Hey Locals, 

Fort Wayne City Council may vote tonight on funding for the City's proposed homeless resource center Downtown. Learn how and why in Briefs.

In this week's Above the Fold, we're looking into some of the primary ways residents like you can make your voices heard in local decisions: Getting involved in neighborhood groups and organizations. Send us your questions about neighborhood involvement, and we'll break down how it works in our Thursday newsletter.

In other news, we're answering reader questions about property tax increases due to Allen County’s unified fire and EMS district, as well as school bus driver shortages across the city as students head back to school.

In our To Do List, we have lots of community events for your calendar – from Open Streets to the Thrift Trail, art displays and more. Plus, another special announcement...

Save the date (and register!) for our free dinner event on Aug. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Allen County Public Library! The Local's Editor and Co-Founder, Kara, will be presenting as part of the City’s Neighborhood Power Lab series on: “Making Headlines – A Citizen’s Guide to Local Media.” We hope to see you there and hear what topics you'd like Kara to cover. What questions do you have about Fort Wayne news and getting coverage for stories you care about? Hit reply to this email, and let us know!

Don’t forget: This month, we’re partnering with Amoré Italian Steak & Seafood to bring a special deal to all paid subscribers: $15 off a $40 purchase.

Last, but not least: We're hiring! The Local Fort Wayne is seeking a freelance Account Manager to help grow our newsletter through advertising and sponsorships. If you have experience in sales, marketing, and relationship-building (and are local to the Fort Wayne area), we'd love to hear from you! Think you'd be a great fit? Send your resume and a brief intro to thelocalfortwayne@gmail.com.

Now, let’s get started.

NOTE: Links to Journal Gazette articles are marked(*) and may be behind a paywall.

How neighborhood involvement works

And how to get plugged in.

What’s happening?

This week, we’re looking into how neighborhood systems function in Fort Wayne:

Why? Because neighborhoods play a big role in local decision-making, and in recent weeks, we’ve seen several stories involving neighborhoods, like:

• The City’s new Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, which includes the use of CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design)
• The potential sale of Lutheran Park
• And (going back a little earlier) how Southwest neighborhoods successfully opposed a quarry project in their community

At a time when many residents are looking to get more involved in local decision-making, neighborhoods serve a vital role in allowing their voices to be heard.

For this report: We’d love to hear from you! What's your experience with your neighborhood organization been like? Have you attended meetings? Why or why not? Hit reply to this email, and let us know.

In our Thursday newsletter – for paid subscribers only – we’ll recap what we've learned and break down how neighborhood involvement works.

• City Council may move their highly anticipated vote on funding for the City's proposed homeless resource center Downtown to tonight's meeting at 5:30 p.m. at Citizens Square. Councilwoman Michelle Chambers (D-At Large) proposed the move and recently published an op-ed in The JG* detailing why she supports the Anchor Resource Center at 333 E. Washington Blvd. near the Rescue Mission Downtown. Council had previously delayed the vote until Sept. 1 to allow the City additional time to answer their questions. Now, Chambers wants to expedite the vote because: "Reasonable people can disagree about whether every response fully satisfies every concern. But every question asked has been answered." At tonight's meeting, council will first vote on whether to move the discussion of two ordinances related to the project, and if a majority is in favor, they will proceed to discuss and consider passing the ordinances, which would allocate funding from the City's general fund ($2.1M) and ARPA fund ($650K) for the purchase of the resource center's property. View the ordinances here and here.
• One of Fort Wayne’s biggest homegrown companies, Steel Dynamics, will have a new female President and CEO in January. Last week, the company announced that Theresa Wagler will replace Mark Millett, who is retiring at the end of this year, but will continue to serve as Executive Chairman of the board of directors. A news release says: “Theresa has served as Executive Vice President and CFO since 2007 and has been an integral part of the strategy and leadership of the company since joining Steel Dynamics 28 years ago….. This appointment reflects our confidence in her ability to lead the company forward into its next chapter of growth and value creation for our teams, customers, and shareholders.”
• Allen County’s unified Fire and EMS district may cost taxpayers more than has been previously reported. A few weeks ago, we shared a WANE 15 report that said consolidating the county’s emergency services (effective in January) will result in a new unified countywide fire tax levy, expected to cost about 31 cents per household and replace various rates currently paid throughout the county. A reader reached out to clarify that tax rates are based on $1,000 of home assessed value, so a rate of 0.31 would be $310 on every $100,000 of assessed value of homes in Allen County (outside of Fort Wayne city limits). County Commissioner Ron Turpin confirmed this, noting: “Currently, Allen County has a variety of rates based upon the various territories and districts. This can range from the volunteer systems at .04 to .37. In comparison, the city of Fort Wayne is at .47 for fire service only. The city of Fort Wayne will not be part of this consolidated district, so their rates will not change. With the consolidation, it is our desire to have one tax structure throughout the county (minus Fort Wayne) and a consistent response time goal of under eight minutes, no matter where you live in the county. Also, keep in mind that because we are talking property taxes, those who are at the constitutional tax cap limits will not see any increase in their taxes; for those that are not, the only way they would see a tax increase is if they lived in an area of the county that is currently under what the consolidated districts' tax amount would be.”
• Out of six Midwestern states, Indiana felt some of the worst impacts of the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump last year,* according to a new nonpartisan report. The study shows Trump’s tariffs cost the average Hoosier household $2,600 in 2025, and the state lost about 9,150 manufacturing jobs as a result. “Overall, Indiana’s gross domestic product, or GDP, decreased by $3 billion in 2025,” The JG reports. Only Michigan fared worse than the Hoosier state, losing $3,200 per household and 12,400 manufacturing jobs. The report “Tariffs and the Midwest: Impacts on Households, Manufacturing and Economies in Six States” studied six Midwestern states, including Indiana and Michigan, due to their reliance on manufacturing and agriculture.
• School districts across the city are still struggling to staff bus driver positions. In recent weeks, several local news outlets have released reports* about bus driver shortages heading into the school year. While nearly all area school districts have reported at least temporary driver shortages (as newly hired drivers complete training), Fort Wayne Community Schools faces the most challenging situation, WANE 15 reports. The district says it has 24 drivers still in training, and is making do with “subs and office staff covering,” but hopes to have its minimum 174 bus driver positions staffed by Sept. 1. Last spring, FWCS had 15 open routes at the end of the school year, leading to controversial remote learning days for students. A reader has asked us to look into systematic issues, like state funding, voucher programs and school schedule changes, that may be contributing to bus driver shortages in recent years. They noted that FWCS (specifically) shifted to a two-tier schedule for its secondary and elementary schools about three years ago, replacing a three-tier structure that had different start times for middle and high school. This may be contributing to extenuated challenges for that district. Stay tuned as we look into this more in coming weeks!
• North River remediation began yesterday to prepare the property for redevelopment. The site (north of the St. Marys River between Clinton, Harrison and Fourth streets) has been used as a rail and scrap yard since the early 1900s and sat vacant since 2006. Environmental consulting firm IWM Consulting is leading the cleanup, expected to last six months. This will be followed by several years of development for the North River District master plan, which includes the North River Fieldhouse and other potential attractions, like housing, roads, public transportation, and green space, WANE 15 reports.
• Allen County Board of Commissioners approved a large $1M+ federal lawsuit settlement for the family of a woman who died at the Allen County Jail in 2021 while on suicide watch. The family’s attorney said: “The death of 18-year-old Ariona Darling at the Allen County Jail is the tragic consequence of the Board of Commissioners’ refusal to address chronic overcrowding, understaffing and inadequate facilities at the jail.” Commissioners say filing at the federal level is typical for cases involving incarceration, WANE 15 reports, noting that: “Weigand Construction has monthly updates online detailing progress on the new jail being built on Meyer Road near New Haven.”

• Shop: at Downtown Fort Wayne Ladies Night Out on Aug. 13, 5-8 p.m., with free shuttle service, special deals at shops and restaurants, and an after-party at The Fairfield, 7-10 p.m.
• Relish the summer: at Old Crown’s A-Pickle-lypse, featuring a special menu from Bravas on Aug. 14, 4-10 p.m., with food trucks, art vendors, games, and a pickle-themed costume contest.
• Play: at Fort Wayne’s largest block party – Open Streets on Calhoun – spanning more than 20 blocks from Pontiac St. to The Lansing, on Aug. 16, noon-4 p.m., with food trucks, vendors, live music and free ice cream cones provided by Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream. 
• Try: new seasonal drinks at Billie's Coffee Cafe, a mobile coffee cafe that visits several locations around town each week. See the schedule here.
• Shop: the Fort Wayne Nonprofit Thrift Trail Aug. 14-15, offering 30% off 10 thrift stores. Get your passport (and a free tote bag) from Visit Fort Wayne stamped at each location and be entered to win a prize.
• View: the public art along Open Walls at 2500 Central Dr. and other neighborhoods across Fort Wayne, like East Central, recently highlighted in Input Fort Wayne.
• Save the date: (and register!) for our free dinner event on Aug. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Allen County Public Library! Kara will be presenting as part of the City’s Neighborhood Power Lab series on: “Making Headlines – A Citizen’s Guide to Local Media.”

Rep The Local! Get some merch.

"The Local" heavyweight tee

Model is 5'5," and wearing a size large.

Shop

🎁Gift The Local!

Know someone who would love access to our premium newsletter filled with insider information and members-only perks? Purchase a subscription to send them as a gift!

Share the Local!

Help us grow by forwarding our emails to a friend or family member who you think would enjoy our reporting!

Got a story tip or feedback?

Let us know at thelocalfortwayne@gmail.com.

Have a great week, Locals!

-Your Editor, Kara Hackett

The Local is a proud media partner of: