Hicks Commentary: A year of Christian nationalism
A note from the publisher of The Indiana Citizen: One year ago–on Inauguration Day, January 13, 2025–we asked one of Indiana’s leading public intellectuals, Ball State Economics Professor Michael Hicks, to analyze and anticipate the impact of having a Christian nationalist “...”
Indiana lawmakers file slate of religion-related education and culture bills for 2026 session
By Sydney Byerly The Indiana Citizen January 9, 2026 As Indiana lawmakers’ deadline to file bills for the 2026 legislative session passed Wednesday, The Indiana Citizen identified seven measures that would incorporate Christian religious texts or beliefs commonly associated wit “...”
CONSTITUTIONAL FIGHT: Push to install Ten Commandments outside Statehouse called ‘textbook Christian nationalism’
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen January 2, 2026 The state of Indiana asked a federal district court on Monday for a reprieve from an injunction issued more than two decades ago, so an 11,500-pound limestone monument that includes an inscription of the Ten Commandments can “...”
‘IS SOMEONE LYING?’: Gov. Braun calls Lt. Gov. Beckwith’s claims about redistricting fallout for federal funding ‘fake news’
By Sydney Byerly The Indiana Citizen December 17, 2025 Gov. Mike Braun is at odds with Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith over how President Donald Trump’s administration will respond to Indiana’s failure to approve new congressional maps, with Braun forcefully rejecting Beckwith’s cl “...”
NOMINATING CHANGE: Beckwith says lieutenant governor selection bill would undercut parties’ grassroots power
By Sydney Byerly The Indiana Citizen December 17, 2025 Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith says a bill aimed at changing how Indiana’s candidates for lieutenant governor are selected – eliminating the role of party conventions, where he defeated Gov. Mike Braun’s hand-picked candidate “...”
FRUSTRATION SHOWS: Lt. Gov. Beckwith tangles with protesters, live posts amid failed redistricting bid
By Marilyn Odendahl and Sydney Byerly The Indiana Citizen December 12, 2025 Speaking to NewsNation shortly after the Indiana Senate squashed the redistricting effort, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who was an early and pugnacious supporter of redrawing the state’s congressional distr “...”
Kennedy Commentary: The Phoenix Declaration
This column was originally published by Sheila Kennedy on her blog, “A Jaundiced Look at the World We Live In.” By Sheila Kennedy December 7, 2025 What–you may ask–is the Phoenix Declaration, recently adopted by Florida educators? The Declaration is a product of the Herit “...”
FLEXING ‘POLITICAL MUSCLE’: Special Session on redistricting gives Lt. Gov. Beckwith rare opportunity
By Sydney Byerly The Indiana Citizen November 26, 2025 Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith could hold unusual influence as Indiana lawmakers return to the Statehouse starting next week to consider a mid-decade redraw of the state’s congressional districts. Beckwith was one of the earliest “...”
Hicks Commentary: Hoosier Heritage is Safe
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael J Hicks November 24, 2025 If you lived in Indiana as late as 1990, you have met, spoken with or smiled at a former member of the Ku Klux “...”
“PULL BACK THE CURTAIN!”: Beckwith and Morales Press Lawmakers to Revive Redistricting in Small Statehouse Rally
By Sydney Byerly The Indiana Citizen November 18, 2025 Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and Secretary of State Diego Morales urged lawmakers before both chambers met on Organization Day to revive Indiana’s stalled redistricting effort during a small rally at the Statehouse. They called “...”