By Diane Daily
IDEM has extended the air quality action alert for Monroe County and most of Indiana until midnight tonight. Air morning readings across the Hoosier state are still very high as smoke from the Canadian wildfires moves slowly through the state. Health experts suggest limiting your time outdoors today, if possible, especially if you suffer asthma, emphysema and other lung related conditions.
The Indiana State Police will add extra patrols for the upcoming holiday weekend. It’s part of the National “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign to prevent drunk driving incidents on the national holiday. Last year in Indiana, there were 11 fatal crashes over the Independence Day weekend. Two involved drivers who was over the legal limit.
Several new laws are going into effect in Indiana on Saturday including one that allows children to sit in the bar area of a restaurant as long as they are accompanied by an adult. Children are still not allowed to sit at the physical bar itself. The law specifies that kids must be in the area to consume food and not for “the consumption of alcoholic beverages.”
For the first time in three years, IU’s famous corpse flower is in bloom. According to a report by Indiana Public Media, the plant blooms at night and emits an absolutely horrible smell. The bloom typically stays open for 24 to 48 hours. IU is one of just three universities in the U.S. that has the very distinctive plant which originated in Indonesia.
Finally today, the 1933 police car that John Dillinger stole from an Indiana sheriff during his escape from a Crown Point jail is up for auction. According to published reports, he meticulously restored Ford V8 is estimated to be worth between $100-thousand and 250-thousand dollars. Born in Indianapolis, Dillinger is one of the most infamous bank robbers in U.S. history. At one point, he was named “public enemy number one” by the FBI.
