Hoosier lore

If you're looking for a day trip to tell the grandkids about, a mere $55 will let you board a bus in Chicago and travel to beautiful downtown Gary to see all the influences that turned Michael Jackson into the unique human being he was. You can see his boyhood home that, though "modest" has a kitchen and even indoor plumbing. You can see the now-defunct Mr. Lucky's lounge, where the Jackson 5 held one of their first performances.

Whoever came up with the idea of taking stray dogs into prison was brilliant -- it helps the dogs and can give the inmates an idea of what it's like to be a responsible human being. But now they're trying the same thing with cats, and I'm not so sure about that one:

Schlusser and his fellow offenders work in eight-hour shifts caring for 59 cats who entered the facility on June 22.

Happy 20th anniversary, Hoosier Lottery!

Lottery officials say players have won more than $7.2 billion in prizes since the first ticket was sold on Oct. 13, 1989.

That's a lot of money, but all the rich people it created must be in hiding or something so the rest of us won't get jealous.

If you have a job, you probably have a dress code, and we all remember them from school, too. Some fancy restaurants have them. But how about having to comply with one just to do your banking?

SOUTH BEND — It's every bank teller's worst fear — the next customer could be the one who pulls a gun and demands money. At least one local credit union is now using a dress code to deter robbers.

We don't have nearly enough apathetic voters who rarely even show up at the polls and have no clue about any of the issues when they do vote. Thank goodness someone cares enough to remedy the situation:

It's hard to stop the gravy train when so many want to ride:

Muncie City Council has joined the Delaware County commissioners and Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora in urging U.S. Rep. Mike Pence to rethink his boycott of budgetary earmarks.

[. . .]

Probably not what the child-care specialists mean when they say fathers ought to spend time doing things with their sons:

A father and son have been found guilty of molesting a young girl in Jackson County.

Headline on this story: "Michael Jackson's casket was the same used for James Brown." So what have they done with James Brown?

Good advice from the GOP national chairman to the party faithful:

"Lift your heads," Steele told about 800 people at the Indiana State Republican dinner at the downtown Marriott Hotel. "I'm so sick and tired of Republicans whining and moaning and complaining. You lost, get over it. "

And some easier-said-than-done words:

Private enterprise, defined by the need to make a profit and compete with others trying to do the same: