Holcomb would stay as state GOP chief

INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mike Pence has asked Eric Holcomb to remain as chairman of the Indiana Republican Party.

Pence urged members of the state GOP’s central committee to back Holcomb in a message Friday. The longtime aide to former Gov. Mitch Daniels has been party chairman for two years.

Holcomb told the Evansville Courier & Press on Saturday that he has decided to stay on as chairman if he’s approved by the central committee next month.

He says he and Pence are pleased with the state party’s current level of control, which includes the governor’s office, seven of Indiana’s nine congressional seats and more than two-thirds of the seats in both the state House and Senate.

Ball State may ban all campus smoking

Ball State University trustees are considering whether to ban all outdoor smoking on the school’s Muncie campus.

The Star Press reports a task force recommended the move at a trustees meeting Friday. Smoking has been banned inside all the campus buildings since 1998 and limited to designated outdoor areas since 2008.

President Jo Ann Gora says she’s concerned about the policy’s effect on employees. Health insurance data indicate up to 24 percent of Ball State employees smoke, a significantly higher percentage than that of students. An estimated 16 percent of students smoked in 2011, down from 19 percent in 2009.

The trustees will vote on the proposal in March.