Intro

Erika Malone 0:00

This week on a special episode of Beyond the Headlines. A fire decimates an under construction building at Compass Park. Voters cast their ballots as early voting begins, the Gatling Gauntlet to permanently close, and what you can expect at our upcoming voter forum. From the Daily Journal, this is a special episode of Beyond the Headlines, a local news podcast focused on story shaping Johnson County. Hello everyone and welcome back. It's reporter Erica Malone here with Noil Crenshaw again. How are you doing, Nila?

Noah Crenshaw 0:30

I'm good. How are you, Erica?

Erika Malone 0:32

It's uh it's been a week. Right?

Noah Crenshaw 0:35

That that's an understatement.

Erika Malone 0:37

Yeah. For people that uh don't know, we record these on Friday and then upload them on Saturday. So uh and we've had some breaking news. Uh so we've been a little scatterbrained today. Um, we're recording this a little later than what we usually do.

Noah Crenshaw 0:52

Yes. Uh do you want us to go ahead and get right into it because it's a busy day?

Erika Malone 0:56

Yeah, let's uh let's go ahead and jump right in. So, Noah, take

Fire destroys Compass Park building

Erika Malone 1:00

it away.

Noah Crenshaw 1:00

Yeah, so we have some breaking news that happened this morning. Most of the Franklin areas heard about this. A lot of Central Indiana has heard about this. And that was that there was a fire at Compass Park, then Yamasonic home in Franklin on their campus. Um, it was one of their buildings that was under construction because they're in the middle of an expansion. It happened early this morning, early being Friday morning. It was reported at 5 12 a.m. Uh, fire crews arrived within four minutes, and it destroyed in the end, the blaze destroyed a nearly completed apartment building that was about a hundred days from opening. In fact, if you go to their website, at least as of an hour ago when I looked, it still says opening summer 2026.

Erika Malone 1:43

Yeah, they might need to make some updates now.

Noah Crenshaw 1:45

Unfortunately. And this fire was huge. Like people could see it from the interstate, you know. It was even able to be seen on Indianapolis weather radar briefly, which is crazy. A lot of fire departments responded, and I'll get more into that here in a minute. Um, but it was likely the largest fire in Franklin since 2003 when there was a fire on Electro Spec, which is a company here in Franklin. They had a their factory caught fire in 2003, had to be clearly rebuilt. And Franklin Fire Chief Josh Snyder said it's the biggest fire he's seen in his 20-year career.

Erika Malone 2:19

Wow.

Noah Crenshaw 2:20

Um, and uh in terms of injuries, no one, no residents were injured. Uh three staff members were treated for smoke inhalation and released and were sent home. 55 residents were safely evacuated and are temporary displaced. And you may be wondering, well, if it was nearly completed, why were there people in there? I'm sure you're wondering that area.

Erika Malone 2:41

Yeah, well, I mean, it was a uh part of an expansion, right?

Noah Crenshaw 2:46

So yeah, so like there's an atrium and then there's like two apartment buildings on each side that connect.

Erika Malone 2:50

Right.

Noah Crenshaw 2:51

So one of the one that was under construction burned down, um, unfortunately, but the other side didn't think.

unknown 2:59

Right.

Noah Crenshaw 2:59

Thank God. And the atrium didn't either. If you see some of the pictures, you can see where the Bart Remnant is next to the atrium and atrium. Like why it's a white atrium. So like it's such a difference.

Erika Malone 3:10

Yeah. And we have some information on why the fire didn't spread to the occupied area. So uh kind of walk us through what do we know about what's going on.

Noah Crenshaw 3:20

Yeah. So first I'm just gonna go, I have some notes here, so forgive me. But still, like we said, it's a breaking news situation. So we want to make sure we give you the best information we can. So, in terms of, I guess, the overall response, there were 60 firefighters from nearly all of the county's fire departments. Everyone chimed in, there's mutual aid agreements, everyone trying to help because it was a massive fire. At one point, four aerial ladder trucks were working together to douse flames for several hours. And the Franklin fire chief estimated that roughly 750,000 gallons of water were used to extinguish the fire. Uh, that's just an estimate. They might get a more final number in the coming days as the investigation and they hear from the water company because it was a private property.

Erika Malone 4:04

Do we know if it affected water pressure in the surrounding area?

Noah Crenshaw 4:08

Um, I believe it did, but I'm not sure of how long those effects are. Okay. But I I would imagine it will. I definitely heard it did, and that I imagine it would because of just the sheer volume. And also, there's still hot spots even now that are working out. We're recording this at about 5.30. Um, there were gonna be hot spots for a while for a fire like this. It was just gonna be there for a while. Right. Um, but the fire was fully out by this afternoon. There was a 2 p.m. press conference where some information there were actually Tuesday, one early this morning at 7.30, and then one today at two. Two. Yeah. Almost at 2.30. Sorry guys. The building, when we say it was nearly complete, it was 97% complete. It had 39 units, like independent living senior units on Current Park campus. Um, the building itself was roughly 90,000 square feet. And we talked a little bit ago about how the fire didn't really spread to the other buildings. That's because of what's called a firewall. Um, not the computer thing, but it's a similar idea. It's literally a wall that's kind of designed, like, especially in like apartment buildings, big buildings like this, is designed to segment off so fires can't spread and like through a whole building. Like in this case, like I said, it's kind of two buildings connected with an atrium. So there was a firewall, and it's designed to hold for an hour. And it did hold for just an hour, just as designed.

Erika Malone 5:27

Just yeah, just long enough to get people out.

Noah Crenshaw 5:29

Yes. There was some smoke damage from what I understand, outside of that, for the parts that weren't directly affected by the fire, but that that's able to be mitigated and cleaned up. So these 55 residents that were evacuated were evacuated within 17 minutes of the alarm. And a lot of that has to do with the staff at Compass Park, from what I understand.

Erika Malone 5:49

I heard that they were like it was all hands on deck and um, you know, really uh really turning people out.

Noah Crenshaw 5:57

Yeah, you know, big facilities, buildings like this, people plan for stuff like this. They never want it to happen, but they plan, and I think that planning definitely probably helped because considering the pictures, how big and massive this fire was, how it could be seen from 65, 135, 44, and 135 is not even in Franklin at all. So in fact, you could see it, the glow in the sky, you know. Yeah, it's incredibly miraculous that no one was more severely injured or died. Yeah. And uh shifting back to residents, uh, social workers were on side dressing, residents' anxieties after being awakened overnight. And uh this afternoon, Mike Spencer, the uh CEO of uh Compass Park, said residents were in better spirits compared to this morning as it's kind of set in what's happened. There's also been a strong community response. Uh, there were donations of food and water to the f first responders who were working. And there's also a donation, a page set up, which we're gonna link in our description as well. Um, just to help out those affected.

Erika Malone 6:58

Yeah. If you're interested in donating to those residents that are displaced, we'll have that um link in our podcast description. And it's in our story as well. Uh yeah that we posted. So a lot of information, but there's still a lot that we don't know. So kind of tell us about what we're still trying to figure out with this.

Noah Crenshaw 7:20

Well, there's a few things. Um it's still very early, obviously, but uh the cause is the main one. No one really knows how it happened. And investigators, including a state fire marshal of the Franklin Fire Department's own investigators, they have been able to begin that kind of work because as I said earlier, they're still hot spots. And you know, it's also after a fire, it's still extremely hot in there. At around 2 p.m., it was 100 degrees and parts of that. And that's after it already burned down, uh, when they're still responding to the fire. Yeah, yeah. So like it's gonna take a little bit. Um the fire department and the fire marshal are on site, they're just kind of waiting for it to cool down so they can start their investigation. There's no idea how long this investigation is gonna take. It takes time, and this is a pretty big building. And at the same time, there's been no timeline set for when Compass Park's gonna rebuild. They obviously want to wait until the investigation's complete.

Erika Malone 8:13

Yeah, assess damages and insurance and skills as well.

Noah Crenshaw 8:17

This was massive. I think that's just the overall word. If there's one word to describe it, it was just massive. Massive, yeah. Massive response, massive fire, massive impacts. Restoration specialists are there and they're still assessing how extensive the damage is kind of what Erica was hinting at. But there are temporary housing plans underway and uh more information. There's a expect to be released on Monday. There's plans for a press conference on Monday. I don't remember the exact time, um, but we'll be there and we'll share information as it comes in as this situation continues to develop.

Erika Malone 8:49

Yeah. Um, and uh, I guess maybe for those that don't know, we got woken up to this by our editor, uh, you know, so who graciously went out and uh covered it first thing in the morning and then later in the afternoon. And we've all been in breaking news situations before. Uh, but kind of tell me how how do you cover a breaking news situation on this scale?

Noah Crenshaw 9:15

Well, um, first I'd say is um I also got a text about it. It's just I was asleep.

Erika Malone 9:20

Yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 9:21

Um both of our editor and I both got messages about it, but it's just I had a late night last night, so I was asleep at the time. Yeah. But um in terms of covering, it's just uh the number one thing is try to get to the scene, try to and try to talk to the people, either the spokespersons or the chiefs who are in charge who know the information so we can get it out to people so people can know like, is are they a danger or what exactly is happening? Because you know, these days there's a lot of rumor and speculation that can go out on social media. Um, then sometimes it's not always a confirmed report. In this case it was. Correct. And they responded and it was a massive fire. Yeah. Um and then you know, you gotta just kind of figure out a plan of action like how you're gonna cover it. Uh you know, who's going where, what photos are needed, find out when if there's gonna be a press conference. In this case, there were two.

Erika Malone 10:14

Yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 10:14

Maybe even a third on Monday, or likely a third on Monday. Yeah. You know, you gotta figure out that. Then you gotta figure out after you find out what's happening, talk to those who are affected or who went involved. Like in this case, it was Compass Park, and the CEO was there for the press conference. Um and you know, just try to get all the information you can and report it accurately.

Erika Malone 10:40

Yeah. And I mean, with this situation happening this morning, this kind of changed the whole layout of our paper, which you know, this coming out on Saturday, you guys will see it being on the front page. But uh yeah, it was definitely one of those situations where we it was kind of uh how do we all help each other cover this and get the facts out there?

Noah Crenshaw 11:04

So yeah, some things got moved around, shifted around.

Erika Malone 11:07

Yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 11:08

In the end we got the information out and you can see it on our website or read it in today's daily journal.

Erika Malone 11:16

Yeah. And uh we hope that uh the residents there are taken care of after being displaced, because it's uh scary. It's scary and it's tragic. So our thoughts go out to those residents.

Noah Crenshaw 11:28

But that wasn't the only uh news.

Early Voting begins at courthouse

Noah Crenshaw 11:31

I mean, it unf there was a lot of news this week along with that. Uh so I'm gonna let Erica talk a little bit about something else that happened this week, which was we had early voting started as you say, right?

Erika Malone 11:42

Yeah, another big thing, uh early voting started, so we're getting uh gearing up for election coverage. Uh so early voting opened Tuesday at Johnson County Courthouse for the 2026 primary election. And uh I was there early that morning. Uh voters uh were able to cast ballots for federal, state, and local offices, including the U.S. House, uh Indiana House and Senate, County and Town Councils and Township offices.

Noah Crenshaw 12:08

And I remember I was kind of expected this would be a low turnout year compared to our presidential. You know, can you talk a little about the turnout you saw and what the county had to say?

Erika Malone 12:19

Yeah, so the turnout was was pretty low. Uh as of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, about there were about 93 in-person votes that had been casted with mail-in absentee ballots still being processed. And county clerk uh Trina McLaughlin noted no line at uh the opening. I know when I got there, there were maybe like three people in line. And so she kind of signaled what this she expected to be a low turnout. Uh, and this is for two reasons. Uh, primarily turnout is likely suppressed because it's not a presidential election year. A lot of people vote in presidential uh election years than they do in local primary elections. Uh and then a lot of uh county local races are uncontested this year. Um there are a few, but not every race is uh contested. So I talked to a few people that were there early Tuesday, including some residents and some candidates. Um and uh talked to an army veteran and uh some candidates who were also running unopposed. So yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 13:18

And so what did some of the people have to say?

Erika Malone 13:21

Yeah, so uh I talked to a first-time poll worker, uh Jim Sparks. He highlighted the checks and balances in the system that uh you know the election process has. All procedures are completed by at least one Democrat and one Republican together. So no decision is made unless two people are involved. Veteran poll worker Bob Prebush was there all as well. Uh he has over a decade of experience uh as a poll worker and emphasized bipartisan cooperation and confidence in election integrity. Uh poll workers, uh they consistently described when I was there, described the process as secure, transparent, and collaborative. Yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 14:01

And so obviously, it just started Tuesday. Uh it's not the only I mean, we s we're at what, Friday now?

Erika Malone 14:08

Yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 14:09

So, you know, we're basically through the first week, you know. Um, what's coming next? You know, how long does this keep going?

Erika Malone 14:14

Early voting runs through May 4th, the day before, you know, election day. So there's some expanded hours and weekend availability. Uh all of that is on our website as well. Under some of our election coverage that we've done, we've listed uh the places and times that uh they're open. Satellite voting locations open April 30th at libraries and a community center. There are three senior living communities, Otterbine in Franklin, Compass Park in Franklin, and Greenwood Village South. Uh, we'll host one-day vote centers April 27th through the 29th. And election day is May 5th, with 15 vote centers open countywide from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Indiana law now prohibits college IDs issued by public universities from being used to vote, so that is something new this year. Voters must present an Indiana driver's license or state ID. Uh, an ID must also include a photo and a name, and the ID can be expired only if it expired after November 5th, 2024. Um, if you have questions about uh what can what candidates who the candidates are and their stances on issues, uh we interviewed a lot of them, so you can check those out on our website.

Noah Crenshaw 15:27

Yeah, and I will add um more specifics about which locations and like where they're at can be found on our website. Um you can also go to the Indian voter portal, inuanovoters.ion.gov. It will list early voting and election day centers for you as well. On the county's uh voter registration website, like dauntscounty.ion.gov, and you go on there and look at voter registration. They also have a map and a list as well. So we encourage you to check that out so you can find the location closest to you and try to figure out whether you're gonna vote on election day or before. Yeah.

Erika Malone 16:01

Get out and vote. Get out and vote.

Noah Crenshaw 16:03

Yes.

Erika Malone 16:05

And then another big news, what else do we got? We have um

Gatling Gauntlet to permanently close

Erika Malone 16:10

the Gatling Gauntlet.

Noah Crenshaw 16:11

Yes, we do. Um we have some sad news um coming out of the county park. The Gatling Gauntlet is going to be dismantled and permanently closed. Um McJounce County Parks board voted to do that uh earlier this month. Or I guess it was technically last week. Sorry. So for refreshers, um, I don't think you didn't hear about this until we brought it up to the book. I didn't even know it existed. Yeah. So the gauntlet is a 1.6 mile military cell course that opened a few years ago. It's described as a top five distract uh attraction in the county, and it costs about $100,000 to fill to build. It was designed by Festival Country, uh, Indiana with input from a military veteran, and it featured obstacle courses or obstacles like hurdles, stone lifts, rope swings, balance beams, and climbing walls. And, you know, it's kind of like for like adventuring type, you know. Kind of like get out and like it's an obstacle course, you know, like like you want to challenge yourself.

Erika Malone 17:15

People to have fun, yeah, and exercise.

Noah Crenshaw 17:17

But since late 2022, it has been closed because although the county's insurance provider initially said they would cover it or insure it, I should say, they kind of reversed course. And because of that, the county closed it. And when I say they reverse course, they did it despite there was no like you know, sometimes you hear of like something happens and then you know you're forced to close because you can't be insured. That wasn't the case. There was no incidents reported happening, it just kind of like a I don't they just refused to insure it, so it was kind of forced to close.

Erika Malone 17:50

Well, kind of can I share about why why this happened?

Noah Crenshaw 17:54

Well, so places like this kind of have like a use at your own risk kind of liability. And generally, counties and cities can't really assume that kind of liability like a private business could. And so, you know, it essentially means that under current law, a park of this kind can't operate unless the operator is willing to take the risk of being held liable. And there are not many obstacle courses like this in the country either, so it's kind of a relatively new thing.

Erika Malone 18:23

Yeah, I mean it's not something you hear about quite often, except maybe on like military bases, you know, like obstacle courses and things like that.

Noah Crenshaw 18:31

Yeah, and even then there's kind of like waivers and stuff, and that's a different situation.

Erika Malone 18:35

Yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 18:35

But you know, because it's so unique, it's not easy for insurance companies to assess the risks and liabilities associated with it. So they're kind of on their own a little bit.

Erika Malone 18:46

Yeah, so with this closing, what did officials do to kind of deal with these setbacks?

Noah Crenshaw 18:52

Yeah, so I mean, obviously it's permanent closing now, but you know, a temporary close, I should have added that. It did it was labeled a temporary closure at the time after the insurance issues. So local county officials have spent years trying to find other insurer and even pursued state legislation to grant a limited liability protection for obstacle courses like this. Um there were bills introduced in the last few years, both in most recently in 2025 and in 2026, but they never made it out of committee. Um in fact, they didn't really even get committee hearings, so like it was really like for lack of a better term, dead. So it left the county exposed to a high liability risk. And an attorney who happens to be running for a local office is an attorney for the County Parks Board, and he used to be a lawmaker, so he was kind of like helping push this. And in conversations with some of the current lawmakers up there, they had argued that existing tort claims, which is like a civil claim thing, uh caps were sufficient to deal with this, so like they didn't see the point of having legislation. But the county officials pretty much said the risk of large lawsuits made the operation impossible because like if someone got injured they could sue for millions. Yeah, like the the cap is not not that. Yeah. So it it just kind of left the county in a bind, from what it sounds like.

Erika Malone 20:25

Yeah, well, and then with this closing, I mean, what what kind of happens now?

Noah Crenshaw 20:32

Well, um, I think over the next few months, because they've already said this, they're gonna remove all the obstacles and they're gonna dismantle it. It's gonna take time. What will be in its place? It's not really known. It's they don't really have any current plans for that yet. But the lands is gonna be considered the lands future is gonna be considered during an upcoming park master plan update the county is doing for the parks it's responsible for. Interesting. Animus says it's within the Johnson County Park, which is like the main county park. I'm sure they're gonna find something to do with it. But it's kind of a sad end for what was designed to be a very unique attraction in Johnson County.

Erika Malone 21:12

And then I'm sure it's been around a while, so yeah. Yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 21:18

But I mean it's been uh let's see, 2026 now, late 2022, it's been three, almost four years. And so it just makes you wonder about some of the lost revenue because or opportunities as well.

Erika Malone 21:32

Yeah. If anyone's listening that used that went to the Gatling Gauntlet and used it, share your experience with it. Did you like it? You know, did you uh what did you do on it?

Noah Crenshaw 21:42

I mean What do you think about the situation?

Erika Malone 21:45

What a smile. So we might do a follow up. Yeah.

Noah Crenshaw 21:48

So whether it's on not necessarily on the podcast, but definitely a print at least for sure.

Erika Malone 21:52

Yeah, absolutely. Well, now we have something like I said, we did mention at the beginning this is a special episode. So Tell everyone why it's so special.

Noah Crenshaw 22:02

Yeah, it's special for a couple of reasons. One, we had the breaking news. And then two, uh, we have a special segment previewing our upcoming voter forum we put on with some partners. And it's actually a part of our round table. It's a special extended roundtable. And for that, we have a special host with our editor, Leanne Dorflein. Uh, she's

Special segment: Voter Forum preview

Noah Crenshaw 22:28

gonna take it away here.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

I'm Leanne Dorflein, the editor of the Daily Journal and one of the organizers of the Johnson County Voter Forum. By the way, the event is next Wednesday at 6:30 in the Brannigan Room at Franklin College. The Brennigan Room is on the second floor of the Nepalitan Student Center. For those who haven't been, I'm here to talk about the voter forum with Jody Velkamp. You might know him from the Johnson County Public Library, but today he's got on his voter forum hat. Jody and I, along with Amanda Ott from Bridges and Mary Cooey, Karen Lunsford, and Bonnie Prebush from the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, have been planning these events together since 2022. Why do you think these events are important, Jody?

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Like when we started this, we wanted to kind of flip the traditional candidate form on its head where candidates get up and talk about whatever they want to. And so each time that we've done this, we come up with a list of questions to say these are the topics that we're talking about. And the candidates can choose for any one of those to speak up. They get 90 seconds. So we're really spending more time talking about the issue than an individual candidate gets to sped. But the the unique thing is at the end of it, the candidates all stick around and everybody has a chance to go and talk to them. So I think it's it's fun. It's been working, it's been working out well.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

What are we having for our topics this time?

SPEAKER_00 23:55

You know, we are looking at uh we kind of look and say what's going on in the world or what's going on locally, because these are all local and some of our federal offices. So one of the things we've noticed is that a relationship between federal, state, and local government is kind of changing. Sometimes the feds come in and say, hey, we want you to start doing this. And the state says, nah, I don't think so. And then in Indiana, you've got the funding changes with uh trying to reduce property taxes and telling localities they need to increase their income taxes, and and that is having a hip. So we're talking about that, um, specifically with the impact of uh SEA1 and then also um ongoing issues, child care.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

Those are all really important. We've been covering them in the Daily Journal, and we're excited to hear from the experts on those and to hear what candidates are going to do about them. Another part of this is that um we get to hear more about candidates' opinions on the action on those topics that are impacting everyday life. So I think that's really cool. I've been grateful to be involved with this over the years. And another thing I'm grateful for is that this year's voter forum will have the largest ever showing of candidates with 30. Isn't that great?

SPEAKER_00 25:08

It's just amazed me. I mean, when we started this thing, the first time we had like 15, 16, and we had a good turnout from the from from uh the voters. And so we watch watching these come in, and it's like one point they were like 36, and then a couple of them had a conflict, but we're at 30 as of today, and we expect those to uh to show up. But I think that's just how many times do you have an opportunity to go and meet candidates for state, local, and federal offices all in one set, all in one sitting? I mean, I think that's the that's the comments I hear feedback from the attendees and from the uh candidates. I've heard things like, wow, most of these, there's usually more candidates than people. And we've always haven't had that problem. I don't expect we'll have that this year. And just they thought it was unique that we're saying, Lake, you know, it's not you. This is about the voters. Here's what they want to hear.

SPEAKER_02 25:53

Yeah, definitely. And we also have a wide variety of candidates that are coming. We have some township candidates, we have a Princess Lakes candidate, we have several county candidates, state house, multiple races, Congress candidates for Congress. Jefferson Shreve's not coming because he is busy in Washington, but we have Sarah Janice Brown, who's challenging him in the Republican primary, and then we have three of the four Democrats that are running. Everyone, but Corey Emicks will be there. So here's an overview of what offices that we have people coming for. So you can show up if you want to hear from these people. So for the Democratic side, we have the candidate for White River in Pleasant Township prestige. We have a Burgersville Town Council candidate, and we have a candidate for County Council District 4, and the three candidates for district six, the Congress district six. We also have candidates for Indiana House District 47 and 57. And we have both Democrats that are running for District 58. And for Republicans, we have candidates for the Fawn Southern Johnson Township and White River Township Board. We have a candidate for the Southern Johnson Township trustee, the incumbent judges for Superior Court 2 and 4. We also have County Council District 2 candidate, the sheriff candidate, prosecutor candidate, a Princess Lakes Town Council member, town council hopeful, and we have candidates for House Districts 57, 58, and 60, and one candidate for Indiana Senate District 41, that one being Greg Walker. And to see the full list of candidates who are coming, you can check out our website or you can see the list of candidates on our Facebook event.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

I think it's just amazing the breadth of candidates. You got people, you know, running for Indiana Senate, Indiana House, and you've got running for Congress. We've never had this wide variety of candidates. And so it's kind of like, hey, you know what? If you're looking to vote in May, stop in.

SPEAKER_02 28:18

Yeah, exactly. And even though it's at Franklin College, we have people at from a lot more places than Franklin. Um, the district 60 candidates, um, most of them live in Morgan County, so it's really cool of them to come out here because the district is more Morgan County than Johnson County, but it is an important part of Center, the Center River area.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

That's my area.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

I know who those candidates are.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

We should also talk more about the format of the event.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Um I think when we first started this, it was like, okay, what do we do? So we've decided we the topic, and then we find someone to address that topic. So the first topic is the relationship between federal, state, and local government. And Randy Smith from the Franklin College Political Science for Department, he's a professor there, is going to be speaking and tell us, you know, how was it originally? Was it supposed to be? How do we get along and what what are the roles they're supposed to play? Because those are changing constantly and giving people a this is the way it's supposed to be, and then let the candidates address the changes that they see and how they want to address it. Of course, we talked earlier about uh impact of SEA1 on local governments where where property tax money may go away and supposed to increase it with um with local income taxes. And so Adam Stone of Stone Municipal Group will be there talking about the impact that SEA1 has. And then also um there's a child care gap in our community. If you have children, you probably know that. And uh they're feature. So we're gonna bring remarks from uh the executive director of the boys and girls club of Johnson County, and also a parent, and give us some perspective on that. And then the candidates can choose their topic. And now, like for sheriff, he doesn't fit in any of those topics, so he's allowed to go off script, but he's only that 90 seconds. So everybody gets 90 seconds. They we know in advance what they're gonna talk about, and uh we have a timer, and when we have 30 candidates, we're gonna hold it to 90 seconds. We want to get home that night.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Yeah, definitely. Can you refresh uh the audience on why we decided to format it this way?

SPEAKER_00 30:24

I think we were when we first started putting this together, we were really looked at candidate forums, and it's like, okay, we have a forum, and the candidates get up and they talk for they each get five minutes or whatever and they talk about it, and they might take a question from the audience. But the idea is saying these are the topics, here's the information on that topic. And you'll find these people are not they're not gonna take positions and say, well, the general project should do this. They're just talking about here's the situation, and then the candidates get to come up and they give their view, but they get 90 seconds. Then we have audience questions. I mean, not a lot this year because of the the time constraints, but afterwards the candidates staying around, you can go talk to them one or one. So what really is hi, I'm a voter, I want to talk to you instead of hi, I'm a candidate, and I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna say.

SPEAKER_02 31:10

Yeah, I really like that we did the this way, and uh the format that we chose, I think allows people to have a meaningful conversation instead of just having the candidates talk at them about their views. Um it kind of helps people think about the issues, having the facts presented to them and then showing what the candidates think about the issues and hopefully how they would like to address them as they're in office.

SPEAKER_00 31:39

I have their candidate card. He goes, and you told me I can pick one of the four that time we had four topics, so I have to pick a topic not up to me. He goes, and I got 90 seconds. He goes, you know how much I really had to think about this and and go through that. You give me 90 seconds. He said, This is really unique. He said, This is he was very he loved it, he thought it was great, and uh you know it's always good to hear feedback and and then also from the attendees, the voters are coming up and going, Wow, I really you know, I talked to this guy and this person and this woman, and and they like they like that aspect of it too. So I think it's just it's just great to really get people one-on-one and it it lets people realize that candidates are real people.

SPEAKER_02 32:22

So yeah, I also like that it's a compact event because it would be it'd be a lot to do if we had say debates for all these awesome says. Where would we where would we find the time as the organizers or where would voters find the time as people with lives?

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Yeah, I think I I know giving us two hours of your time. Hopefully Wednesday night makes it a little easier. We try and find an available date. But I guess you talk about compact, it's like two hours of your time. You can stay around later and talk to candidates who want to stay. I'd kick you out by nine o'clock, though. But um, and to meet all these candidates. I mean, you could talk if you're a township and you want to know about your township, you've got that opportunity, you've got you've got local government. I just think it's a it's a really unique format. And uh and you know, if you can't come that night, we also have a virtual option. You'll we'll be streaming it on the Daily Journal Facebook page. Correct. Yep. So go to Daily Journal News on Facebook and uh and you'll find the live stream there. So and it will be there after the fact. We'll probably download it and make it available on YouTube as well. So if you can't make it Wednesday night, you'll still be able to join us.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Exactly. And we're gonna be covering the event to make this as accessible as possible. We'll have a reporter there diligently taking notes on what's being said and talking to people about what they experienced and taking photos, all that jazz. Um, and uh we'll it also have we'll have that on Facebook and YouTube, we'll have that on the story. It'll be everywhere. You hopefully can't avoid it.

SPEAKER_00 34:08

Um so we pick up Saturday morning's paper, buy a happy. If you don't subscribe, you should subscribe, but you need to buy a copy and find out if you missed it. And even if you went, buy a copy anyway and uh see how they covered it.

SPEAKER_02 34:21

Yeah, exactly. It's always good to see hear people say, Wow, you really captured what actually happened, and that's always the goal.

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Should be. I think it's great. It's a good event, and and we wouldn't be able to do it without your participation and and letting people know that it's happening. The candidates are probably more responsive when they see the daily journal is involved than they would be if it's Jody and Amanda uh saying, hey, we're gonna do this thing. So um appreciate your particip for your participation and uh bringing me in here today. And uh we'll see everybody Wednesday.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

Yeah, thank you so much for coming. Well, we hope to see you all at the voter forum, Johnson County. Remember, be there or be square Wednesday 6, 6 30 to 8 30 in the Baranagan room at Franklin College. Doors open at 6. So you can come early

Outro

SPEAKER_02 35:16

and shout with the candidates if you want, and you can stay later after the presentation and talk to the candidates.

Erika Malone 35:22

Thank you guys so much for tuning in to this episode of Beyond the Headlines and let us know what you would like to hear by submitting your thoughts to news tips at dailyjournal.net and follow us wherever you get podcasts and leave a review. Anything you want to say before we sign off?

Noah Crenshaw 35:37

Yeah, make sure you go vote.

Erika Malone 35:39

Yes, go vote.

Noah Crenshaw 35:40

And tune in next time.

Erika Malone 35:41

You better.