Krull Commentary: Dolly Parton and the sad goodbye
By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com August 26, 2026 In 2019, The New York Times declared that there was only one thing upon which a deeply divided America could agree. Dolly Parton. The hours after Parton’s death demonstrated that statement’s truth. Tributes to her musical ge “...”
Kennedy Commentary: The toast is burning…
By Sheila Suess Kennedy August 25, 2026 A story my mother used to tell really sums up the state of the American experiment. A young boy failed to talk. His parents took him to specialists, all of whom said he was normal, but still, he never spoke. Then one day, when he was nearly “...”
Krull Commentary: Trump throws a party on the taxpayers’ dime
By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com August 24, 2026 Years ago, the late Indianapolis activist Carl Moldthan showed up at an Indianapolis Public Schools event. The party was supposed to kick off a referendum campaign to raise property taxes to pay for much-needed maintenance and u “...”
Krull Commentary: The gift Ballard can offer
By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com August 19, 2026 Win or, more likely, lose, let’s hope former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s twin campaigns to be elected Indiana secretary of state and form a new political party accomplishes at least one thing. Let’s hope it puts an e “...”
Hicks Commentary: Waving the Checkered Flag
Note from The Indiana Citizen publisher: Prof. Michael Hicks has just retired from Ball State University and is heading east to take a senior position with Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. This is his final column. If, like me, you’re one of his legions of fans, y “...”
Krull Commentary: Another battle in the war on knowledge
By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com August 14, 2026 Conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are so bad that at least one crew member jumped overboard. Family members in contact with the sailors and other personnel aboard the ship report that there have been several other attemp “...”
Krull Commentary: Micah Beckwith shoots an air ball
By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com August 12, 2026 Years ago, when the classic movie “Hoosiers” came out, it had a fabulous promotional poster. Underneath the film’s title was a picture of a basketball on a gym floor and, below that, the words, “Basketball … it makes t “...”
White Commentary: Before students choose a path, they must see a map
By Misty White August 13, 2026 The most important career conversation I had this year wasn’t with a high school senior preparing for graduation, but an 8th grader named Lily. She proudly told me she wanted to work at Taco Bell when she grew up because she loved Crunchwraps. “...”
Kennedy Commentary: A Ban On No-Fault Divorce?
This column was originally published by Sheila Kennedy on her blog, “A Jaundiced Look at the World We Live In.” By Sheila Kennedy August 9, 2026 When women assert that bans on abortion are part of a wide-ranging war on women, the pious “Christian” activists behind these b “...”
Hicks Commentary: What a hike in the Knobstone taught me
This column was originally published for the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael J. Hicks August 9, 2026 In March 2025, my wife and I hiked most of Indiana’s famous Knobstone Trail, the state’s longest footpath. I “...”