Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This week on Beyond the Headlines. Greenwood ranks eighth in the state for population growth. A look at the data for the city and more local communities. Franklin, Edinburgh, and Johnson County get more state funds for road work. City grants help Franklin public art events and businesses. And the local connections with the Indy 500 Festival Princesses and Scholar Queen. From the Daily Journal, this is Beyond the Headlines, a local news podcast focused on story shaping Johnson County. Hello, everyone, and welcome. I'm Leanne Dwarfline, the editor of the Daily Journal. Erica's off today. I'm joined by reporter Hallie Gallanet. Hello. Hello. Um, this is not my first time on the podcast. I interviewed someone previously, so it's good to be back as a co-host, I guess. Same year with me.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

I did my first reporting a couple weeks ago.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Awesome.

unknown 1:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

We're doing it. And thanks for going on the journey with us, listeners.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

But I know Erica's on a journey to Alabama.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Yes. And I'll be enjoying my weekend as well. TikTok. Anyway, okay, let's talk about the stories of the week.

Greenwood rank’s 8th in the state for population growth

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Um, first up, we have the story about our county's population growth, but especially Greenwood. Um, Greenwood remains Indiana, one of Indiana's fastest growing cities, ranking eighth statewide from 2024 to 2025, with growth of 1,015 residents reaching more than 69,300 total population. Okay. It was seventh statewide from 2020 to 2025 with an increase of more than 5,300 residents. Hmm. Um, totally. This is according to the latest estimates from the annual American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Um, I guess those new houses have residents in them. Great. Uh the city is growing quickly, but it still trails larger boom areas like Westfield, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Carmel, and Whitestown. Within Johnson County, Greenwood is the clear growth leader, ranking number one for both short-term and long-term growth.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Great.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

And uh, what were the population estimates for other communities? Bargersville was next up. They saw 554 new residents in one year and increased 2,148 since 2020, showing strong sustained growth. Awesome. In Franklin, the growth can be more described as steady and moderate. 514 residents for a total of 26,743 were added in the most recent estimate. And there was 1,373 since 2020, so a little less than half as much. And in Whiteland, they had the fastest growing by percentage with an increase of 6%, which translates to 357 residents for their new total of 5,884. And they've had over 12 over 1,200 since 2020. And then what about New Wetland? They had slower growth, but definitely grew some. Next highest is White River Township. There was stronger there as well. There was an increase of 3,896 residents for a total of 56,493.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

That's great to hear about that uh at that positive growth. Uh, what does that data show about Johnson County?

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Well, it does show that suburban expansion is strongest in areas near Greenwood, especially in Pleasant and White River townships. Those two plus Clark Township make up the northern three that border Marion County. Um smaller townships with lower populations are growing faster percentage-wise, but Greenwood leads in the total population gain driving much of the region's growth.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Hmm. Hope they got the infrastructure to support that.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Time will tell.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

So that was uh quite a bit of numbers that we had to read off there. Um and as reporters, how do you think uh it's best that we report stories like this, particularly ones that involve a lot, a lot of data? Because it can be a lot to break down.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

It definitely can. It's good to kind of make sure we understand it ourselves first, and then break it down in such a way that other people can understand it too. As journalists, we kind of make it so the the the layperson, so to speak, can understand the changes and why they matter. Yeah, uh so we this data came from the US Census Bureau, and we parsed through it to see the county data, and then we did some quick math to break it down in different ways, whether people like to see raw numbers or percentages, just so it's understandable.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Yeah. Because it's always hard to if you don't understand it yourself, it's hard to report on it.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Definitely, yeah. So now let's take a short break and we'll be right back. Want your business to reach our listeners in Johnson County and beyond? Reach out to the Daily Journal by calling 317-736-2730 to ask about our advertising opportunities.

Communities get more road funding from state

SPEAKER_00 8:06

And we are back. So, one thing that I reported on this week is uh that communities got some more uh state road funding. Uh so some background on that. Johnson County, Franklin, and Edinburgh were initially denied road funding through INDOT's community crossings matching grant program due to some new state rules and limited funding. A new law, House Enrolled Act 1461, capped the program at $100 million annually and reduced grant cycles to once per year. It required 50% of funds to go to communities under uh 50,000 population, and uh made the program, it made the program more competitive, which resulted in fewer awards. And initially Greenwood was the only Johnson County community funded, and they received uh $1 million. But after the 2026 legislative session, an additional $75 million were was added, which allowed more communities to receive funding. So newly funded governments here were Johnson County, Franklin, Edinburgh, Bark, Burgersville, and Trafalgar.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Wow. So with the new funding, how much did these governments get and what are their plans?

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Yeah, so we previously covered the projects in Burgersville and Trafalgar, so I'm gonna skip over those in my recap. Uh, but in Johnson County, INDOT will cover 50% of a $592,000 project. Uh work will focus on uh Smoky Road Row, Smoky Row Road, that's quite the tongue twister, uh, in White River Township. Uh improvements will include uh fixing drainage and soil issues, installing under drains to reduce water damage, uh mill and overlay paving, which will remove about uh 4.5 inches of asphalt and replacing it. Uh so the construction timeline, it's gonna start here pretty soon on June 2nd and should run until August 1st. And then in Franklin, they received $910,959 as a grant, part of a roughly $1.82 million project. Funds will repair uh 20, over 20 roads across the city, which will include major streets like Monroe Street, Madison Street, and Brandigan Creek Boulevard. So work will include mill and overlay maintenance based on road condition ratings from the PACER system that they use. Uh, construction is expected to last from July to November. Uh, and city officials I spoke to also emphasize the importance of maintaining roads um and securing funding after initial denial. It's great that they were able to get that. Try try again, I guess. And then in Edinburgh, they received $103,149, uh an 80% in dot match. So the town will pay roughly uh $25,787. Uh, it will repair four tiering streets using mill and overlay, and those core streets include Fulford Drive, East Campbell Street, Ward Street, and Duncan Street. Uh, and the goal is to present more costly full road construction, reconstruction later. Um, the project date has not been confirmed, the project start date, I should say. Um, so, but hopefully we'll see some work soon. Then you whenever they get started.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Great. Well, it was interesting how this story played out because we cover this year after year, and usually when we cover it, we say almost every single city and town in the Johnson County gets it. So seeing it last year, where it was only Greenwood, it was very interesting. Yeah. And this has kind of been something that cities and towns have depended on year after year, and it's probably a lot of the reason why our roads are at least inside cities and towns, are so much more better kept than other places like Indianapolis, for example. Yeah. Where you can easily lose a wheel in those gnarly potholes.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

So what do you think are some other takeaways from this story?

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Yeah, so funding changes obviously made grants hard to secure, but additional state money helped uh more communities, which is great. Uh, as you said, because a lot of communities rely on that funding to make sure our roads aren't a mess. Projects across the county focus mainly on road resurfacing and drainage improvements. And when I spoke with local officials in those areas, uh, they stressed that uh preventive maintenance saves money long term. So they plan to continue applying for those grants annually.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Great. Um, I think we should talk about the process of reporting a story like this. There are a lot of moving parts and people to talk to. There are. How did you combine all this information into a cohesive story?

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Well, I first identified my sources who I needed to talk to, and I reach out to them all individually, set up times to talk with them, and then I like to write down all of what they said so I know what their main points are, and I like to focus on those in the story, uh, if that all makes sense. Because it is a lot of information and it can be hard to determine like what needs to be said and what doesn't need to be said, uh, the information behind it.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Um this story also had a base of reporting that Erica had done. Yes. She published this story, I think maybe the first week Hallie was here shortly before.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Yeah, it was like April 28th or something.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Yeah, and that one focused on um Barbersville and Trafalgar because they had recently received their funding from NDOT and it was on their city council agenda, and that's kind of how we found out about it. And then because and we were like, hey, NDot, uh, what's going on here? And we asked Endot like how they chose how they went about adding more projects and stuff like that. So it kind of started out with the base of Erica's reporting and us and asking questions on that as well.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Yeah, her story was great for just general background info, but then of course, I'm not talking about Drafalgar in this story, so I had to give talk and to people in Franklin and people in Edinburgh. So yeah, but I think it all came together pretty well.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Yeah, definitely. And

EDC grants fund downtown public art, events, businesses

SPEAKER_01 14:37

now we have another one of Hallie's stories to talk about, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Yeah. Uh so this past week, uh, the Economic Development Commission they helped to fund some uh downtown public art events and businesses in Franklin. In Franklin, yes. So the Franklin City Council approved a recommendation from the Franklin Economic Development Commission uh to give them funding or to give funding for nonprofits focused on economic development and quality of life. And those include the Franklin Chamber Foundation, Franklin Heritage, Discover Downtown Franklin, and the Franklin Public Art Advisory Commission. So funds came from economic development fees, funds come from economic development fees paid by businesses that receive tax abatements. So those are 2% fees on real property and 5% on personal property of abated taxes. And this year, $108,262 was collected for 2025. And that's the highest amount ever uh that they've ever received. So this money is distributed through the Franklin Economic Development Commission uh to support local nonprofit projects.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

That's great. Well, people question tax abatements, but at least we are getting something out of them through these EDC fees, at least in Franklin. Not everybody collects these fees. Tell us a more about what was funded, Hallie.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Yeah. So the Franklin Chamber Foundation, they received $38,262 uh for a support 31 marketing campaign during uh US 31 construction. Uh so this will promote local businesses and keep customers engaged because I know just driving on 31, my goodness, it's uh they're working hard, but it's tricky to navigate. Uh and they will enter or they will feature uh Barry the Orange Barrel ma a new mascot. Um and they will use him on uh ads and social media and signage, and I'm so excited to see him implement it because there's so many orange barrels out there, so it's good to give him a face.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

You'll recognize him by um the orange slice mouth. It's very cute.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Very cute. So Franklin Heritage, they received uh $25,000, and this will be used to purchase new sound equipment for the historic Artcraft Theater, which will allow expansion of concerts and comedy shows. The total cost for this project is a bit over. It's about $42,000. So an additional funds will be raised through fundraising. And then Discover Downtown Franklin, they have um received $20,000 for a marketing campaign uh supporting Franklin's Economic Heart 2.0, second part to their uh supporting Franklin's economic cart um campaign that they had last year. So this will include a billboard on I-65 uh near the Franklin exit, radio, social media ads, and pedestrian signage. And then uh the Franklin Public Art Advisory Commission received uh $25,000 uh for the final project for the Veterans Walk Public Art Installation. Uh and it will feature a backlit American flag display with color-changing lights uh and smaller flags uh showing the historical evolution of the US flag.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

Thanks for sharing that with us, Hallie. I can't wait to see how the projects come out. Me too. Um and now we're gonna take another short break and then we'll be right back with our round table. See you in a bit. Like listening to this podcast, you can help support it. Subscribe to the Daily Journal at subscribe.dailyjournal.net to support your local newspaper and this podcast. Your support helps make everything we do possible. And

Roundtable: Register for local summer reading programs

SPEAKER_01 18:32

now for our round table. First up, let's look at summer reading programs happening at local libraries. Local libraries in Johnson County, um, all three of them in Edinburgh, Greenwood, and the countywide library. They are offering programs to prevent summer slide by keeping students engaged and building reading habits. Okay. But let's not forget summer reading is your adults too, and yours truly is already registered and excited to read. Oh, I picked up a couple of romance novels and I'm reading uh a book about autism research.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

Hmm.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

I that's interesting. Anyway, um, most programs include reading challenges and logs, educational activities, and prize incentives. So the Johnson County Public Libraries program, which is called Explore Summer, takes place from June 1st to July 31st. There's a kickoff event at multiple branches, which include a dinosaur pirate puppet show. Um there's a community goal to read 5 million minutes, and if they re and if county library patrons, including myself, reach that, there will be a reward uh of a pool party.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Have fun.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Um, and uh there are there are reading goals for kids, adults, and teens. Um, and there are really cool prizes. Like adults could win a kitchen aid mixer or a $500 gift card. Teens could win a gaming system, and kids could win a Great Wolf Launch Trip. There are weekly rewards for completing activities, coupons up for grabs, and prize drawings. If you do sign up for the JCPL program, you can go to your local branch and pick up a yard sign, and they'll have teams driving around the neighborhoods in their library system, and they will pick a home that has that sign and they'll get special prizes.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Also does good advertising, get other people involved.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Yeah. So in Greenwood, there is a Steam into Summer themed program which focuses on science, technology, engineering, math, and art. Um that program runs the same as JCPL's from June to July, the start of June to the end of July. Um, and there's a kickoff party planned for that as well. Participants complete activities, and the more activities they complete, they get more prizes. Prizes include free books, coupons, and makerspake items. Um, the Greenwood program is limited to people who live in a library district. And if you're not sure if you live in the library district or not, if you own a home, look at your tax bill. Or if you don't own a home, go to the library's website. And they have a map which will show you if you live there or not. And there's also Steam programs that will be offered the library that kids can attend all year long. But again, adults and teens are welcome too, not just kiddos. So in Edinburgh, their theme is Unearth a Story, and the program runs from June 1st to July 15th. The kickoff event features Dewey the Dinosaur and their activities. A lot of dinosaurs. Yeah. Dinosaurs are cool, so I could participants complete reading educational challenges for prizes. Some rewards include going to a pool party at the Edinburgh Aquatic Center and Church to Counter Prairie in Kentucky Kingdom. Ooh. Um, love Counter Prairie. It's pretty cool. There are also additional summer events at Edinburgh Library, including magic shows, animal encounters, live performances, and more. Lots of things to keep the kids and well everyone busy.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

Yeah, definitely. And

Roundtable: Indy 500 Festival princesses, Queen Scholar

SPEAKER_00 23:11

it's Memorial Day weekend, and that means it's uh Indie 500 weekend. We're racing into it. Uh and three was that too cheesy. Perfectly cheesy, perfect amount. Good. So three Johnson County women are participating in the 500 festival princess program ahead of the Indy 500. And that's Haley Reddy, who is the 500 Festival Queen Scholar, Sydney Klemetz, uh, who is the princess, and Kaylee Ningoyan, who's also princess. And so we got the Queen Scholar and two princesses. So the 500 Festival Princess program recognizes young women for leadership, academics, and community service. Participants complete over 1,500 hours of service statewide, uh, and that reaches uh 50,000, over 50,000 people. And each princess also receives a $1,500 scholarship. So I'm gonna run through a quick profile of each of these local women, starting with the Queen Haley Rady. Uh she was selected for leadership, service, and communication skills, uh, and engaged in activities like teaching kids about uh the Indy 500 history, uh, labor story times, uh, and community outreach. And as queen, she receives an additional uh $1,500 scholarship and also represents the festival year-round. She aspires to work in motorsports and data analytics, um, which is very fitting. Very fitting. And she emphasizes community pride and believing in making a big impact. So that's awesome. So Kaylee Nigoyan, one of the two princesses, uh, she is an IU Indianapolis senior with a passion for community service and healthcare. Activities she has done include organizing a serial donation drive, volunteering with a domestic violence shelter, uh, and visiting schools, hospitals, and libraries. See, she's been all over. She learned that leadership is about service and helping others, and she encourages others to take opportunities and stay positive, which is a great message. I think we need more positivity in the world. I think that's what we need. And now Cindy Clements, uh the other princess, uh, she's a medical student at IU School of Medicine and wants to pursue uh pediatrics. She's been inspired by the program since her childhood. She focuses on youth outreach and community service and has a personal connection to charity work through family experience with Riley's Children's Hospital. And she aims to inspire younger generations to give back, which is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

Great. Hats off to our princesses and our queen on this racing linket.

Roundtable: Old Town Greenwood beautification day

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Our last item on our round table this week is the community beautification day in Greenwood. There will also be a larger countywide beautification effort with Bloom Johnson County, which is a story that I'm working on for later. Volunteers are being recruited for a hands-on community beautification event in Greenwood now, which will be called Old Town in Bloom. The event will take place on May 30th, so that's next Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. It's organized by Old Town Greenwood Inc., which is formerly Restore Old Town Greenwood. They've renamed themselves recently. Um, the group is dedicated to revitalizing and promoting the downtown district. The day aims to refresh and beautify Greenwood Central District and encourages community pride and involvement, support for local businesses, and awareness of events happening throughout the summer. They have some planned beautification activities that they're going to do and they would like your help with. That includes installing new decorative planners on Main Street, cleaning and improving public spaces in shared areas, creating a community rock garden with painted rocks, and the general sprucing up of street spaces and gathering spaces. They're asking local residents, business owners, and anyone who is interested in improving the community to come volunteer. You don't need to have any special skills, and there are plenty of different volunteer roles available. The only thing that you sh do need to bring is yourself, some work gloves, and comfortable clothing suitable for outdoor work. They are also requesting that you register in advance online, and the best way to do that would be to go to their website or to find a link to register from their Facebook. When you do arrive, meet at the Northeast Parking Lot at North Madison Avenue and West Wiley Street. Kickoff attendees will be provided with coffee, donuts, and water. And so you can make sure you have uh power for your volunteer work.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Especially if it's gonna be hot, but who knows what these past couple

Outro

SPEAKER_00 28:17

days.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

Thanks so much for listening. That's all we have prepared. Anything else you'd like to say, Hallie? Nope.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

I don't have anything else except that I just hope everybody had a great Memorial Day weekend.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Beyond the Headlines. Let us know what you would like to hear by submitting your thoughts to news tips at dailyjournal.net. Follow us wherever you get podcasts and leave a review. Tune in next time. Thank you so much for listening.