WWE and the Indiana Sports Corp. announced a first-of-its-kind agreement last week that will bring three of pro wrestling's top events to Lucas Oil Stadium over the next eight years. The deal means Indianapolis will host "Royal Rumble" on Feb. 1, 2025, and then “WrestleMania" and “SummerSlam” in the years after. This week on the podcast, we’re givi…

Jamie Riley is the Chief Operating Officer at USA Football. In keeping with our focus on professional sports organizations in our community, Jamie came by the studio to tell us about all the amazing things happening with football at the Olympic level and at the grassroots - not the kind you watch on Sunday - in light of their notably increased part…

Over the last four decades, residents of Hamilton County have amassed a wealth of options for hospital care. The county is already home to 11 acute-care and specialty hospitals with a total of nearly 800 beds—while many Indiana counties have no hospitals, or a single facility with less than 50 beds. Some consumer advocates say the hospital systems …

Earlier this month, the owner of the Mass Ave sushi eatery Forty Five Degrees celebrated the restaurant’s 16th anniversary. Bill Pritt was told he was crazy in 2008 for trying to create a restaurant at the six-lane intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, College Avenue and St. Clair Street. A smart real estate move during the recession gave him owner…

Our subject today is a little touchy, but it requires some discussion due to the effect in can have on your financial future and the quality of your relationships with family members. This episode is all about inheritance, including the best and worst ways you can deal with a life-altering influx of money and/or property. The bottom line is that th…

Usually when we’re talking about economic impact in Indianapolis we’re referring to a multimillion-dollar real estate project or a one-off sports or convention event like GenCon or the Super Bowl. But much of the talk in the last few months has been about a living, breathing basketball star from Iowa who in a very short period of time has changed t…

Halston Mavrick is the Director of Brand Partnerships at Indy Fuel Hockey Club. In continuing with our focus on sports organizations in Indianapolis, Halston dropped by the studio to provide some unique insights as to the origin of hockey in Indiana. She also discussed the sport’s growing following and fandom in the Hoosier state, and what exciting…

Three weeks ago, we released an episode of the IBJ Podcast explaining the sudden, multilayered and high-pitched battle over building a soccer stadium in downtown Indianapolis. Since then, the drama has taken several turns with fresh revelations about what’s underneath the ground set aside for the stadium complex that developer Keystone Group wants …

Carolyn Gentle-Genitty grew up in Belize, the eldest of five children whose parents operated a food cart and canteen. She applied to a private all-girls high school and, upon being accepted, worked with her parents to negotiate the terms that would allow them to afford it. She paid for her associate’s degree through work study, earned a full schola…

Our guest this week is Jesse Rice, who took a circuitous route to becoming one of Indianapolis’ most unpredictable arts, entertainment and community entrepreneurs. He grew up in a blue-collar family in a small town, and then went to Purdue University with hopes of going to med school. He flipped his focus to finance and ended up working at Enterpri…

Less than two weeks ago, everything that we had assumed about the future of pro soccer in Indianapolis and the creation of a publicly owned downtown stadium for the Indy Eleven soccer team received a swift kick between the stitches. With head-spinning speed on April 25, the owner of the Indy Eleven accused the city of backing out of negotiations to…

Dr. Niya Blair Hackworth is the Director of Inclusion of the NCAA. In keeping with our sports focus and their organizational forces in Indiana, Dr. Niya came by the studio to discuss her career path in higher education administration and its evolution over many years at multiple universities prior to joining the NCAA. With an evolving focus on what…

Our guest this week is Brandi Davis-Handy, who in February was named president of AES Indiana. That’s the electricity utility for Marion County and portions of the greater Indianapolis area, serving more than 500,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. Davis-Handy was promoted from her position as chief customer officer, and prior to …

This is the 300th episode of the IBJ Podcast, which debuted on June 3, 2018. In what has become a tradition for the podcast's anniversaries, host Mason King checks in with Pete Dunn, aka Pete the Planner, to get his latest take on personal finance and some of the knottier issues that arise when managing your money. In this episode, Pete explores fo…

If you’ve lived in central Indiana for more than a few years, you’re probably at least familiar with John Stehr, a lead news anchor for WTHR-TV Channel 13 for 23 years before retiring in 2018. He since has gone from reporting the news to becoming the news. At the age of 65, he is now the mayor of Zionsville, the fast-growing town just northwest of …

When Benjamin Hanna assembled the schedule for his first season as artistic director of the Indiana Repertory Theatre, he placed “Little Shop of Horrors” as the closing production for the 2023-24 season. The IRT, founded in 1972, had not previously staged “Little Shop of Horrors”—which debuted in New York in 1982 and was adapted for a 1986 film. Pe…

Chick McGee has been a fixture on Indianapolis radio for 38 years as a cast member of “The Bob & Tom Show,” the morning show which originates from WFBQ-FM and is heard on close to 100 radio stations across the country. That’s 38 consecutive years, even if you count the six months in 1995 when he moved to San Diego to host another show and then resi…

Dr. Allison Barber is the President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Indiana Fever. On this Women’s History Month episode, Allison discusses her career ascension to her current role at the Indiana Fever by way of 8 previous roles in education, government, communications, and more. Allison also discusses her leadership role of the Indiana Fe…

Back in 1990, Mark Hardwick had a courtside seat on the Ball State University bench for one of the most memorable games in March Madness history. Those were heady times for the redshirt freshman from tiny Dunkirk, Indiana, and a few years later he would have his chance to start in an NCAA tournament game for Ball State. But it’s the former squad fr…

You don’t need to be 50 years old to remember the Carpenters, the brother-sister duo that helped define pop music in the 1970s with gold-gilded melodies, pristine production and a certain yen for heartache. The music is timeless and has ardent fans online and on music streaming channels. It’s also the basis for a new cabaret show that was developed…

When serial entrepreneur Christopher Day walks into a room, he should be followed by somebody with a boombox playing “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Christopher Day gathers no moss. Over the last 30 years, he has co-founded eight businesses in seven distinct sectors—namely, artificial intelligence, softwa…

Change can be hard. Systemic change, or massive change across a large organization with lots of stakeholders, can be particularly tough to manage. About three weeks ago, Latha Ramchand started her new job as incoming chancellor for Indiana University Indianapolis, which will be one of the products when IUPUI splits into two campuses on July 1. Ramc…

Max Siegel is the CEO of USA Track and Field. In this episode, Max discusses his experiences and lessons learned over the course of his wide array of professional endeavors. Max also touched on his contributions and investments to diversify the racing industry and so many other industries and organizations he has engaged in and impacted through his…

Central Indiana isn’t necessarily known as a golf mecca, but it's well represented on the national championship stage by Crooked Stick Golf Club and its singular course designed by the legendary Pete and Alice Dye. It recently announced that it will host the 2028 U.S. Senior Open. It last hosted the Senior Open in 2009, drawing nearly 150,000 atten…

As you know, we discuss retirement planning fairly regularly on the IBJ Podcast, but in retrospect it’s been a little one-dimensional. We almost always are focused on how to hit a particular number—the amount to have squirreled away that will allow you to maintain your current lifestyle during retirement. There’s a little bit of wiggle room in our …

This is the week of the NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, which officially tips off on Thursday and will run through the 73rd NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night. Over the next week, Indianapolis will be the site of star-studded concerts, exhibition games, fan-friendly activities, multimedia programming and major art installations. For this week’…

The NBA’s All-Star weekend is just about 10 days away, and the calendar is filling up fast with official and unofficial events. There are concerts, forums, theater, comedy and lots of art. Guest host Lesley Weidenbener talked with IBJ arts and entertainment writer Dave Lindquist to talk about the schedule so far and what central Indiana residents c…

Mel Raines is the president and COO of Pacers Sports & entertainment. In this episode, Mel discussed her current position resulting from a career transition from politics to sports and her leadership of the Pacers organization in that role. Importantly, Mel also touches on all the things our community should know about NBA All-Star weekend coming u…