Indiana State Police Superintendent, Douglas Carter, announced today that Jasper District Trooper Ryan Conrad has been promoted to the position of Detective at the Jasper Post. Conrad, a 20-year member of the Indiana State Police, was chosen for his new position based upon a competitive selection process that included written testing, oral interview, seniority, education, and past job performance.

Conrad, who is from Marengo, Indiana, graduated from Crawford County High School in 1993 and then from Vincennes University in 1995.  He then graduated from the Indiana State Police Academy on December 13, 1999, and was assigned to the Versailles District.

In 2001 Conrad transferred to the Jasper District, where he has served as a road trooper assigned to Crawford County. Conrad is an ILEA Certified Instructor as well as a Field Training Officer. Conrad will start in his new position on August 23, 2020.

Saturday at approximately 11:25 am, the Indiana State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash on I-74 near Greensburg, Indiana that claimed the life of an Indianapolis man.

The initial investigation by Master Trooper Jason Hankins, Indiana State Police-Versailles, indicated that the westbound lanes of I-74 were slowed near the 134-mile marker due to two separate crashes that had occurred in the area and caused a traffic backup. 

A 2017 Volvo truck pulling a tanker trailer, driven by Jason M. Cranfill, age 41, Seymour, Indiana had stopped in the right lane of I-74 near the 135.5-mile marker. 

A 2018 International box truck being driven by Kevin J. Porter II, age 37, Indianapolis, Indiana failed to stop for the slowed traffic.  Porter’s vehicle collided with the rear of Cranfill’s trailer. 

Both vehicles came to rest in the westbound lanes of I-74. 

Porter sustained fatal injuries in the crash.  He was transported to Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg, Indiana where he was pronounced deceased. 

Cranfill sustained minor injuries in the crash.

Toxicology results are pending and the investigation is ongoing at this time.

The westbound lanes of I-74 were closed for approximately three hours for crash investigation and cleanup.

Kevin Porter’s family has been notified.

M/Trp. Hankins was assisted by numerous troopers with the Indiana State Police-Versailles District, Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, Greensburg Police Department, Greensburg Fire Department, Decatur County EMS and Decatur County Coroner’s Office.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating the death of three individuals at Monroe Reservoir late last night.  

At approximately 10:30 p.m., witnesses reported seeing a vehicle drive down the Paynetown State Recreation Area boat ramp and enter the water. 

The driver called out for help and attempted to exit the vehicle, according to police.

The witnesses were not able to rescue the occupants before the vehicle became submerged. 

Monroe County Dive Team responded and was able to locate and remove an adult male and female as well as a male child from the vehicle. 

The adults were declared deceased at the scene. 

The child was transported to IU Health Bloomington and was declared deceased upon arrival.

Conservation Officers are working with Monroe County Coroner’s Office to identify the deceased and notify the next of kin.

Additional agencies assisting at the scene include Perry Clear Creek Fire, IU Health EMS, and Monroe Fire.

Attorney General Curtis Hill today sent a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb and leaders of the Indiana General Assembly calling for a special legislative session focused on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In a republican form of government, we do not govern by executive decree,” Attorney General Hill writes in the letter. “We govern by legislation, enforcement, and adjudication carried out by separately elected (and appointed) officials. The Indiana Constitution so divides government functions to prevent the concentration of power and to facilitate public debate.”

The emergency used to justify hurried executive actions has now become a long-term issue that deserves the attention of the people’s representatives, Attorney General Hill adds.

“To be sure,” he writes, “COVID-19 remains a pandemic and a serious public health threat that all should take seriously, including wearing masks and practicing social distancing. But it has been such for nearly six months, which is enough time to re-engage ordinary mechanisms of republican government.”

Governance by executive decree has sent inconsistent and confusing messages to Hoosiers statewide, Attorney General Hill adds.

“Candidly,” he writes, “while Hoosiers at first mostly obeyed the Governor’s emergency orders, as those orders have endured, overreached, mutated, or proven impracticable, many citizens have begun to lose respect for them.”

Among those deserving clearer guidance, Attorney General Hill adds, are Hoosier parents, teachers and schoolchildren.

“The start of a new school year has crystallized the sense of insecurity and general weariness arising from governance by shifting executive decrees,” he writes. “To educate children, our public schools require clarity, consistency and affirmation of a constitutional process governing both finances and operations.”

The state’s co-equal branches of government must engage with one another for the sake of all Hoosiers, Attorney General Hill states.

“Press conferences from the Governor saying one thing, and letters from lawmakers saying another — neither of which has any legal force — produce only more uncertainty and anxiety for schools, students, parents and citizens about what the consequences might be in a few months of the decisions they make today,” he writes.

A special session, he adds, “is the only way to provide the full measure of constitutional government to which Hoosiers are entitled, ensure consistency in the law governing individual conduct and the operation of public functions, afford certainty in public funding for education and other important government missions, and, critically, restore public confidence in governmental leadership and constitutional governance.”

The full letter is attached.

CORRESPONDENCE.Ltr to Governor, Rep Huston and Sen Bray.08.14.20

Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced the establishment of two new Indiana state forests at a ceremony today in Morgan County.

Ravinia State Forest, near Paragon, encompasses 1,500 acres of wooded rolling hills, valleys and restored cropland. The area now known as Mountain Tea State Forest consists of more than 1,150 acres east of Nashville. The state’s public lands now include 15 officially designated state forests.

“We could not be more excited to formally designate land to create these new state forests,” Gov. Holcomb said. “There’s no better way for Hoosiers to get out and get some fresh Indiana air than by exploring our state’s parks, recreation areas, fish and wildlife areas, and our 158,000 acres of public state forests.”

Recreation opportunities at the new state forests include wildlife viewing, hiking, and gathering wild berries, nuts, and mushrooms. Hunting is also permitted in state forests.

“This is the first time in 67 years that we have created new state forests,” said Dan Bortner, director of the Department of Natural Resources. “As with all our properties, we know Hoosiers and our guests will be able find solace and inspiration in these woods for generations to come.”

The new state forests also serve as two locations for the governor’s Million Trees program, which is an initiative to plant one million trees by 2025.

“This year, our foresters have been hard at work, planting more than 16,000 new trees at Mountain Tea State Forest and 38,000 trees at Ravinia State Forest,” said John Seifert, director of the Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry. “We look forward to completing this important five-year program.”

More than 700 acres of Mountain Tea State Forest, formerly managed by The Nature Conservancy, had been acquired by the State of Indiana in 2013 with the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service through the Forest Legacy Program. Additional acreage had been acquired in 2009 through purchases from private land owners.

Ravinia State Forest was acquired through the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Crossroads 2000 fund.