanted a mid-life career change—and bought franchises

Buying a franchise is one way to become an entrepreneur—and it can be an effective way. You’re starting with an established brand, some built-in marketing and, hopefully, a solid business plan provided by your franchisor.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Just ask Lori Meyer, owner and operator of Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh in Zionsville, and Melinda Rowan, owner and operator of The Human Bean at 5405 N. Keystone Ave.

On this week’s IBJ Podcast, the new business owners detail just how much money and time they spent launching their stores in the middle of a pandemic. And they tell host Mason King about the biggest hurdles (think rising labor costs and supply chain troubles) and why they don’t regret their mid-life career changes.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

 

Why the Irsays are spending millions on ’Kicking the Stigma’ effort

In 2020, Colts owners Jim Irsay and daughters Kalen Jackson, Carlie Irsay-Gordon and Casey Foyt launched the "Kicking the Stigma" campaign to boost awareness about mental illness and raise money to help not-for-profits expand addiction and mental health treatment.

Since then, the effort has committed more than $16 million to local and national organizations—and most of that was donated directly by the Irsay family. The Irsays have created and paid to broadcast several national public service announcements, many featuring prominent celebrities and athletes, including Snoop Dogg, Rob Lowe, Mike Epps, Carson Daily and Peyton Manning.

More than a dozen organizations have received game-changing grants, and the Irsays recently donated $3 million to Indiana University to create a research institute to study mental health issues.

Jackson is a vice chair in the Colts organization, overseeing operations and community relations, including the club's philanthropic efforts. That includes overseeing the Kicking the Stigma campaign.

She talked with host Mason King about why the family decided to focus on mental health, what they've learned about the problem along the way and how they got so many celebrities to participate.

 

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

 

 

 

Groundbreaking history of African Americans in Indianapolis debuts

Entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker. International sports star Marshall “Major” Taylor. The Indiana Avenue commercial and entertainment district. Crispus Attucks High School. The foundations and luminaries of Black history in Indianapolis have received due attention in recent decades and have been the subjects of books and documentaries. But there hasn’t been an authoritative history of African Americans in Indianapolis—featuring the highlights as well as the crushing obstacles thrown in the path of the Black community—until this month.

Historian David Leander Williams has built on his previous works documenting the city’s jazz and rhythm-and-blues legacies with “African Americans in Indianapolis: The Story of a People Determined to Be Free,” published by Indiana University Press. It covers the 150-year period between 1820 and 1970—from the establishment of the Black community on the banks of the White River after a ruinous flood and malaria epidemic to the destruction of Black neighborhoods due to the construction of Interstate-65 through downtown and the expansion of IUPUI.

In this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, Williams discusses his personal connections to some of the key figures and places in the Black community, including jazz legend Wes Montgomery, the Bethel AME Church and Crispus Attucks High School. He also explains the clever ways he was able to reconstruct Black life in the city’s first decades, when record keeping was rare. And he pinpoints the ways the Black community has been set back economically, including the loss of thousands upon thousands of jobs in the city’s manufacturing sector that once served as passports to the middle class.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

 

Stephen Goldsmith talks Circle Centre revamp, equity in workforce development

Stephen Goldsmith is the Indianapolis mayor who pushed Circle Centre Mall into reality some 27 years ago. But he's not surprised the mall needs some reimagining—something its owners are now undertaking.

In fact, Goldsmith—who is now a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School—says he's surprised the mall remained as successful as it did for long. That's because the project was less about creating a retail space, he says, and more about spurring downtown revitalization. 

Host Mason King talks with Goldsmith about how the city and the mall owners should think about what's next. And they talk about Goldsmith's new book, "Growing Fairly: How to Build Opportunity and Equity in Workforce Development," which includes some examples from Indianapolis.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

 

Is nuclear power headed to Indiana?

The Legislature is debating a bill that could clear a path for nuclear energy to come to Indiana, a controversial move that could help the state reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Indiana has never had a nuclear plant—and the one attempt to local one in southern Indiana failed when the utility building it ran out of money.

So why are Indiana and other states talking about nuclear power now? IBJ reporter John Russell joins the podcast to explain how the technology is changing and why lawmakers are interested.

You can read more from Russell about nuclear power here.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

 

 

 

Columnist Mickey Kim on surviving a volatile stock market

Following an unexpectedly strong year for the stock market, 2022 is starting with far more volatility, as concern about interest rate hikes and lingering supply chain issues have kept investors jumping.

So what do you do as you watch the balance in your 401(k) fund rise and fall (and so far this year, mostly fall)? IBJ investing columnist Mickey Kim said to stick with your plan—which probably means doing nothing, although that can be tough.

"When things get rocky, we want to protect ourselves," he tells host Mason King. "We are thinking: Don't just sit there, do something. And I will tell you: Doing something is the wrong thing to do."

Kim explains why and offers some thoughts on why the market is so jittery.

You can read more from Kim at IBJ.com.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

 

Tom Griswold on the evolution of ’The Bob & Tom Show’

In a wide-ranging conversation with IBJ reporter Dave Lindquist, Tom Griswold — Tom of "The Bob & Tom Show" — talks about working with his sons (one on the air and one off), recovering from heart surgery and the future of the iconic radio program. 

Plus, Griswold offers his take on the show's cast, including Chick McGee, Kristi Lee and Ace Cosby.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

How the sale of Christel DeHaan’s estate could expand her legacy

The 150-acre estate of the late Indianapolis philanthropist Christel DeHaan is on the market for $14 million, with the proceeds earmarked for an endowment that will help support and expand Christel House International, which operates schools in poor areas around the world.

Host Mason King talks with Mike Johnson, the Sothebys International agent who has listed the property, about what makes the house and grounds special, what kind of interest the estate has generated and whether it's likely to remain a single family residence.

In addition, Christel House CEO Bart Peterson, a former mayor of Indianapolis, and Mark Willis, chief investment officer at CD Enterprises and president of the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, join the conversation to talk about DeHaan's wishes for the proceeds and how the money will help expand the not-for-profit organization's reach.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

What’s the ultimate value for Indy of hosting the college football championship?

The population of Indianapolis swelled by about 100,000 headed into Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship game. Fans from Georgia and Alabama filled hotel rooms, injected adrenalin into the local restaurant scene, rented cars, shelled out for keepsakes and, hopefully, told their friends back home how much they’re enjoying the city despite absolutely dreadful weather.

City tourism officials say their best estimate of the economic impact from hosting the championship is about $150 million. But how can they possibly produce an accurate prediction in such a complicated economic environment? Wasn’t the economic impact prediction for March Madness last year off by $50 million? In the first half of this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, Visit Indy’s Chris Gahl explains how precisely the estimates are calculated—when good data is available—and why the CFP figure should be more accurate.

Decades into Indianapolis’ sports tourism strategy, we essentially take it as an article of faith that hosting huge sporting events is worth all of the trouble and expense. But why? Beyond the dollars visitors drop in Indianapolis, what is the ultimate value of repeatedly playing host? In the second half of the podcast, Mark Rosentraub, a sports business expert at the University of Michigan, explains the less quantifiable benefits and why Indianapolis might always have to prove it’s worthy.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.