Wednesday, November 5
Hi 61° Low 37° | 🌦 Chance of Isolated Shower
Expect a mix of sun and clouds with a slight chance of a brief shower. It will be breezy through the afternoon, bringing a crisp feel to the air. Tonight turns cooler with partly cloudy skies and a brisk northwest wind as temperatures dip into the 30s.

🏫 South Wayne Elementary To Close At End Of School Year

🥁 Northeast Indiana Marching Bands To Compete In ISSMA Finals

🏛 Residents Gather For Town Hall Ahead Of IDEM Air Permit Public Hearing

🏙 Mayor Tucker Pushes to Shift $815K I-69 Sign Funds to Housing

🗳 Strong Turnout for NACS Referendum Vote

⚖️ Fort Wayne Man Sentenced in Bloomingdale Park Murder

🥫 Community Harvest Food Bank Urges Action Amid SNAP Funding Issues

🏒 Komets Trade Defenseman Owen Gallatin to Maine

🏫 Fort Wayne Community Schools announced that South Wayne Elementary will close at the end of the 2025–2026 school year due to the high cost of repairing or replacing the aging building and available space in nearby schools. Most students will transfer to Abbett and Fairfield Elementary, with boundary adjustments planned to prevent overcrowding. Human Resources is assisting staff with new placements, and part of the building will be renovated for district services while the oldest section will be demolished. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🥁 Eight northeast Indiana high school marching bands will perform in the 52nd annual ISSMA Indiana State Marching Band Finals on Saturday, November 8, at Lucas Oil Stadium. Competing schools include Homestead, Carroll, Goshen, Angola, Garrett, Fairfield, Leo, and Woodlan, each performing themed shows across four class divisions. Four state champions will be crowned at the event. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🏛 Fort Wayne residents met Monday night at the Allen County Public Library for a Town Hall ahead of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s public hearing on Google’s proposed air permit. The permit would allow 179 diesel generators and over a million gallons of fuel at the Google Data Center, raising concerns about air pollution, noise, and environmental impact. The official public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, November 13, from 6–9 p.m. at Ivy Tech Northeast Community College. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🏙 Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker is urging the City Council to cancel the $815,205 I-69 “Welcome to Fort Wayne” sign project and redirect those funds toward housing and neighborhood development. Speaking at an A Lot to Love news conference, Tucker emphasized that programs like A Lot to Love and the Southeast Implementation Strategy create affordable housing, empower small-scale developers, and revitalize neighborhoods. The sign contract with Key Concrete, Inc. remains on the council agenda as item S-25-10-20. The City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. in Room 035 at Citizens Square, with a livestream on City TV/Vimeo and local cable channels. Read more from WFFT here.

🗳 Voters in the Northwest Allen County Schools (NACS) district turned out in large numbers Tuesday to decide the fate of an eight-year operating referendum aimed at offsetting revenue losses from Indiana’s SB1 legislation. Lines formed at several polling locations, prompting the Allen County Election Board to send additional voting machines, poll pads, and workers to help manage the crowds. Read more from WANE 15 here.

⚖️ Sedrick Williams, 32, of Fort Wayne, has been sentenced to 110 years in prison for the 2023 murder of 34-year-old Vanessa Brabson. Williams was convicted on multiple charges, including murder, drug dealing, and resisting law enforcement, after investigators used cell phone data and surveillance footage to connect him to the crime scene near Bloomingdale Park. Williams was arrested the following day with a firearm and several narcotics in his possession. The case took another tragic turn when Brabson’s husband, Sean, was murdered just two days later. Her brother, James Saylor, was later found guilty of that killing and sentenced to 80 years in prison. Read more from WANE 15 here.

🥫 Community Harvest Food Bank in Fort Wayne is urging federal leaders to act decisively as the Trump administration announced partial funding for SNAP amid the ongoing government shutdown. Roughly $5 billion from reserves will temporarily cover food aid, far short of the $8 billion needed monthly, leaving many families facing delayed or reduced benefits. CEO Carmen Cumberland emphasized the ripple effect this could have on both SNAP recipients and government workers, noting a 15% rise in food bank usage this year. Community Harvest served nearly 1,900 families in its most recent Helping Hands distribution and has secured additional truckloads of food to meet growing demand. Cumberland encouraged donations, stressing that every dollar helps buy discounted bulk food supplies to feed local families. Read more from WANE 15 here.

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🏒 The Fort Wayne Komets have traded 23-year-old defenseman Owen Gallatin to the Maine Mariners in exchange for cash considerations. Gallatin appeared in nine regular-season games with the Komets, earning three assists, and played one game this season without recording a point. Standing at 5’8”, the left-handed defenseman now moves on as the Komets hit the road for a three-game series against the Florida Everblades on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Read more from WANE 15 here.