Hey Locals,

Amidst data center growth and national policy changes, a statewide listening session is coming to Fort Wayne early next week, seeking to gather information from the public about energy affordability in Indiana. We share what to know in Above the Fold.

In Briefs, we update you on a new city ordinance related to relocating homeless individuals to Fort Wayne, which received unanimous approval from council. We also share just how much Allen County's population has grown since 2020 and why.

In our Local Spotlight, we feature a Fort Wayne area farm offering free produce this summer in exchange for workshare hours in its gardens. Plus, a chance to experience Science Central's new planetarium with a laser music show this week in our To Do List!

Don’t forget: There's still time (today) to snag a free cafe beverage at Spoke + Ivy as part of our March deal for paid subscribers to The Local (up to $8, one per subscription). We'll have a new deal for April next week!

Now, let’s get started.

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

Utility (un)affordability meeting:

Fort Wayne listening session on April 6.

What's happening?

Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) Chair Andy Zay recently told WANE that he’s “heard from thousands of utility customers from all over Indiana that they are struggling to pay their energy bills.” In response, the IURC is hosting listening sessions throughout April to give citizens a chance to share concerns regarding rising utility costs. A Fort Wayne session will be held on Monday, April 6, 6-8 p.m., at the New Haven Community Center (7500 SR 930 E, Fort Wayne).

For a little more context...

These listening sessions come after IURC’s recent investigative inquiry* into how the state’s major utilities companies (AES Indiana, CenterPoint Energy Indiana, Duke Energy Indiana, Indiana Michigan Power Co., and the Northern Indiana Public Service Co) are addressing increased energy costs, customer service issues, and public dissatisfaction.

“We have a real short-term crisis here,” Zay told WANE 15. “We all need to do a little better. We are asking that of the utilities: Are they on board with this affordability crunch we’re going through now?”

So what’s going on with your utility bills? What factors (local, state, and national) are contributing to rising energy costs? And what options do residents have to address these challenges?

Stay tuned for more information in this week’s Above the Fold newsletter – available to paid subscribers only.

• A new city ordinance fines individuals who illegally relocate homeless people to Fort Wayne (without a plan for shelter). Last week, Mayor Sharon Tucker’s Chief of Staff Andy Downs spoke to council about the ordinance, which issues a $2,500 fine per person relocated – not to the unhoused individuals themselves, but to the people relocating them. Downs says while there have been rumors of people bringing "busloads" of homeless individuals to town, the reality is more often that citizens or police officers from other cities are dropping off one or two unhoused individuals at a time. Downs says the goal of the new ordinance is to preserve the city's resources for about 2,000 homeless people already here, and the fine only applies to people relocating homeless individuals without confirmation from a local agency that they have shelter/resources for them. Council questioned how difficult the ordinance might be to enforce, but Downs noted that other cities have successfully enacted similar measures. Council unanimously approved the move, with members saying it represents a promising compromise between compassion and enforcement. 
• "Reinvestments to support job growth and quality of place" are driving a 4.4% population increase in Allen County since 2020, according to Community Research Institute Director at PFW, Rachel Blakeman. Last week, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed Allen County remains the third-largest county in the state (behind two from the Indianapolis area), having increased 16,912 residents from 2020-July 2025. Overall, Blakeman says: "Larger counties, when measured by population, continue to be places that are growing.” Data shows Allen County had the third largest numeric net population gain 2024-2025, compared to 2.8% for Indiana as a whole. It gained 1,696 out-of-state residents (including 890 international migrants) and recorded 1,510 more births than deaths from 2024-2025 as part of its growth.
• About 9,500 people gathered Downtown last weekend for the city's third and largest-yet "No Kings" protest. The protest was organized by Indivisible Northeast Indiana, which tells The JG* the first No Kings rally in June had 5,000 protestors, and the second in October had 8,000. Multiple community organizations were in attendance, including The League of Women Voters, Northeast Indiana National Organization for Women, and MAD Voters, assisting with voter registration. Participants held signs promoting democracy and condemning the Trump administration, ICE agents, and "illegal war." Organizers say a safe and peaceful protest was a priority, and the event included music, chalk art, bubbles, and dogs for democracy.
• Fort Wayne’s Public Works division has begun work on the $9M Illinois Road Trail and Road Improvement Project. The two-mile trail will connect trail users with Parkwest Shopping Center and Jefferson Pointe, as well as the Towpath Trail, Yarnelle Trail, and Ardmore Avenue Trail. The project includes the resurfacing of Illinois Road and making improvements to four intersections, with road resurfacing from Grand National Drive and Magnavox Way to West Jefferson Boulevard, widening Getz Road to the Avenue of Autos, and constructing a 10-foot wide multi-use trail from Getz Road to North Rockhill Park. The Illinois Trail Project received $1M in funding from Next Level Trails and former Governor Eric Holcomb, with additional donations, including a $12K trail easement donated from local business owner Jim Geyer and $6K donated from Fort Wayne Trails. The project will be constructed with alternate lane closures, and work is expected to be completed by Fall 2027.
• Big Apple Pizza is hiring and opening a second location in north Fort Wayne in the former Tim Hortons at the corner of Coldwater and Union Chapel roads. Owner Tim Hartwig tells WANE 15 he plans to open "no later than July," his Downtown location will remain open, and he hopes to open a third Southwest Fort Wayne location, as well. He currently owns Three Fires Pizza on Illinois Road and Mancino’s Pizza & Grinders on Coliseum Boulevard.

Get free local produce this summer: 

Country Garden Farm is offering workshare CSAs!

What’s happening?

If you’ve ever wanted to experience local farm life, you’re in luck. Country Garden Farm in Southwest Allen County is seeking volunteers for its 20-week workshare this summer, June-October. The program entails working three hours per week on the farm – often weeding, harvesting or washing produce – in exchange for a free membership to its weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program.

For a quick refresher:

• CSAs are partnerships between local farms and customers, where customers buy "shares" of the farm's harvest in advance and then receive fresh produce boxes throughout the season. 
• You might know Country Garden for its large selection of cut flowers and produce at the YLNI Farmers Market each summer. It has a large, central booth on Barr Street, as well as a presence at the indoor Winter Market.
• Country Garden’s 20-week summer CSA (June-Oct. 12) includes a wide variety of foods. Every week, you can expect a dozen farm-fresh eggs, 1-3 bags of greens, an herb, and few “you pick” produce items, depending on what’s in season and available. The farm also has meats available for purchase on-site when you pick up. 
• CSA members can pick up their boxes on Tuesdays at the farm (14110 US HW 24 W) or on Saturdays at the YLNI Farmers Market. “If you pick up on Tuesday, you get more selection,” says Katie Jo, a workshare member and coordinator. “Picking up from the farm makes you that much closer to your food, too.”
• If you can’t do the workshare, you can still buy a CSA membership to Country Garden for $25/week. Payments are often made in one or two lump sums. For more information about the workshare or paid CSA memberships, contact Katie Jo at slinginsunshine@gmail.com.

We went out to the 16-acre farm last week – just outside city limits – and sat down with Katie Jo and Farmer Dan Flotow for a few more quick things to know:

• Country Gardens has one of the oldest CSA programs in the state. It started in 2002, and it offers three CSA programs (Spring, Summer, and Winter) throughout the year for a total of 50-weeks (minus Christmas and New Year).
• They’ve done workshares off and on for 15 years, too, Dan says. “Everything is organic, and we’ve been organic since the mid-90s, so it’s a lot of work, and workshare is an easy way to get some help. I also think it’s healthy to have your hands in the dirt.”
• Dan has lived on the farm since he was 10-years-old. His family started growing corn and soybeans, but transitioned to flowers and later vegetables in 1990s, which is the majority of what Dan does today with his wife, Wendy Flotow. They also raise ducks, hens, and pigs onsite. All of their meat is state-inspected and butchered off-site.
• Their sales are a combination of CSA memberships, restaurant sales and YLNI Farmers Market sales. Dan has worked with restaurants off and on for 20 years, including many local favorites, like Bravas, Junk Ditch, Copper Spoon, Rune and more. “I’ve been selling to the Three Rivers Co-Op for 30 years, too,” Dan says. “I like local, small, family-owned stuff.”
• The most popular products are greens. Lettuce, arugula, and Asian greens, Dan says, as well as cucumbers and garlic. “At one time, I was up to 19 varieties of garlic,” he says. “We do a lot of cut flowers, too.”
• The workshare program is building community in Fort Wayne around food. Katie says Country Garden has supported her free meal giveaways through Nourishing Our Neighbors, and many people who attend those gatherings are helping out on the farm, too. Oftentimes, her team that works on Wednesday mornings shares a farm-fresh meal together before leaving their shift. She hopes more groups of friends and community members are able to come out and work together on the farm.

Limited spots are available for the CSA workshare, so contact Katie ASAP at slinginsunshine@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

• Check out: Science Central's new planetarium with a laser music show to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on April 3 at 5 p.m. ($5)
• Meet: the Easter Bunny at Bunny Tales in the Garden at the Botanical Conservatory on April 3 and April 4. Be sure to stop by the recently renovated Desert House. ($7)
• Watch: a screening of the Iraqi-American film Pomegranate in honor of Arab American Heritage Month at the Georgetown library branch on April 4, 3-5 p.m. as part of their Cinematic Journeys: Discover Films, Discover Stories series. (Free, RSVP)
• Laugh: at Opera Fools, hosted by Opera on Tap at 2Toms on April 2 at 7 p.m.
• Get outside: for a Spring Preview of the Fort Wayne Zoo from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on select dates in March and April. ($15)

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-Your Editor, Kara Hackett

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