The IBJ Podcast

Not-for-profit education reform group The Mind Trust has received three grants totaling $24.4 million that it will use to continue opening new schools in Indianapolis and supporting those already in existence. The Mind Trust CEO Brandon Brown sat down with host Mason King to explain the group's mission, its cooperation with Indianapolis Public Schools and how the new funding will help it ramp up its work.  They get down to the basics, defining terms like charters and innovation schools. But King also challenges Brown with some of the criticisms of The Mind Trust, including whether the group is helping the neediest students. Learn more about The Mind Trust grants by reading reporter Hayleigh Colombo's story at IBJ.com.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that states can authorize wagering on sports games, something that's long taken place legally in Las Vegas and illegally every place else. Now, Indiana has the chance to legalize sports betting here — with regulations and, of course, taxes. IBJ reporter Lindsey Erdody talks with IBJ Podcast host Mason King about the legislation that will be considered in the Indiana House and Senate this year, including the many details that could complicate passage. Erdody also explains an unrelated proposal to move Gary's two Majestic Star casinos off Lake Michigan. Gary officials want to move one of those casino licenses to the Interstate 80/Interstate 94 corridor to attract more gamblers. The second license could go elsewhere in the state — maybe in Terre Haute.  Read more about both proposals in Erdody's story at IBJ.com.

We're just about a week from starting a new year and many of us are likely to make losing weight a New Year's resolution. So IBJ asked two Indianapolis business executives to tell their stories not only of losing weight but also keeping it off. Hyde Park Ventures Principal Tim Kopp, the former CMO of ExactTarget, and David Shank, CEO of Shank Public Relations Counselors, talk about the warnings from their doctors that led them to start eating healthier and exercising. And they offer some advice for the holidays and getting started on your own weight loss journey. And if you listen to the very end, you'll hear their challenge for host Mason King.

Bob Stutz is a legend in the software industry but he remains somewhat of a mystery among folks in Indianapolis, where he's CEO of Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Analysts say the Salesforce division is thriving under Stutz, 62, who took the helm in July 2016.  IBJ tech reporter Anthony Schoettle interviewed Stutz and found him surprisingly relaxed and candid about his education and career, his life in Indianapolis and about what the city should do to help the tech industry thrive. On this week's podcast, Schoettle talks with host Mason King about Stutz and plays clips from his interview with the tech exec.

Indiana Pacers Bikeshare will spend $1.2 million — most of the money from a federal grant — to nearly double the number of stations and expand the program's footprint as far north as Broad Ripple and south as Garfield Park. Kären Haley, executive director of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, which oversees the bikeshare program, talks with guest host Anthony Schoettle about the timeline for the expansion and why it was important to locate stations outside of downtown. And she explains why attracting more low-income riders — who pay only $10 a year — is a key goal.  Check out IBJ reporter Susan Orr's full story here.  

The quasi-governmental group that owns the Indiana Convention Center and Indy's major sports facilities will ask the Legislature for at least $8 million in additional funding annually as it tries to plan for its future needs. Already, the Capital Improvement Board has plans for a $120 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center, a project that includes two private, convention-style hotels at Pan Am Plaza.  But the CIB will also be looking for the long-term funding it will need to upgrade Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the Indiana Pacers, which owner Herb Simon has said is necessary to secure the team's long-term future in Indianapolis. Podcast host Mason King talks with IBJ reporters Lindsey Erdody, Hayleigh Colombo and Anthony Schoettle about the CIB's big ask, why the city thinks it's necessary and how lawmakers might react. Read more about the issue here.

A coalition of downtown businesses, homeowners and organizations is advocating a two-level highway system for the north, east and south legs of interstates 65 and 70—the so-called inner loop in downtown Indianapolis.  The proposal from Rethink 65/70 comes as state transportation officials move forward with a planned reconstruction of the north-split interchange — a project Rethink leaders hope can be done with their below-grade highway plan in mind. IBJ Podcast host Mason King talks with Rethink member Paul Knapp, the CEO of Young & Laramore, about the group's proposal. Then he talks with Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Manning and Kia Gillette, an environmental project manager at HNTB, about whether the state will consider Rethink's ideas. Learn more about the Rethink 65/70 proposal with this IBJ story by reporter Susan Orr.  

While Democrats had a strong year elsewhere, they continued to largely falter in Indiana, most notably losing a U.S. Senate seat and leaving them without a single statewide office. Host Mason King talks with IBJ reporters Lindsey Erdody and Hayleigh Colombo as well as Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Politics in Fort Wayne, about what the 2018 elections mean for the next two election cycles — city elections in 2019 and the governor's race in 2020. Get the latest scoop on Indy Mayor Joe Hogsett, Gov. Eric Holcomb and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. 

Just a week after a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue left 11 congregants dead, IBJ Podcast host Mason King sat down with Dennis Sasso, the senior rabbi of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis, and his wife, Sandy, the director of the Religion, Spirituality and the Arts Initiative at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary. The couple talk about how they learned about the tragedy, their connection to the Tree of Life Synagogue where it took place, and how they spoke to their fellow worshippers about it. They also discuss what the crime means for people and public policy in Indiana, particularly in the debate about whether Indiana lawmakers should pass legislation that enhances penalties for defendants found guilty of committing crimes motivated by hate or bias.   The news clips in this episode are courtesy of KGO-TV San Francisco and ABC News. The music in this episode is Paint The Sky by Jeris, (c) copyright 2017, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.  Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's office, via Flicker under a Creative Commons license.  

Indianapolis officials are planning a fifth expansion of the Indiana Convention Center plus two attached, privately-financed hotels at Pan Am Plaza, an effort to maintain and expand the city's valuable convention and tourism business. The city plans to spend about $120 million to build a 50,000-square-foot ballroom and other meeting space, which would be connected by walkway to the convention center. Kite Realty Group Trust is to develop the two hotels — one with 800 rooms and the other about 600 rooms — which would also be connected to the new convention space. The Capital Improvement Board has given the go-ahead for city officials to work out the final details but it will still be a year before the project could get started. And there are a number of unanswered questions. Guest host Lindsey Erdody (in for Mason King) talks with IBJ reporters Hayleigh Colombo and Anthony Schoettle about the project, the city's convention business and what remains unknown about the Pan Am Plaza project. Click here to read more about the project.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly and Republican challenger Mike Braun are locked in one of the nation's most-watched Senate races. The winner could determine control of the U.S. Senate. Already, some $61 million has been spent by the campaigns, political parties and independent organizations trying to sway Hoosier voters, who go to the polls Nov. 6. Polls show the race is a tossup. Host Mason King talks to IBJ political reporter Lindsey Erdody about the race, her experience on the campaign trail with the candidates, and what we know about early voting. See Lindsey's stories about the Senate race — including profiles of Mike Braun and Joe Donnelly — at IBJ.com.

Just west of the White River and south of the Indianapolis Zoo is the site of the former GM stamping plant — 103 acres of mostly concrete that's been waiting for development for years.  Now, Ambrose Property Group is unveiling more details about its plans for the site, including the project's name. Still, the firm's president, Aasif Bade, is mum about whether the site is among those across the country that Amazon is considering for its planned HQ2, a $5 billion second quarters that promises as many as 50,000 jobs.  Instead, Bade tells host Mason King when site preparation could begin, when specific plans for buildings will be unveiled and why the riverfront is so important to the project.  

Jack Hope launched his plumbing company to help him pay for his master's degree in philosophy. But Hope Plumbing was so lucrative that by the time he graduated, Jack was making as much as might as a tenured college professor. So he stuck with plumbing. Today, that small startup has grown into a company with more than 40 employees and revenue projected to top $6 million this year. But that doesn't mean Jack has left philosphy behind. Host Mason King asks him just how philosphy plays into his management style and about he approaches recruiting and retaining plumbers, the biggest challenge in his business.  

Ellie Symes, a rising star in the Indiana's tech ecosystem, leads The Bee Corp., a data-analytics firm that helps bee keepers and growers optimize the pollination of their orchards and fields. Symes, who started the company while a student at Indiana University, appeared on stage at the Forbes AgTech Summit in Indianapolis and the company was part of the event's startup showcase.  She talks with podcast host Mason King about being a young entrepreneur, taking risks and pivoting when you have to to make your company stronger. We also learn she's become allergic to bees!  Photo courtesy of The Bee Corp.  Music credit: Boogie da Bee by texasradiofish (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. Ft: Sprezza, tiltededge, Kara Square, ElRon XChile, Stefan Kartenberg, rocavaco, Javolenus, reg7783  

Indianapolis has about 2,800 new hotel rooms slated to come online downtown in the next five years. Some of those hotels — such as the 316-room Hyatt Place/Hyatt House project across from Bankers Life Fieldhouse — are under construction and nearing completion. Others — such as a long-discussed 800- to 1,000-room convention hotel — are only in the planning stages.  If all are completed, those projects will add to the roughly 7,500 rooms already downtown. Can Indy support all that growth? Host Mason King talks with Mark Eble, the managing director of CBRE Hotels Advisory and an expert on the hotel industry in the Midwest, to find out. You can also read about Eble's view on the market and get more details about hotel growth in a story by Hayleigh Colombo in this week's IBJ.