The Breakfast Club - Gary in the Dark: A Special Episode with Gary Mayor Eddie Melton on the Power Crisis

Episode Date: August 20, 2026

Nine days after deadly storms hit Northwest Indiana, thousands of people in Gary are still without power. In this special episode of Front Page, Mayor Eddie Melton joins Mimi Brown to discuss the slow restoration, concerns from residents about whether race is playing a role, and what help is available for families struggling with the financial toll. From the Black Effect Podcast Network.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Get Bell, purefiber internet with Crave, Netflix, and Disney Plus from $94 a month. Price guaranteed for two years on internet with a two-year term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. If your bookshelf and your for-you page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks

Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. Each week, we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and pop culture, with your favorite writers, book talk creators, and plenty of overthought opinions. Yeah, I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed. Listen to Pro Society on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude. is offering me a ride on his motorcycle.

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I'm Nick Tuturo. You probably know me from NYPD Blue, the longest yard, or Spike Lease Black Landsman. And on my new podcast, Delivering Happiness with Nick Tatoro, I deliver pizza to a new guest. I've shared a slice with everyone from Seth Rollins. What are you doing, my belt? To Bill Burr. I don't think I've ever met somebody so exactly out of their mind as I am.

And now, we even have more great guests coming up, including the great John Tuturo. It's called Happiness, Delivering Happiness. And many, many more. Open your free High Heart Radio app. Search Delivering Happiness with Nick Tutro. And listen now. Hey, it's Mimi Brown and thanks for tuning in to this special episode of Front Page. Thousands of people in Gary, Indiana, are still without power nine days after a deadly storm

or through Northwest Indiana. Families have been living without air condition, losing groceries, spending money they may not have, just trying to get through the day without electricity. And as the outage drags on, so does the frustration. I spoke with Gary Mayor, Eddie Melton, about what's happening. on the ground, concerns about the pace of the restoration effort, whether race is playing a role, and what help is available for families who simply can't afford the added cost. Here's our conversation. So for those who don't know, can you explain when the crisis began, when the

storms began, which has produced one of the largest blackout events in modern history, really? Yeah. Well, on August 11th, a little bit of. bit before noon, we had a 99-mile-an-hour wind, straight wind that come through, not just Gehry, but the entire northern part of the state of Indiana and also Illinois. So that windstorm caused severe destruction. We're talking about homes and cars destroyed. Trees have been uprooted, tearing down power lines causing mass destruction. So we've been recovering from that over the last several days. With that, of course, significant power outages throughout the entire northern part of northwest Indiana.

So we've been recovering from that. So I just want to thank all of the volunteers, all of our police, fire, our general service workers, folks, has been working 24-7 around the clock, rescuing folks from their homes that were trapped with trees and just making sure that we can start returning back to normal. Yeah, you know, I wanted to ask you about returning back to normal. I know that people have been without power for more than a week now. Bring us up to speed.

How many of your residents are still in the dark? And what are you being told about when everyone will finally have power again? Yeah, well, sadly, just today, we were able to be able to be. able to get more specific and accurate information from the utility company. Before, a lot of the frustration from the public came that data and information wasn't being shared specifically about Gary in a few other neighboring communities. And I want to be clear, Gary is not the only city that has his outage. In the utility's footprint, there were over 300,000 customers that were

out of power. Out of that 300,000 plus, 82% have been restored. And people as we speak right now are getting restored in Gary. Gary is the population of about 68,000 people.

At the height of the store, only 38,000 customers were without power in Gary specifically. And right now, they've got that number down to about 22,000. are without power.

Now, that was at around 5 p.m. today. Okay. This evening on Wednesday, August 19. Because I read that some folks were supposed to get their power back this Friday, but that date has now been pushed back to, I think, a week from now. Can you expand on that, shed a little light on what's happening there? Yeah, this is what we'll share with us by the utility. company today, based off the severity of the damage and the destruction, more transmission lines

have been identified that are down. They're bringing in more contractors from other states to come in and assist. Gary is the largest area that they have to cover. Gary in the city of Hammond, Indiana, as well. So customers and the residents that I represent are frustrated than They're upset. It's been eight, nine days going without power. We thank God that power is being restored, and the work has not ceased, but it's still moving at a slow pace. And the reality is, like you said, we've never seen a storm like this before at this caliber

that did this much destruction that quickly. Schools are closed. You know, people have lost refrigerators, of food, businesses are losing money, some residents. They rely on electricity, medical equipment. What are you hearing from people on the ground right now? Well, we're looking and their spirit is uplifted. I want to just congratulate about hard workers at the YWCA and Gary, Indiana, 150 West 15th Avenue people have been staying there in the shelter. Non-profit organizations from the Red Cross is helping to facilitate that shelter.

But folks want to have a place to sleep. And we've been providing that. We've been providing a hot meal every night for folks that are trying to get to that. And if they can get access to that, we encourage them to call 219, 81, 1311. if they're having some complications or issues of getting to a shelter, getting to a place to lay their head or a cooling center in the evenings because we're still in the summertime, summer months. But folks have truly stepped up.

Denise Williams, one of Gary's very own. She's contributed every night to make sure that folks have a place to eat. Glenn Robinson, who is an NBA Hall of Famer from Gary, just contributed over $100,000 to make sure that people have toiletries. They have clothes and a place to sleep at night. So we thank him and Freddie Gibbs just reached out and made a significant contribution to the efforts as well to make this happen. Lowe's Corporation has reached out.

They provide cleaning supplies for residents. Some folks, like you said, have to clean out the refrigerators. the list goes on of corporations that are stepping up and the people that are coming to the city of Gary. Trade of Truth, I heard, is on his way here. There's so many influences, but that's an element of that. But I just want to folks to realize this, the city of Gary has always gone through tough times and we're going to get out of this. We're holding the utility company accountable. to make sure that they communicate our specific and accurate information on the restoration

because we weren't getting that information originally. And now we have a commitment from them that myself and other mayors are going to get daily briefings so we can tell the public where we are and that progress. So people can properly plan for the days to come. I wanted to ask you about the federal response. I know that President Trump has approved an emergency. the Declaration for Indiana. And I believe the National Guard

has been deployed. You can let me know if that's true. But what federal help has actually reached, Gary? Yes. Glad you said. Our Congressman Frank Mervan has been a huge advocate to making sure that he represents congressional district one.

One day, to myself, I declared a natural disaster for the city. That triggered the state to declare the state natural disaster. Now, northwest Indiana, we have severe wind damage, but central Indiana, we can't forget about our brothers or sisters that are Indianapolis, central Indiana area.

Significant flooding is taking place right now as we speak. You are recovering from the flooding in central Indiana. So President Trump has declared this emergency. So I believe he's working with Congress. I'm hoping that in the next days or so, we'll see some movement there where resources will be deployed and allowing folks to apply to FEMA to get their resources to get their weather heads fixed on their homes, where the utility is connected to the house that allows the power of flow. Because that's the element that we have to be mindful of that folks need to know. once power is restored in your neighborhood, if your weatherhead is broken off in the home, that's not the utility company's responsibility per cent.

So we're working with them. We're working with contractors in the community. And we're working with the representatives that speaking on behalf of FEMA to how do we connect folks with these resources, to educate them, to let them know that this is an element that has to be fixed if it's broken on our home. And we're seeing an online conversation in the community asking, you know, if this were a wealthier, predominantly white community, would we be seeing the same type of response? What do you have to say to people who think that race and economics are playing a role in what we're seeing happening right now? Well, the original omission of Gary being included in the data made it feel as if that was the reality. But knowing the industry, like I know it, I know that you had to be on the ground and see the devastation across the entire county.

And it's a lot of resources that have to be assessed and deployed to make sure we fix this the correct way in a safe way. So I'm hoping that NIPSCO is now paying attention to communities like Gary that is very sensitive and understanding. that our voices need to be heard, that we typically are overlooked across the board from so many instances on a national resources perspective, be it at the state and federal government. But this is an opportunity for them to step up and truly show not just by once the power is restored, but what are they going to do after that? How do we want to make Gary are more resilient? How do we look at technology, energy efficiency? How do we look at solar panels? so as storms are becoming more fierce,

I mean, it's clocked at 99 miles an hour, but there's some reports that are over 100 miles an hour. Once you put the poles back in the ground, what's going to ensure that these poles are not going to break again when we have torrential rain and heavy, the more stronger winds? You know, Nipsco, they said that their restoration decisions are based on dam.

in the electrical system, not the demographics of a community. But do you believe that? Is that what you're seeing as these power outages and some of these fixes are going on within different communities? I think they're doing all that they can to restore the power. I think they can bring more crews in to aid and assist in that effort. I haven't seen them pull back their efforts, but I do think they should improve the communication. So I would say this, the transparency in the communication.

So folks can understand the process and know where they fit in the timeline. For the last week or more, we have been left out of that conversation. So we've pressed NIPCO, we've demanded more information, and we're finally at that point now. And I'm hoping that as folks tune it to the Senior Gary's official Facebook page, our YouTube channel, and other means that you want to get more accurate information on a more timely basis. Okay. I know this is going to, there's going to be a financial cost long after the lights come back on, spoiled groceries. We talked about that. You know, damage home, lost wages, businesses, losing thousands of dollars. What assistance is available to people who simply can't afford to

absorb these losses? Yes, the state has already started that process. We're encouraging folks, in Gehry in North West Indiana to dial 211. When you dial 211, that number takes you to reporting your incidentals. So please track, get your receipts if you had to hire a contractor to do some work immediately or cut in a tree. If you have lost significant amount of food, take pictures of damage. Track all of information, report that to 211 right now, and you can look it up right now, the governor has a lot about $5,000 per person or household that's been impacted by this. But to get that, you got to report it to 211.

And lastly, you know, I know there are people watching, listening to this who are just exhausted. They are angry, sleeping in hot houses, throwing away food, just trying to figure out, you know, when and how they're going to get their kids back into school. What do you tell them today? What can you promise them will come next? Well, I just want to encourage them to stay strong, to rely on the city, to reach out to us. If we can be of assistance, if it's for food, if it's for shelter, if it's for clothing, if it's just simply from mental health perspective, we're working with our health care professionals

to help have conversations with folks because this will take us toll on mentally. Right now, I'm blessed to have the power just came back on the city hall. I'm at City Hall and it's about 9 p.m. here, but I don't have power at home. So I want to make sure that folks know that we're in this together and the city is here to provide that assistance. We have people around the country because of platforms like this that is paying attention that's willing and able to assist. folks can go to gary.gov, backslash storm recovery. You can learn how if you want to contribute to help feed someone, feed a neighborhood or community, or just simply help in the recovery efforts or cleaning up.

All that information is on the website. And that was my conversation with Gary Mayor, Eddie Melton, as his city continues to recover and thousands wait for their power to come back on. If you need help or if you know someone who needs help, please take advantage of the resources he spoke about in this episode. That's your front page. I'm Mimi Brown. This podcast was brought to you by the Black Effect Podcast Network. If your bookshelf and your for you page are equally important to your personality, welcome home.

Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse. Each week, we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and pop culture with your favorite writers, book talk creators, and plenty of overthought opinions. I'm obsessed. Listen to pro-society on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinero, and I travel by myself

because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility. Listen to Solita on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nick Tuturo. You probably know me from NYPD Blue,

the longest yard, or Spike Lease Black Klansman. And on my new podcast, delivering happiness with Nick Titoro, I deliver pizza to a new guest. I've shared a slice with everyone from Seth Rollins. What are you doing my belt? To Bill Burr. I don't think I've ever met somebody so exactly out of their mind as I am. And now we even have more great guests coming up, including the great John Tituro.

It's called Happiness. Delivering Happiness. And many, many more. Open your free High Heart Radio app. Search Delivering Happiness with Nick Tutro. And listen now. I'm Hoda Cotney, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Codoo. You know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy.

Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Thank you.