The National Weather Service has upgraded its estimates of the strength of the tornado that hit Whiteland Friday night, now saying that it was an EF3 with winds of up to 140 mph.

Johnson County officials say that the tornadoes damaged more than 60 homes, destroying 16.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado started at 11:33 p.m. Friday, moving through several neighborhoods, strengthening as  it went. It stayed on the ground for about 3.5 miles and at its widest was 316 yards.

Damages to a warehouse along Graham Drive showed EF3 strength with the building completely destroyed and blow blown onto Interstate 65. The tornado lifted off the ground just east of I-65.

No one was injured.

Whiteland has put a curfew into place while the cleanup is ongoing. The curfew requires everyone to be indoors by 8 p.m. through April 9th, unless storm cleanup is completed before that date. Clark-Pleasant schools in Whiteland will remain closed today and Wednesday due to the damage.

Network Indiana and TTWN Media Networks contributed to this report.

Crews clean up debris on Interstate 65 left by Friday’s Whiteland tornado. Photo courtesy of INDOT.

Seymour police have arrested a Columbus man in a hit-and-run accident that killed a  man and injured his daughter last month.

According to the Seymour Police Department, 73-year-old Charles M. Layman of Seymour was killed on March 24th at about 10:46 in the evening after being hit by a vehicle while crossing the street in the 600 block of South Vine Street. His daughter, 33-year-old Tiffany Brewer of Seymour, was also hit and treated at Schneck Medical Center for injuries to her face, hand and leg. The driver then left the scene.

Police say that they received information on the possible driver and the location of the suspect vehicle on Sunday. Yesterday, police interviewed the suspect, 28 year old Tre Xavier Vires of Columbus. After a search warrant was issued, police found the vehicle hidden in a garage at a home on Emma Drive in Seymour. The car had extensive damage to its front end.

Vires was arrested on preliminary felony charges of leaving the scene of a fatal crash resulting in death and leaving the scene of a personal injury crash resulting in catastrophic injury.

The investigation is ongoing.

Cummins is announcing plans to invest $1 billion in its manufacturing plants around the country.

The Columbus-based engine manufacturer announced yesterday that it will make the investments in Indiana, North Carolina, Minnesota and New York. The company says the upgrades at plants will support the industry’s first fuel agnostic engine platforms that will run on low carbon fuels, including natural gas, diesel and eventually hydrogen. The goal is to help to decarbonize the nation’s truck fleets today.

The company will invest $425 million at its Jamestown Engine Plant in New York to upgrade its 998,000 square-foot facility. The plant will be upgraded to produce the industry’s first internal combustion engine platform able to use a range of lower carbon fuel types. Walmart will receive the very first field test unit later in April that uses renewable natural gas to power a 15-liter advanced engine platform.

In Fridley, Minnesota the company will invest more than $10 million at its facility to manufacture electrolyzers . Hydrogen produced by electrolyzers can power hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and is used in industry like steel production. The Cummins Power Systems factory there is a 1.1 million square feet full-service facility.

President Biden spoke from the Minnesota Cummins plant yesterday about the electrolyzer plan.

Announcements about investments in Indiana and North Carolina have not yet been made.

TTWN Media Networks contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy of Cummins

Local Young Marines will be holding a stuffed animal drive on Saturday outside of the Five Below store in Columbus Center.

The first annual Stuffed with Love campaign hopes to raise money and donations to provide 1,000 stuffed animals to local hospitals and medical facilities to help children in need. According to organizers, a stuffed animal can calm a child and help them feel safe in times of crisis. The drive is being organized by 12-year-old Roger Douglass of Seymour and his Young Marines troop.

You can drop off a stuffed animal on Saturday between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the store. There are also drop-off locations at ATI Rehab Clinics in Columbus, Seymour and Franklin, and the Seymour and Columbus Dollar Tree locations.

For more information call 812 603-5412

Five Hoosiers were killed in Friday night’s severe storms and at least 9 tornadoes touched down in Indiana.

Three people were killed in an EF3 tornado that touched down in Sullivan and two people camping at McCormick Creek State Park also died in an EF3 tornado that went through parts of Owen and Monroe counties.

An EF2 tornado touched down in Whiteland in Johnson County destroying homes and warehouses. It was on the ground for about 3.54 miles with a maximum width of 316 yards and estimated peak winds of 135 mph, according to the National Weather Serviced.

An EF0 was also recorded near Bargersville. It was on the ground for about 1.9 miles, was up to 25 yards wide and had winds of up to 85 mph

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Johnson and Shelby counties, saying that a confirmed tornado was on the ground near Franklin at 11:32 p.m. Friday night.

Gove. Eric Holcomb visited storm damaged communities over the weekend, declaring a State of Emergency in Johnson and Sullivan counties. The Sullivan tornado was on the ground for nearly nine miles with estimated winds of 155 mph.

The mayor of Sullivan told FOX59 around 200 structures were affected by storm damage in the county, with about 150 of those in the city of Sullivan.

A grocery store chain is helping with relief efforts in Johnson County. Kroger has opened donations at central Indiana locations to help community members impacted by Friday’s storms. Customers will be able to donate when checking out in-store by having the cashier ring up a disaster relief donation. Kroger is also donating pallets of water and snack supplies to shelters in Johnson County.

Classes have been canceled today for the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation. The school district says some school buildings in the Whiteland area are still having power outage and there is also storm debris on some of the roads leading to schools. District officials plan to provide updates today on the plan for classes the rest of this week.

TTWN Media Networks contributed to this report.

Another round of bad weather is on its way according to forecasters.

Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected tonight through tomorrow morning and we could see up to quarter-sized hail according to the National Weather Service.

There will be more thunderstorems possible Tuesday night with some of those becoming severe. Damaging winds are the main threat, although a few tornadoes are possible along with large hail.

Even outside of the thunderstorms you can expect a windy day tomorrow with wind gusts of up to 50 mph Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Nine units were damaged Saturday in a fire at Eastlake Woods apartments in Columbus.

According to the Columbus Fire Department, firefighters were called to the scene on Thornton Court at about 8:32 p.m. Saturday night about a fire in an apartment. Thick smoke was coming from the three-story building and flames were coming from a second floor apartment when firefighters arrived. Fire crews entered the building to find intense flames and it took about 20 minutes to get the fire under control.

During the overhaul, firefighters discovered a hidden pocket of flames that had gone from the second to third floors. Firefighters worked on the scene for about four hours.

All of the occupants of the apartments were out of the building when firefighters arrived.

The apartment complex has three buildings with six units each and of those three apartments had fire damage and six had a combination of smoke and water damage. Damages are estimated at more than $300,000 thousand dollars. Tenants in all nine apartments were displaced but have housing lined up with family and friends, according to the fire department.

The fire is under investigation.

The annual Columbus spring cleanup is underway with yard debris pick ups today through April 14th.

According to to the Columbus Department of Public Works, you can clean up your yard, garden, flower beds and fence rows as you get ready for spring planting.

You can rake items to the curb to be picked up by city leaf-vac trucks including leaves, grass clippings, and pine needles. You can also make a separate pile of brush to be collected by city chippers.

The city will not be collecting dirt, sod, mulch, rocks, decorative grasses, or trash bags with its leaf vacs.

The city’s yard waste and brush routes are also underway. To participate in the Yard Waste Program, all yard waste must be in a toter. You should have your yard waste toters and brush out to the curb by 7 in the morning on your trash day. You can put up to an armful of small sticks/twigs in your trash toter.

You can get more information on the city website at https://www.columbus.in.gov under the Public Works Department.

U.S. Congressman Greg Pence’s office is accepting entries for the Artistic Discover Contest, a nationwide high school arts competition sponsored by members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The contest is open to all high school students in Indiana’s 6th Congressional District. The winning artwork will be displayed for a year in the U.S. Capitol. The winner will also receive two round-trip tickets to Washington D.C. to attend a reception and to meet the Congressman.

The deadline to submit artwork is May 5th.

The contest is open to paintings, drawings, two-dimensional collages, prints, mixed media, computer-generated art and photography. Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 26 inches by 26 inches, may be up to 4 inches in depth, and not weigh more than 15 pounds. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive framed and must still measure no larger than those maximum dimensions.

The entries must be original in concept, design and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws. Work entered must be in the original medium and not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing.

You can find a link to the rules and to submit art here: https://pence.house.gov/services/art-competition

Early voting begins tomorrow in Indiana’s municipal primary elections, but there is still time to register to vote.

The deadline to register is today by 5 p.m. to submit your voter registration forms for the May 2nd primaries.

Early voting starts Tuesday in Bartholomew County at Nexus Park, the former Fair Oaks Mall. You can vote from 8 to 5 on weekdays leading up to the primary. There will be no early voting next Friday due to the Good Friday holiday. Early voting expands to Saturday hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Nexus Park and at the Governmental Office Building on Third Street downtown on April 22nd and 29th.

Early voting ends at noon on Monday May 1st.

Columbus voters will have a choice in the Republican mayoral primary between former State Rep. Milo Smith and current director of administration for the city of Columbus, Mary Ferdon. On the Democratic side there are three candidates vying for the recently redrawn 3rd District seat on the City Council, incumbent Jerone Wood, Michael Kinder and Tony Hayden.

You can register to vote or check your voting status at https://indianavoters.in.gov.