The Political Spotlight
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#716 | Thursday, August 13, 2026 | The Political Spotlight
Posted
August 14, 2026
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August 14, 2026
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1:55:22Now PlayingHost Kristopher H. Bilbrey explores the extraordinary weather emergency and disaster that has struck East Central Indiana, particularly the southern portions of Muncie and Delaware County, extending into Henry and Randolph counties, as historic flooding — reportedly the worst in more than 113 years — has overwhelmed roads, neighborhoods, infrastructure, and emergency services.
As police, firefighters, EMS personnel, emergency management officials, and first responders worked to protect the public during the flooding, the Muncie City–Delaware County 911 Dispatch Center and the public-safety communications system faced an emergency of their own.
The dispatch center handles emergency and non-emergency communications for police, fire, and EMS throughout the City of Muncie, Delaware County, and the smaller communities and departments across the county. During one of the area's most serious weather emergencies in generations, critical radio communications encountered major problems.
The Political Spotlight obtained information from within the Muncie Police Department indicating that city police radios went in and out throughout much of the overnight shift from Wednesday, August 12, through the morning hours of Thursday, August 13, 2026. Officers were reportedly informed that the primary Motorola communications tower near 18th Street and Sampson Avenue in Muncie had been found underwater.
By approximately 4:45 a.m., the paging-tone system used for Fire and EMS was reportedly down, with no estimated time for restoration.
Personnel were further advised that there was no fully operational “Plan B” to replace the affected tower if it failed completely. AEP was expected to shut off power to the tower to protect whatever equipment could still be salvaged — a move that would further disrupt MPD radio and dispatch operations.
With communications compromised, MPD personnel were reportedly responding only to Priority 1 calls at the time, while dispatchers and supervisors relied on alternative communication methods to coordinate officer responses.
In this 716th episode, The Political Spotlight examines what happened, how severe the communications failure was, what contingency measures were — or were not — available, and the questions that Muncie and Delaware County officials will now have to answer about the reliability and redundancy of one of the county's most critical public-safety systems.
Questions have been asked; have answers been provided yet? Tune in for more.
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'The Political Spotlight'
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Hosted by: Kristopher H. Bilbrey & Brandon Rudd
Produced by: Kate Thornburg
Email: tpsprogram@gmail.com
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