The Columbus Area Visitors Center is offering grants to tax-exempt organizations helping to draw tourists to the community.

According to the center, there is $7,500 remaining from the latest round of tourism development grants. The grants are available to groups that create new tourism attractions and programs or enhance current ones, and encourage collaboration in those efforts.

The board of directors of the Visitors Center has a subcommittee which evaluates the grant requests.

Previous projects that have used the funds include the 6th Street Arts Alley, Jolie Crider Memorial Skate Park, and the restoration of the Charlie 119 cargo plane at the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum.

The funding comes from the county’s Innkeeper’s Tax, a tax paid by visitors to the community through room rentals.

Applications for the remaining funds will be awarded to tax-exempt organizations on a first-come first-served basis or until the funds run out. The funds will be awarded through Nov. 30th.

You can find information on applying for the grants at https://columbus.in.us/grants-info/

The city of Columbus will be offering a cooling station today and tomorrow at Donner Center as extreme heat and humidity makes it feel like it is more than 100 outside.

Officials say that the hot temperatures are a serious threat to health and safety, expecially among vulnerable populations. A cooling station allows those who do not have air conditioning to cool down before getting on their way.

Food, showers and sleep areas are not available.

The cooling station will be open until 6 today and from 1 to 6 tomorrow at Donner Center on 22nd Street. Emergency officials will evaluate the weather to determine whether to offer the cooling station later in the week.

It is hot today, but tomorrow is expected to be even worse.

The National Weather Service is keeping its extreme heat warning in place through midnight Thursday. Officials say that you can expect the hottest days so far this year. The heat index Thursday is expected to make it feel like 113 in some places in southwestern Indiana.

In our area the heat index is expected to reach between 106 and 109 according to forecasters.

Schneck Medical Center has been ranked third in the nation for promptly transferring patients with heart attacks to other facilities.

According to the Seymour hospital, Becker’s Hospital Review compiled data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for patients who come to the hospital with heart attack or chest pain symptoms. The study ranked the time it takes for those patients to be transferred to another facility for acute coronary intervention.

Kristy Day, director of Emergency Services for Schneck Medical Center, credited the hospital and Jackson County EMS working together to provide patients with access to heart care in the fastest time possible.

Ryan Stone, chief medical officer for Schneck said patients already wait on average two hours before coming to the hospital if they are having heart attack symptoms. He said the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage is done to the heart.

Authorities urge you to call 911 if you are suffering the symptoms of a heart attack.

The intense heat is expected to get even worse throughout the day today and tomorrow.

A heat advisory expired at 8 a.m. this morning, but The National Weather Service is replacing it with an excessive heat warning from  now until midnight Thursday, with temperatures that could feel like 110 degrees.

Forecasters warn that the heat and humidity will increase the potential for heat related illnesses, especially for those working outdoors or taking part in outside activities.

Heat Stroke is a serious illness and you should call 911 if someone is experiencing symptoms. Those include a throbbing headache and confusion, but no sweating. Their skin could be red, hot and dry. There will be a rapid, strong pulse and a victim could lose consciousness. You should get a heat stroke victim to a cool place and use cool cloths or a bath to cool them down. You should not give liquids to a victim of heat stroke.

It will also continue to be hard to breathe today for those who are sensitive to air quality.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has declared an Air Quality Action Day for southern Indiana. That means that a combination of high temperatures, light winds, and other factors, are expected to produce conditions where high levels of ground-level ozone emissions may exceed federally mandated standards.

While ozone in the upper atmosphere blocks ultraviolet radiation, ozone near the ground is a lung irritant. It can cause coughing and breathing difficulties for sensitive populations. Children, the elderly, and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors today.

The alert is in effect until 11:59 p.m. tonight.

You can get more information at SmogWatch.IN.gov.

A Columbus teen is under arrest accused of driving at nearly 100 mph, while drunk, down State Road 11 in Bartholomew County early this morning.

According to the Columbus Police Department, a patrol supervisor saw the speeding car at shortly after midnight Tuesday. The officer pulled the vehicle over near State Road 11 and Spear Street. The driver, 19-year-old Evan W. Taylor, was slurring his words and appeared to have trouble with his balance, police say. He failed several field sobriety tests and a breath test found his blood alcohol level was .16 percent — twice the legal limit.

He was arrested on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with endangerment, operating a Vehicle With a blood alcohol Level of .15% or greater and for illegal consumption of alcohol.

A reborn Christmas-time parade in downtown Columbus is now taking applications for entrants.

According to organizers with Red Arch Community Events, applications are now open for the December Festival of Lights parade. The parade is set for the evening of December 2nd with the theme of this year’s event A New Tradition Begins.

This year’s parade will be limited to 100 entrants to ensure a high-quality event, organizers say. Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-serviced basis. However, submitting an application does not guarantee entry into the parade.

The parade will require every entry to have lights displayed and nothing may be thrown from any parade entrant such as candy or promotional items. And you can’t dress as Santa or Mrs. Claus but you can wear Santa hats.

Organizers hope to notify accepted entrants by Sept. 30th.

You can get more information at https://columbusfestivaloflights.com/parade-entry/

Local and state police agencies are taking part in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign through Labor Day weekend.

According to the Seymour Police Department, the agency and others in the area will be cracking down on drunk and impaired drivers through September 15th.

The extra high-visibility enforcement is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through grants administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Police will be showing zero tolerance throughout the campaign and they recommend celebrating the end of summer responsibly by having a safety plan in place. You should never drive impaired or let friends get behind the wheel if they’ve been drinking.

If you see a suspected drunk driver, you should call 911.

Former Vice President and Columbus native Mike Pence will be taking the national stage tonight in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, participating in the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 primaries.

Pence will be sharing the stage with seven other Republican candidates including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Recent polls have shown Ramaswamy edging closer to DeSantis for the number two spot after former President Trump. A recent Emerson College poll showed the two tied at ten-percent support each, trailing Trump who leads with 56-percent support.

Pence is polling at 3 percent.

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks

Photo of Pence at the Leadership Institute reception in Wisconsin Tuesday night courtesy of Mike Pence 2024 campaign.

It is another hot and stuffy day in the forecast today. A heat advisory continues today with heat index values of 100 to 107 today according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters are warning of extreme heat and humidity with it getting worse starting tomorrow morning. An Extreme Heat Warning goes into effect Wednesday morning and it could feel like 112 outside.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has also extended its Air Quality Action Day alert through midnight tonight.

If you have to work outside, OSHA recommends frequent rest breaks in the shade or air conditioned spaces. If someone becomes overcome by the heat, you should get them to a cool and shaded location.

Some rural Bartholomew County residents will soon have access to low-cost, high-speed fiber optic internet.

Provider GigabitNow updated the county commissioners on the progress yesterday. Jake Freshour, representative for the company, said that the first rural county residents will have access to the service starting this fall. Plans will start at just under $50 for 350 meg speed. Speeds up to 10 gigabits per second will be available for those who want to purchase it.

Commissioner Tony London said in his neighborhood, he pays more than $70 a month for speeds of less than a tenth of the cheapest package from GigabitNow. London said that many rural county residents have no access to high-speed internet.

London said the first rural homes to get the service will be in the northern portion of the county.

GigabitNow is working concurrently to provide service to Columbus city residents.

Freshour said you can check the progress of the availability of the service across the county at a new website: https://www.gigabitnow.com/bartholomew-county/