The IBJ Podcast

Why IoT is something every company needs to be thinking about

The Indiana IoT Lab in Fishers has been open roughly one year and already its membership roster is almost full. Every day, those members—including big companies, small firms and freelancers—are helping manufacturers, farmers and others connect their products to the web and to each other.

You may know the internet of things because you have a connected thermostat or home security system. But IoT is about far more than home automation. The real magic is the ability of companies to use connected devices to collect data, monitor their systems and take action.

In this week's podcast, host Mason King interviews IoT Lab CEO John Wechsler and Clear Object CEO John McDonald about why Indiana companies must start thinking about how to integrate IoT into their production or processes or risk becoming obsolete. And they explain the role the Indiana IoT Lab is playing in helping Indiana and Hoosier businesses through the transition.

Deaths are increasing among Indy's homeless population. What can be done?

At least 70 people who were homeless or had recently experienced chronic homelessness died in Indianapolis last year, according to the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention.

That was the largest number of deaths recorded by CHIP since it started tracking figures more than a decade ago, and it represented a 20 percent increase from 2017. Illness, injury, homicides and drug overdoses contributed to the number.

CHIP Executive Director Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, Horizon House Planning Manager Melissa Burgess and IBJ reporter Hayleigh Colombo join host Mason King for a discussion about the numbers and what might be done to stem the trend.

And Colombo has more details about the problem in a story for IBJ.

 

Will a $550 million, mixed-use development help the Indy Eleven win funding for a stadium?

Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir is back at the Statehouse seeking help to build a stadium for the team.

But Ozdemir has a new tactic: He's proposing to build a stadium village that would generate the tax revenue needed to pay for the 20,000-seat stadium.

Ozdemir sat down with Hayleigh Colombo to talk about the proposal, why he thinks it can be successful and what it could mean for the team's bid to join Major League Soccer.

Colombo then talks with IBJ sports business reporter Mickey Shuey for a few thoughts about the project.

You can read more about where the project might be located in Shuey's story in this week's IBJ.

What will The Mind Trust's big infusion of cash mean for Indy schools?

Not-for-profit education reform group The Mind Trust has received three grants totaling $24.4 million that it will use to continue opening new schools in Indianapolis and supporting those already in existence.

The Mind Trust CEO Brandon Brown sat down with host Mason King to explain the group's mission, its cooperation with Indianapolis Public Schools and how the new funding will help it ramp up its work. 

They get down to the basics, defining terms like charters and innovation schools. But King also challenges Brown with some of the criticisms of The Mind Trust, including whether the group is helping the neediest students.

Learn more about The Mind Trust grants by reading reporter Hayleigh Colombo's story at IBJ.com.

Will Indiana lawmakers bet big on sports gambling?

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that states can authorize wagering on sports games, something that's long taken place legally in Las Vegas and illegally every place else.

Now, Indiana has the chance to legalize sports betting here — with regulations and, of course, taxes.

IBJ reporter Lindsey Erdody talks with IBJ Podcast host Mason King about the legislation that will be considered in the Indiana House and Senate this year, including the many details that could complicate passage.

Erdody also explains an unrelated proposal to move Gary's two Majestic Star casinos off Lake Michigan. Gary officials want to move one of those casino licenses to the Interstate 80/Interstate 94 corridor to attract more gamblers. The second license could go elsewhere in the state — maybe in Terre Haute. 

Read more about both proposals in Erdody's story at IBJ.com.

Two Indy execs talk losing weight — and the harder part, keeping it off

We're just about a week from starting a new year and many of us are likely to make losing weight a New Year's resolution. So IBJ asked two Indianapolis business executives to tell their stories not only of losing weight but also keeping it off.

Hyde Park Ventures Principal Tim Kopp, the former CMO of ExactTarget, and David Shank, CEO of Shank Public Relations Counselors, talk about the warnings from their doctors that led them to start eating healthier and exercising. And they offer some advice for the holidays and getting started on your own weight loss journey.

And if you listen to the very end, you'll hear their challenge for host Mason King.

Salesforce's Bob Stutz is Indy's most important tech exec you don't know

Bob Stutz is a legend in the software industry but he remains somewhat of a mystery among folks in Indianapolis, where he's CEO of Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Analysts say the Salesforce division is thriving under Stutz, 62, who took the helm in July 2016. 

IBJ tech reporter Anthony Schoettle interviewed Stutz and found him surprisingly relaxed and candid about his education and career, his life in Indianapolis and about what the city should do to help the tech industry thrive.

On this week's podcast, Schoettle talks with host Mason King about Stutz and plays clips from his interview with the tech exec.

Indy's Pacers Bikeshare program is undergoing its first expansion—and it's a big one

Indiana Pacers Bikeshare will spend $1.2 million — most of the money from a federal grant — to nearly double the number of stations and expand the program's footprint as far north as Broad Ripple and south as Garfield Park.

Kären Haley, executive director of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, which oversees the bikeshare program, talks with guest host Anthony Schoettle about the timeline for the expansion and why it was important to locate stations outside of downtown.

And she explains why attracting more low-income riders — who pay only $10 a year — is a key goal. 

Check out IBJ reporter Susan Orr's full story here.

 

Why the Indy CIB will ask the Legislature for millions of dollars

The quasi-governmental group that owns the Indiana Convention Center and Indy's major sports facilities will ask the Legislature for at least $8 million in additional funding annually as it tries to plan for its future needs.

Already, the Capital Improvement Board has plans for a $120 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center, a project that includes two private, convention-style hotels at Pan Am Plaza. 

But the CIB will also be looking for the long-term funding it will need to upgrade Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the Indiana Pacers, which owner Herb Simon has said is necessary to secure the team's long-term future in Indianapolis.

Podcast host Mason King talks with IBJ reporters Lindsey Erdody, Hayleigh Colombo and Anthony Schoettle about the CIB's big ask, why the city thinks it's necessary and how lawmakers might react.

Read more about the issue here.

Rethinking downtown Indy's interstate highway system

A coalition of downtown businesses, homeowners and organizations is advocating a two-level highway system for the north, east and south legs of interstates 65 and 70—the so-called inner loop in downtown Indianapolis. 

The proposal from Rethink 65/70 comes as state transportation officials move forward with a planned reconstruction of the north-split interchange — a project Rethink leaders hope can be done with their below-grade highway plan in mind.

IBJ Podcast host Mason King talks with Rethink member Paul Knapp, the CEO of Young & Laramore, about the group's proposal. Then he talks with Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Manning and Kia Gillette, an environmental project manager at HNTB, about whether the state will consider Rethink's ideas.

Learn more about the Rethink 65/70 proposal with this IBJ story by reporter Susan Orr.