Today’s Weather

Monday, July 21
Hi – 82° Low – 62° | 🌤 Mostly Sunny | Wind E 5–10 mph (day & night)
Expect a mix of sun and clouds with a slight chance of a stray afternoon storm. High near 82°F with a very high UV Index—don’t skip the sunscreen! Winds will stay steady from the east around 10 mph. Monday night remains mostly clear, cooling to 62°F. Light easterly breeze continues, and humidity climbs to 77%.

In today’s edition:

🏳️‍🌈 Fort Wayne Pride Fest Returns

🚿 WaterWorks FunFest Returns

🍪 Cookie Festival Hits Ambrosia Orchard

🎒 Free Backpacks at Verizon Giveaway

🚴‍♂️ Free Bike Helmets and Safety Workshops for Kids

📺 PBS Fort Wayne Faces Major Funding Cuts

🧡 Firefly Children and Family Alliance Opens in Fort Wayne

🎬 Local Thriller Begins Filming This Fall

🐾 Allen County Sheriff’s Department Gets Grant for New K-9

🚓 9 Arrested in Downtown Crime Blitz

🚨 Facebook Marketplace Car Deal Turns into Armed Robbery

Sports

⚾ De Vries Delivers Extra Innings Win for TinCaps

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📰News

🏳️‍🌈 Fort Wayne Pride Fest is back downtown next weekend, taking place Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26. The weekend celebration will include food, vendors, activities for all ages, and a pride march. It’s a joyful event honoring love and identity in the community. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🚿 The WaterWorks FunFest is back at Fort Wayne’s Water Pollution Control Plant on Saturday, July 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Families are invited to enjoy games, win prizes, and dive into fun, hands-on science experiments that explore how water works in our city. The event takes place at 2601 Dwenger Avenue. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🍪 Ambrosia Orchard will host its 3rd annual Cookie Festival on Sunday, July 27, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Guests can enjoy sweet treats, food trucks, a vendor market, bounce houses, and plenty of cookies. It’s a fun-filled day for cookie lovers of all ages. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🎒 Round Room, a Verizon authorized retailer, is giving away free backpacks at its 13th annual “School Rocks Backpack Giveaway” on Sunday, July 27, starting at 1 p.m. The event aims to support families facing economic challenges and will be held at participating Verizon locations across the region, including Fort Wayne. Each site will also feature family-friendly activities like dunk tanks and obstacle courses. Families are encouraged to arrive early. Read more from WFFT here.

🚴‍♂️ The City of Fort Wayne is hosting free bicycle safety workshops for elementary-aged students. Kids will learn bike safety from the Fort Wayne Police Department Bike Patrol and get equipment tips from Trek Fort Wayne. Free helmets will be available from the Indiana Department of Transportation while supplies last. Each session ends with a 1-mile guided ride. Workshops take place July 21 at Franke Park and July 23 at Shoaff Park, both from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Read more from WFFT here.

📺 PBS Fort Wayne may lose more than $1 million in funding after Congress approved a bill slashing over $1 billion in public media support. The station, which runs on a $3 million annual budget, could see over 42% of its revenue disappear. Leaders say programming cuts and job losses have already begun, though children’s shows like Sesame Street and Daniel Tiger remain a priority. Viewers are encouraged to donate and help keep local public media alive. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🧡 Firefly Children and Family Alliance has opened its first Fort Wayne office at 1005 W. Rudisill Boulevard, Suite 308. The nonprofit, active for 174 years, works with DCS to support children and families through housing, employment, and child care services. The Fort Wayne branch will serve Allen and five surrounding counties. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🎬 A new psychological thriller titled The Part will begin filming in Fort Wayne this fall. The full-length feature is the first for local filmmaker Jake Ryan Baker and marks a major step in his career. A fundraising campaign is currently running to support the production and continues through next week. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🐾 The Allen County Sheriff’s Department received a $12,000 donation from Whitetails Unlimited to help purchase its next K-9. The department currently operates nine street-certified narcotics dogs, but maintaining the K-9 program is costly. Sheriff Troy Hershberger said the donation helps ease budget pressures and will support the future purchase and training of a new dog. While a dog hasn’t been selected yet, it will eventually go through a 14-week training program at the county’s K-9 Training Facility. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🚓 Fort Wayne Police arrested nine individuals on Friday, July 18, during a downtown blitz operation targeting open-air drug activity, prostitution, and outstanding warrants. The operation was led by the Vice and Narcotics Division along with the Gang and Violent Crimes Unit. This is part of ongoing efforts that began in spring 2025, which have now resulted in 36 total arrests. Charges include drug dealing, prostitution, possession of paraphernalia, public nudity, and failure to appear in court. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🚨 18-year-old, Kalin Anderson, has been charged with armed robbery after a Facebook Marketplace car sale turned into a crime. On May 24, Anderson allegedly lured a seller into a car under the pretense of buying a Chrysler 300, then held the victim at gunpoint and stole the vehicle. The next day, officers found the car and identified Anderson through social media. Court documents also linked him to a 2024 robbery. As of July 17, he had not yet been booked. Read more from WANE 15 here.

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Events 

Monday, July 21st

🎨 Arts

• Watercolors & Mononprints by Laura Barnhardt Corle; Otis Family Pottery
  10:00 am – 6:00 pm @ The Orchard Gallery of Fine Art
  Free admission

🎶 Music

• Open Mic Night (Featured)
  6:30 pm @ Sweetwater Sound
  Free

• Monday Blues Jam Session (Featured)
  7:00 pm @ The Club Room at The Clyde
  Free

🎸 Workshop

• Sweetwater Summer Rock Camp: Week 6 (Featured)
  10:00 am – 4:00 pm @ Sweetwater Academy
  $449

🏀🏈Sports🏒⚾

⚾ TinCaps shortstop Leo De Vries delivered a clutch RBI double in the 10th inning, lifting Fort Wayne to a 3–2 win over Lake County on Saturday. It marked their first win since the All-Star break. Garrett Hawkins secured the victory with two scoreless innings and four strikeouts. Fort Wayne initially led 2–0 after a balk and an RBI single by Kaden Hollow, before Lake County tied it up in the 7th. The TinCaps will try to clinch the series Sunday at Classic Auto Group Park. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🗓️ Tincaps Schedule

Tue, July 22
⚾ @ Cedar Rapids— 7:35 PM EDT

Wed, July 23
⚾ @ Cedar Rapids— 1:05 PM EDT

Thu, July 24
⚾ @ Cedar Rapids— 7:35 PM EDT

Fri, July 25
⚾ @ Cedar Rapids— 7:35 PM EDT

Sat, July 26
⚾ @ Cedar Rapids— 7:35 PM EDT

Sun, July 27
⚾ @ Cedar Rapids— 2:05 PM EDT

A Message from The Fort Wayne Update

Members make it possible.

The Fort Wayne Update helps readers like you stay in the know quickly and clearly.

If you love what we do, becoming a Member is the best way to support it.

You will help us cover more of the city, and give back to the community.
Members also get exclusive perks along the way.

👉 Become a Fort Wayne Update Member