Features

Latest Features

• History 301: Illegal abortions made several headlines in the 1950s
  Travis Rawlings confessed to having performed 16 abortions when he was arrested for assault and rape. Only the assault resulted in charges. This photo appeared in the July 17, 1951, edition of The Indianapolis Star. By CONNIE ZEIGLER, Contributing [Read More…]
• Growing Places Indy: Lessons from the garden work in our lives, too
  Growing Places Indy has worked for years to bring garden products to people who need them. The same tactics should be applied to our society as well, Laura Henderson points out. By Laura Henderson / Collective operations steward, Growing Places Indy [Read More…]
• Feature: John Franklin Hay is leaving a Near Eastside legacy
  Nancy Andrews (right), a 30-year-resident of St. Clair Place, chats along Hamilton Street with Claire Smith, who is taking advantage of the peaceful neighborhood environment while housesitting. By BILL BROOKS, Editor and publisher This missive isn’t [Read More…]
• Propylaeum events continue its centennial celebration
  The July 2023 edition of Urban Times featured the first of a two-part series celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis Propylaeum being housed in the stately home on N. Delaware Street in The Old Northside.  The women’s organization was [Read More…]
• More details: The Indianapolis Zoo’s major expansion project, complete with chimpanzees
  On Friday, Urban Times posted news of a major new development at the Indianapolis Zoo – the creation of not only a new Welcome Center and Global Center for Species Survival (both opening this coming Memorial Day), but also the International [Read More…]
• Community Food Box Project fights food insecurity
  By Dale Ogden,Contributing editor When Marsh Supermarkets closed its remaining 44 stores in 2017, many of us got a small taste of what Indy’s underserved residents have endured for years. In 2015, Double 8 closed its last stores on Sherman Drive, [Read More…]
• Row report: Summer rains bring flowers – and flooding
  By Julie L Rhodes, collective impact director, Reconnecting to Our Waterways While all that rain we received in June and July was great for our gardens and green lawns, all that rain also meant more mowing and weeding and more flooding on your [Read More…]
• Opening May 29, a tale of survival for gators and crocs
  The Indianapolis Zoo will open the gates Saturday on a new outdoor exhibit which uses the American alligator and the Orinoco crocodile to illustrate vastly different ends of the conservation spectrum. The American alligator is one of the country’s [Read More…]
• A year spent with giants / Land Trust report
  By Shawndra Miller / Communications manager, Central Indiana Land Trust May is Mental Health Awareness Month, the perfect time to celebrate the power of nature to boost mood and mental acuity. It’s no secret that nature – and forests in particular – [Read More…]
• Easement improves water quality in state park, nature preserve
  By Jen Thomas / Media relations, Central Indiana Land Trust Entrepreneur and nature lover Joe McCurdy has donated to the Central Indiana Land Trust a 365-acre conservation easement that promises to improve the water quality in Turkey Run State Park [Read More…]
• THIS JUST IN: The Impact of Working at a Nonprofit
  By Karin Ogden / Chief executive officer, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Indiana Nonprofit organizations have long been a central part of communities across the country, and Indiana is no different. In Indianapolis alone, there are over [Read More…]
• BONUS COVERAGE: Take an Exploration Along Our Waterways
  By Julie L Rhodes  / Collective Impact director, Reconnecting to Our Waterways As autumn arrives in Indianapolis, it brings cool breezes and a blast of yellows, oranges and reds throughout our neighborhoods and our natural spaces. The lack of [Read More…]
• BONUS COVERAGE: Preserving natural resources should be an inclusive effort / Artist-led innovation works to create better ‘places’
  By Cliff Chapman / Executive director, Central Indiana Land Trust The summer between high school and college, a buddy and I decided to take a road trip from Indianapolis to Bloomington, where we planned to grab some interesting food and take a walk [Read More…]
• ROW Report: Let nature help heal our bodies and our minds
  By Brianna Dines Waterways and communications coordinator Reconnecting to Our Waterways Wednesday, April 22, will mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a time to appreciate the life that our planet provides us and to reflect on the way we treat [Read More…]
• GUEST FEATURE: Three Years, 13 Partners Making Positive Changes for White River
  By PARTNERS FOR THE WHITE RIVER Twenty years ago, a chemical discharge in Anderson contaminated the White River and killed millions of fish – an unforgettable site of environmental devastation that impacted miles of river ecosystem all the way to [Read More…]
• More options coming for cyclists and walkers
  Bicycle lanes throughout the city began to proliferate during the Mayor Greg Ballard years. The Near Northside and Near Southeast are the focal points of a city plan to expand and improve connectivity – not only through expanded bicycle lanes, but [Read More…]
• THIS JUST IN: Vonnegut Library has funding to buy Indiana Avenue building
  When the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library signed a purchase agreement in early March to buy the building at 543 Indiana Ave., it had just 90 days to raise $1.5 million to close the deal. Tough goal, long odds. Just not tough enough or long enough. [Read More…]
• Shannon and The Cabaret
  By JOY HERNANDEZ Contributing editor, Urban Times Remarkable Women of the arts Second in a series on women who have built arts organizations into the successes they are today. Part I, in the April issue, focused on Victoria Lyras of the [Read More…]
• BREWS TO BLESSINGS What ties two dissimilar structures together?
  St. Mary’s Save the Steeples campaign seeks $2 million to secure the future of the historic and architecturally significant church. Inside Historic St. Mary Noted architect James T. Kienle, a resident of Lockerbie Square, will talk about the [Read More…]
• Dear Indy Claus: A wish list for the neighborhoods
  Dear Santa: Give us a cool trail to Fountain Square, or fully engaged neighbors, or a parking garage, or better alleys, or working fountains By JOY HERNANDEZ ’Twas the month before Christmas, and Indy Claus put a call out to neighborhoods near [Read More…]