An arrest has been made in a murder last year in Jackson County.

According to reports from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, 58-year-old Lisha A. Branum of Seymour was found dead from a gunshot wound in her home in the 400 block of West County Road 1050N on Nov. 10th.

After many interviews and search warrants, the investigation led police to identify 25-year-old Brady A. Parrish, of Kurtz as a suspect. The prosecutor’s office filed a charge of murder against Parrish and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Deputies found that Parrish was in Kansas City, Missouri. Jackson County deputies worked with the city police department there to take Parrish into custody on Aug. 30th. He was extradited back to Indiana on Tuesday and is awaiting an initial hearing in the Jackson County Jail.

Sheriff Rick Meyer said that this has been a long and complex case. He praised the deputies for their hard work, saying this case is an example of excellent and diligent police work.

INDOT says the start of a bridge project on State Road 58 in Jackson County is being scheduled again after two previous false starts.

According to the agency, the bridge work over Branch Runt Run has been rescheduled to start on Monday. It was previously supposed to start earlier this month and before that in August.

INDOT contractors will be closing the highway to replace the bridge for up to three months. The project is about two miles east of State Road 258 near Spraytown.

The official detour route will take State Road 135 to U.S. 50 and then to Interstate 65.

Milestone will be the contractors for the $2.7 million project, which includes several other small drainage structure replacements in 2023.

Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus will be hosting a community event Thursday afternoon to help raise money for the Ivy Tech Student Emergency Relief Fund.

Called the Big Green Smash, it will feature food trucks, a silent auction and games. The silent auction will raise money for the Emergency Relief Fund which helps students with transportation, food security, mental health services, technology access, and childcare.

You will also be able to tour the new Moravec Hall.

The Big Green Smash will be from 3 to 7 Thursday at the campus off of Central Avenue and you are invited to attend. It is being hosted by the Student Government Association.

Cummins says its QSK95 engine can be safely used with renewable diesel. That’s without any negative impact to emission requirements or reliability.

The Columbus-based engine manufacturer made the announcement yesterday, saying that it had partnered with Siemens Mobility to meet the goal of running renewable diesel in the engine for Siemens Charger locomotives. The tests used hydrogenated vegetable oil and tested for performance, emissions and durability.

The vegetable oil has chemical and physical properties like those of diesel fuel, but its fossil-free and has low carbon content. It can reduce carbon by up to 90 percent compared to diesel fuel.

Through its Planet 2050 initiative, Cummins is pledging to address climate change, support communities and use resources wisely. Cummins says the initiative is to develop solutions that enable decarbonization, and achieve industry-leading emissions reductions.

You can read more here.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools will receive a $1 million grant from the city for workforce development under a plan approved by the Columbus Redevelopment Commission this week.

School Superintendent Jim Roberts made the presentation to the city this week, asking to continue a grant program that started in 2017. This year’s request included $330,500 for the i-Grad program, $267,397 for transition planning and $402,103 for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics initiatives.

The Redevelopment Commission approved a resolution for the funding request.

All spending of more than $500,000 by the redevelopment commission must be approved by Columbus  City Council. It will now go to council at its Oct. 4th meeting for approval.

Former Vice President and Columbus native Mike Pence, says he isn’t ready to commit to a run for president in 2024.

Pence visited the Utah Valley University campus in Orem yesterday to give a speech and to answer questions from students. When asked if he’s considering a presidential run, Pence said only that he would keep people posted.

Pence has been visiting states that figure prominently into the presidential primaries including New Hampshire and Iowa. He is also coming out with a new book later this year called “So Help Me God.” Pence tweeted it’s his “story of faith and public service for the country” he loves very much. The book comes out November 15th, one week after Election Day.

Our news-gathering partners at TTWN Media Networks contributed to this report.

Two Jackson County residents are under arrest, accused of providing the drugs that led to a Columbus man’s overdose death this summer.

According to reports from the Columbus Police Department, 37-year-old Ronald L. Smith was found dead in the 1200 block of Indianapolis Road in July. Toxicology tests show Smith died as a result of fentanyl intoxication.

During the investigation, authorities identified 34-year-old Ryan A. Self of Seymour as a suspect in the case as well as 34-year-old Tiffany M. Sculley of Brownstown.

Sculley was arrested Monday and Self was already an inmate in the Jackson County Jail. They are facing preliminary felony charges of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death.

Police say that the arrests were the result of collaboration between agencies and units including the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, Columbus police criminal investigation and uniform divisions, Seymour Police Department criminal investigation division, Indiana State Police Cyber Crimes division and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office.

Formal charges are being reviewed by the prosecutor’s office.

The Columbus movie was released nearly five years ago, and there will be celebration of the film next week at the former North Christian Church.

The low-key film, shot in and around Columbus, stars Haley Lu Richardson and John Cho and includes many scenes of Columbus architecture. Local residents were used as extras in the filming.

Richardson and Cho will return to Columbus for the anniversary event on Monday, along with director Kogonada.

There will be a reception at 5 and a conversation with the stars and director from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the church building at 850 Tipton Lane. It will be moderated by Holly Warren, the City of Bloomington’s Assistant Director of the Arts.

This event is made possible through support from the Columbus Area Visitor Center, and a grant from Indiana Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with the City of Bloomington.

You can sign up to attend the free event at EventBrite.

INDOT says that State Road 46 in Decatur County will be closing next week for up to 45 days while crews work to replace a box culvert under the road.

The work will be near New Point, about nine miles east of U.S. 421. The detour will take State Road 3, Interstate 74 and State Road 229. It is scheduled to start on Monday and the work schedule is dependent on the weather.

This is part of a $1 million contract with Dave O’Mara Contractors which also included a drainage structure replacement near Morris that finished earlier this summer and a new bridge deck on the bridge over Sand Creek in Decatur County, which is scheduled for next year.

INDOT reminds you to slow down, to use caution and to be alert to worker’s safety in all construction zones.

IUPUC is hosting a panel discussion today on censorship. That is part of Banned Books Week and it is being organized by the University Library of Columbus and the Division of Education at IUPUC.

Banned Books Week is an annual event sponsored by the American Library Association that celebrates the freedom to read. This year’s theme is “Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us.”

Guest panelists include Samantha Bresnahan, Public Policy and Community Engagement Associate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, and Jason Hatton, Library Director, Bartholomew County Public Library.

The discussion will be held in the Summerville Room at the Columbus Learning Center at 4:30 p.m.this afternoon. Light refreshments will be served. The event is free and you are invited to attend.

For more information about this event, you can find a link on our website.