Not unlike 2000, when Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened their arms and welcomed Formula One, we now await the full arrival of the most elite form of motorcycle racing in the world – MotoGP – and wonder, well, what will it be like?

How big will the crowds be? Where will the spectators arrive from? What can we expect from this invasion of motorcyclists and their machines … and I’m talking about in the streets, and not at the Speedway.

In anticipation of the big weekend, for some reason, somehow I can’t get the Doors’ song, “Riders on the Storm,” out of my head.

The Red Bull Indianapolis GP is really nothing new to Indy of course … not if you want to go back 99 years to the birth of the Speedway. The first form of motorized racing there was, yep, motorcycles.

So we’ve come full circle, even though it’s one big circle.

It’s now a full-blown international circuit, one that’s been around for nearly 60 years. And despite its decidedly international audience, MotoGP comes with some truly all-American stars, notably Kentuckian (Owensboro) Nicky Hayden. But the points leader and defending champ is the wonderfully named Italian, Valentino Rossi.

They’ll be racing around the Speedway’s reconfigured 2.6-mile road course. After attending a couple of the testing sessions in July, I can personally testify that this will be an awesome spectacle. After all, just think about a pack of riders accelerating to 200 miles an hour down the Speedway’s main straightaway, then braking hard and leaning so far left into the first turn that their padded knees scrape the asphalt.

Indy has done its best to roll out a royal welcome for both the competitors and their fans. Nighttime activities in downtown and in nearby Broad Ripple will augment the action on the track that begins with practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday and then concludes with four races on Sunday. After the Red Bull Rookies Cup, the 125cc and 250cc events, the big boys will stage the grand finale with the 28-lap MotoGP event.

Three-day, reserved-seat passes cost from $75 to $125. Single-day admissions for Friday and Saturday also are available at the IMS gates (cash only).

The Speedway has put out information that 30 percent of all motorcycles registered in the United States are in the eight Midwestern states, and that the normal audience is 80 percent male, ages 16 to 37. IMS officials are hoping for a crowd of 100,000.

Also not to be overlooked is a Saturday night “flat track” race on the mile dirt oval at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Those riders also come equipped with substantial daring and courage.

In particular, Saturday night promises to be quite a diverse night in Indy, in fact. In addition to the RedBull Indianapolis GP fans, Lucas Oil Stadium will host a Kenny Chesney concert and, on Monument Circle, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra opens its season with a gala featuring violinist supreme Joshua Bell.

Wonder if he’ll mark the occasion by playing “Riders on the Storm” on his fiddle?

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Bill Benner is the associate director of communications for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association, an Indiana Chamber member. This blog post was written for Building a Better Indiana.

If there is a state battle over water supplies, there are only three potential solutions, writes Jonathan Walters of Governing.com. The options: Congress makes the call, the U.S. Supreme Court rules or the states work it out themselves.

The Great Lakes Compact (Indiana was the first of eight states and two Canadian provinces to sign on early this year) goes one better — protecting a most valuable natural resource before a squabble erupts. Walters says such agreements have a history of working well.

Check out this national perspective of an issue important to Indiana and the region. It’s an example of good policy coming before any politics, just what we like to see. Let’s hope Congress gives a quick approval and the Great Lakes stay that way.

Yesterday’s Indianapolis Star featured a column by Marion County Assessor Greg Bowes articulating the fundamental problems plaguing Indiana’s township assessments. Here are some highlights, but please take the time to read the entire piece as it is quite illuminating:

 I was elected county assessor, and began my first term on Jan. 1, 2007. I did not receive the assessments from the townships until after Jan. 31, 2007, more than seven months late. When I did receive them, not one of the nine township assessors had done the assessments correctly. In fact, the governor ordered reassessment in part because the township assessors made no changes in more than 70 percent of the commercial properties in Marion County, and this after a four-year period where no revisions were mandated.

When the reassessment was completed, an additional 30 percent in commercial value was identified, and massive changes were made in the residential properties in at least two of the nine townships. The reassessment injected a third bill into our tax year, and delayed the normal cycle by eight months. No wonder the mortgage companies are confused …

On the Nov. 4 ballot is a public question we must all consider seriously. It will read: "Should the assessing duties of the elected township assessor in the township be transferred to the county assessor?" If taxpayers want their assessments done correctly and on time, they should vote "yes."

Again, read the full column; get involved in helping make this much-needed reform a reality.

The South Bend Silver Hawks have clinched the Eastern Division title of the Class A Midwest League as the second half of the minor league baseball season winds down. I know you’re saying thanks for the sports update, but there is more.

Former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan, a catcher during his college days at Notre Dame, serves as president of that team. Kernan spearheaded an ownership group that kept the franchise in South Bend. Kernan also had a 2007 "volunteer" job (the current governor calls and you accept) of co-chairing the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform.

Kernan took time earlier this year to share his perspective on one of the key recommendations out of that group — elimination of township government. It’s one of only 27, but a critical one if our state is to operate local government effectively and efficiently.

Read what Kernan had to say in BizVoice magazine, and view a series of short videos on specific township topics.

And, by the way, go Silver Hawks. You can’t have enough sports success stories in the state.

When in Rome (Ind.), do as Edgar Whitcomb does…

I enjoyed this article about one of our living former governors. After serving as governor from 1969 to 1973, Whitcomb has found peace outside of politics and now can be found basking in the serenity of southern Indiana.

Whitcomb’s house in Rome is a mid-19th-century roadhouse that was in gross disrepair until last year when he hired an Amish family to restore it.

Rome’s history is similar to Whitcomb’s in that it started ambitiously — they named the place Rome, after all, and made it the Perry County seat. Rome stayed small, though. The county seat was moved to Cannellton in 1859 and finally to Tell City.

Whitcomb also spends time at his cabin a few miles outside Rome on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. The nearest neighbor is 2 miles away. A good bit of the mile-long driveway doubles as a creek bed, rocky and uneven.

Did you know that one in five individuals in Indianapolis reads below the sixth-grade level?  This is not just a problem unique to our capital city or our state.  Nationally, about 14% of adults function at a level that is “below basic.”  The Indianapolis Star noted the problem in a recent editorial.

Functioning at the “below basic” level means these individuals are able to read the alphabet or recognize a street sign.  It does, however, also mean that the individual may not be able to read the instructions on a prescription bottle or fill out an application for a much needed job.  Take a second and think about what your life would be like if you were not able to perform these basic functions.  As you can probably guess, this national epidemic helps contribute to a substantial burden upon American taxpayers in the areas of public assistance, health care and employer’s unemployment insurance costs – just to mention a few. 

Now you may be asking, “What do you want me to do about it?”  Well let’s take baby steps.  Monday is International Literacy Day.  Take five minutes out of your day to read a book, newspaper or magazine.  Make sure that your children pick up a book and read for a little while.  Show your children that literacy is a lifetime skill that is of the utmost importance.

Go here for more information about fighting illiteracy in Indianapolis. If you are a Hoosier employer experiencing the difficulties of an illiterate workforce, visit Ready Indiana’s web site or call (866) 444-1082.

Companies looking to save money on health care costs (and who isn’t) are increasingly turning to wellness programs or initiatives. The best part of this approach is that there are more and more examples from which to learn.

The Indiana Chamber has compiled case studies, best practices, research, legal information and more on the Business of Health web site. The Getting Started section just might be the place for your organization to save some money, enhance the productivity and loyalty of your employees — and take a little chunk out of the health care monster that demands federal guidelines and solutions.

Check it out. Let us know what you think.