Around Indiana

Jeffersonville shelter gives cats a taste of home at kitten nursery

Furniture designed for cats and a new floor are the main attractions at a new “kitten nursery” being installed at a southern Indiana shelter.

Jeffersonville’s Animal Protection Association said it hopes the improvements appeal to potential pet owners and give cats a homelike environment while they await adoption.

Most of the cats roam free and can climb cat trees and other furniture at the no-kill shelter.

The room could get a workout soon. Volunteer Susan Hammon said spring usually brings in a flood of kittens.

Association President Faye Hinton said the shelter finds homes for about 200 cats each year.

Indianapolis man pleads guilty to being ‘praying robber’

A man charged with being the armed robber who prayed with a clerk while holding up an Indianapolis check cashing business has pleaded guilty.

Twenty-three-year-old Gregory Smith of Indianapolis changed his plea during a court hearing Friday. He is to be sentenced next month on charges of robbery, confinement, pointing a firearm and carrying a handgun without a license. Smith, who remained in jail Saturday, is charged in two robberies.

Smith appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” after a security video showing him praying with clerk Angela Montez during the Oct. 19 robbery was widely shown on television and the Internet.

A phone rang unanswered at Smith’s attorney’s office Saturday when The Associated Press called seeking comment.

Muncie group wants foreign investors to get quick residency

Foreign business owners who invest $500,000 to $1 million and create 10 full-time jobs in central Indiana could get a fast track to legal permanent residency under a proposal by a Muncie economic development agency.

Energize-ECI has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to establish an Immigrant Investor Regional Center. Executive director Roy Budd said it would be the first in the state and one of only a handful in the United States.

Budd said the center could help stimulate economic activity in the area by drawing foreign investors. It would be paid for by the nine counties that are part of Energize-ECI.

Homeland Security is expected to rule on the application in about three months.