The IBJ Podcast

Here's why a mega liquor store is trying to move to Indiana

A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year could open the door to out-of-state liquor stores moving into Indiana.

In fact, Maryland-based Total Wine & More, the nation’s largest retailer of beer, wine and spirits with 206 superstores, has filed an application to open a store at 1460 E. 86th St. in the Nora Corners Shopping Center. An Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission hearing is scheduled for March 2.

IBJ reporter John Russell explains the Supreme Court's ruling, which struck down another state's law prohibiting out-of-state ownership of liquor stores. And he details how Total Wine & More is different than most liquor stores in Indiana and what its move into the market could mean for mom-and-pop shops.

Read more about the issue in John's story at IBJ.com.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg DeVault.

 

 

Hamilton County emerges as player in hemp industry

Hamilton County is emerging as a key player in the evolving hemp industry, primarily in the area of refining CBD oils from the plants for use in a variety of products.

IBJ reporter Kurt Christian talks with host Mason King about what some are calling a "green rush," which follows a 2018 federal law that removed marijuana’s non-psychoactive cousin from the Controlled Substances Act.

As a result, hemp-processing companies are investing millions of dollars into refineries across Hamilton County in an effort to close a gap in the state’s CBD supply chain.

You can read more about the issue in Christian's story at iBJ.com.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg DeVault.

  

Former Colt Gary Brackett talks turning his life as an underdog into a movie

Gary Brackett, a key part of the Colts' Super Bowl championship team in 2012, was a walk-on player at Rutgers University and wasn't drafted by an NFL team, forcing him to fight for a spot on the Indianapolis Colts. Along the way, he lost both his parents and his brother and wrote a book about his story.

Now he's raising money to turn the book into a movie—in part by soliciting money privately but also through the crowd-funding platform Wefunder. He already has a trailer (brackett.movie) as well as a 30-minute, abbreviated version of the film meant to persuade potential investors to get involved.

Brackett talks with podcast host Mason King about the challenges of making a movie, why he thinks he has a good story to tell and why he's not just funding the movie's $2.2 million to $2.5 million budget.

To read more about Brackett's movie effort, read IBJ reporter Susan Orr's story here.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg DeVault.

 

The session so far: Health care, teacher evaluations and hands-free phone use

Lawmakers are meeting for their short session and are considering bills to ban handheld mobile-phone use while driving, require more transparency in health care and decouple student test scores from teacher evaluations.

And they're also spending money (even though this isn't a budget year) on some university construction and other special projects. That's cash from the state's budget surplus, and the spending will prevent the state from borrowing money for the projects.

IBJ's Statehouse reporter Lindsey Erdody breaks down what bills are moving, which ones already are dead and what's about to hit Gov. Eric Holcomb's desk.

You can also read Lindsey's deep dive on the health care legislation at IBJ.com.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg DeVault.

Here's why the feds are suing Community Health with help from a whistleblower

Federal authorities have accused Community Health Network of engaging in a years-long scheme to recruit physicians and pay them huge salaries and bonuses in return for giving referrals to the Indianapolis-based health system, allowing it to improperly receive money from Medicare.

The health network has denied the allegations, but the government's case is based at least in part on information brought to light by Thomas Fischer, who served as Community Health’s chief financial officer from 2005 until his sudden exit in 2013.

IBJ's John Russell has written about the case and talks with host Mason King about the details, what it means for Community Health and how the lawsuit fits into a larger effort by the federal government to claw back what it considers "unjust enrichment" by hospital systems. At stake for the health care industry is systems is billions of dollars a year in Medicare and Medicaid business.

You can read Russell's latest story about the issue here. 

 

 

Deciphering 5G and the new Indiana 5G Zone

Everybody in tech is talking about 5G—the newest generation of wireless technology. In the simplest terms, it means faster data service for smart phones and other devices.

But experts say 5G is about so much more. So host Mason King talks with Bill Soards, president of AT&T Indiana, and Sean Hendrix, who is the director of emerging technologies and partnerships for Purdue Research Foundation, about why 5G matters and how it could be used in the manufacturing, agricultural and other sectors.

They also explain the Indiana 5G Zone, which is set to open in downtown Indianapolis with Hendrix at the helm. The zone's mission is to accelerate innovation of 5G-related technologies throughout the state and support the technology’s deployment in industry and academia—and it puts Indianapolis at the forefront of the 5G revolution.

If you want to know even more about the Indiana 5G Zone, read this story by Anthony Schoettle from the Jan. 3 issue of IBJ.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg DeVault.

 

Pete the Planner talks setting 2020 resolutions about money

Podcast host Mason King has a hard time when it comes to keeping his New Year's resolutions. And this year, his goal relates to his family's finances.

So he turns to Peter Dunn—aka Pete the Planner—to find out how to set the right goals and then how to keep them.

Dunn explains the different types of financial goals: consumption goals (think vacation or a new fridge), debt elimination (student loans, credit cards) and accumulation (retirement, college savings). And the keys to achieving your goals, he said, are planning for retirement and avoiding credit card debt.

That sounds like common sense. But how do you achieve those goals? And in what order do you tackle them? Pete has some answers and advice.

Click here to read Pete's columns for IBJ for even more help with money.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg DeVault.

 

The top central Indiana stories of 2019

Penske Corp. buys the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, trucking giant Celadon shuts down, Eli Lilly and Co. makes its biggest acquisition ever and Ambrose Property Group withdraws from plans to redevelop the former GM stamping plant site. Those are just a few of the big stories of 2019 that will impact central Indiana for years to come.

Podcast host Mason King talks with IBJ Managing Editor Lesley Weidenbener and reporter Anthony Schoettle about these and other stories, including the renovation plans for Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the changes the NCAA is making to let athletes benefit from their name, image and likeness. 

You can check out an overall list of top stories here, as well as a list of top tech stories here.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg Devault.

 

 

 

Rick Eichholtz talks about the closing of Ike & Jonesy's

When Rick Eichholtz and his wife, Linda Jones Eichholtz, opened Ike & Jonesy’s at 17 W. Jackson Place 35 years ago, downtown was a very different place. The Indianapolis Colts hadn't started playing yet, Circle Centre mall wasn't open and even Union Station was still under renovation.

But Ike & Jonesy's found an audience quickly, in part by focusing on police, media, firefighters and a surprise group—lawmakers and lobbyists, who showed up every January when the legislative session began.

As downtown changed, the bar persevered. But in 2016, an affiliate of Sun Development & Management Corp. bought the building and has plans to turn it into a hotel. As Rick puts it, Ike & Jonesy's doesn't fit into the plans. So Sun and the Eichholtzes reached an agreement that means the bar will close after its New Year's Eve party.

Rick tells podcast host Mason King about how he became a bar owner, what his dad thought about the idea, and how he feels about the Ike & Jonesy's closing after more than three decades.

To learn more about Sun's plans—which have changed over the past few years—and about Ike & Jonesy's closing, read this story at IBJ.com.  

Auld Lang Syne by and courtesy of E's Jammy Jams. 

 

 

The demise of a trucking giant

Celadon Group Inc. on Dec. 9 filed for bankruptcy and abruptly shut down, eliminating nearly 4,000 jobs and bringing to a bitter close one of central Indiana’s great entrepreneurial success stories. 

The trucking company launched with a single truck in 1985 and grew into the largest provider of international truckload services in North America, with more than 150,000 annual border crossings between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

But in the years after its co-founder and longtime leader, Stephen Russell, retired and then died, the company went in new directions that led to financial problems and accusations of fraud. 

Podcast host Mason King talks with IBJ Editor Greg Andrews and reporter Susan Orr about Celadon's rise and fall as well as what role the fraud allegations played in its demise.

You can read more about the alleged account scheme and the people accused of wrong doing in Andrews' Behind the News column published on Dec. 13.

And you read Orr's account of the company's closure here.

News clip is from WISH-TV Channel 8.