Arni’s at 60. How hard will drastic NIH funding changes hit Purdue? Adriana Harmeyer’s tied for the ‘Jeopardy’ ToC finals lead. Gov. Braun scheduled for town hall at fairgrounds Wednesday. More.
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ARNI’S, A LAFAYETTE ICON, MARKS 60TH YEAR
Arni’s on Tuesday will mark 60 years since founder Arni Cohen set up his pizza restaurant in Market Square Shopping Center.
The day is expected to have an alumni reception at the Market Square location and a $19.65 dinner special at Arni’s locations in 13 Indiana communities.
Here’s a quick conversation ahead of it with Brad Cohen, who co-owns Arni’s with his brother Kurt Cohen.
Question: Sixty years. Give me your thoughts on that milestone.
Brad Cohen: There's no doubt it's iconic, and it's a fun legacy to have. We're honored, you to be at this point in our careers. It's an awesome time, an awesome achievement.
Question: What do you have going on Tuesday?
Brad Cohen: We invited some alums. We invited a lot of our family and friends, some business family and friends. We're just going to celebrate. We've got a special lunch planned for people who come. … All our good friends. We’ve been friends with so many people for so long, all coming to Arni’s since they were kids. It’s just fun to celebrate with them.
Question: Does that ever get tired, having people talk about coming to Arni’s through the years?
Brad Cohen: I love hearing the stories. It's always a classic thing where I'm running late to dinner and there's a customer that catches me at the door and needs to tell me a classic story – some you've heard before, but some are new. But it is great. I mean, it's all part of why we are who we are, how we've done it – doing it right with the right people and the right food and the right service and taking care of our customers. It kind of comes with the legacy that we have of being here for 60 years.
Question: Everybody loves the Axl Rose connection with Arni’s. (“Order up for an Axl Rose,” BiL, Sept. 9, 2021) Who do you rank among your most famous customers, whether regulars or not?
Brad Cohen: We've obviously been blessed having the community that we have, with its affiliation to Purdue. You have lots of great entertainers, you've got sports figures, you've got politicos that have all been at least through Lafayette. Obviously, (Guns n’ Roses lead singer) Axl Rose carries some big weight here at Arni’s. (Blind Melon lead singer) Shannon Hoon grew up coming to Arni's. You’ve got (PGA golfer) Fuzzy Zoeller, who grew up in New Albany, Indiana, so he grew up literally on Arni's pizza in that little pizza shack, I call it, in downtown New Albany. All the governors that have eaten at Arni’s. Former Purdue players that have eaten at Arni’s. You've got (West Lafayette, Purdue and Kansas City Chiefs defensive end) George Karlaftis who grew up eating at Arni’s. Drew Brees, Matt Light, Brian Cardinal. Bill Clinton, when he came was speaking on behalf of Hillary Clinton, running for president, he ate Arni’s. Didn't eat at the restaurant, but he ate Arni’s. That's always fun stuff. (Pacers center) Rik Smits used to set up at the Indianapolis location. Just about every coach that Purdue has had Arni's at some point in time. … That's always fun. Those individuals don't make the business what it is. It's really our regular customers that make the business what it is. It's the people that are going to work every day, whether they're working for a factory or working at Kirby Risk or working at IU Health or wherever. All the old Journal and Courier guys coming into Arni's every print night. All the others. They’re the ones who make Arni’s, Arni’s.
Question: What’s next, say, in another 10 years?
Brad Cohen: We'll have to see what the future holds, that's for sure. We'll have to see what 70 looks like. It's been an interesting 10 years since 50. By all means, I look forward to the next 10, but it could be an interesting run, depending on all things. The business is always a little challenging to do it the way we like to do it, and that's providing good food and good pricing and good employees with good benefits. As our world changes, are we going to continue to modernize our food service delivery systems? I don't know. I hope not. I hope that we still can do it right and take care of people the way that my father did, and the way I grew up doing it, and the way I think we still do it at Arni's. No matter which Arni’s you go to, hopefully we still take care of you in an old school, old service kind of way.
Question: That seemed to be the model your dad set.
Brad Cohen: For sure. Take care of our employees and the idea is that good employees will take care of our customers and the customers will come back for more. … We don't get to where we are without thanking our community and our customers. They're the ones who are celebrating with us as much as we're celebrating with them. It takes all of us to make a business successful in this town, and we have a great town, and hopefully we've contributed our part. A great community makes a great community restaurant.
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HOW MUCH DOES PURDUE HAVE TO LOSE IN NEW NIH FUNDING RULES?
A federal judge on Monday evening temporarily blocked the National Institutes of Health from applying new caps on indirect funding on federal funding to universities, a move announced Friday night that had higher education looking at cuts that federal officials estimated would amount to $4 billion a year.
From a New York Times account from reporters Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Christine Jewett:
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the National Institutes of Health from cutting research funding in 22 states that filed suit earlier in the day arguing that the plan would eviscerate studies into treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and a host of other ailments.
The funding cuts, announced late Friday, were to take effect on Monday. But the attorneys general of Massachusetts and 21 other states sued. They argued that the Trump administration’s plan to slash $4 billion in overhead costs — known as “indirect costs” — violated a 79-year-old law that governs how administrative agencies establish and administer regulations.
“Without relief from N.I.H.’s action, these institutions’ cutting-edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt,” the lawsuit said. By Monday evening, the relief had been granted. … The order leaves out states that did not join the lawsuit, which will still face the funding cuts. They include some states that receive generous research awards, including Pennsylvania, which receives about $2.7 billion in N.I.H. funds, and Alabama, which receives about $500 million in agency funds. Georgia and Missouri were also not part of the lawsuit, and each draws about $1 billion in the medical study grants.
That would leave Indiana out of the restraining order issued Monday.
Purdue officials on Monday didn’t provide answers to questions about how much Purdue has in ongoing NIH research funding, what percentage of indirect costs was tied to the money and how much money a new 15% cap on indirect costs would hit current projects on the West Lafayette campus.
But according to an NIH database, Purdue received 178 awards worth $67.2 million just in 2024. Statewide, universities in Indiana received $392.2 million in 2024, including $246.3 million for IU’s campus in Indianapolis.
Purdue was not listed in the Top 30 universities with the largest federal research spending as of 2023, as listed by The Chronicle for Higher Education. The Chronicle reported that those 30 universities accounted for 42% of higher education’s overall federal research-and-development spending, as of 2023.
Purdue’s data digest, posted online, doesn’t break down specific or ongoing NIH grants. But the university listed $82.7 million in federal research and sponsored program awards from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes NIH funding, in 2021-22, the most recent figures posted by Purdue. That was 22% of the $371.3 million Purdue had in federal research awards that year. And it accounted for 15.3% of Purdue’s overall research and sponsored program awards from all federal and nonfederal sources, according to Purdue figures posted online.
ADRIANA HARMEYER WINS OPENER, FALLS IN 2ND ROUND, AS ‘JEOPARDY’ TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS FINALS CONTINUE
Adriana Harmeyer
Adriana Harmeyer, a “Jeopardy” Tournament of Champions finalist from West Lafayette, stood with one win after two episodes in first-to-three-victories format on the syndicated show.
Harmeyer, an archivist at Purdue who earned her way into the annual tournament with 15 straight wins during the show’s 2024 season, is up against Isaac Hirsch, a customer support team lead from Burbank, California, and Neilesh Vinjamuri, a software engineer from Lionville, Pennsylvania, in the finals.
Harmeyer won Friday’s opening round, before finishing third in Monday’s episode. Vinjamuri won Monday.
Monday’s episode ended with this clue in the category Men of War: “Robert E. Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville has been likened to this Greek’s victory at Asculum in 279 B.C.” The correct response: “Who is Pyrrhus?”
Harmeyer went into the Final Jeopardy round trailing and wagered and lost all of her $5,400, offering: Who is Hannibal? Vinjamuri and Hirsch each answered correctly, with Vinjamuri finishing with $37,601 to win the match.
The format crowns the first contestants to win three matches – meaning the finals could run anywhere from three to seven episodes. The winner gets $250,000.
Harmeyer took a tight first night of the finals Friday with a betting strategy that paid off when no one got the correct question to this Final Jeopardy clue: “At his trial, revolutionaries referred to the deposed Louis XVI with this last name, one used previously for a dynasty." The correct response: What is Capet?
Harmeyer breathed a sigh of relief after wagering $6,000 of her $11,400 to finish with $5,400. Hirsch, who led going into Final Jeopardy with $13,800, wagered $9,001 to finish with $4,799. Vinjamuri wagered and lost all of his $11,400.
Round three of the Tournament of Champions finals airs locally at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on WLFI-TV18.
BRAUN, BECKWITH IN A TOWN HALL WEDNESDAY AT FAIRGROUNDS
Gov. Mike Braun and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith are scheduled to participate in a town hall 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road. The event will be hosted by the Tippecanoe County Republican Party, We the People Indiana Revival and Citizens In Action. The public is invited. The event will include a Q&A, from questions collected and selected by the host organizations.
WEST LAFAYETTE MOVES COMMUNITY MEETING ON ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS
The West Lafayette City Council has moved the second of two community meetings, set Wednesday, to get feedback on a proposed zoning code changes that would clear the way for accessory dwelling units. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road. The proposal to create zoning clearance for accessory dwelling units – including converted garages, basements and new backyard structures – in residential neighborhoods as a way to deal with the city’s ongoing housing shortage has been getting blowback from residents in some near-campus area. The meeting, following one held Jan. 21, comes after the city council held off on a vote one the zoning code proposal, as concerns mounted that the plan would increase crowding in New Chauncey Neighborhood and others near Purdue. The city council agreed to postpone a vote until its March 3 meeting. The meeting will include a presentation by the Area Plan Commission staff asked to study the matter and give residents a chance to give their thoughts. The city council also is taking feedback via email to council@westlafayette.in.gov.
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The attack on expertise continues. NSF is also in trouble, and Purdue might have a higher proportion of those grants relative to other Research I (no med school, busy engineers). If they come after USDA (Ag, Vet, etc) we will see if all these R senators from rural states have any backbone at all.
"HOW MUCH DOES PURDUE HAVE TO LOSE IN NEW NIH FUNDING RULES?" This will cripple all research. As it is planned to do. They are looking for total control of the country, and unless someone figures out how to stop them, they're going to get it.
The attack on expertise continues. NSF is also in trouble, and Purdue might have a higher proportion of those grants relative to other Research I (no med school, busy engineers). If they come after USDA (Ag, Vet, etc) we will see if all these R senators from rural states have any backbone at all.
"HOW MUCH DOES PURDUE HAVE TO LOSE IN NEW NIH FUNDING RULES?" This will cripple all research. As it is planned to do. They are looking for total control of the country, and unless someone figures out how to stop them, they're going to get it.