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Eds: Removes BC-IN SOLAR FARM-SUPERFUND SITE. The story will not move this cycle.
ADDS:
— COMMON CORE-INDIANA
— DEADLY STORY SHOOTING
— MILTON-MADISON BRIDGE
— GREAT LAKES-FISH VITAMIN
— LAKE MICHIGAN BEACH-BODY
— WIND POWER-MISSOURI
— BKC--NOTRE DAME-FARRELL
— CAR--INDYCAR-SAAVEDRA PENALIZED
TOP STORY:
COMMON CORE-INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's decision to drop the national Common Core learning standards in favor of state-crafted benchmarks has left education leaders speeding to agree on a version before teachers start prepping for next fall. But concern that the process is being rushed ahead of a July 1 deadline could slow the process or mean a hasty decision on what students will be learning for the next six years. By Summer Ballentine. UPCOMING: 580 words by 6 p.m.
AROUND THE STATE:
MILTON-MADISON BRIDGE
MADISON — A bridge over the Ohio River is set to reopen to traffic by Thursday night and once again allow motorists to drive between Madison, Ind., and Milton, Ky. The Indiana Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that the Milton-Madison Bridge will reopen to all motorists by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, weather permitting. The bridge temporarily closed March 11. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 300 words.
DEADLY STORE SHOOTING
FORT WAYNE — Authorities say tips from the public have led to the arrest of a Gary man in connection with the fatal shooting of a Fort Wayne tobacco store owner during a robbery. Fort Wayne police announced Wednesday 22-year-old Jamel Coleman faces preliminary charges of murder, felony murder and armed robbery causing death in the April 7 shooting of 44-year-old Antonio Lopez Nino. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 300 words.
RV DRIVER SHORTAGE
ELKHART — Recreation vehicle officials say more than 25,000 RVs are sitting in lots in northern Indiana awaiting delivery because of a shortage of drivers to deliver them. Recreation Vehicle Industry Association vice president Dianne Farrell estimates about 2,000 more drivers are needed and says the problem is costing the industry financially. SENT: 270 words, photos requested.
CHRYSLER-TIPTON FACTORY
TIPTON — Chrysler is set to mark the opening of a new transmission plant in central Indiana with a ceremony next month including the company's top executive. The company started last month testing new transmissions assembled at the Tipton factory and is looking to start shipping transmissions from the plant by mid-May. SENT: 280 words.
CITY HALL FLOODED
WEST LAFAYETTE — The mold problem is even worse expected at West Lafayette's vacated City Hall. Mayor John Dennis says the company hired to address the mold troubles after the building was flooded by burst water pipes have found two layers of drywall in the basement saturated with mold. SENT: 230 words.
GREAT LAKES-FISH VITAMIN
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Subtle immune system changes may explain why some Great Lakes trout and salmon die from the lack of an essential vitamin after eating alewife, an important forage species, according to a scientific report released Wednesday. Death from deficiency of thiamine, or Vitamin B1, is a primary obstacle to restoring lake trout, which were decimated by parasitic sea lamprey in the mid-1900s. It also hampers the stocking of chinook and coho salmon, popular sport fish native to the Pacific that were introduced into the Great Lakes in the 1960s. By Environmental Writer John Flesher.
EXCHANGE-THE LAST DOCTOR
FLORA — The safe at a downtown bank building, once used for protecting cash and valuables, is now stocked with medical supplies. The former bank office on East Main Street became Flora Family Medicine last month after it was made possible for one local physician to remain in the community. Dr. Jordan Dutter now heads the town's only doctor's office — a service that almost ceased to exist locally after his former employer's departure from the town. By Mitchell Kirk. Pharos-Tribune. SENT: 350 words, photos.
EXCHANGE-SPECIAL DEDICATION
EVANSVILLE — Minutes before climbing into the driver's seat of a new platform quint fire truck, Donnie Mosby said working with the Evansville Fire Department was his late father's passion. The new nearly $1 million vehicle was dedicated Tuesday to his father, Dennis R. Mosby, a retired Evansville Fire Department inspector and former co-director of Evansville Vanderburgh Central Dispatch who died in October after a long battle with muscular dystrophy. By Zach Evans. Evansville Courier & Press. SENT: 500 words, photos requested.
EXCHANGE-SILENT REMINDERS
BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana University Arboretum was speckled with backpacks of all sizes and colors Tuesday. But these backpacks weren't worn by students going from class to class or on their way to eat lunch and study with friends. Instead, these backpacks were motionless in the grass. By MJ Slaby. The Herald-Times. SENT: 350 words, photos requested.
EXCHANGE-BACK ON TRACK
PERU — B-K West is more than just a drive-in restaurant to its owner, J.D. Hann. It's a piece of his childhood, a historic Peru landmark, and it's his baby. Now his baby is on the mend, preparing to reopen after repairs from a tornado that heavily damaged it. By Carson Gerber. Kokomo Tribune. SENT: 700 words, photos requested.
IN BRIEF: SOUTH BEND-BICYCLIST SHOT, WIND POWER-MISSOURI, LAKE MICHIGAN BEACH-BODY, HENRY COUNTY BODY, GRADUATION RATES, MARIJUANA SEIZED, RURAL INDIANA SLAYING, GOSHEN-CHICKEN RULES, INDIANA COLD SNAP, COCAINE CRASH-SENTENCE, EDGEWOOD OFFICER-FATAL CRASH, PURDUE-NOBEL LAUREATE'S BUST, HEALTHY RIVERS, UNCLAIMED VETERANS, IVY TECH GRANT
SPORTS:
BKN--PACERS-MAGIC
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Indiana Pacers, fresh off wrapping up the Eastern Conference's top seed, are expected to rest three of their starters in their regular-season finale against the Magic. Orlando has tumbled to another tough finish, losing 15 of its last 19. By Kyle Hightower. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game time 7 p.m.
BKC--PURDUE PLAN
WEST LAFAYETTE — On the day Purdue is expected to sign his new point guard, B.J. Tompkins, coach Matt Painter is scheduled to discuss the future of the program. Painter has just five scholarship players returning next season, a number that could shrink again if center A.J. Hammons decides to enter the NBA draft. UPCOMING: 550 words.
Also:
— CAR--INDYCAR-SAAVEDRA PENALIZED
___
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