CODE BLUE: St. Joe Dems Treat Election Law Like a Suggestion

September 18, 2026

If you got elected to the South Bend Common Council, then swore under oath in a deposition that you moved out of the district you were elected to represent, would you still have your seat?

In St. Joseph County, you would. You just have to be a Democrat.

You can look this one up yourself. Indiana Code 36-4-6-2 says a council member who “ceases to be a resident of the district” forfeits office. South Bend’s city code, Section 2-1(c), says the seat “shall thereby become immediately vacant.”

In a November 2023 deposition, Sharon McBride testified under oath that she had been living with her mother, outside her district, since September 2020. The St. Joseph County Democratic Party “conducted an investigation” and declared the matter “resolved.” McBride is still on the council today.

This summer, the same Democratic Party did not file the form(s) the law requires for its own ballot appointments. The Democrats’ own lawyer admitted it on the record. And the party, which had been so relaxed about election law, suddenly cared.

Funny how that works.

Sharon McBride

McBride represents the 3rd District on the South Bend Common Council. Her 2023 declaration of candidacy, signed in front of a notary, lists her home as 415 E. Broadway, inside the district. She certified, “I meet the specific requirements of this office.”

Her campaign finance reports list the same address. Printed under the signature line is a warning: “A person who knowingly files a fraudulent report commits a Level 6 felony.”

Remember that wording. We will see it again.

In a deposition in her own lawsuit against her insurance company, McBride testified under oath that she moved out of her 3rd District house after mold damage. She moved in with her mother, outside the district, on September 1, 2020.

In December 2024, I took that testimony to the Indiana State Police.

On January 6, 2025, the Democratic Party said it had talked to “legal counsel and Indiana Election Law experts.” Which experts, it did not say. Maybe they were shy. The Democratic Party then deemed the matter “resolved.”

Days later, a State Police detective picked up the phone to ask McBride about it. Both numbers on her candidate forms were dead. Apparently, that was not a concern for the Democratic Party.

The special prosecutor, Christopher Gaal, reported in August 2025 that “the evidence is uncontested that McBride was not physically present at the residence.” He passed on criminal charges, because he couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she “knowingly acted to permanently abandon” the house. A civil removal case, he wrote, was “more appropriate.”

So a 3rd District resident filed one. Special Judge Graham Polando wrote that McBride “may indeed not meet the qualifications of her office.” Then he threw the case out on a technicality, because the law only lets a prosecutor, or someone claiming a stake in the office, contest it.

The special prosecutor said it belonged in civil court. The judge said the citizen who filed the challenge was not allowed to.

It’s a tidy arrangement, and the St. Joseph County Democrats received a “get out of jail free” card.

McBride is still on the council. The Democratic Party has never publicly revisited what it concluded in January 2025.

Heidi Beidinger

In May 2026, St. Joseph County Democrats had a 4th District vacancy to fill on the South Bend Common Council. On May 20, seven Democratic precinct chairs selected Heidi Beidinger.

WVPE reported that Beidinger, a longtime former Granger resident, bought her South Bend home in September 2025. State law says a person can serve on the council “only if” she has “resided in the city for at least one (1) year.” South Bend’s city code says it in its own words. A council member “shall have been a resident of the City for at least one (1) year immediately preceding election.”

Angela Smith, one of the candidates Beidinger beat that night, told WVPE what she understood the timeline to be. “I knew she had just moved into the city from Granger last fall.”

The caucus met in May. You don’t need a calculator for this one.

One of the seven voters, Emily Voorde, raised the eligibility question before the vote. She told WVPE she went to the St. Joseph County Democratic Party to find out whether Beidinger’s eligibility had been determined.

“They said they were leaving that up to the caucus members,” Voorde told WVPE.

The caucus parliamentarian also told WVPE the candidacies were “presumptively valid” until “the caucus decides otherwise.”

In other words, the party had a lawyer, a statute governing eligibility, a precinct committeeman (PC) questioning the candidate’s eligibility before the vote, and the Democratic Party decided it was best to let the PCs decide.

Beidinger was sworn in that night. And at this time, no one has taken her eligibility to serve on the Common Council to court, or to the state police.

The November Ballot

Now we fast-forward to the summer of 2026, when election law suddenly became very important to the St. Joseph County Democratic Party.

Party Chair Don Westerhausen appointed several individuals to fill holes on the November ballot. Each appointee was required to file a CAN-31, the form where a candidate agrees to be on the ballot. Indiana Code 3-13-1-14 says an appointment “is not effective unless” that consent is filed.

None of his appointees filed one.

You don’t have to take the Republicans’ word for it. At the August 21 election board hearing, the Democrats’ own lawyer, James Groves, said it himself. “Yes, we failed to file the CAN-31s.” Groves told the board it “probably should” sustain the objection, “as the statute uses the word shall.”

A reasonable party might have said oops and moved on. But the Democratic Party, under Westerhausen, has been anything but reasonable.

Instead, on September 2, the party put out a release warning that “failure to follow Indiana Code regarding candidate placement is a Level 6 felony.”

There’s that phrase again. Last seen on McBride’s campaign reports.

The same release quoted Vic Cummings, the party’s nominee for county assessor: “My personal belief is that voters should decide, not the courts.”

Five days later, on September 7, Westerhausen took the matter to “the courts.”

Here is the part every county chairman in Indiana should read twice. The Democrats did not have to get it right the first time. When the board sustained the challenge on August 21, Manier ruled that it created a fresh vacancy, and Indiana Code 3-13-1-7(b)(7) gave Westerhausen 30 days to fill it again.

He refiled on August 28. By then nobody could challenge it. Indiana Code 3-13-1-16.5(b) gives a challenger until noon 74 days before the election to question a certificate of candidate selection, and Manier found that deadline ran on August 21, the same day the board removed the first four names. After that, she wrote, the only avenue left to anyone who thinks a candidate is disqualified is to file a lawsuit.

The Democrats do not file the proper paperwork.
The Democrats are removed from the ballot.
The Democrats refile.
The Democrats exploited a loophole in election law.
That is not my summary. It is the sequence that the ruling documents.

The Record

When one of its own council members testified she’d moved in with her mother outside her district, the party determined it was a non-issue.

When a precinct chair asked whether its council pick was even eligible to serve on the Common Council, the Democratic Party said that was up to the caucus.

When the Democratic Party’s appointments did not turn in the required forms, and its own lawyer admitted it, the party threatened felony charges, hired a law firm out of Indianapolis, and had a judgment in hand within ten days.

Sharon McBride testified under oath that she moved out of her district six years ago. A resident did ask a court to remove her. The judge never ruled the case, because the law did not let that resident bring the case. The Democratic Party has not brought one. Neither has a prosecutor.

So the party knows how to make election law work. It knows which statute to cite, which courthouse to walk into, and how fast a judge will move.

In St. Joseph County election law is a suggestion right up until a Democrat needs it.

If It Isn’t Broken Why Are the Democrats Trying to Fix It?

Logan Foster

September 14, 2026

There are two ways to run against an incumbent. You say what they’ve done wrong, or you say what you’d do better. Three St. Joseph County Democrats are challenging three Republican incumbents this fall for county assessor, county clerk, and county commissioner. I went through the three Democrats’ campaign materials looking for their case against the incumbent, or a plan to do the job better. I didn’t find an answer.

St. Joseph County Assessor

The assessor’s office locates, identifies, and values every taxable parcel in the county. The Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) certifies its appraisers at three levels. I, II, and III.

Incumbent Mike Castellon has held the office of St. Joseph County Assessor since January 1, 2023, after three terms as Penn Township assessor. He spent 20 years in the Navy and maintains a Level III Assessor/Appraiser certification, the highest certification the state gives. His campaign says nearly all of his appraisal staff reached Level III within two years of his arrival and that every employee presently maintains that certification or is working toward it.

Vic Cummings boasts that he graduated from Clay High School. His site says he then worked as a machine operator, “a building engineer for the South Bend community schools,” and now as a sales representative for HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection supplies. He also coaches high school football.

The district’s payroll records, filed with the state, tell it differently. His title in 2015 was “Cd Custodian.” His title in 2016, 2017, and 2018 was “Ei-Ic Eng/Edctr Custodian.” The word custodian appears in his job title. Yet it does not appear on his campaign material.

His website does list the assessor’s duties, but it does not state that Cummings has performed any of them. It lists no appraiser certification, at any level. His reason for running, in his own words, is to help people “combatting the red tape at the Capitol.”

The assessor’s office is in the County-City Building.
The State Capitol is in Indianapolis.

St. Joseph County Clerk of the Circuit Court

The clerk keeps the court’s records, manages its finances, and runs elections. The work is administrative, and demands accuracy.

Incumbent Amy Rolfes took office in January 2023. When I interviewed her in March 2025, she oversaw about 55 employees. She had used grant money to secure the ballot room with cameras, motion detectors, and key card access. The audit of the 2024 election showed a 99 percent confidence level, the highest rating available without a full hand recount. Her campaign adds an honorable mention from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and a Ball State certificate in election administration.

Stephanie Ball has a sociology degree and a master’s in public administration. She has worked for the state, the Housing Authority of South Bend, and the South Bend Heritage Foundation, and served one term on the school board. Her site calls her a certified financial counselor. It does not list a day of work in the clerk’s office, the courts, or election administration.

Her case for the office is that the clerk should “lead with empathy and attention to detail.”

One of the first documents Ball filed to run for that office was her campaign finance report. Ball named her committee the “Committee to Ellect Stephanie Ball.” And named her county as “St. Josepah.” Where the form requires contributor addresses, she left some of those blank.

Ball wants to run the office where attention to detail and record filing is the job. Yet, she missed details in her own filings.

St. Joseph County Commissioner, District 1

The Board of Commissioners is the county’s executive branch. It sets the budget, maintains the roads, and oversees county operations.

Incumbent Carl Baxmeyer has held the District 1 seat since August 2022 and is board president. Before that: LaPorte County planning director beginning in 1978, intergovernmental coordinator for U.S. Rep. John Hiler, director of the 1990 Census regional office, ten years running a planning firm. His campaign claims $6.5 million spent repaving 28 miles of county road, $2.7 million in property tax relief for seniors, and a 6,000-hour cut in mandatory dispatcher overtime.

Bill Redman joined the sheriff’s department in 1994, and was elected sheriff in 2018 and 2022.

Redman’s campaign lists public safety, road repair and snow removal, and funding county needs without raising taxes. Baxmeyer’s campaign lists the roads he repaved and the taxes he didn’t raise. Redman’s site does not name one thing the current board has done that he would undo.

What’s broken

Nothing, apparently.
At the time of publication, Cummings’s site does not mention how the assessor’s office is run. Ball offers empathy for a job that requires neutrality. Redman’s offers to continue Baxmeyer’s agenda with a different name on it. None of the three say their opponents office is failing. None say what changes they would make. None say why the person doing the job now shouldn’t be reelected.

The election is on Tuesday November 3rd.

DONKEY BUSINESS: Don Westerhausen Couldn’t Get Five People to Sign a Form. Twice He’s Blamed Someone Else.

Logan Foster

September 3, 2026

St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chairman Don Westerhausen had one job. Get five people to sign a form.

He didn’t. It cost his party five appointments.

Two weeks ago, the St. Joseph County Election Board decided five of Westerhausen’s appointments were never eligible to be on the November ballot. Today the board will meet to revisit four of them. Westerhausen said in a press release Wednesday that he’ll contact the Indiana State Police if his four appointments are not on the ballot.

In June of 2026, Westerhausen appointed five individuals to fill vacancies on the November ballot, and three forms had to go to the clerk’s office for each one. The CAN-29 is the chairman’s certificate of selection. The CAN-12 is the candidate’s statement of economic interests. The CAN-31 is the declaration of candidacy and written consent to be placed on the ballot.

Not one of the five filed a CAN-31.

On August 21, Republican Chair Jackie Horvath challenged all five. The Democrats didn’t contest it.

“Yes, we failed to file the CAN-31s,” said James Groves, the attorney representing all five. Groves went further, telling the board that “from a technical standpoint,” it “probably should, as the statute uses the word shall, should sustain the objection.”

The board agreed with the Democrat’s attorney and removed them.

Horvath had a second argument, and it’s the one the board will hear this afternoon. The legislature passed a law last year that ends a county chairman’s power to fill ballot vacancies at his party’s next precinct committeeman election. For St. Joseph County Democrats, that was May 5, 2026. Westerhausen’s authority came from a party meeting in March 2025. Westerhausen made these appointments in June 2026, after his authority to do so had expired.

In a press release issued Wednesday, the Democratic Party shared their plan to get their appointments back on the November ballot. The August 21 removals left the seats vacant again. On August 26, the party’s precinct chairs and vice-chairs passed a resolution granting Westerhausen the authority to fill ballot vacancies. On August 28, the press release says Westerhausen filed new certificates of selection for four of the five, this time with notarized consent forms and statements of economic interest attached.

Which means the election board now has to decide whether losing a challenge is a consequence or a get out of jail free card. If the board removes an appointment for paperwork that wasn’t filed correctly, and the same chairman refills the seat the following week, nobody has to get it right the first time. They just have to get it right eventually. Horvath’s attorney told the board on August 21 that state law wouldn’t allow a refile this late in the calendar year.

On Wednesday the clerk’s office held its ballot proof review. Both party chairs go through a draft of the November ballot with the clerk’s staff and sign off that every race is correct before it goes to the printer. Westerhausen’s four appointments were not on it.

Westerhausen didn’t sign the proof. He got up and walked out, according to someone in the room, and left the county’s ballot review sitting unfinished for half an hour while they needed to find another Democrat willing to do the job the party chairman wouldn’t.

By that afternoon the Democratic Party’s executive committee had a press release out. The headline names Clerk Amy Rolfes and accuses her of refusing to place four Democrats on the ballot. The closing line says the Democratic Party hopes Rolfes follows the law rather than “committing multiple felonies,” and that it would rather voters decide elections “instead of law enforcement.”

The release never says which statute anyone broke. It quotes a state election official saying the county election board is required to print the names, then puts the felony on the clerk. And it includes a statement from Stephanie Ball, the Democrat running against Rolfes in November.

That was twice in two weeks. On August 21, Westerhausen told the board his first-time appointments had asked the clerk’s staff if their paperwork was in order and were told yes. Except the clerk’s staff doesn’t check whether you filed the right forms. It checks whether the forms you filed are filled in. The deputy clerk told this same board exactly that in February. Getting the filing right is the candidate’s job. Ruling on it is the election board’s. The party got it wrong, blamed the clerk, lost, refiled, and blamed the clerk again.

This is not the first time the Democratic Party has decided election law is optional.

Sharon McBride is the Democratic councilwoman for South Bend’s 3rd District. She was accused of not living in the district she represents. In December 2024 a criminal complaint went to the Indiana State Police. Three weeks later the Democratic Party issued a statement declaring McBride was in compliance and deemed the matter resolved. In August 2025 a special prosecutor found it uncontested McBride hadn’t lived in her district since 2020. Her own sworn testimony put her living at her mother’s house in another district. The party has never publicly asked her to vacate the seat.

In May 2026 seven Democratic precinct chairs caucused Heidi Beidinger onto the South Bend Common Council. Beidinger came from Granger and bought her South Bend house in September 2025. State law requires a Council member to reside in their city for one year before taking office. Beidinger was caucused in four months short of a year. The residency question was raised before the vote. WVPE reported that one of the seven precinct chairs asked Beidinger about it beforehand and was told the state had determined she was eligible, and that when the precinct chair went to the county party to confirm it, she was told eligibility was up to the caucus. They ignored Beidinger’s ineligibility and seated her anyway.

The Democratic Party has repeatedly ignored election laws when it suits their interest. For their Common Council members, eligibility was decided by the party, not election law. For a clerk’s office that file-stamped their paperwork, they call it a felony.

The board meets at 1 p.m. today.

Former Sheriff Frank Canarecci Endorses Rod Laureys

Logan Foster

August 27, 2026

Former St. Joseph County Sheriff Frank Canarecci has endorsed Republican Rod Laureys, saying the job Democratic nominee Scott Ruszkowski is seeking is not the job Ruszkowski has previously held.

“You can do an exemplary job of running a city police department and still not even have close to the qualifications needed to run a sheriff’s department,” Canarecci said.

Canarecci served two terms as sheriff, from 2003 to 2010. He was elected as a Democrat. Ruszkowski has led the South Bend Police Department since 2015. Laureys is a St. Joseph County police officer and a Marine Corps veteran. The election is in November.

He is the second former sheriff to endorse Laureys. Joe Speybroeck, who served from 1995 to 1998, endorsed him earlier this month.

Canarecci said the comparison between the two departments is not close. He said he looked up the figures himself: 461 square miles of patrol responsibility in St. Joseph County against 41.9 in South Bend.

“The sheriff has the jail, the warrants, the courthouse security, the civil process, and there’s a lot more things other than just a detective bureau and a road patrol.”

Asked directly whether running a city police department prepares someone to run a sheriff’s department, Canarecci said no.

He offered his own phrasing for how he wanted the point attributed. Ruszkowski, he said, “would be more qualified to be a chief on the sheriff’s department and do patrol functions, but not nearly qualified for the other responsibilities that a sheriff has.”

“I don’t wanna bash him. I don’t have anything against him, but he doesn’t know,” Canarecci said.
“Until you sit in that chair that has that little sign that says sheriff, you don’t know how many angles are coming at you.”

The Jail

Canarecci said the county jail is the center of the job and the part a sheriff has to know before he walks in. He had 700 inmates when he was sheriff.

“The jail is not an OJT (On the Job Training) type of learning experience. You need to know day one going in there how to operate a jail.”

He listed what that means. Food services. Inmates’ rights. Classification.

Classification decides where an inmate is housed, and Canarecci called it probably the one thing that keeps inmates safe. Booking officers ask about gang affiliation, to avoid placing someone with a rival gang member.

“You want your inmates to stay safe” he said. “Maybe they got drunk one night, did something stupid. You don’t want them to get beat up in the county jail.”

The medical side is contracted. Canarecci said the jail had round-the-clock medical staffing, cells designated for medical use, and a psychologist or psychiatrist on site a couple of times a week. Inmates flagged as suicidal were housed alone, in suicide-resistant garments, under constant watch.

“That’s one thing that a police chief really doesn’t have to deal with,” he said, “negotiating the medical contract for the safety of the inmates.”

The department’s budget was approximately $16 million when he held the office.

“You better know your budget if you’re sheriff. You better know every line item.”

Metro Homicide

South Bend announced in September 2021 that it would pull its officers out of the county’s Metro Homicide unit, effective January 2022, while Ruszkowski was Chief of Police. The city attributed the decision to staffing. The Metro Homicide unit stopped taking cases in October of 2021 and formally disbanded in the first week of January 2022.

Canarecci said he was out of the office by then and did not know the particulars. He put the question in terms of who the unit served.

“Most of the homicides in St. Joe County occur where? In the city of South Bend. So who benefits most by that unit? You would think the city of South Bend.”

County Prosecutor Ken Cotter, said at the time of its closing that roughly 78 percent of the county’s homicides since 2003 had occurred in South Bend.

The reasoning behind the withdrawal, Canarecci said, is a question for Ruszkowski.

On staffing, Canarecci pointed back to the jail. Corrections officers are special deputies rather than sworn police officers, he said, and staffing that building is its own problem.

Why Canarecci Endorsed Laureys

Canarecci said he went to people he hired during his own time as sheriff, people who have worked with Laureys, and asked them what they thought.

“These people could have said anything they wanted to to me,” he said. “So when you have people that you know and hired give their honest opinion on a person, that says a lot.”

He also pointed to the jail ministry, and said Laureys has committed to keeping it going. Canarecci put Steve Coyle in the chaplain’s position, and called it the thing he is most proud of from his time in office.

“A lot of them have never had structure, never had discipline, and never had somebody who cared about them.”

Canarecci also pointed to who Laureys would have around him. He said Laureys will be working with experienced personnel, and named John Botich, who ran against Canarecci for sheriff and whom Canarecci then appointed assistant chief. He said he did not believe Ruszkowski could put someone in that position who had Botich’s knowledge.

Asked whether any of this was personal, Canarecci said it was not.

“He’s a brother, with the same ultimate goal that I have,” he said of Ruszkowski. “Keep crime down, catch the bad guys, and lock ’em up.” Canareci said he would have no problem sitting down at a table with Ruszkowski.

Advice For The Next Sheriff

Asked what the next sheriff should prioritize, Canarecci started with personnel.

“Get a good jail warden, get a good chief, get a good assistant chief, and meet with all your department heads and assure yourself that they know what they’re doing, because you can’t go in blindfolded on day one.”

He added one more thing a sheriff needs: a lawyer.

“When it comes right down to what you legally can and cannot do, that changes so often that what we could do two years ago, you probably can’t do today.”

Canarecci said his own counsel was Pete Agostino and the late Howard Williams. He credited Agostino with handling much of the negotiation on the jail’s medical contract, and said contract work of that kind is something a city police chief does not ordinarily deal with.

Canarecci’s Background

Canarecci served four years of active duty in the Air Force before joining the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department in 1973. He spent his first two years in the jail, worked midnight patrol from roughly 1975 to 1981, then served as a detective. He held administrative posts under three sheriffs, including thirteen years as assistant chief.

He left the department after about twenty-five years, won a seat on the St. Joseph County Council, and served four years before running for sheriff. He said his years on the County Council gave him a view of the county budget from both sides.

Canarecci holds a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana University South Bend.

“That’s what you’re in when you’re sheriff,” he said. “You’re a public administrator.”

Five Democrats Kept Off The Ballot After Their Own Attorney Agreed They Should Be

Logan Foster

August 23, 2026

The attorney for five Democratic candidates told the St. Joseph County Election Board on Friday morning that the board should sustain the challenges against his clients. The board kept all five off the ballot.

“Yes, we failed to file the CAN-31s,” said James Groves, the attorney representing all five Democrats. “From a technical standpoint, the board probably should, as the statute uses the word shall, should sustain the objection.”

St. Joseph County Republican Party Chair Jackie Horvath brought the challenges against Autumn Kaylor, a candidate for county auditor, Dan Caruso and Marcy Kauffman, both candidates for at-large seats on the New Carlisle Town Council, Christy Donlon, a candidate for Walkerton Town Council in Ward 2, and Ron DeWinter, a candidate for the Penn Township Board. None had run in the May primary. All five were appointed by St. Joseph County’s Democratic Party Chairman Don Westerhausen to fill vacancies on the party’s general election ticket.

When a county chairman appoints someone to fill a vacancy on a local ballot, three forms go to the clerk’s office. Two of them come from the candidate.

The CAN-29, the certificate of candidate selection, is filed by the party chairman. It names the candidate, the office, and certifies the appointment.
The CAN-31, the declaration of candidacy and written consent, is signed by the candidate. It is the only document where the candidate personally agrees to be placed on the ballot.
The CAN-12, the statement of economic interests, is also the candidate’s, listing employers, business interests, and a spouse’s employment.

Westerhausen signed a CAN-29 for four of the five in June, ahead of the July 6 deadline. He signed Caruso’s and Donlon’s on June 15, DeWinter’s on June 17, and Kauffman’s on June 24. The county’s public copy of Kaylor’s CAN-29 did not include the reverse page, where the chairman signs, so the date Westerhausen executed hers is not known at this time.

Caruso, Donlon, DeWinter, and Kauffman each filed a CAN-12 in June, before the deadline. Kaylor’s is dated July 29, more than three weeks after the deadline.

No CAN-31 was filed for any of the five. That is the form Horvath’s challenge is built on, and the one the Democrats’ attorney, James Groves, admitted the Democrats did not file.

The absence of that form matters because of what the missing form does. Under Indiana Code 3-13-1-14, an appointment to fill a ballot vacancy is not effective unless the candidate’s written consent form (CAN-31) is filed no later than the certificate naming that candidate (CAN-29). The CAN-29 is the chairman’s document, and nothing on it comes from the candidate. Each of the five CAN-29s carries the same line, printed in boldface on the front of the form: “The written consent of this person to the nomination has previously been filed with this office or is attached (CAN-31 form). The candidate’s statement of economic interests is attached.”

Horvath with her attorney, Tom Dixon, testified to the missing consent forms and to Kaylor’s statement of economic interests submitted after the deadline. She raised a second argument as well. A provision the Indiana General Assembly added last year, effective July 1, 2025, which ends a county chairman’s authority to fill ballot vacancies at the next election for that party’s precinct committeemen. St Joseph County Democrats elected precinct committeemen on May 5, 2026. The four appointments with a documented date were made in June, after the May 5 primary. Horvath argued that Westerhausen’s authority to make the appointments had already expired.

Westerhausen’s expired authority came from the county party’s reorganization meeting on March 1, 2025. Minutes of that meeting, attached to each CAN-29, record that Westerhausen was elected chairman and then asked for a motion authorizing the chair to fill ballot vacancies. It passed on a voice vote.

Groves told the board the Democratic party would call a caucus once the vacancies existed, and said a general election without a Democratic or Libertarian name would leave voters “kinda like Russia with only one choice.” Board member John Jurgonski answered that the state gives anyone ample opportunity to run and also noted that these candidates were not on the primary ballot. “Our state legislature has set the laws forth,” he said. Horvath’s attorney, Tom Dixon, said in rebuttal to Groves that other law would bar a caucus at this date, and called the question not ripe.

Westerhausen told the board that “Democrats believe in democracy and allowing voters choices.” He added, “Obviously, the Republican Party does not.” He said the party will refile under state law. Dixon told the board that state law would not permit it this late in the calendar year.

Advice from a Former Professor: Part II – Some Move-in Day Tips

Brian S. Collier, Ph.D.

August 21, 2026

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and
look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
-Ferris Bueller, c. 1986

Be present and have a plan for the actual college move-in process; if you don’t, life moves pretty fast…

You can find Part I of this article here.

1. Practical Prep

Pack a Tool Kit: Bring a set of Allen wrenches, two screwdrivers (or a cordless drill), and a rubber mallet. You will instantly earn the gratitude of the entire floor when neighboring families need to adjust lofted beds or assemble furniture.

First Aid Kit: Put a first aid kit in the supplies (something very basic like this one from Amazon). Make that first aid kit the last thing you put in the car and the first thing you take out.

Be Cool when meeting roommates: When you meet a new roommate, project calm and warmth, try to be cool (you likely will fail). Ask polite questions about their background—avoiding intense inquiries regarding their major or academic goals—and treat every young person as an adult. Shake hands, learn names, and thank the residence hall staff.

Keep it Positive: Avoid negative talk about the move-in process or other people. Accentuate the positive, flip the script, ask questions, but do not engage in any naysaying or negative talk about the place, people, or the experience – unless you are willing to actually take prolonged action to engage in discussions with administration and others to fix the situation for the next people/group/roommate, etc.

Feed the Troops: Make sure you know how and when you’ll feed yourself and your group while the move-in takes place. If you need reservations, get them! If you’re ordering take-out in a college town on move-in days, order when the place opens so it’s ready at a specific later time. Be flexible and compassionate about hunger and sugar spikes and crashes of others.

2. Managing Family Dynamics

Remember this is a transition for the entire family, not just the departing student.

Include Siblings: Pay special attention to younger children in the family. Make sure they enjoy dedicated, one-on-one time with their departing sibling before you all leave home (make another memory with them and their sib if appropriate) —suggest a walk around your block, have the departing sibling ask questions of the younger child, encourage a quick card game, or an ice cream run.

Support Your Partner: Recognize that this day affects partners in profound, unpredictable ways. Exercise patience, offer support, and find quiet moments to embrace your partner, thank them, and honor their vital role in your child’s life. If you no longer share a life with your child’s co-parent, act with grace, remember to highlight the positive about that person, and thank them for their role if you see them or feel comfortable texting them. If that parent has passed away, speak fondly of them to your student, recalling their intellectual interests or academic pursuits.

Maintain a Positive Atmosphere: Share jokes, play good music during the drive, and present the most grounded, encouraging version of yourself.

3. Guidelines for Parental Conduct

This weekend often reflects parental anxiety. Protect your student by keeping the focus entirely on their transition.

Avoid Self-Centered Stories: Refrain from sharing unsolicited stories about your own college years unless your student explicitly asks. Your presence on campus should focus entirely on their experience. If you catch yourself sharing personal anecdotes, pause, redirect the conversation, and express pride in their accomplishments—or apologize, acknowledge your heightened emotions, and explain that excitement for their future can trigger nostalgic rambling.

Limit Goodbyes: State that you will miss them only once. Avoid creating the impression that your well-being or household completeness depends on their presence. Missing your child remains completely natural, but again, the day is not about you.

Abandon Career Obsessions: Resist the urge to fixate on job outcomes during move-in weekend. Encourage your student to remain open to novel experiences, unexplored disciplines, and unexpected directions. College is an intellectual and personal unfolding, not just job training.

4. The Farewell Ritual

Traditions can make it easier for all of you to say goodbye.

Establish a Farewell Location: Select a specific, memorable campus spot for your official goodbye. Establish a firm rule to part ways at that precise location—regardless of heat, cold, or rain. Dedicate an extra hour to remain fully present in that space, execute a brief, meaningful ritual, and maintain that tradition during future visits.

Take Mental Snapshots: Avoid viewing the entire day through a smartphone camera. Take a few select digital photos, then dedicate the rest of the time to mental snapshots. Study your child’s face, absorb the surrounding landscape, and store those memories deep within.

Depart in Peace: Drive away confident that your investment extends far beyond move-in day—you spent a lifetime building the foundation supporting them right now. They will thrive.

Pray: Pray for your child, pray for your family, pray for other students navigating this milestone, and pray for peace in our world.

Have a plan for the trip back home for yourself or your group. If you’re alone, call an old friend from your own educational past just to chat. If you’re with family or friends, take turns asking each other about your hopes for your own educational future. Ask them about things they want to learn more about, or books they hope to read, or film or art they’ve enjoyed and want to learn more about as they continue to grow as students of life and the world.

Lots of love to all of those family members, friends, and family who do not get to participate in a drop-off ritual. To you, I say, send a heartfelt piece of physical mail during the first week or a digital credit for a coffee or treat that notes you’re wishing them luck.

This story previously appeared on the author’s Substack account https://substack.com/@cowborian

Reprinted with permission of the author.

Advice from a Former Professor: Part I – Things to Do and Know

Brian S. Collier, Ph.D.

August 20, 2026

When you drop your child off at college, do not treat the day like a high-stakes logistics mission or another darn thing on your ‘to-do list’. Instead, see the day as a rare opportunity to slow down, be present, speak highly of people, showcase manners, and create lasting memories.

As a former faculty member, I’ve watched thousands of college students arrive on campuses. The students who thrive—academically, socially, and emotionally—follow a few core habits. To set your student up for genuine success, try these (they’re quick this year and stream-of-consciousness-y, but I promise to update them).

1. Safety, Logistics, and Boundary Setting
Establish foundational safety measures and practical guardrails before handing over the residence hall keys.

Set Up the “No-Questions-Asked” Ride Policy: Ensure your student installs Uber or Lyft on their phone. Tell them explicitly: if discomfort arises, or if they suspect their driver lacks sobriety (even slightly), you will fund their ride home. Should they request reimbursement later, ask zero questions beyond, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Build and Share Emergency Contact Cards: On your phone, build complete contact cards for Campus Police, the local Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office, and nearby hospitals (including direct phone numbers and physical addresses). Create a card for 988 (National Suicide Prevention Hotline) and another for the local or state hotlines. If your phone lets you add images to contact cards, do that too! Share these contact cards directly to their phone; that way, if they need the numbers, they have them, and heaven forbid, if any of those places call you, you’ll know who is calling and answer it immediately.

Talk Openly About Finances: Share transparent details about the weekly or monthly financial support you can provide, even if that figure is zero. Embarrassment has no place in this conversation; clarity reveals whether they must secure a campus job immediately. Frame financial support as an ongoing dialogue for the coming years and remind them that circumstances shift.

Establish the “Last Resort” Rule: Encourage your student to solve problems independently. Reassure them of your love and your desire to help but position yourself as their absolute last resort rather than their first impulse during a crisis.

Decide on Communication Frequency: Encourage them to reach out sparingly. Try not to be too much of a social, emotional, academic crutch, so that they work on flourishing in different and new environments.

2. The Human Element: Building Community
College centers less on the degree awarded at graduation and more on the personal transformation that occurs along the way. The social habits students establish during week one shape their four-year trajectory.

Practice Awkward Introductions: Direct your student to sit next to new peers in class and during meals, introduce themselves, and put away their smartphones. Though awkwardness will inevitably follow, learning from peers constitutes half the value of tuition. Urge them to show genuine curiosity, ask questions, and rehearse these conversations until the habit takes root. Neglecting this practice early makes forming friendships exponentially harder over time.

Calculate Campus Value: Sit down together and calculate the true financial cost of skipping a dining hall meal—and remind them of the physical and emotional cost as well. Next, calculate the exact cost of their education down to the hour and minute (factoring in tuition, university fees, room, board, and transportation calculated at $0.80 per mile). Keeping that number in mind encourages them to extract maximum value from every resource, class, and campus opportunity.

Shift Travel Logistics: When breaks arrive, resist the urge to manage their travel arrangements. Avoid booking their transportation. Instead, establish a deadline for them to share their travel plans with you, and teach them to navigate ride boards, public transit, carpools, or ticket purchases. Your parents did not arrange your trips home; navigating logistics builds essential independence.

3. Mastering the Classroom
Success in college academics relies rarely on innate intelligence and heavily on discipline and etiquette.

Handwrite Every Note: Urge your student to take handwritten notes in every class, using either a traditional notebook or a digital stylus on a tablet (such as an iPad or a ReMarkable). Scholarly research consistently demonstrates that handwriting enhances focus and retention. Advise them to record questions as ideas arise, even if they never ask those questions aloud.

“Ctrl+F” and the Syllabus: Before emailing an instructor with questions about assignments or course expectations, your student should execute a Ctrl+F search within the syllabus. The syllabus almost always contains the answer.

Master Faculty Etiquette: Instruct your student to acknowledge the instructor when leaving class by saying, “Thank you, Professor X” or “Dr. Y.” Ensure they understand that a Ph.D. following a name warrants the title “Dr.” When uncertainty exists, default to “Professor”—and never use Ms., Miss, Mrs., or Mr. unless the instructor explicitly requests that form of address.

Attend Office Hours Early: Require your student to visit every professor’s office hours at least once within the first two weeks. Instruct them to shake hands, introduce themselves, ask a specific question about the course or the professor’s research, stay five to ten minutes, and thank the professor for their time.

Adopt the 3-to-1 Study Ratio: For every three-credit-hour class, students should dedicate at least three hours weekly to independent study. Remind them that completing assigned homework differs fundamentally from actual studying.

Build a Nightly Reflection Routine: Several hours after classes conclude each evening, instruct your student to open their notebook and write a brief summary addressing one core question: What constituted the most vital concept from today’s lecture, discussion, or lab?

Control Smartphone Use: Show them how to configure the Focus Feature on their phone to silence all notifications during class, while setting up a slightly flexible focus mode for study hours. Remind them that older generations—particularly faculty members—view phone use during class as deeply rude and disrespectful. After leaving the classroom, advise them to process what they just heard rather than immediately reaching for their device. Suggest they talk to someone on the way out about what was interesting or cool or ask the other person what they liked from the day’s class.

4. Health, Well-Being, and Gratitude
Academic success collapses quickly without physical and mental stability.

Protect Sleep Hygiene: Sleep directly governs mental health, social capacity, and academic execution. Warn your student that drastically changing their sleep schedule on weekends creates artificial jet lag every week.

Prioritize Hydration and Physical Activity: Stay properly hydrated, minimize reliance on caffeine and stimulants, and build exercise, intramural sports, faith communities, or campus organizations into daily life.

Avoid Napping in Dorm Rooms: No naps or returning to the room during the day. Treat the academic day like a professional workday—identify quiet study nooks, library spaces, or coffee shops across campus to use between classes.

Cultivate Daily Gratitude: Teach your student to write detailed, sincere, handwritten thank-you notes to anyone who assists them—especially faculty members who write letters of recommendation or offer extra guidance. Encourage them to acknowledge everyone they pass: thank dining hall staff, custodial workers maintaining the buildings, and groundskeepers beautifying the campus.

Embrace Discomfort: Remind them that not having immediate answers is entirely acceptable. Personal growth requires discomfort. High school focuses on gaining admission to college; college focuses on discovering unexplored fields, intellectual paths, and unexpected careers.

You and your family can do this! Slow down, be present, and you’ll do it better than others and foster strong, burgeoning adult relationships with your child.

Part II – Coming Soon – The emotional terrain of Move-In Day: necessary tools, room setup, family dynamics, and a meaningful farewell.

This story previously appeared on the author’s Substack account https://substack.com/@cowborian

Reprinted with permission of the author.

Go, Go, Goat!

Brian S. Collier, Ph.D.

August 13, 2026

GREATEST OF ALL TIME or G-O-A-T for short! That’s what this idea implemented by the City of Mishawaka is in practice.

The Goats have the run of the hillside eating up vegetation including Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and all the overgrowth. They’re doing a great job and also drawing a crowd with dozens of people throughout the day stopping to watch the goats at work clearing the unwanted vegetation on the Mishawaka Riverbanks.

Unlike the bipeds who’ve done this work in the past these four legged trimmers leave the area clean with little or no risk of on the job injuries. Further, as neighbors from other nearby communities stop to take a look they’re also stopping at Mishawaka eateries and Root beer stands and spending a few dollars that otherwise may not have gone into the Mishawaka economy.

This environmentally friendly workforce shows Mishawaka thinking creatively and making the city the G-O-A-T for summer innovation in our book!

© 2026 Brian S Collier. All opinions are those of the author. The author reserves all Rights and copyrights. To request permission to reprint any or all of this article, contact info@redresssouthbend.com.

Author’s Note: This story was partially written using AI assistance, but all reporting, local details, and interviews are real, original, and strictly fact checked.

Reprinted with permission of the author by Redress South Bend.

All opinions, research, and views in this piece are attributed to the author and are not necessarily the thoughts or opinions of Redress South Bend.

Former Sheriff Joe Speybroeck Endorses Rod Laureys

Logan Foster

August 11, 2026

Former St. Joseph County Sheriff Joe Speybroeck is crossing party lines to endorse Republican Rod Laureys, saying he faults Democratic nominee Scott Ruszkowski for the closure of the county’s Metro Homicide unit.

Speybroeck, a Democrat, was elected sheriff in 1994 and served from 1995-1998. Ruszkowski has led the South Bend Police Department since 2015.

“He took the drug task force, he took special crimes and took them all back to his place,” Speybroeck said. “That was breaking it down like, ‘I’m better than your team.'”

Laureys is a St. Joseph County police officer and a Marine Corps veteran. The election is in November.

The St. Joseph County Metro Homicide unit drew detectives from South Bend, Mishawaka, the county, and the prosecutor’s office. It investigated 365 homicides and solved 78 percent of them, according to St. Joseph County.

South Bend withdrew its officers in 2022 and the unit closed. Ruszkowski was chief. The city attributed the decision to “staffing.”

Ruszkowski said in the city’s announcement that most of the unit’s detectives were already South Bend officers and that “all cases will now be ‘in-house.'”

Speybroeck said the South Bend Police Department should not have been the one to walk away from the county’s Metro Homicide unit.

“That’s public safety that you’re messing with,” he said.

The Metro Homicide unit worked, Speybroeck said, because a prosecutor sat in the building with the detectives. Most of the county’s drug crimes happened in South Bend.

“If he’s doing that to South Bend, what is he going to do to the sheriff’s department?”

Asked whether his objection was personal, Speybroeck said it was not.

“I don’t have any problems with the Ruszkowskis. I know all the Ruszkowski boys and all that,” he said. “If there was a picnic and we were sharing food, I wouldn’t have a problem sitting there with him.”

Asked again, directly, he gave the same answer and said it could be published.

“It’s professional. If there was a luncheon and they said, ‘Joe, you’re gonna sit next to Ruszkowski,’ I’d have no problem with that.”

The Sheriff’s Role

Speybroeck joined the sheriff’s department in August of 1969, one of about nine hired to help open a new jail. He was elected sheriff in 1994, took office in 1995, and lost his bid for reelection in 1998.

He said he lost because of the jail.

“No one likes building jails and spending forty-eight million,” he said.

Asked what a sheriff does that a city police chief has never had to do, Speybroeck said most people who run for the office do not understand it.

“Your main job as a sheriff is the jail and the courts. That is the number one job of a sheriff. And then comes the detective bureau and the warrant division and the road patrol.”

“They think it’s just like any other police department. You go out, and you make your arrests and the traffic stops. But they don’t know that the real part is the county jail.”

The office also serves civil process, including evictions, repossessions, divorce papers, and small claims, and collects money for the state.

“You’re also the tax collector too. You gotta collect taxes for the State of Indiana on warrants. And you gotta do that carefully also. You can go seize bank accounts and all that kind of stuff.”

When I asked what he would tell whoever wins, Speybroeck said to begin with the jail: set the contracts, work the budget with the commissioners, fill the vacancies, and meet with the warden daily.

“There’s always fights in there. There’s always a problem, but you gotta be on top of those things.”

A sheriff who treats the office as a police department, he said, will be behind from the first week.

Why Laureys

I asked whether someone already inside the sheriff’s department would be better equipped on the first day. Speybroeck said yes.

“He’s already got the knowledge of how the sheriff’s department runs. He’s worked in different parts of the department.”

I asked whether that meant a city officer would be at a disadvantage. Speybroeck said the difference was familiarity, not training.

“They’re all capable, everyone. Everyone’s the same. They all go to the same academy.”

Laureys told reporters in August that he spent ten years working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the federal side, and that his first priority as sheriff would be rebuilding a county drug unit. You can find our coverage of that event here.

St. Joseph County was designated a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the White House in September 2025. Sheriff Bill Redman said in a news release announcing the designation that it would bring federal funding, technology, and training, and strengthen coordination between local, state, and federal law enforcement. Ruszkowski and the City of South Bend pulled out of the county’s Metro Homicide unit in January 2022, leading or contributing to its closure.

“You gotta have a team,” Speybroeck said, “and that was a good team back then.”

Former officers say Scott Ruszkowski shouted the N-word from his patrol car

Logan Foster

August 6, 2026

The city of South Bend put Scott Ruszkowski in a squad car in July 1989 and provided him with a police dog in September 1992.

Retired officers who worked alongside Ruszkowski say he used the first one to shout the N-word at people on the street, and they say he bragged about what he did with the second.

Ruszkowski has run the South Bend Police Department since October 2015. Ruszkowski is the Democratic nominee for St. Joseph County Sheriff.

Redress South Bend sent Ruszkowski written questions on August 4 detailing each of the allegations outlined in the article, asking specifically whether he disputed them, whether he had ever used the N-word on or off duty, and whether he would authorize the city to release his complaint history, disciplinary records, and K-9 use-of-force reports. He was asked to respond in writing by 9 a.m. Thursday. He did not respond.

Some of the officers heard Ruszkowski say the slurs. Others say it was common knowledge inside the department. The officers spoke with me separately, and every one of them requested that their name stay out of it. Ruszkowski still runs the department where they spent their careers, and he is influential in the law enforcement community.

The officers who heard it did not describe Ruszkowski’s conduct as a single incident. They described something Ruszkowski did regularly, with the window down, while Ruszkowski was on duty in a marked car. Rap music was playing when Ruszkowski used the word, some of the officers said, and if anybody challenged him over it, Ruszkowski could answer that he had only been singing along with the song. One officer named the back ramp behind the police station as a place where some of this transpired.

Now the canine.

One of the men said he was a guest at parties in Ruszkowski’s house, and that officers at those parties bragged about beating up minorities while Ruszkowski talked right along with them. What this man heard was the bragging. The beatings happened somewhere else, and he does not say he saw them.

He remembers what Ruszkowski said about the dog at those parties. When Ruszkowski pulled up to an intersection, Ruszkowski said, whoever ran first was the one Ruszkowski put the dog on.

A different officer said it was known in the department that Ruszkowski put the dog on people who did not need a dog put on them, and Ruszkowski let the dog chew.

Minutes of the Board of Public Safety from August 17, 2011 carry a letter from then-Chief Darryl Boykins setting out Ruszkowski’s record. Ruszkowski joined the department in March of 1989 and went to the Third Detail Uniform Division as a patrolman on July 28. Ruszkowski was selected as a K9 handler on September 28, 1992, and in 1999 Ruszkowski returned to the Uniform Division.

Seven years with a police dog.

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