Thieves target runners’ cars for loot during race

Police in Indianapolis say thieves targeting the cars of runners participating in a popular Broad Ripple foot race made off with laptops, wallets and cellphones.

The thieves smashed the windows of the cars parked at Glendale Mall on Thursday morning. The mall provided parking for runners in the annual Drumstick Dash through the neighborhood on the city’s north side.

Police said at least 20 cars were broken into. One belonged to an Illinois state trooper whose badge and gun were stolen.

1996 Arbor Day sapling is Ohio city’s holiday tree

A city in northern Ohio has chosen a Christmas tree that began as a 6-inch sapling from a fast-food children’s meal.

Harold Masters of Mansfield and his grandsons got several saplings in 1996 when McDonald’s distributed them to mark Arbor Day. Masters planted them in his yard, and one grew into the 39-foot Canadian blue spruce chosen to be decked out in lights downtown this year.

City officials had told Masters to trim or cut it down because it was so big it was blocking drivers’ vision. Masters didn’t want to trim one side, so he jumped at the city engineer’s suggestion to cut it down as the city’s holiday tree.