Hoosier Protection You Can Trust

For generations, Hoosier families have turned to Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance for protection that comes with hometown understanding. 

With offices in every Indiana county, your dedicated agent is always just a quick call or text away. They’re also here to help you find coverage customized for whatever stage of life you're in – whether you're just starting out, growing your family, or planning for retirement. From auto, renters, home, life, business and farm, they've got it all.

Check out INFB.com to connect with a local agent today. Let’s insurance together.

📜 This Week in Indiana History 📜

Michael Jackson Releases “Thriller” (1983)

When Michael Jackson began recording “Thriller,” he had one goal… make every song good enough to be a single. It was an ambitious goal at the time, but it worked out for him. Not only was the song “Thriller” successful, but the album became the biggest selling album of all time, too, with more than 70 million copies sold to date.

Born in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson began his career with the Jackson 5, a Motown group with four of his brothers. He showed the world right away that he had an immense amount of talent. After leaving the group to begin his solo career, he slowly built up his catalog of music that would define the 1980s, eventually releasing the first single of Thriller, a duet with Paul McCartney, called “A Girl Is Mine.” Then in early 1983, the second single “Billie Jean” was released. The music video for the song broke racial barriers on MTV, as it was the first music video by a Black artist to be played on the channel in heavy rotation.

From the opening track, it’s clear that “Thriller” is something different, with the song “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” hitting you in the soul with its blend of pop, rock, R&B, and storytelling. The album as a whole cemented Jackson’s title as the King of Pop.

IN’s Top 25 Christmas Tree Farms

Happy Thanksgiving Eve / whatever you choose to call the Wednesday before Thanksgiving! While you’re sitting down with family tomorrow enjoying turkey, ham if you’re into that kind of thing, stuffing, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, and sweet potato casserole, your attention might already be on Black Friday shopping and everything Christmas for the weekend. That includes the task of finding the perfect Christmas tree.

Good news: A few Christmas tree farms already opened for business last weekend, but many target Black Friday and the weekend following Thanksgiving to officially open for the holiday season. As promised last week, we’ve got deeper dives on 25 tree farms in northern, central and southern Indiana where you can create new holiday memories.

Get Indiana Hats — Area Code Edition

Who’s got the best area code in Indiana? Is it the 317, 765, 219, 574, 260, or 812?

We’re leaving it up to you to decide. Whichever hat is purchased most through early December, Get Indiana will donate $1,000 in holiday gifts for kids in that region via the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.

The crisp white snapback includes a high-quality 3D rubber Get IN patch, your area code embroidered on the side, and a black rope detail on the bill.

Get yours today and receive it before Christmas.

Holiday Shopping in Indiana

The perfect gifts do exist. We’re here to help you find gifts exclusively sold in Indiana with a list of local businesses offering everything from candles and gift baskets to scratch-off tickets, bourbon and spirits, gift cards, western apparel, and more.

Learn more and start shopping!

Indiana Accountants Who Think Like Business Owners

AccountedFor is a modern Indiana-based accounting firm built for business owners who want clarity without surprises. Its CPAs handle everything from tax prep to bookkeeping to Virtual CFO services — all under one cloud-based roof for a simple, fixed monthly fee. No surprise bills, no waiting games, just trusted advisors keeping your business accounted for every step of the way.

👉 Learn more at accountedforcpa.com.

Parke County and the Covered Bridge Festival

Bo Turner, the founder of FIND, was a recent guest on the Get IN. Podcast and recommended Parke County and its Covered Bridge Festival as a hidden gem in Indiana.

The Covered Bridge Festival is an annual 10-day event in October that celebrates the county’s 31 historic covered bridges, with events spread across nine Parke County communities. It is Indiana’s largest annual festival, drawing over 2 million visitors each year.

@natespangle

Hidden Gem in #indiana

The Clever Cat Escape Rooms

If you’re spending Thanksgiving or Christmas in northern Indiana and are seeking a fun group experience with family or friends, check out The Clever Cat Escape Rooms. It has nearly 500 reviews on Google and a flawless 5.0 rating!

Located in Mishawaka, Clever Cat has six rooms for you to crack the code and escape in 60 minutes or less. Learn more about the full experience here.

What’s your Hidden Gem? Submit here to have it featured!

👏 1 Big wIN 👏

About that ninth win for Notre Dame.

Last Saturday in front of another sellout crowd on Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium, the Fighting Irish annihilated Syracuse 70-7. After an 0-2 start, they’ve reeled off nine straight wins and are No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

For starters, Notre Dame’s offense didn’t take the field until the 7:07 mark of the first quarter… but the Fighting Irish still led 21-0. How, exactly? The defense sandwiched a pair of pick-six interceptions around a blocked punt return for a touchdown. When the offense finally took the field, it needed just two plays to find paydirt, with Love gashing through the Orange defense for a 45-yard score.

Love added touchdown carries of 14 and 68 yards, ending the day with 171 yards on only eight carries. Had he played for the duration, who knows where his yardage and touchdown totals would’ve ended up.

Records set ⬇️

• Notre Dame (9-2) set a modern-era scoring record with 70 points, eclipsing its 69-point total set against Georgia Tech in 1977. It hadn’t scored 70 points in a game since hanging 73 on Haskell in 1932.

• Notre Dame’s 35 first-quarter points set a school record. The previous high was 28, accomplished four times, most recently against Miami (Ohio) in 2017. The quarter ended with the Fighting Irish on Syracuse’s 1-yard line, so it could’ve been higher.

• Notre Dame led 49-0 at halftime, besting its point total of 45 in that ‘77 rout of Georgia Tech.

• Syracuse (3-8) gave up 70 points for the first time since allowing 75 to Union… in 1891!

One of our Get Indiana team members Cheyne Reiter was in South Bend for his first Notre Dame game and snapped the below shot from the record-setting contest.

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🎧 He Turned Viral Fame Into a Career in Music and TV  🎧

🎙 On today's show I sat down with Ryan Ahlwardt, an Emmy-nominated host of Fox 59/CBS 4's lifestyle show “Indy Now,” accomplished singer-songwriter, and former member of the vocal group Straight No Chaser.

Ryan shares his fascinating journey from a childhood spent performing in Germany to achieving national fame as part of the acapella group.

He also dives into his experiences performing on global stages, transitioning to a career in youth ministry, becoming the host of “Indy Now” and his ongoing musical projects.

If you like this episode and want to hear more Get IN. episodes where I interview Hoosiers making a difference, visit getindiana.com/podcast.

You are going to learn about:
- Ryan's Journey in Music and Television
- The Importance of Community and Chemistry on Lifestyle TV

Listen on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube!

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💎 Know any hidden gems we should cover? Submit yours here!