News From Around The State…

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Indiana State News…

A plea deal with prosecutors means a former Indiana University student will only serve probation for 2 rape cases.

John Enochs pled guilty to battery with moderate bodily injury and will serve one year of probation, with the rape charges against him dropped as part of the agreement. Prosecutors have not given a reason for agreeing to the plea deal. Enochs was a member of the Delta Tau Theta fraternity when the first rape was reported in April 2015. A woman who said she had been drinking accused Enochs of attempting to have sex with her, and IU Police say security video appeared to implicate Enochs.

While police were investigating that case, another woman accused Enochs of a rape at the Delta Zeta sorority house on the Bloomington campus in October 2013. Enochs was charged after a DNA test.


State health officials are urging Hoosiers to learn their HIV status as part of National HIV Testing Day on June 27. 

HIV weakens a person’s immune system by destroying cells that fight disease and infection. It can be transmitted sexually, through shared drug injection equipment and through blood, breast milk and other bodily fluids.

Though there is no cure, testing and early participation in HIV care are critical parts of managing HIV infections and preventing the spread of disease.

In 2015, 543 Indiana residents were newly diagnosed with HIV, while 78 were diagnosed with AIDS.

To find a testing site near you, visit www.aids.gov/locator and enter your ZIP code.


Researchers say mysterious holes that forced the closure of a massive dune at an Indiana national park after a 6-year- old boy fell into one and nearly died were caused by sand-covered trees that left cavities behind as they decayed over the years.

A study published in December and a second due out this summer that supports its findings determined that fungi on the covered trees formed a sort of cement that allowed the sand to keep its hollowed out shape as the wood decayed and collapsed inward.

Bruce Rowe, a spokesman for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, says the studies will determine whether the popular dune, Mount Baldy, can be reopened. Researchers say the phenomenon is likely responsible for holes found in migrating dunes in Oregon and Michigan.


Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has purchased the Yellow Cloud electric guitar that Prince used in numerous concerts until the mid-1990s.

The NFL football team owner and collector of musical instruments paid $137,500 for the guitar at an auction in Beverly Hills Saturday.

Heritage Auctions, which conducted the auction, says the solid body guitar was a favorite of the late musician from the late 1980s to the mid-Prince died on April 21 at his Paisley Park home in Minnesota of an Irsay also has instruments once owned by musicians Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead, John Lennon and Ringo Star of The Beatles and singer. The auction also featured other Prince-related memorabilia.


A ride that carries Indianapolis Zoo visitors along an elevated track above the orangutan exhibit is scheduled to reopen after being closed for almost a year. The Skyline ride has been closed since last July after a mechanical problem caused it to stop and trap some riders. Eight people had to be rescued from gondolas. Now the ride is scheduled to reopen on July 1.


Illinois officials warn that if lawmakers don’t strike a budget agreement by July 1, planned road construction won’t start and $2 billion in ongoing jobs will be shut down, resulting in continued safety hazards and extra costs. An Associated Press analysis of state transportation department data showed that the largest projects range from a colossal reconstruction of the Jane Byrne interchange in Chicago to the resurfacing of a lonely stretch of Interstate 57 in southern Illinois.


The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has created behavioral health units pairing specially trained officers with mental health experts to find people in crisis and divert them to appropriate programs and services. WRTV-TV reports data showed the department not only an increase in mental health runs, but many repeat calls to the same addresses.