A Columbus architecture program is receiving an almost $3.5 million dollar grant through the Lilly Endowment.

Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County is announcing that Landmark Columbus Foundation will be receiving the Large-Scale Community Leadership Grant through the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow initiative.

The grant will support efforts in caring for, celebrating and advancing the cultural heritage of our community. Heritage Fund’s announcement says the grant will enhance Landmark Columbus Foundation’s mission and programs, including an in-depth survey and inventory of the cultural resources in the county, while the organization continues to activate the city’s downtown through the Exhibit Columbus program. This grant will help ensure that the unique architectural heritage remains a fundamental component of Bartholomew County’s economic success and compelling quality of life for all residents for years to come.

Heritage Fund is one of 11 community foundations in Indiana to receive a Large-Scale Community Leadership Grant.

Congress has certified Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory after a day of violence at the U.S. Capitol, with protesters storming the building.

Vice President Mike Pence, a Columbus native, presided over the joint session of Congress, announced the results:

Objections to vote counts in Arizona and Pennsylvania were rejected by both chambers. Four people died in Wednesday’s incident, one woman was shot, while three others died of medical emergencies.

Senator Lindsey Graham, speaking on the Senate floor, said this will go down as a “dark chapter of our history.” Graham told Pence, as the Columbus native presided over Congress, to “hang in there.”

Pence and cabinet secretaries are being called by Democrats to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office after yesterday’s violence at the U.S. Capitol. Representatives Ted Lieu of California and David Cicilline of Rhode Island are drafting a letter to Pence urging him to initiate 25th Amendment proceedings.

President Trump has banned Pence’s chief of staff from the White House after criticizing Pence for refusing to try and overturn the election. Marc Short said Trump blames him for advising Pence that the vice president didn’t have any authority to throw out the Electoral College results that gave President-elect Joe Biden a 306-232 victory.

Trump tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”

The U.S. Capitol is reportedly being evacuated and there are reports of shots being fired into the House chamber.

That comes as large protests rage outside and inside the Capitol. Some protesters managed to get inside.

During an earlier rally, President Trump urged supporters to march to the Capitol to protest what is going on inside.

Supporters of the President stormed Congress as they were in the process of certifying the results of the presidential election.

Vice President Mike Pence was escorted out of the Senate chamber and taken to a secure location. Earlier, Pence released a statement saying he does not have authority to take steps to overturn the election results. Pence said, “My oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.”

Now, President Trump is asking his supporters to be peaceful. The President tweeted that the Capitol Police and Law Enforcement are truly on the side of the country. Trump told supporters earlier he would never concede because he won the election and said it was stolen from him.

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has ordered a citywide curfew from six tonight, to six tomorrow morning.

The United Way of Bartholomew County will have a different goal for this year’s Day of Service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The local agency plans to use the day, Jan. 18th, as a way to thank area educators and first responders.

Magen Pillar, spokeswoman for the United Way, says that as the pandemic has raged in the community, first responders and educators have been at the forefront of the fight. The United Way is hoping to encouraging people to thank them for their important work.

You are urged to write personal thank you notes to those serving the community in those roles. Each volunteer is encouraged to write 25 cards. The cards will be custom designs by C4 design students and will be provided to those who register to participate. Details on card pickup will be released closer to the event.

You can register by Jan. 11th by clicking here.

Organizers for the city of Columbus and Bartholomew County are getting ready to unveil the community plans for this year’s bicentennial celebrations.

Mary Ferdon, community development director for the city, says a committee of community partners and volunteers have been hard at work putting together a slate of events and projects for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the city and the county.

The groups started work in 2019, she said and came up with the theme of “A Common Ground.”

Some of those projects will be so-called legacy projects which will be long-lasting additions to the community, while others will be bicentennial-themed additions to annual events, stand-alone one-time events or temporary projects, she said.

A website outlining the bicentennial plans will launch on Thursday, Ferdon said. You will be able to find a link on the city and county websites.

An Edinburgh police officer is under arrest, accused of molesting a 12-year-old family member.

33-year-old Officer Michael D. Nunez is facing two felony charges of child molesting and was arrested Tuesday after an investigation that started in late December.

According to reports from police, the victim’s mother contacted another Edinburgh officer about the allegations. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department was brought in to investigate and after interviewing the victim and collecting evidence, paperwork on the charges were submitted to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office on Dec. 30th.

Nunez refused to talk to investigators over the phone and he was located at about 3 a.m. in the morning on Dec. 30th at River and Triangle Roads in his vehicle, while working a side security job but dressed in his Edinburgh uniform. Based on his actions and conversation with officers, he was taken to a nearby hospital for detention. He was released from the hospital on Tuesday and immediately arrested.

Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva said a special prosecutor will not be sought in the case, as neither he nor any of his attorneys personally know Nunez, or have any connection to him, the Edinburgh Police Department or the town of Edinburgh. He also said this case does not deal with any allegations of criminal conduct against Nunez committed in his official capacity as an Edinburgh Police Officer.

Two Columbus businesses are seeking tax breaks from the city to help with expansion plans. Columbus City Council will be asked tonight to approve tax abatements for Applied Laboratories and for Rightway Fasteners.

Applied Laboratories is planning to purchase $2.4 million in new manufacturing equipment for its facility on Brian Drive off of Indianapolis Road. In paperwork submitted to the city, the company said it would be increasing the production capacity, automation, efficiency and speed of its saline product line. The expansion will allow the company to retain 130 jobs and to add four new jobs by June with average wages of $18.10 per hour. A tax abatement would save the company about $78,000 in taxes over the 10-year-life of the tax break.

Rightway Fasteners is seeking a tax abatement on $900 thousand dollars of new manufacturing equipment including two thread rolling machines and one pointing machine at its facility on International Drive in Walesboro. The company says it will add three new jobs by the end of the year and retain 435 existing jobs. The tax break would save the company slightly less than $48,00 over the next 10 years.

City Council meets at 6 p.m. tonight and will be meeting virtually. You can watch a stream of the meeting on the city’s website by clicking on the video link at columbus.in.gov.

Columbus police are accusing a suspect of kicking an officer in the leg after the end of a short police chase Saturday evening.

The incident started at about 9:45 p.m. Saturday evening near 9th Street and Lafayette Ave. with the report of fight that left a woman injured. Police saw an SUV take off from the scene and tried to pull over the vehicle, but the driver kept going until the 800 block of Hutchins Avenue.

The driver, 29-year-old Samantha R. Branum of Columbus allegedly became belligerent after being put into handcuffs. After kicking an officer she was taken to jail on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement in a vehicle, battery on a law enforcement officer and driving while suspended with a prior conviction.

Columbus police arrested a man wanted on five warrants in two states, after he was found driving while intoxicated on Interstate 65.

Police say a driver reported a vehicle driving erratically on the highway at about 2:30 a.m. Friday morning. Police found the vehicle near the Jackson County line and stopped the driver, 51-year-old Matthew A. Dishman of Indianapolis. Police say he was slurring his words and had difficulty maintaining his balance.

Dishman refused to take any field sobriety tests, or to submit to a blood draw at Columbus Regional Health. After carrying out a search warrant, police arrested Dishman on the five outstanding warrants from Ohio and Indiana as well as for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.