Bomb threat, for better concert view – cops had to clear Monument Circle for about 20 minutes after a man made a bomb threat to attempt to get ahead in the entry line Saturday for a free outside concert featuring Doja Cat. The man is in custody, and police continue to investigate. There was no bomb.
Over the weekend, Republican Sen. Scott Baldwin apologized – then backtracked. The Daily Beast reported that he told a history teacher during a legislative committee hearing that he shouldn’t condemn Nazism. In a comment to the Indy Star, however, Baldwin backtracked: “Nazism, Marxism and fascism are a stain on our world history and should be regarded as such, and I failed to adequately articulate that in my comments during the meeting.”
Delayed congrats: After finishing 4th last season, Delta reclaimed the Delaware County wrestling title. This week, it’s the County basketball tourney: for the first time, thanks to presenting sponsor Sam Pierce Chevrolet, you can watch every game of the tournament on Woof Boom Radio TV! The link’s posted on our Local News page this morning. http://www.IHSAATV.org/WoofBoom Girls: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – Boys: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday – 10 games in 5 days.
Have you seen the former Secretary of State lately? Not everyone is convinced that Mike Pompeo’s dramatic weight loss with what he calls 30 minutes of daily exercise and healthy eating led. Al Rose, a New York-based trainer, told The Beast, losing 90 pounds in six months is usually only attainable with surgery, drugs, or extreme measures.
Michael Hicks at BSU says IU Health’s price freeze is a gimmick. In an op-ed over the weekend, the Cardinal economist wrote they been able to sustain what economists term supra-normal profits for many years because it has become a strong regional monopoly. Last month we reported that IU Health, announced it would freeze prices through 2025. We asked for a response from Ball Hospital, and spokesman Neil Gifford provided this response: “IU Health is committed to getting to national average commercial pricing by 2025, resulting in more than $1 billion in savings for healthcare consumers when considering inflation. Already, in 2021, outpatient rates for the most common services will have been reduced by more than $100Mn in radiology, lab and drugs. In upcoming years, IU Health will focus on pricing for infusions, specialty pharmacy, outpatient surgeries, and inpatient service. This is a carefully crafted plan which seeks to balance the mutual desire to reduce costs with that of our ability to continue to provide healthcare services to ALL patients (regardless of ability to pay) in times of prosperity as well as in times of economic, workforce, and pandemic turmoil. The most recent pandemic-related cost pressures – particularly the unprecedented labor costs we are currently experiencing – underscore the need for us to be prudent when executing against this plan so that we can continue to provide quality patient care today and well into the future. As a result, we are in constant evolution of our financial planning given the current environment and will continue to freeze and/or reduce prices as we are able which may be even sooner than the planned 5 years.”
Skyrocketing prices for both new and used cars show no sign of slowing, and experts say the higher-than-average costs are expected to continue throughout 2022. Tyson Jominy, head of data and analytics for J.D. Power, told CNBC that an estimated 89% of car buyers are paying above sticker price or within 5% of it, noting that consumers should expect to see higher prices throughout the rest of the year.
The Muncie Police Department has extended a deadline in its effort to recruit veteran law enforcement officers now working for other departments. The “lateral transfer hiring” deadline had been extended to Jan. 21 – the Muncie paper didn’t say why. Applications available at cityofmuncie.com.
Win for the Men – Luke Bumbalough led the Ball State men’s basketball team with a game-high 20 points. Scheduled to hit the road Tuesday at Akron – on 96-7, 102-9, and 104-9 FM plus the free streams from Woof Boom Radio.
