Michael Hicks

In many ways, pregnant people, hospitals, and OB-GYNs will immediately experience the effects of Indiana's new abortion restrictions. The timeline for economic repercussions is less clear after the law goes into effect Sept. 15.

Ball State University's economist says COVID-19 is still affecting the economy and will likely do so through 2022. The most visible sign could be a continuing increase in the number of jobs done remotely.

Ball State's Michael Hicks says the U.S. economic growth of -4.6 percent in 2020 is the worst since 1946, when the country lost wartime manufacturing contracts.

The region, including Muncie and Anderson, is paying college graduates less than the state average - about $5,000 a month in income versus a state average of $6,000.

Last year, Ball State economist Michael Hicks predicted the U.S. would grow its gross domestic product - or GDP - by around 2.7 percent. So did everyone else. In reality, GDP grew by 2.2 percent. For 2016, other forecasts show a growth from 2.5 to 2.75 percent. Not Hick's. He's predicting growth in 2016 at 2.2 percent.