Spirit & Place Essays

It’s an old trail bell. But it’s not just any old train bell. It’s also the biggest prize in college football in Indiana. Literally. “It is a big bell. I think it weighs 350 pounds,” said Dr. Scott Feller, president of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, an hour northwest of Indianapolis. The bell is the Monon Bell, and Wabash doesn’t have it right now. The bell currently resides on the campus of Wabash’s rival, 30 miles south in Greencastle.

Within the past week, a federal judge in Texas declared that DACA - the program that offers deportation relief and work permits to immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, was itself illegal. It's a ruling that will be appealed. But the people who benefited from the program - known as DREAMers - are also the focus of a play that's now on the stage of the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis. The name of the play itself is a phrase used as a lightning rod by critics of immigrants. The play is called Sanctuary City, and the main characters of the play are portrayed by actors with connections to Indiana – Seni Tekle and Diego Sanchez-Galvan. They spoke with Ray Steele on Morning Edition.

Opera Season is here in Indianapolis. When you think opera in Indy, most think of the great soprano Angela Brown. She and pianist Joshua Thompson will once again be two of the stars of “Opera in the Park” at Garfield Park on Saturday, September 9th. They spoke to WFYI’s Ray Steele ahead of the season opener for the Indianapolis Opera.