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⛵️ How to handle 2m people

⛵️ How to handle 2m people

PLUS: meet Patrick Mapes, the new Korean place, and your weekend preview

Skyler Braun
February 23, 2024

Good Friday Morning. This is Fishers Digest. The local newsletter that’s undoubtedly more reliable than AT&T’s cellphone network.

☀️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49°. Might snow tonight.
⛅️ Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34°
☀️ Sunday: Sunny, with a high of 53°

In today’s digest:

How to handle 2m people
Meet Patrick Mapes
Weekend Preview
How’s the new Korean chicken place?

> Last Tuesday, the #1 clicked link went to my writing editor instead of the actual content you wanted. Here’s the details on the 2020 Maple Del project. Please forgive me 🙇

This issue is 1,694 words, a 5-minute read.

The Digest

Here’s how to handle ~2m people

I’m talking about the solar eclipse. Let me explain. The next time you’ll have a chance to see something like this in the US is 2044 (according to NASA 🛰️).

In 45 days, 600,000 - 2m people will be traveling to Hamilton County. Some places, like a city in Texas, have declared a state of emergency from expecting so many people. Fishers will have longest viewing period in Hamilton County at almost 4 minutes. So expect a lot of people with a touch of chaos.

If you’re deciding on your plans, early April can be a wild card weather-wise. So let’s look at what April 8th looked like the past 5 years:

5-year historical data in Fishers

Here’s to hoping we get another 2023 year. When the skies darken around 2 pm, and the totality starts around 3, you’ll want to be prepared. Here’s how:

Have glasses. Fishers Digest will be announcing something next week to get these from me. The library will also have some for completing a reading challenge.
If you’re going somewhere, put gas in your car. Experts say a 30-minute drive could become a 4 hour one
Know your phone may be slow or not usable at all

Hamilton County Tourism has been preparing for this event for over 6 years now. They have great resources, including viewing areas, tips, and more. And finally, I have a question:

Do you have solar eclipse plans?

All eyes on Patrick 🎒

Patrick Mapes is set to be the new HSE schools superintendent. He hails from Perry Township Schools, where he retired in 2022. I guess the opportunity to be a part of the HSE school system is too good to pass up on, so he unretired. Mr. Mapes has a long history of education in Indiana and plans to move his wife and kids to Fishers as part of the job.

The HSE school board will be holding a meeting this morning to sign him on for a 5-day interim contract. That will hold him over until they complete his official contract on February 28th. He will be replacing Dr. Matt Kegley, who held down the fort after Dr. Yvonne Stokes suddenly left early last year.

The Happenings

Weekend preview 📆

I hope your week has been great, and your weekend is even better. Here’s some fun things for you to do this weekend.

> I’ve heard Paw Patrol is still all the rage with little ones. There are a few live performances happening this weekend at the Old National Center. View times, dates, and get tickets here.

> One of the oldest races in Indianapolis, the Polar Bear Winter Classic, is this Saturday. There’s 5k and 10k options for everyone, including kids, depending on how you want to race. Tickets are available here.

> Every Friday, the American Legion Post 470 hosts Texas Hold ‘Em games from 5 pm to midnight. 9091 East 126th Street (link)

> If you want to earn those sweet eclipse glasses from the library, you’ll need to complete their reading challenge. This Saturday they’re hosting a bingo tournament for it. If you get a bingo, you get glasses. It’s that simple. Sign up alone or with your fam here.

> This weekend is an outdoorsman’s dream. There are two expos happening at the Indy State Fairgrounds. The Deer, Turkey, and Waterfowl expo. And the Boat, Sport, and Travel show. You can get tickets to check out all products and services you need here.

> Celebrate Black History Month with the 28th Art and Soul festival. This is a free event for everyone that helps support and advance the careers of Black artists in Indianapolis. Tonight from 5 - 7:30 pm. Learn more.

> The Carmel Winterblast is Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm. There will be ice sculpting, a giant snow globe, free hot chocolate and more. Details here.

> Romeo and Juliet performances are at The Tarkington this weekend. Tickets start at $53 here.

If you are participating in Lent, here's where to do a fish fry:

Holy Spirit Parish at Geist. 5 - 7:30 pm. $6-12
St. Louis de Montfort. 5 - 7:30 pm
Carmel American Legion Post 155. 6 - 8 pm. $7-13
Knights of Columbus/Our Lady of Grace (Noblesville). 4:30 - 7 pm.

📲 Want to see your business here? Email me to get a highlight. It’s free!

Nothing in this section is sponsored. It’s just something you should know.

Rapid Fire Hits

Quick headlines and things to know from all around 🌐

The 2024 Arts + Culture grant winners are here. $60,000 in funding for 11 people and businesses to build community within Fishers. The full list of winners will be building them throughout the year.

*Lucy on Locale reached out offering to help with your travel planning needs. As a trip advisor, she’s an expert on how to get the best bang for your buck wherever you go. Check out her blog to see if it’s a right fit for you with spring break coming soon.

It’s an election year, and the full list of candidates running for house this year are in. FYI, Fishers is in Indiana's 5th Congressional District. (link)

Indianapolis was ranked 1st in the nation for quality of life. (link)

The $33m District South Project broke ground on Wednesday. Plans are for it to become an urban village with office space and apartment space. (link)

Weekly recap

Here’s what readers clicked the most this week 🏆️

This week’s construction update (link)
POV of Kroger when 50 cent was there (link)
POV of Geist during Friday’s snowstorm (link)
Geist home caught on fire (no one was hurt 🙂) (link)

*= a sponsored listing

Local Business

How’s the new Korean chicken place?

If you drive down 116th street, you may have noticed the Aso Ramen shop is now a CM Chicken. You might also be wondering how it is. Lucky for you their grand opening was yesterday, and I tried it.

Their specialty is fried chicken. My dad and I got the spicy garlic tenders, original fried chicken, and the cheese curds (he’s from Wisconsin). The chicken was decently fried and if you’re a fan of fried chicken you will probably like their chicken. The spicy garlic was sweeter than I expected it would be. We both agreed that the curds were the best of the order. The cheese was melty and fried perfectly.

The service was okay, but it’s a new restaurant and they’re probably going through some growing pains. If you want to check them out, they’re at 8395 E 116th St.

Marsh stocks 📈

The excitement we all feel now that the old Marsh building is finally becoming something is real. H&H Fieldhouse is a new basketball facility replacing the old 96th Street building. They want this to become a “… one-stop-shop for everything a basketball player needs”.

Nothing here is sponsored. It’s just info you should know.

@317Digest

📍 HSE Fields

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