Homeless service center vote tonight • What’s next for Flock • New deal with Welcome Back Records!
Hey Locals,
City Council is expected to vote tonight on the City’s proposed homeless service center, following a trip by Councilman Russ Jehl to a similar facility in Lafayette. We share what to know – and what happens next – in this week’s Above the Fold.
In Briefs, we update you on potential savings on your I&M utility bills in coming years, as well as the future of the FWPD’s Flock Safety cams. Plus, insights on what’s happening with Flock across the state – and how legislators might respond in the January 2027 session.
In our To Do List, we have a fall-themed craft for your calendar, plus vintage sales, running clubs, and more fun, free events. We also have a new deal for paid subscribers in September!
This month: We’re partnering with Welcome Back Records to bring all paid subscribers 10% off any purchase (up to $100). Learn more in our Local Spotlight.
Details on how to claim your offer here.
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.
Will City Council fund a homeless service center Downtown?
We fill you in on what to know.
What’s happening?
City Council is expected to revisit funding for the City’s proposed homeless service center at its meeting tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Citizens Square.
- You might remember: One model for the City’s proposed Anchor Resource Center is the LTHC Homeless Services’ Engagement Center in Lafayette, Ind., which City Council Rep. Russ Jehl (R-2) recently visited. WANE 15 says his visit "offered two very different perspectives: one focused on what the facility can do for people experiencing homelessness, and another focused on what happens beyond its doors.”
- One big issue: for Jehl (and Council’s Republican majority) continues to be the center’s proposed location in Downtown Fort Wayne’s central business district. This is a distinction from the Lafayette facility, which is “outside Lafayette’s Downtown but near services and amenities that people experiencing homelessness rely on, including transportation.” Jehl believes Fort Wayne should consider a less central location, like something near Matthew 25, the Mike’s Car Wash on Calhoun Street, or the Fort Wayne-New Haven border.
- City officials say: They have visited LTHC multiple times, too, and they plan to address loitering in Fort Wayne's central business district by having an enclosed outdoor courtyard at the Anchor facility, “giving people using the facility a place to be outside without creating the same type of open-area activity critics fear could spill into surrounding streets,” WANE reports.
Stay tuned for an update in our Thursday newsletter – for paid subscribers only – where we’ll break down what happens at Council tonight and what’s next.
- Indiana Michigan Power's residential customers in Fort Wayne could see $100 annual savings on their utility bills in coming years – if the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) approves I&M’s requested base rate reduction. I&M expects the IURC’s decision in June 2027, when customers would begin to realize savings. The JG* reports: “The estimated savings is for the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatts a month.” I&M attributes the rate reduction to “load growth and increased revenue from large customers including data centers” and calls it “one of the nation’s largest base rate reduction plans.” It has proposed freezing rates at the lower cost for three years.
- The FWPD’s Flock Safety cameras will be coming down soon after City Council unanimously denied funding for the contract last week – but it might not be the end of similar tech in Fort Wayne just yet. Yesterday, the FWPD announced its cameras are officially offline, and its data-sharing relationships with Flock have been terminated, WPTA 21 reports. Flock is expected to oversee removal of the cameras soon, too (though the company has gotten flack for delaying this in other communities). While the FPWD originally indicated it would be “looking for other funding options to keep operating Flock,” FWPD Chief Paul Smith revised this stance after meeting with Mayor Sharon Tucker and says the FWPD wants to avoid damaging trust with residents and Council. WANE notes that Council has not yet created guidelines against similar license plate reader (LPR) technology in Fort Wayne, which may allow its presence to continue, and Council’s decision on Flock does not affect the rest of Allen County, where the Sheriff’s Department says the future of Flock is still under discussion.
- Downtown Fort Wayne (the organization) has a new President & CEO, Riley Hollenbaugh, who previously served as Riverfront Manager with Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation. Downtown hasn’t had a permanent director since at least January 2025, when former Director Mike Galbraith's resignation was announced. (Bob Walters has been serving as interim President & CEO.) Before working for Riverfront, Hollenbaugh organized Ohki Alley in Columbia City and an outdoor movie park in South Whitley. He also led efforts to benefit nationally accredited Main Street organizations in Grayling and Saline, Mich.
- The Pearl Arts Music Academy is getting a “transformative” $1M grant from The James Foundation to support tuition assistance for its students. The JG* reports: The academy “has more than 500 students participating weekly and a growing number require financial support.” A news release says the investment is intended to ensure young musicians across Northeast Indiana have access to "high-quality private lessons and the life changing opportunities that come with sustained music education.”
- Federal and state officials, including a four-star general, visited Fort Wayne’s L3Harris Technologies manufacturing plant on Friday to share how the company is playing a key role in President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense shield. L3Harris, based in Fla., has 630 employees in Indiana and has previously been known for building weather satellite sensors for government contracts. In 2025, it made $125M worth of expansions and updates to its Fort Wayne campus, as part of its Golden Dome work, “building the capabilities to defend against the threats that we’re starting to see overseas,” officials say. In mid-August, the company also appointed a new President & CEO, Sam Mehta, who tells The JG* L3Harris will continue to grow and hire employees. Its average annual salary is $138,700.
- The IURC is collecting resident comments regarding Aqua Indiana’s proposed sewer rate increase for customers in Southwest Fort Wayne and Allen County. This would make sewer bills 15-22% higher for these customers during the next two years (or about $9-$11 more each month), WANE reports. Fort Wayne City Utilities filed a petition against the rate increase in June, which resulted in the IURC hosting a public comment session last week. Residents can still submit comments online here by Sept. 25, referencing IURC Case No. 46425 or “Aqua Indiana.” The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7.
- The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) granted the City’s variances for its Portland Loo Downtown, despite concerns from the Allen County Building Commissioner. The IDHS previously denied the variance, stating the City had not “demonstrated that public health, safety and welfare is protected,” but the City successfully appealed the decision. The loo must now get approval from Building Commissioner, Joe Hutter, who told the state the bathrooms would be unsafe and drew attention to the City calling the loo a “homeless restroom.”
What else? Three local businesses lose tax abatements, the CIB supports New Haven's Downtown, and more. We share additional briefs for paid subscribers only!
Extra! Extra! A couple more briefs for paid members only:
- City Council terminated tax abatements for three non-compliant local businesses last week* – all of which fell short of their promised job creation. Council noted Accugear at 6710 Innovation Blvd. has been in non-compliance with its abatement for more than five years, after it said it would create 60 new full-time jobs by Dec. 31, 2020, and then only created eight. Ash Brokerage Corp. at 888 Harrison St. also promised to create 51 full-time jobs by Dec. 2018 and reported no new jobs last year. The third business, TWE Nonwovens US Inc. at 9403 Avionics Dr., said it has seven openings, but promised to create 22 full-time jobs by Dec. 31, 2020.
- The Allen County Fort Wayne Capital Improvement Board has designated $1.7 million to “spark” New Haven’s plan to re-imagine its Downtown. This allows the community just East of Fort Wayne to begin immediate infrastructure improvements expected to help it leverage private investments totaling $45-$60 million. Its plan includes connecting and growing its Downtown around Broadway, “on both sides of the railroad tracks, especially the southern side near Schnelker Park,” WANE reports. “A mixed-use hub, tentatively called Schnelker Exchange, would bring additional retail, housing and parking to Downtown.”
- NIPSCO is getting heat from the state after it left some customers in Gary, Ind., without power for more than two weeks. The JG Editorial board* covered the topic on Aug. 26, noting that Gov. Mike Braun has asked for an investigation into the regional utility, calling it “a monopoly utility that Hoosiers pay every month with the expectation that it will use its considerable resources to maintain its system, prepare for severe weather and restore service as quickly as possible when disaster strikes.” NIPSCO has received nearly $3B in capital spending from the state since 2016 to modernize and harden its electrical grid. Citizens Action Coalition Executive Director Kerwin Olson supports Braun’s investigation, asking: “Where did all of that money go?”
New deal with Welcome Back Records:
10% off any purchase (up to $100).
What’s happening?
In September, The Local is partnering with Welcome Back Records to bring all paid subscribers a special deal: 10% off any purchase (up to $100). Welcome Back Records is a local media store that specializes in new and used records, CD’s, and cassette tapes with a focus on jazz, punk, metal, and pop.
Shop owner Morrison Agen says: “People want a deeper relationship with the artist they’re listening to, and having physical media helps do that.” (Fun fact: The Local’s contributor Chrystel Lopez also recently became Store Manager at Welcome Back, too!)
Here are a few quick things to know for your next visit:
- Welcome Back Records recently moved from their previous location on Broadway to 1611 S. Calhoun St. – right across from St. Vincent De Paul thrift store – in early 2025. “Next time you’re thrifting, continue your treasure hunt, and stop in the shop,” Lopez says.
- They carry more than music – toward the back of the shop is a section dedicated to carefully curated vintage clothing, Welcome Back Vintage. Upstairs is home to another part of the business, Hardcore Hi-Fi, a hi-fi audio dealer and warranty service center that also specializes in vintage audio restoration, including anything from receivers to reel-to-reels.
- If it’s your first time in the shop, Lopez recommends taking a walk around, and exploring the offerings, like new album releases, the $4.99 CD section, or the vintage stereos and record players upstairs.
- Buy what you like, not what you think you should like. “When a lot of folks get started listening to records, they tend to listen to a lot of their parents’ music,” Agen says. “You don’t need to have a copy of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ or ‘The White Album.’ Your record collection is yours, and it’s very personal, so buy what you will listen to.”
- Picnic: at the Packard Park Food Truck Rally on Sept. 3, 5-8 p.m. with Bravas, Colombian Delights, and Bahn Mi Pho’s new sweets truck (with mochi donuts!) – plus drinks from Packard Taphouse, vendor shopping, and music by Stay Up.
- Watch: a free outdoor showing of “Jumanji” on the Riverfront Auer Lawn on Sept. 4 at 8:15 p.m.
- Shop: for vintage clothing and accessories at Summit City Vintage Market on The Landing, on Sept. 6, noon-6 p.m. with coffee from Fairfax Mobile Coffee Bar & Rolling Record Store.
- Learn: how to make fall-themed nature prints called Anthotypes with household materials at the Main Library on Sept. 3, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Meet: new people and connect with others by joining a running club (A.K.A. the “new night club”), according to our reporter Rachel Horton in a story for Input Fort Wayne.
What else? Tips for visiting Indiana's "most charming small town," and more. We share additional things To Do for paid subscribers only!
Extra! Extra! Even more things To Do for paid members only:
- Honor: Dolly Parton’s legacy today at four Dignity Memorial funeral homes, hosting open houses, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., where you can grieve, process and share what Dolly meant to you. The locations, listed here, offer a “Dolly Parton Memory Book” for residents to share messages, which will be distributed through official tribute channels, a news release says.
- Roadtrip: to Indiana’s recently dubbed “most charming small town,” Angola, about 40 minutes North of Fort Wayne. The travel publication AFAR chose Angola for its proximity to Crooked Lake, Lake James, and Pokagon State Park, as well as its “robust social scene” home to Trine University. On your visit: We recommend checking out vintage train excursions, operated by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, as well as lunch at Sutton’s Deli and shopping at the Bent Fork Art Studio nearby.
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-Your Editor, Kara Hackett
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