The Rob Kendall Show

Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob covering Indianapolis’ move toward pausing new data center development. The Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee voted 10 to 3 to recommend a moratorium through December 2027, sending the proposal to the full City-County Council. Rob says the timing may be politically convenient ahead of the next mayoral and council elections, but argues the pause is still a good thing because local governments do not yet understand the full financial, infrastructure, and utility impact of these projects.

Rob says the basic math on data centers still does not make sense to the public. He argues that while billion-dollar facilities sound attractive on paper, long-term abatements, sales tax exemptions, and minimal job creation mean many communities may not see the payoff for decades, if ever. He says the state and local governments need to explain exactly why taxpayers are subsidizing these developments and how they benefit the communities taking on the risk.

The discussion also focuses on the need for statewide guardrails before more data centers are approved. Rob says power, water, utility rates, and tax incentives do not stop at city or county lines, so Indiana needs a broader policy framework instead of letting every community make it up as they go. He says the state should establish a minimum floor for transparency and community benefit, while still allowing local governments to adopt stricter rules if they choose.

The show also turns to Beau Bayh’s new pledge in the Secretary of State race. Bayh says that if elected, campaign staffers will be barred from contacting state employees about state business, and he will not award Secretary of State contracts to campaign donors. Rob says this is a direct shot at Diego Morales and a smart campaign move because it keeps Republican corruption in the office at the center of the race, regardless of who Republicans nominate.

Rob says Bayh’s pledge also puts pressure on Republican nominee Max Engling, especially because Engling has received support from Marty Obst’s Hoosier Leadership for America, a dark money group that does not disclose its donors. The discussion also notes Bayh’s ties to fundraiser Emily Gurwitz, whose firm was paid by Bayh’s campaign and who has been connected in reporting to questions around Joe Hogsett donors and city contracts. Rob argues the Secretary of State race is shaping up around transparency, corruption, donor influence, and whether voters will finally punish Republicans for what happened under Diego Morales.

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Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob previewing a discussion of Jamey Noel, the former Clark County sheriff and Republican power broker now in prison. Rob points to a new WHAS11 documentary, Tarnished Badge: The Jamey Noel Story, as a detailed look at Noel’s abuse of power, political influence, and taxpayer-funded corruption. He says the biggest question is how someone so publicly connected to Indiana’s political elite could live so far beyond his means for so long without people around him asking obvious questions.

Rob says the Noel story fits a broader pattern of powerful Indiana officials acting brazenly because they do not fear accountability. He compares the situation to Diego Morales, noting that the issue is not that the circumstances are identical, but that both involve obvious behavior that people in power ignored or enabled. Rob argues the political system protects insiders until the evidence becomes impossible to avoid.

The discussion also turns to the power of Indiana sheriffs and the lack of oversight around them. Rob says the Noel case, along with cases involving sheriffs like Tom Kleinhelter, shows the state needs serious reform in how sheriffs are monitored and held accountable. He argues both parties tolerate corruption when it benefits their own power structures, pointing to Republicans in state government and Democrats in Indianapolis as examples of officials avoiding accountability.

Rob also highlights Greg Ballard preparing to turn in more than 41,000 verified signatures for his independent Secretary of State campaign. Rob says the achievement is one of the most significant political moments in Indiana history because it could open ballot access for the Lincoln Party and give more people a path outside the Republican-Democrat system. He argues Republicans were arrogantly wrong when they dismissed Ballard’s chances of making the ballot, and that their reaction shows how much they want to control who can participate.

Another segment focuses on Indianapolis City-County Council President Maggie Lewis proposing a pause on new data center development in the city. Rob says the move is a major step because it creates time to study utility capacity, infrastructure demands, environmental concerns, economic outcomes, and neighborhood impact before more projects move forward. He says he is not anti-data center, but argues Indiana needs statewide guardrails because these projects affect power, water, taxes, and communities far beyond the city or town where they are built.

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Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob reacting to Jacob Stewart’s IndyStar column arguing that it is too easy to form a political party in Indiana. Rob strongly disagrees, saying Greg Ballard’s independent Secretary of State campaign proves the opposite because Ballard needed money, organization, volunteers, and a major signature operation just to get on the ballot. He argues Indiana’s ballot access laws are designed to protect Republicans and Democrats while shutting out independent-minded voters and candidates.

Rob says Ballard “cracked the code” by raising enough money and building enough infrastructure to get the signatures needed for ballot access. He explains that if Ballard’s Lincoln Party gets 2% in the Secretary of State race, it can nominate candidates for future general elections, but 10% is the real prize because it would earn primary ballot access. Rob says that would create a major shift in Indiana politics by giving more voters and candidates a way around the two-party system.

The discussion also looks at how Rob is weighing the Secretary of State race. He says the most important goal is making sure Republicans lose the office so Diego Morales’ conduct does not get swept under the rug. Rob says he could see himself voting for Ballard if Ballard has a real chance to reach 10%, but could also vote for Beau Bayh if Bayh becomes the clearest path to taking the office away from Republicans.

Another segment focuses on WRTV’s reporting on former Department of Child Services director Adam Krupp, who left that role and then reappeared as a special adviser to Governor Mike Braun at the same $210,000 salary. Rob says the job appears vague, was not publicly posted, and allows Krupp to work fully remote despite Braun’s return-to-work push for state employees. He argues the duties described so far sound like basic research, meetings, and clerical work that do not justify that salary.

Rob says the Krupp situation undercuts Braun’s image as a government reformer. He argues the state keeps claiming it lacks money for vulnerable Hoosiers, including families caring for severely disabled loved ones, while still finding large salaries for politically connected insiders. Rob praises Kara Kenney’s reporting and says taxpayers deserve to know why Krupp disappeared, what he is actually doing now, and why that position should exist at all.

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Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob arguing that Indiana’s gas tax suspension proves Hoosiers have been overtaxed for years. He says the state is now giving back money it never needed to take in the first place, with the suspension saving drivers about 61 cents per gallon. Rob argues government officials frame this as a loss for the state, but it is really taxpayers getting some of their own money back.

Rob says the state is expected to give up more than half a billion dollars in gas tax revenue through October while still absorbing the cost and reimbursing local governments. To him, that proves Indiana’s government has far more money than it needs for basic operations. He argues the “surplus” is really overtaxation, and that Republicans are only suspending the tax now because high gas prices under Trump and renewed conflict with Iran are politically damaging.

The discussion also criticizes Republican leaders for claiming they need yet another long-term road funding solution. Rob points out that many of the same officials supported the 2017 gas tax increase, which was sold as the long-term fix, and then passed another road funding bill last year. He says the problem is not a lack of revenue, but the government’s failure to manage and allocate the money it already takes from taxpayers.

Another segment focuses on the Thomas Carl Cook scandal and the continued failure of Indianapolis officials to reform how workplace misconduct complaints are handled. Rob says Cook, a powerful figure in Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration and campaign operation, was accused of inappropriate relationships involving people connected to his power structure. Even after outside investigators recommended complaints be handled outside the mayor’s control, the City-County Council still has not created an independent process.

Rob argues Hogsett’s stated concern about protecting victims’ privacy is an excuse to keep control over sensitive complaints. He says public records experts and existing executive-session rules show there are ways to protect complainants while still creating an independent review system. Rob says the lack of action reflects a broader problem in Indianapolis politics: Republicans are ineffective, most Democrats are afraid to challenge Hogsett, and only a few voices like Jesse Brown are willing to confront the power structure.

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In an interview conducted weeks ago, Governor Mike Braun indicated his primary reason for calling a special session and attempting to ram redistricting through the General Assembly was fear of retribution from the White House. The comments appeared to match Braun's original warning from last winter which he later recanted. In light of the governor's newest commentary, many are once again asking what projects or funding was the governor worried about losing? Rob Kendall, Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, and Jim Merritt examine on this week's Statehouse Happenings.

You can find more information at RobKendallShow.com

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Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob covering the Indianapolis City-County Council’s vote to approve major wheel tax increases for Marion County residents. Rob says the council passed the hikes 14 to 10 in order to raise local road money and unlock a state match, but argues the city could have found the money through budget cuts instead. He says the shifting explanations from council members show taxpayers were not dealing with honest brokers.

Rob explains that the state created a matching fund for Indianapolis road work because Marion County remains an economic hub and carries traffic from people who do not live there. But he argues the city should have been required to use existing revenue rather than new taxes, especially because roads are one of the core responsibilities of city government. He says the proposed increase would take the average vehicle fee from around $20 to $100, with some larger vehicles facing much higher costs.

The discussion also puts blame on both parties. Rob says Democrats on the council voted to raise taxes, but Republicans at the Statehouse created the structure that allowed them to do it. He argues Republican lawmakers could have required Indianapolis to use existing funds for the match, but instead handed local Democrats the ability to raise taxes and then act surprised when they used it.

Another segment focuses on the IndyStar’s reporting about the sale of Jim Irsay’s memorabilia collection, which brought in more than $105 million. Rob says he does not begrudge wealth, inheritance, or people spending money on hobbies, but argues the Irsay family’s wealth is different because so much of it was enhanced by taxpayer-funded stadium deals. He says Lucas Oil Stadium and its related tax increases helped make the Colts more valuable while regular people were forced to pay.

Rob says the Irsay collection shows why billionaires should not be subsidized by poor and middle-class taxpayers. He points to the guitars, historic artifacts, and other memorabilia as proof the family had enormous private wealth while still benefiting from public money. Rob argues every tax dollar represents someone’s time, freedom, and labor, and that money should not be taken from regular people to make sports franchise owners even richer.

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Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob criticizing House Bill 1288, J.D. Prescott’s proposal to eliminate Indiana property taxes and replace them with a 7% sales tax on services. Rob says the bill would technically erase property taxes, but would replace the roughly $11.6 billion currently collected with as much as $15.4 billion in new revenue. He argues that means regular people would face a major tax increase while politicians still get to claim they “eliminated property taxes.”

Rob says the biggest winners under the plan would be wealthy property owners, large corporations, and data centers, because their property tax obligations would disappear. Regular homeowners would save on their property tax bills, but then pay more for services like haircuts, car repairs, landscaping, legal work, and accounting. Renters could be hit especially hard because landlords would have no guarantee or requirement to pass property tax savings back through lower rent.

The discussion also lays out Rob’s three requirements for any serious property tax reform. He says state leaders must first admit local governments are out of control, stop taxing people based on what someone else sold a house for, and eliminate the ability of local governments to bypass tax caps through referendums. Rob argues Prescott’s bill fails because it does not restrain local spending, does not fix the assessment system, and creates more money for government instead of forcing reform.

Another segment focuses on State Senator Mike Young, who criticized Rob online after a listener posted a photo of an old golf plaque with Rob’s name on it. Rob says the exchange matters because it shows how thin-skinned and entitled long-serving politicians become when they are challenged. He argues Young’s reaction had nothing to do with golf and everything to do with anger that Rob has repeatedly said Young has served too long, accomplished too little, and should leave office after decades in the General Assembly.

Rob uses the Mike Young exchange to argue that many career politicians see taxpayers as an endless ATM and resent anyone who calls attention to how they govern. He says Young and others complain about anger while ignoring the frustration caused by high taxes, crony capitalism, corruption, and a government that keeps taking more from regular people. Rob says the reason his show resonates is because he says out loud what many taxpayers already believe about the people who run the state.

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Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob breaking down a Capital Chronicle report on how Governor Mike Braun funds much of his office staff through other state agencies. Rob says the practice may be legal and has been used by past governors, but argues Braun is using it to make his office look lean while shifting costs elsewhere. He points to the report showing that more than half of payroll for identified governor’s office employees is funded by other agencies.

Rob highlights examples including Braun’s spokesman being paid through the Family and Social Services Administration, staff tied to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles making more than actual BMV communications staff, and an INDOT-funded senior policy adviser earning more than the INDOT commissioner. He says the most troubling example is the Public Access Counselor’s budget being used to pay a deputy general counsel for the governor while that office has only a few employees and limited ability to issue transparency opinions.

The discussion frames the issue as a broader example of how difficult it is for regular people to understand where taxpayer money is really going. Rob says Indiana is more transparent than many states, but argues the system is still too complicated for normal citizens to track without investigative reporting. He says it is especially revealing that agencies constantly claiming they need more money or tax increases still have money flowing out to support the governor’s office.

Another segment focuses on Abdul Hakim-Shabazz’s reporting that the Mid-States Corridor may be coming back through a workaround. Rob explains the proposed road would connect I-64 and I-69 in southern Indiana, despite major opposition from residents and concerns about billions in taxpayer costs. He says lawmakers previously placed guardrails around the project, but Abdul is now reporting that private backers may try to raise enough money to avoid triggering Budget Committee review.

Rob says if private money is routed through INDOT to condemn Hoosier farmland, the project could potentially move forward without the General Assembly taking a direct vote. He argues that would be an extraordinary way to revive a road many locals do not want, especially when the governor and his family have been publicly tied to potential business benefits from the corridor. Rob says the reporting is not confirmed, but based on how the state has handled the project so far, the possibility does not surprise him.

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The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is headed for more drama as

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