Carrying the Weight: Gary Before, During, and After the Derecho

A City Already Carrying Weight

Bullseye 2.0 · X Marks the Spot — Special Edition

On August 11, 2026, a derecho left more than 370,000 NIPSCO customers in the dark — the largest outage in company history. Some Gary residents waited 13+ days for power. But this storm didn't hit a blank slate: it hit a city already carrying a century of disinvestment, a 33% poverty rate, and the state's worst grid reliability record.

This 14-part report goes beyond the headlines — survivor accounts, who's actually responsible for vegetation management, the scams already targeting storm victims, the risk of disaster-driven speculation in Gary's housing market, and what's coming next: data centers and a possible NFL stadium that could quadruple NIPSCO's grid load, on the same lines that just failed for two weeks.

It also includes a working 90-day agenda for City Hall, and the exact questions Gary residents should be asking NIPSCO, the IURC, and elected officials at every level.

Download the full report to see what Gary carried into this storm — and what it's now being asked to carry next.

A CITY ALREADY CARRYING WEIGHT.pdf

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