#718 | Monday, August 17, 2026 | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0400

This 718th episode will be a free-for-all!

First up, Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey welcomes back Madison County's contributing correspondent, Dr. Katherine Callahan. Callahan joins Bilbrey to break down several major developments in Madison County and the City of Anderson over the past month and a half, including:

The most recent Election Board meeting on July 30, 2026...
The recent historic weather event—Callahan shares her thoughts on the flooding in her neck of the woods and how she feels public servants and elected officials have handled the situation...
The "emergency" Madison County Council meeting, held today, Monday, August 17, 2026. The meeting concerned appropriating funds from the Rainy Day Fund — 1186 for flood relief — to the Madison County Emergency Management Agency and the Office of Homeland Security...

Then, from Madison County to Delaware County... the focus shifts back to the ongoing discussion of the issues faced by the Delaware County (City of Muncie) 911 Emergency Communications Center during the historic flooding on August 12-13, 2026.

During a regularly scheduled meeting of the Delaware County Commissioners today, Monday, August 17, 2026, Delaware County 911 Director Fred Cummings addressed the Commissioners and the public regarding the ongoing public-safety communications situation. His latest remarks appeared to walk back several statements he made at last week's "emergency" meeting while also offering significant new claims about the system's current status.

Bilbrey examines what has changed, what has been clarified, and what questions still remain—and oh yes, there are still plenty of questions. That said, it appears that The Political Spotlight is making some headway!

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VIDEO version of Ep 718: https://youtube.com/live/3eGK_NigSIs

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🚨🚨🚨
'The Political Spotlight'
LIVE Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. (ET)
Hosted by: Kristopher H. Bilbrey
Produced by: Kate Thornburg & Brandon Rudd
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© 2026 Mud Creek Studio.
— Special Guest: Dr. Katherine Callahan.

#717 | Sunday, August 16, 2026 | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0400

In this 717th episode, The Political Spotlight continues its coverage of last week's historic flooding in Muncie, Delaware County, and elsewhere across East Central Indiana, focusing on the lives lost and the major property damage.

Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey also continues to investigate the serious public-safety communications problems reported during the event. We now have more information — but we also have two very different accounts of what happened.

The Political Spotlight obtained firsthand accounts from Muncie police, fire, and EMS personnel, along with an end-of-shift report from MPD Lt. Justin Peters detailing intermittent police radio issues, problems with Fire/EMS paging, flooding at the Sampson Avenue communications site, alternative methods of dispatching officers, Priority 1-only responses, and concerns about the availability of a fully operational backup system.

Delaware County Commissioner Stephen Brand has now responded, stating that the county's backup and failover communication processes worked, emergency communications continued despite flooding at the Sampson Avenue tower control building, backup channels were used, and he is not aware of any critical communication failures or public consequences.

So which description is correct?

Possibly both — which is exactly why more answers are needed.

In this episode, Bilbrey examines what we KNOW, what we DON'T KNOW, and the critical questions that remain:

Was MPD limited to Priority 1 calls — and for how long?

What exactly failed or degraded?

What backup systems were activated, and what capabilities did they provide?

How do the county's claims of a successful failover align with what Muncie first responders reported in real time?

Is the communications system fully back to normal today?

What equipment was damaged, what will repairs or replacement cost, and who will ultimately pay?

And perhaps most importantly: What will Muncie and Delaware County do differently before the next catastrophic emergency?

This is not about manufacturing a controversy. It is about establishing the facts surrounding one of the most important pieces of public-safety infrastructure in Delaware County.

If the backup system worked exactly as intended, the public deserves to understand how.

If weaknesses were exposed, the public deserves to know how they will be corrected.

And if The Political Spotlight reported something incorrectly, officials have been invited to identify exactly what was wrong and provide the correct information.

In this episode, Bilbrey lays out the entire timeline and follows the evidence wherever it leads.

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VIDEO version of Ep 717: https://youtube.com/live/SfLBHkFIUJU

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The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday — Thursday at 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
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The Political Spotlight - Episodes Tagged with “911 Director Fred Cummings”

#718 | Monday, August 17, 2026 | The Political Spotlight

#717 | Sunday, August 16, 2026 | The Political Spotlight