Madison Commentary: One year later, Christian nationalists pose a bigger threat
By James Madison January 13, 2026 One year ago this week, I authored a piece for The Indiana Citizen that drew on my scholarship of that dark period in Indiana history a century ago, when the Ku Klux Klan took over our state. I noted, “The past never repeats itself exactl “...”
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 “...”
Krull Commentary: Running on empty at the Statehouse
This column was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com. By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com January 9, 2026 This is what happens when one political party holds onto power for too long. First, its members run out of good ideas. Then, they run out of fresh ideas of any kind “...”
Krull Commentary: Trump’s about-face on border security
This column was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com. By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com January 7, 2026 Who knew that President Donald Trump, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and MAGA world would turn out to be such ardent advocates for open borders? Fo “...”
Krull Commentary: Trump, as usual, indicts himself
This column was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com. By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com January 5, 2026 One must hand it to President Donald Trump and the coteries of enablers and users surrounding him. Even when they’re attempting to justify some outrageous act on h “...”
Hicks Commentary: A Reversal of Rural Fortunes
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael J. Hicks January 4, 2026 Small towns are in for a sobering stretch of economic challenges as elected officials reverse pandemic-era polic “...”
Krull Commentary: A portrait of the artist in his native earth
This column was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com. By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com January 2, 2026 DUBLIN, Ireland—The young artist posed for a portrait on this spot. I’m standing in the garden of the Museum of Literature Ireland near an old ash tree where Jam “...”
Krull Commentary: Mike Braun freefalls into the new year
This column was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com. By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com December 31, 2025 Santa Claus left Indiana Gov. Mike Braun a true lump of coal in his stocking for Christmas. A Public Policy Polling survey of 636 registered voters in Dubois Count “...”
Krull Commentary: Resistance, reckoning and history’s demands
This column was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com. By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com December 29, 2025 COPENHAGEN, Denmark—The past makes demands. It demands acknowledgment. It demands accountability. It demands a commitment to the truth. This is the overarching l “...”
Hicks Commentary: Don’t Ask Your College Kids What They Learned, Ask Them Why They Learned
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael J. Hicks December 28, 2025 Exams are over and college students are home for the holiday break. Parents are certain to ask what they learn “...”