Fight Blight Hits 50, Fall Festival Hits 100, and an Update on Riverside Drive

October 3, 2025

Happy Friday, Evansville! Welcome to the first edition of the Mayor’s Friday Focus, a weekly recap of what’s happening in your city government and across our community.

Of course, today it feels like the whole city has its attention on one thing: the West Side Nut Club’s annual Fall Festival. This isn’t just an Evansville tradition; it’s one of the largest street festivals in the country, and it raises funds for countless local nonprofits every year. And this year is extra special: the Fall Festival is celebrating its 100th year. Marques and I are looking forward to spending time on Franklin Street next week, and I hope to see many of you there as we mark this incredible milestone together.

The Fall Festival isn’t the only news drawing people to Evansville. Earlier this week, the Ohio Valley Conference announced that it is extending its contract with Evansville through 2032. That means the OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will continue to bring players, coaches, families, and fans downtown each year … filling our hotels, our restaurants, and our local businesses. It also means another opportunity for all of us to enjoy great college basketball right here at home, and to cheer on our own USI Screaming Eagles.

Here are a few other highlights from this week:

• Fighting Blight. We reached a major milestone in our Fight Blight program: the demolition of our 50th blighted property this year. Launched last November with $550,000 in American Rescue Plan Act interest funds, Fight Blight aims to prepare 150 properties for demolition by year’s end. As of October 1, 50 have come down, and 82 more are in the pipeline. The Department of Metropolitan Development is also working with the Land Bank to acquire some of these newly vacant lots, so they can be redeveloped into safe, stable housing. More news on that soon.
• Paving Progress. After some delays due to contractor schedules, paving crews are now hard at work. Milling and overlay work has begun on Washington Avenue, with Garvin Street, Court Street, and Lincoln Avenue next in line. All are expected to be completed by the end of October.
• Riverside Drive. We are on track to re-open Riverside Drive near the end of this month. At first, it will likely reopen with one lane in each direction while sewer work continues. We’ll share the exact date soon.
• Opioid Settlement Grants. This week we issued a call for proposals for the 2025 cycle of Opioid Settlement Fund grants, supporting programs that help prevent and treat substance use disorder in our community.

Finally, last week we announced a major shift in our water supply strategy: blending groundwater with Ohio River water to serve Evansville families. It’s a big change, and we’ve heard a lot of questions. If you’d like to learn more, tune in tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. to WEOA 98.5 FM. You’ll hear our Water and Sewer Utility Director Vic Kelson answer questions from my Communications Director, Joe Atkinson, and EPD Special Projects Director, Taylor Merriss.

Thank you for reading the first Friday Focus. I’m excited to share this space with you every week as we highlight the progress being made for Evansville. Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you at the Fall Festival!