The IBJ Podcast with Mason King

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Here's why the feds are suing Community Health with help from a whistleblower Jan 20, 2020

Show notes

Federal authorities have accused Community Health Network of engaging in a years-long scheme to recruit physicians and pay them huge salaries and bonuses in return for giving referrals to the Indianapolis-based health system, allowing it to improperly receive money from Medicare.

The health network has denied the allegations, but the government's case is based at least in part on information brought to light by Thomas Fischer, who served as Community Health’s chief financial officer from 2005 until his sudden exit in 2013.

IBJ's John Russell has written about the case and talks with host Mason King about the details, what it means for Community Health and how the lawsuit fits into a larger effort by the federal government to claw back what it considers "unjust enrichment" by hospital systems. At stake for the health care industry is systems is billions of dollars a year in Medicare and Medicaid business.

You can read Russell's latest story about the issue here.

Deciphering 5G and the new Indiana 5G Zone Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

Everybody in tech is talking about 5G—the newest generation of wireless technology. In the simplest terms, it means faster data service for smart phones and other devices.

But experts say 5G is about so much more. So host Mason King talks with Bill Soards, president of AT&T Indiana, and Sean Hendrix, who is the director of emerging technologies and partnerships for Purdue Research Foundation, about why 5G matters and how it could be used in the manufacturing, agricultural and other sectors.

They also explain the Indiana 5G Zone, which is set to open in downtown Indianapolis with Hendrix at the helm. The zone's mission is to accelerate innovation of 5G-related technologies throughout the state and support the technology’s deployment in industry and academia—and it puts Indianapolis at the forefront of the 5G revolution.

If you want to know even more about the Indiana 5G Zone, read this story by Anthony Schoettle from the Jan. 3 issue of IBJ.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg DeVault.

Pete the Planner talks setting 2020 resolutions about money Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

Podcast host Mason King has a hard time when it comes to keeping his New Year's resolutions. And this year, his goal relates to his family's finances.

So he turns to Peter Dunn—aka Pete the Planner—to find out how to set the right goals and then how to keep them.

Dunn explains the different types of financial goals: consumption goals (think vacation or a new fridge), debt elimination (student loans, credit cards) and accumulation (retirement, college savings). And the keys to achieving your goals, he said, are planning for retirement and avoiding credit card debt.

That sounds like common sense. But how do you achieve those goals? And in what order do you tackle them? Pete has some answers and advice.

Click here to read Pete's columns for IBJ for even more help with money.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg DeVault.

The top central Indiana stories of 2019 Dec 30, 2019

Show notes

Penske Corp. buys the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, trucking giant Celadon shuts down, Eli Lilly and Co. makes its biggest acquisition ever and Ambrose Property Group withdraws from plans to redevelop the former GM stamping plant site. Those are just a few of the big stories of 2019 that will impact central Indiana for years to come.

Podcast host Mason King talks with IBJ Managing Editor Lesley Weidenbener and reporter Anthony Schoettle about these and other stories, including the renovation plans for Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the changes the NCAA is making to let athletes benefit from their name, image and likeness.

You can check out an overall list of top stories here, as well as a list of top tech stories here.

The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by the law firm Krieg Devault.

Rick Eichholtz talks about the closing of Ike & Jonesy's Dec 23, 2019

Show notes

When Rick Eichholtz and his wife, Linda Jones Eichholtz, opened Ike & Jonesy’s at 17 W. Jackson Place 35 years ago, downtown was a very different place. The Indianapolis Colts hadn't started playing yet, Circle Centre mall wasn't open and even Union Station was still under renovation.

But Ike & Jonesy's found an audience quickly, in part by focusing on police, media, firefighters and a surprise group—lawmakers and lobbyists, who showed up every January when the legislative session began.

As downtown changed, the bar persevered. But in 2016, an affiliate of Sun Development & Management Corp. bought the building and has plans to turn it into a hotel. As Rick puts it, Ike & Jonesy's doesn't fit into the plans. So Sun and the Eichholtzes reached an agreement that means the bar will close after its New Year's Eve party.

Rick tells podcast host Mason King about how he became a bar owner, what his dad thought about the idea, and how he feels about the Ike & Jonesy's closing after more than three decades.

To learn more about Sun's plans—which have changed over the past few years—and about Ike & Jonesy's closing, read this story at IBJ.com.

Auld Lang Syne by and courtesy of E's Jammy Jams.

The demise of a trucking giant Dec 16, 2019

Show notes

Celadon Group Inc. on Dec. 9 filed for bankruptcy and abruptly shut down, eliminating nearly 4,000 jobs and bringing to a bitter close one of central Indiana’s great entrepreneurial success stories.

The trucking company launched with a single truck in 1985 and grew into the largest provider of international truckload services in North America, with more than 150,000 annual border crossings between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

But in the years after its co-founder and longtime leader, Stephen Russell, retired and then died, the company went in new directions that led to financial problems and accusations of fraud.

Podcast host Mason King talks with IBJ Editor Greg Andrews and reporter Susan Orr about Celadon's rise and fall as well as what role the fraud allegations played in its demise.

You can read more about the alleged account scheme and the people accused of wrong doing in Andrews' Behind the News column published on Dec. 13.

And you read Orr's account of the company's closure here.

News clip is from WISH-TV Channel 8.

Butler prez talks university's finances, future as challenges loom Dec 09, 2019

Show notes

Experts say smaller, private colleges and universities could be in trouble in the coming years as demographic trends mean there will be fewer students to fill an increasing number of spots at schools.

Butler University James Danko tells podcast host Mason King that the school is taking those concerns seriously and is rethinking who it's serving, how it's distinguishing its offerings and the way it's preparing to innovate as technology changes education.

The school is in a good financial position, Danko says, but it's working to build up its endowment (which is smaller than some of its peers and larger than others). That's just one of the goals of the Butler Beyond campaign, which is aiming to raise $250 million that will also fund building projects and additional scholarships.

To learn more about Danko, read Samm Quinn's profile of the Butler president. To learn more about the challenges facing universities as demographics change, read Quinn's story about what universities are doing to prepare to compete.

Pat Sullivan makes the business case for his store's North Pole train Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

Five years ago, the head of locally owned Sullivan Hardware & Garden decided to create a Christmas experience for families at his location at East 71st Street and Keystone Avenue. Drawing on his memories of the Santa Express at the former L.S. Ayres department store downtown, Pat Sullivan bought a mini-train, created a North Pole and started selling tickets to families.

It was an almost instant hit. And last year, about 35,000 parents and kids rode the train and visited with Santa.

Sullivan talks with podcast host Mason King about why the Sullivan Express is so fun for him and his staff but also why it makes business sense to keep expanding the attraction. In fact, the store has invested some $500,000 in the experience already with plans to add more.

One note: King initially recorded the podcast for IBJ's weekly Q&A feature, not for the podcast, but we thought it was too interesting to resist using it here as well. King conducted the interview outdoors and not with his usual podcast equipment, so there's a bit of excess background noise.

"Up on the rooftop" music courtesy of Heroboard on YouTube. Photo by IBJ's Eric Learned.

How an Indy group will use $11.6 million to help black students achieve Nov 25, 2019

Show notes

The Indianapolis-based Center for Leadership Development has spent more than 40 years helping African American students excel in education and their lives—and it has received support from the Lilly Endowment from the beginning.

But now, the endowment has made what officials are calling a "transformational" $11.6 million investment in the organization, which will help it expand the number of students it serves, put satellite locations in particularly needy neighborhoods, take programs directly into schools and expand their center to create more spaces for classrooms and tutoring.

Host Mason King talks with the group's president, Dennis Bland, about those expanded programs as well as how the Center for Leadership Development will do more to mentor students once they're in college. The Lilly grant will allow seed an endowment.

(Photo courtesy of Center for Leadership Development)

The new owner of WISH is investing $3 million. He explains why. Nov 18, 2019

Show notes

Indianapolis native DuJaun McCoy is back home with a big project. In April, he purchased WISH-TV Channel 8 and sister station WNDY-TV Channel 23 for $42.5 million, becoming the only black owner of a TV station in a Top 50 market.

Now, he's investing $3 million in equipment and a new vehicle fleet to help his team compete. And he's adding more than 20 people to the staff—including more salespeople and journalists, with an emphasis on multicultural and medical reporting.

McCoy talks with podcast host Mason King about why he's excited about returning home, his vision for the stations and how he's trying to help other minorities become station owners.

To learn more about McCoy, read IBJ reporter Anthony Schoettle's story at IBJ.com.

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