NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH)– The brand-new Arena at Innovation Mile in Noblesville is set to open next week and News 8 got a preview of the brand new facility on Wednesday. 

Arena at Innovation Mile, located just off of 141st Street and Olio Road, will be the official home court for the Noblesville Boom, the Pacers’ G-League team. It will hold about 3,500 people for Boom games, and up to 4,200 for concerts and other events.

One thing that stands out when you walk in the main entrance, is the open concept with a lot of natural lighting. Leaders in Noblesville say this was intentional to make it feel like a welcoming space for all events. 

The new venue also pays tribute to the nearby Ruoff Music Center, or “Deer Creek,” as some still call it. One of the concession stands is named Deer Creek. 

Crews spent the last two years working on the $93 million project, which Mayor Chris Jensen calls a “gamechanger” for the city.

“For a long time, Noblesville was known for its historic downtown, The Square. We have 100% capacity in our businesses, we have the White River, but this is really the front door to Noblesville for a lot of people now.”

Jensen also addressed comparisons between the Arena at Innovation Mile and the Fishers Event Center, which opened last year.

“Fishers is about double the capacity. You’re going to see a whole different subset of events down in fishers that you’re going to see here in Noblesville. It is done in effort to be coordinated to attract as much population growth long term, visitors as much as possible, to Hamilton County. We’re in constant communication with them ‘down the street.’”

The Arena at Innovation Mile will open next Friday, Aug. 8, when Jensen holds his State of the City address and cuts the ribbon.

The first event is a free concert by a Pink Floyd tribute band on Aug. 23.

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — Get ready to look up, Indiana. Tickets are now on sale for Conner Prairie’s annual Jupiter Flights Balloon Festival, the state’s largest celebration of its kind.

“It is Indiana’s largest balloon festival. We are expecting over 45 hot air balloons to just glow up the sky and have everybody excited and just ready to have a good time with their family,” Hyacinth Rucker, senior manager of PR and communications at Conner Prairie, said.

Rucker says that number could still grow. “Yes, 45. We may have 46 or 47. We’re still trying to figure that out, but we’re saying over 45 right now.”

What to Expect

While you won’t be able to climb in for a ride, Rucker says you can still get up close.

“You can’t get in. But you can get right next to it. You can talk to the pilot, meet them, and ask them questions. Unfortunately, we don’t allow rides.”

The festival also offers plenty to do beyond the balloons. “We have a lot of activities. You can do the corn maze, the tubing hill, we have barrel trains, all different types of activities. Especially in the evening, there are live performances, music, and a live DJ at our midway. There’s a lot to do when you’re there in the evening,” Rucker said.

And, for the first time, morning visitors will be able to enjoy even more. “This year, we are charging $5 for members and $10 for non-members. But there are activities… that’ll be happening in the morning for kids to do and have fun,” Rucker said.

Bigger and Better Every Year

Rucker says the event continues to grow. “Last year, we didn’t have activities in the morning. You just came and watched the balloons fly over. This year, we are offering activities for people to enjoy. People love the tubing hill, the corn maze, and the barrel trains, especially for those small kids to ride in and be pulled around. So there are a number of activities for people to do in the morning now.”

Ticket Prices

Morning admission is $5 for members and $10 for non-members. For the evening balloon glow, tickets are $15 for members and $26 for non-members.

VIP passes are also available for $50. “What makes that cool is you get to go to our Sunset Lounge, which is really an exclusive area. You get a drink ticket and you’re able to have a beautiful view of all the hot air balloons,” Rucker said.

“We’re trying to give people a really great opportunity to have fun and just enjoy themselves,” she added.

The festival is taking place Sept. 5 – 7. For more information and ticket availability, click here.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Fox Corp. has acquired a one-third stake in Penske Entertainment, the owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series

Fox Corp. is the parent company of FOX Sports, which came on board as the exclusive broadcast partner of the NTT IndyCar Series at the start of the 2025 season.

Penske Entertainment, an arm of Roger Penske’s Penske Corporation, acquired IMS, IndyCar, and IMS Productions from the Hulman family in January 2020.

The company said Thursday that Fox Corp.’s investment is expected to “supercharge a new era of growth for the NTT IndyCar Series,” including “enhanced promotion and star-building opportunities” for drivers such as Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta, and Scott Dixon.

The deal also extends Fox’s media rights deal for IndyCar races for several more years.

“This partnership is built on long-standing trust and a shared vision for the future,” Roger Penske said in a release. “FOX sees the incredible potential across our sport and wants to play an active role in building our growth trajectory. Lachlan Murdoch and his team, starting with Eric Shanks, are committed to our success and will bring incredible energy and innovation to INDYCAR.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, the investment is worth $125 – $135 million.

“We’re thrilled to join the INDYCAR ownership group at such a pivotal time for the sport,” Eric Shanks, CEO & Executive Producer, FOX Sports, said in a release. “INDYCAR represents everything we value in live sports — passionate fans, iconic venues, elite competition and year-round storytelling potential.”

Penske Entertainment says this year’s Indianapolis 500 on FOX brought in just over 7 million viewers, a 4.1% increase over the 2024 edition and a 17-year high. The race was a sell out and ticket sales are brisk for the 2026 Indianapolis 500.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

GREENCASTLE, Ind. (WISH) — A fire broke out at the Walmart Distribution Center in Greencastle on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The Greencastle Fire Department received a call at 7:26 a.m. Wednesday about a fire in the baler room of the distribution center, 333 Warren Drive. That’s on the east side of the Putnam County city that’s about an hourlong drive west of downtown Indianapolis.

The building was evacuated during the fire. No one was hurt.

The fire had started in the baler and was contained to it. The fire was unintentional, investigators found.

A baler is used to compact cardboard, plastic, paper and other recyclable materials into dense, manageable bales.

This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and edits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Temperatures will remain below average through the weekend.

Today:

Scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue this morning as a cold front moves across the state. Expect locally heavy rain and frequent lightning through the morning and early afternoon.

Rain should clear by the afternoon, leaving mostly cloudy skies and significantly cooler temperatures later today. High temperatures, likely already reached in the mid to upper 70s during the overnight hours, will hover in the low to mid 70s this afternoon.

Tonight:

Clouds will decrease overnight, with very pleasant temperatures. Overnight lows will drop to the upper 50s and lower 60s.

Pleasant weather settles in:

Expect an absolutely beautiful stretch of weather for Friday and the weekend.

Friday afternoon will feature mostly sunny skies, cooler temperatures, and much lower humidity. High temperatures will reach the upper 70s to lower 80s.

Similar conditions are expected for Saturday and Sunday, with sunshine, calm weather, and low humidity. High temperatures will hover around 80°F both days.

As an added bonus, overnight lows will slide to the mid to upper 50s for the weekend—the coolest in several weeks.

7 day forecast:

Next week, temperatures will begin to return to near-normal levels as an area of high pressure moves east, bringing a southerly flow. This will not only warm us up but also increase humidity, with isolated to scattered rain chances starting Monday afternoon. High temperatures will reach the mid 80s through Wednesday of next week.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis Public Schools task force looking at the district’s culture on Wednesday night met for the first time since the July 5 mass shooting involving teens at the downtown Artsgarden.

Two teens, ages 15 and 16, died in the downtown shooting, and five people — a 16-year-old, a 17-year-old, two 19-year-olds and a 21-year-old — were taken to a hospital with injuries. Since that mass shooting and another one that injured five people ages 10-19 outside a home on Sunday, youth gun violence has been top of mind among many Indianapolis residents.

School Board Commissioner Hope Star is one of the people on the IPS Mental Health and School Culture Task Force. “I’m concerned around trauma and what that does to our children and it is not just about the (school) building. I know that we’re coming into the building and we’re living in communities where our families are losing children. Children are losing their cousins. I was telling people a few years ago, we’re just a few degrees separated from any child that dies.”

Star said the violence has been hard for adults as well children.

She also said some IPS households also are dealing with homelessness or the loss of Medicaid.

“We’re all human. It’s a difficult time right now for us to figure out how to care for each other, care for the least in our community. It’s important.”

The task force was designed to create a healthy and safe environment for students inside school buildings and outside school walls. They’re creating surveys that target students, teachers, parents and guardians. The goal is to listen to what they have to say.

In partnership with business consulting firm Intrinz Inc., the meeting at IPS on Wednesday discussed the draft survey questions that could help to paint a picture of a school’s environment. The draft includes questions for students in Grades 3-12. Some of the questions could include accessibility; the quality of mental health services; peer relationships and social support; and trauma responses.

Teachers, staff, parents and guardians will be surveyed as well.

Audrey Wathen, vice president-people strategies lead at Intrinz, says the aim is to review the responses with the board and the public to create actionable items to address issues. “That’s where learning takes place. That’s where success is for the students. That’s where you can look at student’s pathway to say they were successful because we created an environment where they can learn.”

The task force meetings, which are open to the public, will start at 6 p.m. in the board room of the John Morton Finney Education Center, 120 E. Walnut St., on these dates: Aug. 27, Sept. 17, Oct. 29, Nov. 12 and Dec. 10.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Fever extended its winning streak to three games on Wednesday by beating the Phoenix Mercury 107-101 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Phoenix led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, before Indiana rallied. The Fever outscored the Mercury 35-20 in the second quarter to take a lead into the locker room at halftime.

Fever guard Aari McDonald had a memorable night as she scored a career-high 27 points in the win. She scored 17 of those points in the first half. Overall, McDonald was 3-of-4 (75%) from three-point range and 10-of-10 (100%) from the free throw line.

Fever forward Aliyah Boston had a double-double in the win, finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Fever guard Caitlin Clark missed the game as she continues to deal with a groin injury. It was the fifth straight game she’s missed.

Indiana now gets ready for a four-game road trip beginning with a matchup at the Dallas Wings on Friday night.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — As the Indiana Department of Transportation moves toward its goal to finish the I-69 and I-465 interchange reconstruction on the northeast side of Indianapolis by 2026, more ramp closings are ahead.

Nightly from 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday to 6 a.m. the next day, drivers will find the southbound I-69 ramp to southbound Binford Boulevard will be closed.

From 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Aug 6-7 from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day, the southbound I-69 ramp to southbound Binford Boulevard will be closed. Also during that time, the northbound entrance to I-69 from Binford Boulevard will be closed.

From 9 p.m. Aug. 8 to 6 a.m. Aug. 9, the northbound entrance to I-69 from Binford Boulevard will be closed.

Weather could affect the planned closings.

The $471 million Clear Path 465 project, which received $70 million from the federal government, has been under construction since 2023.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The big transition in this forecast is about to take shape as Indiana concludes July on Thursday.

All roads lead to the best weather the Hoosier state has enjoyed in about two months to open August.

Wednesday night: Showers and storms will remain possible near and north of Interstate 70. Local flooding will remain the main concern, although an isolated stronger wind gust is possible.

Lows in the upper 60s to low 70s.

Thursday: Scattered showers and storms look to persist into at least the first half of the day as a slow-moving front moves through.

We’re looking at a much cooler day, but the muggy meter will remain elevated. Highs are to only top out in the mid to upper 70s to end July.

Friday: August is set to begin and the workweek end on a marvelous note. Enjoy plenty of sunshine, pleasant air, and below-normal temperatures. Highs will rise into the upper 70s to low 80s with a northeast breeze setting up, too.

7-Day Forecast: The fantastic weather slated for Friday will continue through the weekend. By next week, rain and storm chances will return with highs in the low to mid 80s.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WISH) — A man was found dead from gunshot injuries following a special weapons and tactics team standoff in St. Joseph County on Wednesday afternoon, Indiana State Police said in a news release issued Wednesday night.

Police were attempting to serve a search warrant related to a drug investigation about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday at a home when Justin Hufkens, 35, who was outside the home, fled on foot about half a block before entering the house in the 1600 block of Eldora Court. That’s along the St. Joseph River just east of the Twyckenham Drive bridge.

From the house, Hufkens, fired multiple shots at SWAT team members, who returned fire.

As Hufkens barricaded himself inside the home, negotiators made contact with him several times, but eventually lost communication after hearing gunfire from within the house. About 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, SWAT team members entered the house and found Hufkens dead from suspected gunfire.

An autopsy will determine the cause of death.

The Indiana State Police were assisted at the scene by the South Bend Police Department, the South Bend SWAT Team, the St. Joseph County Police Department, and the Indiana University South Bend Police Department.

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office will review the investigation once it’s completed.

Mental health resources

• Be Well Indiana
• Indiana Suicide Prevention
• Indiana Department of Child Services’ Children’s Mental Health Initiative
• National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 or 800-273-8255
• More resources