6/25/26 - Greenwood residents fight Buc-ee's, Moreau recalls Bayh Admin, Hogsett denies wish list

Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob examining the fight in Greenwood over a proposed Buc-ee’s travel center. Rob says the opposition is more thoughtful than a simple “not in my backyard” reaction, because residents acknowledge growth is coming but question whether a 74,000-square-foot travel center, hundreds of fuel and charging stations, and the extra development it could bring are right for their community. He argues their concerns about traffic, land use, and long-term character deserve to be taken seriously. Rob says the Buc-ee’s story matters beyond Greenwood because it shows why more residents need to organize against bad or poorly planned development. He argues too many communities get dazzled by big-name projects without asking who actually benefits, what costs residents will bear, and how the project will affect the area years later. Rob says he hopes the Greenwood opposition inspires people in other towns to push back on school referendums, data centers, and other local government decisions. The show also previews a conversation with Bill Moreau, publisher of The Indiana Citizen and former chief of staff to Evan Bayh. Rob says Moreau’s perspective is useful for understanding how Indiana Democrats went from sharing power in the state to being almost completely shut out. He also highlights The Indiana Citizen’s focus on school board races, especially now that candidates can identify by party affiliation again. Another major topic is the Indiana Republican Party adding closed primaries to its platform. Rob argues Republicans want to make it harder for people to vote in their primaries while still forcing every taxpayer to fund those elections. He says if parties want private elections where they control who participates, they should pay for and run them themselves instead of using public money, public workers, and public election systems. The discussion also turns to Lebanon’s proposed police station referendum and the broader collapse of Indiana’s property tax system. Rob says taxpayers already pay enough to expect basic services like police, fire, roads, bridges, water, and sewer without being asked for another tax hike. Rob argues local governments face no real penalty for putting referendums on the ballot, so they keep using police, schools, roads, or children as shields to demand more money instead of learning to operate within existing tax limits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices