News

Ivy Tech officials say a proposed tuition hike will help the statewide community college system make investments in key areas, including more faculty and better equipment. 

The Board of Trustees will vote Thursday on a tuition increase of $20 per credit hour over the next two years – $5 each semester.  That’s a more than 8% increase each year, compared to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education’s 2% recommendation.  And it comes on the heels of a nearly 8% funding increase in the recently passed state budget.

Think about summer and food. What comes to mind?

Maybe it's watermelon, or burgers and brats on the grill.

For Scott Hutcheson, it's the strawberry.

Strawberry Granita

The Prelude Project is an effort to cultivate and engage new and young audiences at Lafayette Symphony Orchestra (LSO) events. The initiative began last season and work will increase going forward with the help of an LSO committee dedicated to the task.

Executive Director Sara Mummey says symphonies across the country are doing similar initiatives. She says the goal is to create or grow future audiences.

Tippecanoe County employees will not be getting a raise in 2014.

But Commissioners are recommending the County Council approve a one-thousand dollar bonus for most full-time and regular part-time positions.

Dave Byers says that excludes those who make 70-thousand dollars or more.

He says this is a way to thank the employees for their hard work in 2013 without placing an ongoing burden on the General Fund.

Roughly 600 employees would be eligible for the bonus.

The repeal of Indiana’s inheritance tax in the new two-year budget affects more than state coffers. Counties received the revenue as well.

In Tippecanoe County, as much as $500,000 has been collected in some years.

Treasurer Bob Plantenga says the tax was already being phased out before the complete elimination, which is retroactive to January. He says there will be an impact on the county’s general fund.

“I usually budget $400,000 of revenue for the General Fund, and you know that is certainly a few departments’ worth of expenditures that we will not be receiving.”

The Tippecanoe Chamber Music Society’s final concert of the current season is Sunday at Purdue’s Fowler Hall. 

Indiana-based global life sciences and research university executives are unveiling the first industry-led collaborative life sciences research institute in the country.

The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute is a collaborative effort designed to discover, develop and deliver biosciences innovations.

The state legislature has allocated $25-million for the venture.

Another $25-million in private donations is being sought to pay a still-to-be-named CEO and other officials.

That leaves the project as much as $300-million short of its goal.

Beginning tomorrow CityBus will replace its monthly pass with a new 31 day pass.

Instead of being valid from the first day of the month until the last day, the new pass is activated upon first use and remains valid for 31 days.

The price for the passes remains the same—$28 for a regular 31 day pass and $14 for the elderly and individuals with disabilities.

Officials with the transit service say it is a more flexible option that was developed based on customer feedback.

A local non-profit is setting up 28 sites throughout the region that will provide free lunches to children ages two through 18.

The initiative by Food Finders Food Bank is to help combat hunger among kids.

Sumer Food Service Program Coordinator Kristine Jensen says the goal is to make sure area children get enough to eat when school is not in session.

This is the fourth straight year for the effort, which is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education.

Only The New Yorker could fetch such an unbelievable roster of talent on the subject of man’s best friend. This copious collection, beautifully illustrated in full color, features articles, fiction, humor, poems, cartoons, cover art, drafts, and drawings from the magazine’s archives.