Around Indiana

Purdue will launch electric go-cart race

Purdue University is launching a new go-cart race tied to the nation’s growing need for workers to design, build and maintain electric vehicles.

Fifteen student-built electric go-carts will compete April 18 in the inaugural Electric Vehicle Grand Prix. The 100-lap race at Purdue’s Grand Prix track will last about an hour.

Indiana is seeking to become a top maker of electric vehicles. And the race is part of a new Purdue course in electric vehicle technology focusing on go-cart design and construction.

The new evGrandPrix is not affiliated with the Purdue Grand Prix, a charity gasoline-powered cart race held annually at Purdue. That race will be held April 24.


Court to decide if casino can ban card counter

The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether casinos have the right to ban gamblers who count cards.

Thomas Donovan of Indianapolis sued the Grand Victoria Casino and Resort after it banned him from the blackjack table in 2006. The casino won the suit in a Marion County court, but the state Court of Appeals reversed that decision.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the casino’s appeal Wednesday.

Donovan argues that neither the state nor the casino has rules barring card counting. But the casino argues it’s privately owned and can choose not to do business with anyone.


2 people dead following house fire in Indianapolis

Authorities said an early morning house fire in Indianapolis has left two people dead.
The Indianapolis Fire Department said in a statement a next-door neighbor who smelled smoke and heard screams pulled 48-year-old Renee Randolph from the home Saturday morning and a firefighter got 50-year-old Wayne Fields out.

Both were taken to Wishard hospital, where the fire department said they later were pronounced dead. Two firefighters fell through the home’s fire-damaged floor while responding, but they weren’t hurt.

Firefighters first got word of the fire when dispatch called saying a motorist had reported their station was on fire. It wasn’t, but firefighters and police searched the area and found the nearby home ablaze.


Shelbyville police say casino fueling arrests

Shelbyville police want to add more officers to handle drunken-driving and other arrests attributed to customers at a nearby casino.

Statistics released by police show a total of 214 arrests for driving under the influence since January 2009, of which 49 people told police they had come from Indiana Live.

Only eight of those 49 were residents of the county just southeast of Indianapolis.

Police spokesman Lt. Michael Turner told The Shelbyville News that the department wants up to 10 more officers to handle arrests related to the casino. So far, two have been hired.