This and that for another Monday
Where to vote early this week and a plan to give free CityBus rides on Election Day. The Purdue Airport terminal project lands $1.5M from the FAA.
This edition is sponsored by the Purdue Presidential Lecture Series. Join Purdue at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse for a captivating conversation with Nobel laureate and renowned theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek. A 2004 Nobel Prize winner and intellectual adventurer, Wilczek’s groundbreaking work has shaped our understanding of quantum physics, dark matter and the forces that govern the universe. This event is free and open to the public with a general admission ticket. Learn more and reserve your seat: https://www.purdue.edu/president/lecture-series/a-conversation-with-frank-wilczek/.
Sponsorship help for this edition also comes from Purdue Musical Organizations. The 91st Annual Purdue Christmas Show is the must-see event of the year! Gather your family and friends, and create lasting memories as you sing along to your favorite songs and marvel at the extraordinary Purdue student talent on display. Get tickets here.
CITYBUS OFFERS FREE RIDES ELECTION DAY … AND OTHER ELECTION NOTES
Tippecanoe County’s Democratic and Republican parties will chip in to cover fares, offering free rides on CityBus routes on Election Day, Nov. 5, CityBus announced last week.
The move will cover CityBus’ regular routes in Lafayette and West Lafayette, in an effort to make it easier to get vote centers and reduce transportation issues that could keep someone from casting a ballot that day.
“CityBus is happy to be a partner in bringing free rides to our community on Election Day,” Bryan Smith, CityBus CEO, said in a release. “The collaborative, citizens-first approach that our Tippecanoe County political leaders take is a testimony to who we are as a community, and CityBus is proud to be a part of this effort.”
CityBus FLEX and CityBus ACCESS also will offer free rides to polling locations for riders who use those services. For bus routes, check gocitybus.com.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FORUM: Candidates running for two Tippecanoe County commissioner seats will participate in a candidate forum at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the West Lafayette Public Library, 208 W. Columbia St. Republican David Byers, a dairy farmer running for a fifth term as Tippecanoe County commissioner, faces a challenge from Libertarian Steve Mayoras in District 2. Republican Tom Murtaugh faces a challenge from Libertarian Jaime Ortiz in District 3. The forum is hosted by the Wabash River Conservancy, one of the groups created amid the fight against a pipeline being studied to take water from western Tippecanoe County to the 9,000-acre LEAP district in Boone County.
TURNOUT, SO FAR: Since early voting started Oct. 8, 17,468 people have cast ballots early in person in Tippecanoe County, as of Saturday, according to the county election office. That includes 2,595 voters who came out Saturday at the County Office Building and satellite sites in West Point, Clarks Hill and Otterbein. That doesn’t, though, count mail-in ballots, so far. Tippecanoe County has 120,465 registered voters, according to the election office.
EARLY VOTING OPPORTUNITIES THIS WEEK: With a little more than a week until Election Day, here’s a look at remaining early voting sites open through Monday, Nov. 4, in Tippecanoe County.
Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Oct. 29-Nov. 1, noon-6 p.m., Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette.
Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette.
Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Nov. 4, 8 a.m.-noon, Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
For more about finding what races are on your ballot, candidate Q&As and a complete list of where to vote on or before Nov. 5, check this voter guide:
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FAA PUTS $1.5M TOWARD NEW PURDUE AIRPORT TERMINAL
The Federal Aviation Administration will put $1.5 million toward the Amelia Earhart Terminal under construction at the Purdue Airport, the university announced last week.
Purdue is building the terminal as part of a plan to keep and recruit new commercial passenger flights from the airport on the western edge of the West Lafayette campus. According to the university, the FAA money for the new terminal were based on the existing terminal’s age and the need to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Earlier in October, Purdue trustees learned that the price of a new terminal at the Purdue Airport grew from $11.8 million to $12.75 million, after designs and bids came in after the project was approved in the spring.
During the planning process, Purdue factored in the opportunity to get $1.5 million in federal grants for the project. In late 2022, Greater Lafayette leaders outlined intentions to put $7 million toward airport improvements, as part of a $30 million regional plan to spend money the state offered a six-county region via Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grants. Purdue also set a goal to get $3.3 million in donations. The rest of the money will come from donations and university funds, according to a memo presented to Purdue trustees Oct. 4.
The 10,000-square-foot terminal west of the existing terminal will include a waiting area, baggage claim, ticketing and passenger screening, according to the details in a revised project approved Friday. The project will include safety improvements for pedestrians at a rail crossing on Airport Road, at the entrance to the airport, and 127 additional parking spaces. Construction is expected to be done in May 2025, and the terminal will be named for Amelia Earhart, the famed aviator who worked for Purdue from 1935 to 1937.
Southern Airways started flying between West Lafayette and Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in May, the first regularly scheduled passenger service at Purdue Airport since 2004. The airline schedules 24 round-trips weekly between LAF and O’Hare, with four of the 65-minute flights on weekdays and two on Saturdays and Sundays.
In early October, Jessica Robertson, Purdue’s associate vice president for auxiliary services, told trustees that since May, Southern Air had flown roughly 800 flights, carrying about 2,600 passengers.
Thanks for support from Purdue Musical Organizations, presenting the 91st Annual Purdue Christmas Show, Dec. 7-8. Get tickets here.
Thanks for sponsorship help with this edition also from Purdue Presidential Lecture Series, presenting Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse. Learn more and reserve your seat: https://www.purdue.edu/president/lecture-series/a-conversation-with-frank-wilczek/.
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I saw the BiLI report on Purdue early voting, but what were the final numbers for that site, if you know?