1
Mark Hunter, father of U.S. Army Sgt. Jonathon Hunter, who was killed Aug. 2, 2017, in an attack on a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan, was named a Horseshoe Hero by the Indianapolis Colts during the final home game of the season against the Houston Texans.
2
Elizabethtown residents could see a sewer rate increase taking effect under a proposal that would boost monthly bills by $10, as the town considers its first increase since 1997 to help pay for its sewer plant and any necessary future improvements.
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3
A proposed rental registration program that would start in the spring would requires landlords to register with the city each year by paying a $5 registration fee per rental property parcel within city limits.
4
Bartholomew County reported an increase in confirmed flu cases, with 35 percent of suspected flu-like cases testing positive for Influenza A or B strains.
5
A bill proposed by state Rep. Milo Smith, R-Columbus, that would allow refunds for professional sports fans offended by National Football League players who kneel during the national anthem, was expected to die this year in the Indiana General Assembly, said Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma, citing potential constitutional violations.
6
Columbus Code Enforcement staff boarded up a home in the 2100 block of 23rd Street after Columbus firefighters were called to an early morning fire there, the third one within the past four years.
7
A gas leak at Columbus Bar, 322 Fourth St., caused the area to be closed off to downtown residents for about two hours.
8
Bartholomew County Commissioners have approved a 4 percent increase in county funding to Centerstone to provide mental health and addiction treatment to the county’s indigent.
9
Jennings County became the latest of several Indiana counties and communities to file a federal lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
10
Kyria Rodriguez, 9, a student at St. Peter’s Lutheran School in Columbus, spent Friday with Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers as the honorary sheriff for a day after collecting 1,110 cans of food — more than anyone else — in the sheriff’s Pack-a-Patrol Car contest.
11
A wreck involving three semitrailers near the 43-mile marker of Interstate 65 south of Seymour Wednesday prompted voluntary evacuations and inconvenience for motorists after one of the semitrailers carrying volatile chemicals caught fire.
12
State Rep. Milo Smith, the Republican lawmaker from Columbus, said he would retire from the Indiana Legislature at the end of the year after completing six two-year terms in office.
13
According to the Indiana State Police, Bartholomew County became the state’s top trouble spot for ongoing slideoffs and accidents as motorists were dealing with about a half-inch of snow mixed with ice during a winter storm that arrived Friday.
14
The African American Fund of Bartholomew County has begun a two-year matching campaign, an anonymous local couple agreeing to match contributions up to $20,000.
15
Armory Apartments, located at 646 Franklin St., was outfitted with 90 solar panels in December by Third Sun Solar, an Athens, Ohio-based solar panel installation company, which will allow the complex to generate enough electricity to reduce its electric bill by about $2,250 annually.
16
More than 30 people attended a panel discussion which considered the topic, "Columbus Then and Now: How Far Have We Come, How Far Do We Have to Go?" as part of five events conducted on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Columbus.
17
The city said it would preview proposed updates tied to a seldom-used civilian oversight committee — the Audit and Review Committee — that hears appeals of police department complaints.
18
Gary Pugh, 66, of Nashville, was rescued after his truck slid on icy pavement, veered off the road, clipped a tree and went down steep embankment into the Driftwood River just west of Columbus.
19
Delilah the cat traveled 240 miles at interstate speeds in an SUV engine compartment from Ohio to Indiana in subzero temperatures over the holidays, hitching a ride unbeknownst to a Columbus family who had spent some time with relatives and was traveling home.
20
City officials plan to look at how complaints lodged against the Columbus Police Department are handled after two organizations, the African American Pastors Alliance and the Bartholomew County chapter of the NAACP, voiced concerns about the process.
21
Aaron and Lena Oberholtzer sought conditional-use approval to operate a kennel on 55 acres north of Hope that would breed up to 100 small dogs a year, a proposal that has incurred growing public resistance.
22
Thrive Alliance is proposing the city’s first permanent supportive housing complex for the homeless, crafting a 20- to 25-unit complex at the former Faith Victory Church building, despite opposition from neighbors upon learning that it would be for those with substance abuse or mental disorders.
23
The case for legalizing medical marijuana was made by State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, to a standing-room-only Bartholomew County audience during a Third House session in Columbus.
24
Plans for a 100-animal dog kennel on farmland north of Hope have been blocked by a county zoning agency by a vote of 4-1 after more than 300 people, most of them in opposition, turned out for the decision.
25
A fire that sent acrid smoke floating over Columbus destroyed Carpet Mania and Deathproof CrossFit, causing an estimated $2 million in structural and content damage, and disrupted travel near downtown for hours.
26
Four of the 18 temporary Exhibit Columbus architectural installations — "Wiikiaami," "The Exchange," "Window to Columbus" and "Theoretical Foyer" — will remain in place indefinitely while their futures are decided, according to organizers.
27
NBC "Today" show co-host Hoda Kotb chose to profile Cierra McCauley, a Rockcreek Elementary School fifth-grader, as part of a series of stories about people making a difference. McCauley is using her passion for dance to help raise money for pediatric cancer research.
28
By running more extensive drug tests, the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office has discovered that many local overdose victims are dying after ingesting multiple substances, rather than just heroin or just fentanyl.
29
Erika Hurt is on the road to recovery — clean from the addictive cycle and back to raising her son with the help of her family — after she overdosed on what she thought was heroin in her car at a Hope discount store parking lot with her toddler in the backseat.
30
Redistricting emerged as the top topic of discussion during Monday’s weekly Third House session, even though the redrawing of Indiana’s congressional and statehouse districts won’t take place until 2021.
31
The racial makeup of the civilian oversight committee that hears appeals of police department complaints, the Audit and Review Committee, could change under a proposal by the city.
