Andy East
The Republic
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Past articles by Andy:
PRIMARY PREVIEW: Two seek GOP nomination for Columbus mayor
A former Indiana state representative and current high-ranking Columbus city official are seeking the Republican nomination for Columbus mayor in the May 2 primary. This year, there is no incumbent on the ballot, as current Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop previously announced that he will not seek another term in office. Mary Ferdon, 61, the city’s executive director of administration and community… → Read More
New brand, new era: Cummins rebrands new power business as Accelera
Photo provided Amy Davis, who has led Cummins’ new power business since 2020 and will serve as president of Accelera, speaks at the debut of Accelera in Washington D.C. Wednesday morning. Cummins Inc.’s new power business is taking on a new name as the company seeks to emphasize its portfolio of zero emissions technologies and its strategy to remain competitive during the energy transition. The… → Read More
Local analysts, officials react to Cummins rebrand
Local analysts and officials agreed that Cummins’ decision to rebrand its New Power business further reinforces the company’s commitment to zero emissions technologies. On Wednesday, Cummins announced that it is rebranding the business segment as Accelera by Cummins. The part of the business that is being renamed includes the company’s growing electrified power and hydrogen portfolios and… → Read More
Cummins to make ‘major announcement’ today
Mike Wolanin | The Republic Cummins CEO Jennifer Rumsey gives the keynote speech during the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation’s annual meeting at The Commons in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Aug. 16, 2022. Cummins Inc. said it plans to make a “major announcement” today about the company’s strategy to transition to a decarbonized future. The Columbus-based company said in a press… → Read More
Legislators comment on pending bills
Three state lawmakers who represent parts of Bartholomew County chatted online Monday with constituents and students from ABC Stewart School at a Third House session. Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, R-Shelbyville and Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, logged in to Monday’s Third House where they discussed bills related to harmful materials for minors, school funding and other… → Read More
Legislators meet with constituents virtually for Third House
Mike Wolanin | The Republic Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, and Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, address issues related to legislation during a Third House session with state legislators in the council chambers at Columbus City Hall in Columbus, Ind., Monday, March 25, 2019. COLUMBUS, Ind. — Three state lawmakers who represent parts of Bartholomew County chatted online Monday with constituents and… → Read More
SEARCHING FOR TRENDS: Investigative team to begin reviewing overdose deaths, suicides
Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the hallway leading to the entrance of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress Bartholomew County Hub in Columbus, Ind., Monday, June 15, 2020. A multi-disciplinary group is expected to start reviewing local overdose deaths and suicides this week as part of an effort to identify data-informed initiatives that officials hope will prevent future deaths. The… → Read More
Local organizations seek nearly $1 million in additional opioid settlement funds
Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress (ASAP) officials said they submitted a county-wide application for nearly $1 million in additional opioid settlement funds to be made available through a state grant. The application comes after state officials announced that they would make an additional $25 million of Indiana’s share of nationwide opioid settlements available to local governments through a… → Read More
Ohio train disaster brings questions of what’s traveling through Columbus daily
Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of a train on the Louisville & Indiana tracks alongside Indianapolis Road in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. COLUMBUS, Ind. — Local first responders say they regularly undergo training on how to coordinate a multi-agency response in the event of a train derailment — including scenarios in which toxic chemicals are spilled. The issue of rail accidents… → Read More
Bartholomew County coroner’s office releases overdose numbers for 2022
Mike Wolanin | The Republic Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting is shown during an interview at his office in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Copyright, The Republic, Columbus COLUMBUS, Ind. — Drug overdose deaths in Bartholomew County soared to 39 last year — the equivalent of one death roughly every nine days. The official annual total — the highest on record — comes from the… → Read More
Complaint withdrawn after auditor complies
The Indiana Public Access Counselor has withdrawn a formal complaint against Bartholomew County Auditor Pia O’Connor over alleged violations of the state’s public record law after she provided a list of overtime wages for sheriff’s deputies to The Republic after initially refusing to do so for weeks. In letter on Wednesday, Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt said that the complaint filed… → Read More
Cummins’ filtration files for stock offering
Cummins’ filtration business filed paperwork for an initial public offering with regulators a year and a half after company officials said they would start exploring “strategic alternatives” for the business. Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc., headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, filed paperwork Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be listed on the New York Stock… → Read More
An uncertain future: Irwin Block demo winds down, but possible uses for site are unknown
Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the lot where the Irwin Block building used to stand in downtown Columbus, Ind., Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. More than two months after a fire destroyed a treasured historical building in downtown Columbus, it is still unclear what the future may hold for the property. The building, known by generations of Columbus residents as the Irwin Block building on the 400… → Read More
ASAP taking applications for grant funding from state’s opioid settlement
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress (ASAP) officials are putting together a county-wide application for additional opioid settlement funds in what officials said could result in a significant expansion in recovery housing locally. The effort comes after state officials announced that they would make an additional $25 million of Indiana’s share of nationwide opioid settlements… → Read More
School library book banning has First Amendment implications, but law ‘ambiguous’
As a wave of attempts to remove books from school libraries continues to sweep the country, including in Bartholomew County, an Indiana University law professor says that the efforts have First Amendment implications, though Supreme Court precedent on the issue is “exceedingly ambiguous.” Just over 40 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in a landmark case over books being removed… → Read More
Still in limbo: Many of local legislators’ proposed bills are languish in committees
Casey Smith | Indiana Capital Chronicle Indiana’s House Education Committee meets at the Statehouse on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, in Indianapolis. As the 2023 session at the Indiana General Assembly continues, bills filed by state lawmakers representing parts of Bartholomew County have advanced to varying degrees. The legislators — Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus; Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour; Rep.… → Read More
Finding the funding: Local officials seek more money from national opioid settlements
Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the hallway leading to the entrance of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress Bartholomew County Hub in Columbus, Ind., Monday, June 15, 2020. Mike Wolanin | The Republic Local officials are hoping to secure additional funding from Indiana’s share of national opioid settlements to combat the substance use crisis in the community after state officials made… → Read More
Local officials condemn Nichols beating
Mike Wolanin | The Republic Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop welcomes guests to the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast at The Commons in downtown Columbus, Ind., Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and local law enforcement officials on Tuesday said the brutal, fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers was an “unacceptable abuse of power” and an “despicable… → Read More
Jimenez-Perez to serve federal time
CHICAGO — A former Columbus resident has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking case that involved a private jet that authorities say landed at the Gary/Chicago International Airport with 220 pounds of cocaine on board. Rodrigo Alexis Jimenez-Perez, 27, was sentenced Jan. 12 in a plea agreement with prosecutors to three years in federal prison, according to filings… → Read More
COVID-19 hospitalizations, deaths continue
Mike Wolanin | The Republic A bright red sign points to the emergency entrance to Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Ind., pictured, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Nearly three years since Bartholomew County’s first confirmed COVID-19 case, data shows that the virus is still hospitalizing and killing local residents. Updated figures from the Indiana Department of Health show that two Jackson… → Read More