Hey Locals,

Two of Fort Wayne's biggest business leaders are pressuring the city to sell North River and hinting that "personal agendas and petty grievances" might be at play. We break down what to know in Above the Fold.

This month, our newsletter is brought to you by Turnstone, which, like us, believes Fort Wayne has a lot of potential. See what we mean at their annual Center Stage talent show fundraiser on June 3 at 7 p.m. where you can get the scoop on the city's up-and-coming artists and performers. Tickets are $25, and all subscribers to The Local get $5 off using code “thelocal” at checkout. Details in our To-Do List.

We're also partnering with Fortezza Coffee to bring all paid subscribers to The Local a Buy One, Get One FREE deal on a hot or iced latte or daily batch-brewed hot or iced coffee. Did you know we give our paid members a freebie every month at a local business to cover the cost of membership? See what a paid membership is all about with this 30-day trial, and you can get that deal!

Psst... we have an extra-long newsletter this week. We'll have shorter newsletters for the next two weeks as we're on vacation and getting ready to roll out some new features in The Local this summer. Cheers!

Now, let's get started!

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

Local business leaders keep trying to buy North River.

Should the city sell it to retain profits in town?

What's happening?

Two prominent Fort Wayne business leaders, Chuck Surack (Sweetwater) and Daryle Doden (Ambassador Steel), continue to go head-to-head with the City of Fort Wayne about purchasing the roughly 30-acre North River property, currently slated for a sports fieldhouse and more. Surack and Doden say they "would personally commit to not profiting from any development of the property," but prefer to keep the profits in town, versus the city working with "some out-of-town developer looking to make a quick buck." In a letter late last week, they also suggest city leaders are refusing their offer as a way to take credit for the project themselves.

For a quick recap:

• In early April: Surack and Doden submitted a public purchase offer to the city for North River, and WANE 15 posted a response from the city, thanking them but saying the property is not for sale. The city says 18 development teams across the U.S. have already bid to lead private investment there (think housing, a hotel, retail, restaurants and a parking garage) – along with the city-funded $50-$60M fieldhouse, including up to $10M in land remediation.
• Since then: Surack has reportedly met with Deputy Mayor Karl Bandemer and agreed to allow the offer to expire. Mayor Sharon Tucker’s office said it also asked the businessmen to "take time to present a detailed plan" and/or "join the selection committee" for North River, as well as "engage in constructive dialogue without public criticisms of one another."

However: by Friday, the businessmen issued a public letter to the city, saying they "did not even receive the courtesy of a formal response to our generous offer to buy the North River Property," and calling it "a slap in the face." They spoke in support of Mayor Tucker but hinted about other "personal agendas and petty grievances" sidelining the deal, claiming: "Partnering with us is a winning strategy for all. Except maybe for someone with an agenda other than doing what’s right for the community."

So what's really going on, and why is North River property so hot right now? We break down what to know in our premium newsletter.

• Fort Wayne’s PBS and NPR stations are urging audiences to contact lawmakers following Trump’s executive order to eliminate public broadcasting funding. Recently, state funding for public broadcasting was also unexpectedly excluded from Indiana Gov. Mike Braun’s budget. Together with impending federal cuts, PBS Fort Wayne could lose 40% of its revenue, and WBOI would also face significant losses. (More on efforts to defund public media here.) The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is already suing the Trump administration for an executive order seeking to fire three of its five board members. It also dismisses the validity of the President defunding PBS/NPR, saying: "CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President's authority. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government." Federal funding supports 1,500+ locally operated public radio and TV stations, which are among the most unbiased news sources in the U.S. Both NPR and PBS reach more than 99% of the U.S. population cost-free and provide key emergency and disaster response systems, as well as educational programming.
• Ben Hall of Don Hall's Restaurants provided a rare (and vague) update on plans for the historic Cambray building his family moved pre-COVID. "Someday it'll be something," he told 89.1 WBOI's Julia Meek last week. "I guess, if I had something more interesting to say than that, I probably would." Meek provided an update on the Hall family restaurants, as The Deck opens for the season. In 2018-2019, the Halls moved the 1895 Cambray building from 312 S. Harrison St. to the southeast corner of Harrison and Superior streets, saving it from demolition as the city began riverfront development. Ben Hall says there's "still an awful lot" coming to North River and Wells Street, and whatever the building becomes, it's central to the action.

Plus: Allen County health programs losing funding, a new jail update and more state bills signed into law. We cover it all in our premium newsletter.

New Deal with Fortezza Coffee!

Buy One, Get One FREE hot or iced latte or daily batch-brewed hot or iced coffee.

What's happening?

This month, we're partnering with Fortezza Coffee to bring all paid subscribers to The Local a Buy One, Get One FREE deal on a hot or iced latte or daily batch-brewed hot or iced coffee.

We also sat down with owner Sean Wang to talk about what's new at Fortezza and in Fort Wayne's coffee scene.

Here are a few quick things to know about Fortezza:

• It has special weekend baked goods – while supplies last. Wang says the baked goods are homemade by his wife and co-owner, Melody, and her mother, Junko. He recommends their garlic cream cheese roll.
• Its Sunday hours are getting busy. Wang says he's experimented with Sunday hours in the past and never seen much traction. But post-COVID Downtown, that's changing. Fortezza is now open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays, and Wang says they're some of his busiest days.
• It was the first Indiana coffee shop to install a sleek Modbar system designed in Fort Wayne. The system streamlined the coffee shop experience circa. 2013 by moving bulky brewing equipment beneath the counter. Now, some of Fortezza's former staff work for the Italian company that owns Modbar – espresso machine maker La Marzocco – which, you might not realize, also has a presence in town. In a storefront at 1701 Fairfield Ave., it tests and ships world-class coffee appliances to homebrewers across the U.S., postmarked from Fort Wayne.

Learn more in our full story.

SPONSORED - To Do LIST SPOTLIGHT

Fort Wayne’s got talent!

Discover up-and-coming artists, musicians and more at an inclusive talent show.

This month, our newsletter is brought to you by Turnstone. You might know them as a local nonprofit providing world-class facilities and supportive services for people with disabilities and their families. 

What you might not realize is: Each spring, they host an inclusive, city-wide talent show fundraiser called Center Stage where people of all abilities have a welcoming, accessible place to share their skills. And for only $20 per ticket (with code "thelocal"), you can cheer along the performers and contribute to this organization making our city a better place to be for everyone. 

Mark your calendar: for June 3 at 7 p.m. at the Clyde Theatre, and get details in our full story.

More things to do...

• Reminisce: at local artist Matt Plett's solo exhibit "Too Big to Hold," opening May 8, 5-8 p.m., at Artlink. It offers an exploration of memory, nostalgia and transition told through the language of childhood objects, like wooden puzzles and vintage toys, intended to “mirror the way we piece together our past."
• Listen: to Fort Wayne native Indie-Folk singer-songwriter Addison Agen, performing live with opener Kyle Jackson, at Baker Street Centre on May 10 at 7:30 p.m. ($20 general admission.)
• Shop: the Mother's Day Plant Sale at the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, May 9-11, offering more than 700 varieties of locally grown herbs, vegetable starts, flowering perennials and native plants along with annuals, mixed containers, hanging baskets, bonsai and houseplants. Plus, moms get in free on Mother's Day weekend and get free plants while supplies last!

What else? We share more things to do in our premium newsletter.

Support The Local!

Our independent news publication is run by just two locals, Kara and Mike. We are 99% funded by our paid members, and we'd like to keep it that way. If you've enjoyed reading our newsletter so far and have found value in the service we provide, we'd love to have you become a paid subscriber. Help us keep going by upgrading today, and receive our premium newsletter and perks!

Got a story tip or idea?

Let us know at thelocalfortwayne@gmail.com.

Have a great week, Locals!

-Your Editor, Kara Hackett