Indianapolis police: Boy 4, fatally stabbed

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis police say a 4-year-old boy who apparently suffered multiple stab wounds has died and his 14-year-old cousin was being questioned by detectives.

Police spokesman Kendale Adams said officers were called about 11 p.m. Saturday to an apartment, where they found the bleeding boy and he was rushed to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Adams said in a statement early Sunday that officers subsequently found the boy's 14-year-old female cousin, covered in blood, on a city street afterward. The statement said officers took the cousin to police headquarters for questioning. Police said they had made no immediate arrest, but the investigation was continuing.

Authorities say the victim and his 11-year-old sister were apparently at their grandparent's apartment at the time, but further details weren't released. - http://bit.ly/IQOKh7

Proposed I-64 interchange near O'Fallon is 'top priority' for region, planners say

A proposed interchange on Interstate 64 at Rieder Road is the top priority for the region and construction may begin as soon as 2014, according to project managers.

The $15.3 million interchange is part of an overall $59.1 million proposed project, which includes improvements to Interstate 64, Rieder Road from Scott Air Force Base to Highway 50 and Cardinal Creek gate at the base.

The interchange would mean significant changes for the area, including likely industrial development north of the interchange and east of the current city limits of O'Fallon.

Geri Boyer, co-owner of Kaskaskia Engineering Group in Belleville which is managing the project for St. Clair County, said progress on the project has gone surprisingly quickly --partly because similar studies had already been done on the area during the construction of nearby MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah.

Proponents of the project believe it will provide SAFB with direct access to the interstate, accommodate heavy traffic on nearby roads created by development west of the interchange, and be cheaper than redesigning the Illinois 158 interchange at an estimated cost of $50 million.

The Federal Highway Administration has already given its conditional approval for the construction of the interchange.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has earmarked $28.2 million of the cost through its Aeronautics Transportation Improvement Program and SAFB has budgeted $2.3 million for the gate's improvements. Approximately $28.6 million of the project remains unfunded.

In anticipation of potential development, the City of O'Fallon has placed 6,000 feet of water lines along Shiloh Valley Township Line Road just north of I-64 and east of the city. Another project placed 8,000 feet of water lines from the intersection of Shiloh Valley Township Line Road and Rieder Road to Highway 50.

O'Fallon leaders believe a host of industries could develop near the site, such as the transportation, logistics and technology industries -- utilizing those industries' experts already housed nearby at SAFB.

St. Clair County already owns much of the land south of the interchange, but land north of the proposal is within the O'Fallon facilities planning area and likely will be annexed into O'Fallon. - http://bit.ly/JetzGF