Welcome to the ‘Market Report’

Soon to be your BiL seasonal fav. Plus, details set on third of three SK hynix community meetings ahead of a May 5 vote. And why that WL City Council meeting just got more crowded

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And now, introducing a seasonal regular feature at Based in Lafayette …

By Carol Bangert / For Based in Lafayette

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WELCOME TO THE ‘MARKET REPORT:’ Many of us have been antsy for May to get here, because May signals the opening of area farmers markets.

Here in Tippecanoe County, we are blessed with three quality markets: in downtown Lafayette, in West Lafayette and on the Purdue campus. Each has its own vibe and spirit, but the assignment has been the same since the first market set up shop in downtown Lafayette 186 years ago: Create a gathering place for local farmers and artisans to showcase and sell their produce, meats and crafts.

Just don’t expect to fill your eco-friendly shopping bags with summer’s best produce quite yet. While a fresh baked cinnamon roll is always in season at the market, ripe heirloom tomatoes and slender green beans are not.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

But don’t worry. Each week I’ll get you dialed in to what’s in season at Greater Lafayette’s farmers markets – from tender asparagus and jewel-toned radishes to snappy sweet corn, ethereal Vincennes melons and perky pumpkins.

Along the way, I’ll ask market vendors to share tips on how to use seasonal produce, including recipes and food pairings. Also, I’ll be checking out unique fruits, veg and even mushrooms that might add some zing to your menu planning. So, grab your reusable tote bags, and let’s start shopping.

If you’re a Lafayette Farmers Market veteran, you’ll notice some changes this year, starting with the market’s expanded footprint. Brittany Matthews, director of chamber operations at Greater Lafayette Commerce, says, “While the expanded footprint is safety driven, the city (of Lafayette) has purchased reinforced barricades to help prevent anyone from driving into the market, and Greater Lafayette Commerce has been talking about expanding the footprint to accommodate the waiting list we have had for the past couple of years.”

The footprint will be on Fifth Street between Columbia Street and mid-block to Ferry Street – as it always has been – and Main Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.

• Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, May through October

• West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, May through October. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the West Lafayette market. The market is held at Cumberland Park, 3065 N. Salisbury St., in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.

• Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, May through October. The Purdue Farmers Market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.

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TRANSGENDER ALLIES AIM TO ADD ANOTHER ISSUE TO MONDAY’S LOADED WEST LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

West Lafayette City Council’s going to need a bigger boat Monday night.

Already sending out guidelines for overflow space in anticipation of a council vote on a controversial rezoning request for 121 acres north of Kalberer Road for a planned $3.87 billion SK hynix advanced chip packaging facility, a Greater Lafayette group has been rallying to spend the same Monday night meeting to press West Lafayette on matters of gender affirming care.

A group called the Freedom Road Socialist Organization is pushing the city to pass a safe haven resolution to protect gender affirming care for patients and providers. A resolution along those lines isn’t on the council’s Monday agenda.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

AJ Dunn, a member of the organization, says members understand Monday’s meeting likely will be long with the SK hynix rezoning question and that the group will use public comment time at the end of the session to make a case.

Dunn said the aim is to get West Lafayette to pass a measure similar to one approved by the Bloomington City Council in 2024. In that case, according to coverage in the Indiana Daily Student, the resolution “recommends city personnel not penalize any individual or organization providing or receiving gender affirming health care; and says any state law or regulation which imposes civil liability, or penalties on those providing or receiving gender affirming care be enforced with low priority.” That resolution followed a 2023 state law that banned gender-affirming healthcare for transgender individuals under the age of 18.

“Logistically, this measure would direct city personnel to treat the providing or receiving of gender-affirming care as a low law-enforcement priority, effectively safeguarding the transgender community within legal bounds,” Dunn said. “This approach was selected because it falls squarely within the city council’s authority to guide law enforcement priorities. … Like immigrants, transgender individuals are being unfairly scapegoated for societal failures. It is our moral obligation to defend this community-including their access to healthcare-against ongoing political attacks.”

Here’s some background on what else is on Monday’s agenda:

• SK hynix rezone: WL City Council moving closer to yes vote on $3.87B site?

• Drinks on West Lafayette: Farmers Market ‘DORA,’ riverfront license changes proposed

The West Lafayette City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday at city hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave. On Tuesday, the city released the following guidelines about where overflow crowds can participate in public comment that night.

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BEFORE THAT … THIRD COMMUNITY MEETING SET ON SK HYNIX PROPOSAL

(Image: SK hynix)

The location and format for the third of three community meetings on the SK hynix rezoning proposal have been set. The meeting will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 3, at West Lafayette City Hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave.

According to a release Wednesday from the city, the meeting will be a mix of the previous two community sessions – a science fair-style poster session and informational stations will be up starting at 9 a.m., with a 10 a.m. panel discussion and Q&A with officials from the South Korean company.

Seating will be limited to 150 people between the council chambers and city hall’s Bean Room, according to the city release.

The release said that Purdue Research Foundation – which owns the land up for rezoning north of Kalberer Road, between Yeager Road and County Road 50 West – “explored several larger venues in the West Lafayette community. However, a larger space could not be secured for this final session due to prom season, school concerts and limited facility availability.”

Anyone with questions or comments may submit those ahead of time at: neuron.prf.org/#contact

The South Korean semiconductor company and Purdue Research Foundation last week released a website with their plans for a $3.87 billion R&D and advanced chip packaging facility expected to open for production in 2028 and eventually employ 1,000 people in West Lafayette. The FAQ offers SK hynix’s answers to questions raised recently about site selection and the company’s approach to environmental, waste handling, traffic and other issues. According to the company, the website will include additional content in the coming days. For now, here’s a way into a page about “Project Neuron,” which was the code name used when recruiting SK hynix to the Purdue Research Park: neuron.prf.org/

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THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …

HEY NOW, WOULD YOU GIVE … A COUPLE OF BiL AUCTION SPECIALS: Here are a couple of deals this week if you’re a current subscriber – or want to be a current subscriber – to Based in Lafayette. The money goes to a couple of solid causes.

• The Blue Jean Ball, an annual fundraising event for Food Finders Food Bank, will be Saturday, May 3. Among the auction items up for bid in the auction: Two Based in Lafayette annual subscriptions. Check the bidding for the Based in Lafayette subscriptions here: Subscription 1 and Subscription 2. For more on the Blue Jean Ball, here’s a link.

• A Toast to Mental Health – a benefit for Mental Health America-Wabash Valley Region, National Alliance on Mental Health-West Central Indiana and Willowstone Family Services – will be Thursday evening at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds. The hosts, Lafayette Daybreak Rotary, have an auction up that includes an annual Based in Lafayette subscription along with a conversation over beers or coffee with (of all people) me at the brewery or coffeehouse of your choice. Yeah, I was skeptical about that, too. But last year’s meet-up – we wound up at Teays River Brewing – was terrific. Good for the winning bidder and three friends. Here’s a link to bid. And here’s more on A Toast to Mental Health.

WEST LAFAYETTE ‘JEOPARDY’ CHAMP HEADS BACK FOR MORE: Adriana Harmeyer, an archivist at Purdue, will be back on “Jeopardy” for a third run in the coming week, this time on the prime time “Jeopardy! Masters” tournament, which started Wednesday. Harmeyer won a season-best 15 consecutive wins on the show in 2024, followed by a finals appearance on “Jeopardy’s” Tournament of Champions. J&C reporter Jillian Ellison had more here: “Purdue's Harmeyer is back on 'Jeopardy!', set to appear in masters tournament.”

Adriana Harmeyer

BRAUN TAKES BECKWITH TO TASK ON THREE-FIFTHS COMPROMISE COMMENTS: Indianapolis Star reporter Kayla Dwyer had this report: “Gov. Mike Braun rebuked his lieutenant governor's remark that the Three-Fifths Compromise was ‘a great move’ but stopped short of calling for an apology as others have done. … ‘I'm a believer that you better start thinking about what you're saying before it comes out,’ (Braun) said. ‘And I think that you don't want to make headlines the wrong way, because it takes away from the substance of what you're trying to do in general.’” Last week, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith spent a social media video chastising assorted “woke” ideology in schools for the overwhelming conclusion by historians that the constitutional compromise that counted those enslaved as three-fifths a person amounted to appeasement to slave-owning states and gave more representation and power to Southern states. Beckwith’s take made him part of last week’s news cycle across the country. Here’s more from Dwyer’s follow-up from the governor: “'I don't like it': Gov. Mike Braun rebukes Beckwith for Three-Fifths Compromise comments.”

STATE DEMOCRATS SCHEDULE TOWN HALL IN LAFAYETTE: Karen Tallian, recently named chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, will be part of what the party is calling a “People’s Town Hall” from 6-7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, at IBEW Local 668, 2535 S. 30th St. in Lafayette. The event is part of a series of stops in Indiana’s congressional districts – in this case, tweaking U.S. Rep. Jim Baird for not holding public town halls in the 4^th District. For more information, here’s a link.

BUTLER PRESIDENT ON FED’S MOVES ON HIGHER ED: MirrorIndy reporter Claire Rafford had this: “Butler University President James Danko signed onto a letter speaking out against “unprecedented government overreach and political interference” at U.S. colleges and universities. The letter, titled ‘A Call for Constructive Engagement,’ was released April 22 by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. It called for the federal government to end stipulations on public research funding and to promote academic freedom and free speech. The letter does not specifically mention President Donald Trump.” Among 562 college presidents who had signed onto the letter – including three others in Indiana – Danko told Rafford, “I think to not speak up — there’s no option, quite frankly.” For more: “Butler president signs letter criticizing ‘government intrusion.’”

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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.