By Darian Benson for Mirror Indy.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration.

Elizabeth Castle drives past what was the Indiana Women's Prison almost daily. She lives a block away in the Willard Park neighborhood on the near east side.

"I have heard of teenagers shooting guns and hiding in the old prison building according to neighborhood emails and have seen people wandering around the remains of buildings," Castle said.

Neighbors say the long-vacant Indiana Women's Prison site is in terrible shape, and they hope the city can assist them in redeveloping the property.

"The site is just sitting there, gradually deteriorating," said Will Pritchard, a member of the Indiana Women's Prison Alliance, a group advocating for redevelopment.

"Sometimes the windows are open. Sometimes there's holes in the roofs. It's often not mowed. It's collecting trash around the site."

The Indiana Department of Administration, the agency that maintains and manages all state property, owns the property, which has been vacant for seven years. The Women's Prison was relocated to the west side in 2009, and the eastside property became a reentry facility for the Marion County criminal justice system until closing in 2017.

The Indiana Department of Administration's website states the grounds are mowed by maintenance crews every three to four weeks, weather permitting.

Neighbors think city is better positioned to manage property

The alliance and several surrounding neighborhood organizations are calling for the state to transfer ownership of the property to the city, believing the city is better positioned to plan the property's future.

Pritchard believes, after speaking with city officials, that Indianapolis is open to receiving the site from the state. He said the city has more experience working with neighborhoods and has plans for eastside redevelopment. He has heard the state might also be interested in transferring ownership to the city in exchange for an unidentified property currently owned by the city.

The Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development declined to comment.

"It's probably the biggest, dilapidated vacant site on the east side, and it is owned by the state of Indiana, which is really outrageous when you think about it that a site with that reputation is actually owned by the state government," Pritchard said.

The future of the site is unclear. Molly Timperman, a spokesperson for the Department of Administration, said the state isn't ready to make a decision on what to do with the site. When it is, "we are happy to have a community conversation," she said.

Pritchard lives in Woodruff Place, one of three neighborhoods surrounding the former women's prison. The alliance has asked the three neighborhoods - Willard Park, Woodruff Place and St. Clair Place - to write letters in support of the property transfer. The alliance has also requested a meeting with the Department of Administration and the mayor's office.

He hopes to come to a resolution before Gov. Eric Holcomb leaves office, worrying that the clock will restart under a new state administration. Neighborhood leaders and the state haven't always seen eye to eye.

The state has demolished most of the buildings at the former prison except for a few, including the chapel, administration building and a few dormitories. The state had set aside money to tear down the remaining buildings, but the neighborhoods blocked the demolition.

Pritchard said the state needed the neighborhoods' approval to demolish the remaining buildings because they are classified as historic. The neighborhoods aren't ready to give that approval until they know more about plans for redevelopment or reuse.

"We don't want to give our approval to tear down the buildings, because we don't trust that the DOA will build something on the site that's conducive to the surrounding neighborhoods" Pritchard said. "And we're not convinced that they will include the neighborhoods' input, either."

Regardless, Timperman said the money that had been set aside to demolish the remaining buildings was used for other state projects and is no longer available.

What the neighborhood wants

A few years ago the alliance conducted a survey asking residents what they would like to see replace the abandoned site. Requests ranged from houses, to a workforce development training center to a grocery store.

"They have not said to the state or to the mayor's office, 'Here's what we want to see there,' because there's such a diversity of views," Pritchard said. "Their primary request is, their only request is to involve us in the decision."

Castle says the space has a lot of potential. She envisions mixed-use space for housing, entertainment and exercise.

"My greatest concern for the property staying vacant is at best a missed opportunity for the near east side," Castle said. "And at worst, an eyesore for all the neighbors around and potentially an enabler for criminal activity."


Darian Benson wrote this article for Mirror Indy.


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This Saturday is a National Day of Protest in response to the Trump administration's recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cuts funding for Medicaid, food assistance and other programs.

Hundreds of peaceful protests are planned across the country, including at least nine in Washington state.

Liz Moore, executive director of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, is organizing an event with local health care unions, highlighting how federal cuts will hurt health care access and rural hospitals.

"This bill robs hospitals and clinics of funding, including rural hospitals and makes our already tenuous health care system strain and probably break at the seams," Moore contended. "It steals health care coverage from 16 million adults and children."

Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, praised the act's $50 billion allocation for rural health care, though the act is expected to cut total rural health spending by $155 billion.

In Eastern Washington, more than half of children rely on Apple Health, the state's Medicaid system. Moore called the act a heist.

"It really bankrolls massive tax giveaways for the ultrarich and for greedy corporations at the same time that our communities are going to be hurt," Moore asserted. "We say 'no.'"

Many may be feeling overwhelmed in the face of mass deportations or cuts to food aid across the country, Moore added but people need to keep pushing against the policies.

"When we see that we're not alone, when there's somebody you know at the rally, you didn't know was going to be there, those feelings can keep us in motion," Moore emphasized.

Members of the League of Women Voters-Arkansas are collecting signatures to add a constitutional amendment to the November 2026 ballot.

The amendment would give voters a chance to approve or reject election laws passed by the legislature.

Bonnie Miller, president of the League of Women Voters-Arkansas and chair of the coalition Save AR Democracy, said lawmakers have been enacting restrictions since 2013, making it harder for the direct democracy process to work.

"We now have to read a ballot title out loud to somebody or watch them read the entire ballot title. We're not just talking about a sentence here. In some instances, this could be pages of text," Miller outlined. "We now have to see a photo ID, we have to tell them that petition fraud is a crime."

Arkansas lawmakers said the added measures would help prevent voter fraud. There have been five Arkansans convicted of election fraud over the past 20 years.

Earlier this year, the league filed a federal lawsuit attempting to strike down five bills passed by the legislature which it said are unconstitutional and restrict the work of canvassers. Miller pointed out if the amendment is passed in next year's election, any changes to voting laws must be approved by voters.

"It would keep them from being able to refer out amendments that would change the process," Miller explained. "It means that during (the) legislative session, if they pass any bills, that affects the process that those laws don't go into effect until they're on the ballot the following year. "

Volunteers with the "Ballot Measure for Ballot Measure" campaign must collect more than 90,000 signatures by July 3, 2026.

AARP Oregon has opened up nominations for its prestigious award for volunteerism.

For the Andrus Award for Community Service, the organization will select a person or couple, age 50 or older, performing services without pay in their communities.

Geneva Craig, a volunteer for AARP Oregon, won the award in 2019 for her work organizing educational sessions for her community around Medford in Southern Oregon. She said when she was a child, her mother taught her to volunteer by supporting their sick neighbors.

"There's no age group where you can say, 'Oh, I don't have a skill, I don't have a talent,'" Craig emphasized. "You have something to offer, if only to give some support and let somebody know you care."

Oregonians do a lot of volunteering. Data from 2023 show nearly 36% of Oregonians formally volunteered through organizations, about eight points higher than the national average.

Research shows volunteering helps counteract the effects of stress, anxiety and depression, while making people feel more connected and happier. Craig added it is important that volunteers inspire others.

"I'm happy because I'm seeing the rise in people who are stepping back out and offering to volunteer," Craig explained. "I tried to let them know, we're not going to work you to death, OK? This is teamwork."

The deadline for Andrus Award nominations is Sept. 1. The winner receives $1,000 to donate to a nonprofit of their choosing.