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Special section • Star Century: 100 years of The Indianapolis Star   Pulitzer Prize-winning stories Police corruption, February 1974 Indianapolis Star reporters William E. Anderson, Harley R. Bierce and Richard E. Cady won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for local investigative specialized reporting. Their six-month investigation found evidence of widespread corruption in the Indianapolis Police Department. The reporters uncovered alleged corruption in prostitution, bootlegging, narcotics, protection of criminals and fencing. Their work led to major reforms in the department and the election defeat of the county prosecutor. And it led to threats against the reporters and their families. Anderson and Cady also were indicted by a Marion County grand jury on a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery of a policeman, a felony. The charge was later dismissed. Medical malpractice, June 1990 Reporters Joseph T. Hallinan and Susan M. Headden won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Their stories exposed several Indiana physicians who went virtually unpunished after maiming scores of patients. The reporters found among the patient allegations that physicians were blamed for leaving patients deaf and disabled, botching surgeries so badly that patients later required amputations, and in some cases even causing death. Yet many of those same physicians never lost medical licenses or hospital privileges, and in many cases were not charged more for malpractice insurance. In awarding the prize, the Pulitzer committee called the series "shocking."

Rise of the Klan

In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan grew to enormous power in Indiana. In 1922, D.C. Stephenson (right) was named grand dragon. Membership hit about 250,000 statewide. In Indianapolis, up to 40 percent of native-born white men paid $10 to join. By the May 1924 primary, Klan candidates dominated. To celebrate, about 25,000 members gathered at the State Fairgrounds. But support began to fade in 1925, when Stephenson was convicted in the death of Madge Oberholtzer.

Lilly Endowment

In 1937, wanting to help the community -- and driven by the fear of huge inheritance taxes -- the Lilly family created an endowment, funded with company stock. It has at times ranked as the top charitable foundation in the country.

Terror strikes anxious fans at Brickyard

Over the years, the competition among racing fans to create better and better viewing spots in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grew to epic proportions. But the homemade approach led to tragedy during the 1960 500-Mile Race. On the pace lap, a huge, makeshift scaffold collapsed, killing two people and injuring 40.

Death on ice

One of the worst disasters in Indianapolis history happened near the end of a Halloween night ice show in 1963 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum. Gas leaking from a propane tank filled a storage room and eventually exploded, hurtling people, chairs and chunks of concrete into the air. Of the 4,327 people attending the show, 54 died instantly. Twenty more died on the way to hospitals, and more than 400 were injured. Emergency workers used the ice as a makeshift morgue.

Palm Sunday tornadoes

Indiana has had many deadly tornadoes, but in terms of the human toll, nothing before or since has equaled the devastation on April 11, 1965. In all, 11 tornadoes in 20 counties killed 137 people and injured more than 1,700.

A calming influence

Robert F. Kennedy (above) was campaigning for president when he arrived April 4, 1968, in Indianapolis. But he would not give a typical campaign speech. It fell to him to tell the crowd in a mostly black neighborhood that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated. Kennedy's words, urging the crowd not to act out of hate, are credited with sparing the city the riots that overtook other cities after King's death.

Black Expo

The first edition of this event was held in 1971. It has grown into the largest black event of its kind in the United States. Held every year at the Indiana Convention Center and other Downtown venues, the Summer Celebration includes symposiums, a health fair, a boxing tournament, a beauty pageant and other entertainment, including musical concerts. The governing body, Indiana Black Expo, also holds other events during the year, such as the Circle City Classic, a weekend of activities in the fall built around a football game between two historically black universities.

The Big Snow

In January 1978, Indianapolis was hit by a snowfall that still is talked about. Starting on Jan. 25, the city was hit by 12 1/2 inches of snow in two days. It helped define Mayor William Hudnut, cost schoolchildren lots of classroom time, turned Downtown into a ghost town -- and left a bevy of newborns in its wake, nine months later. Hudnut got plenty of publicity for hitching a ride on a city plow truck and going on television to provide information to residents.

Ryan White

On April 8, 1990, 18-year-old Ryan White died at Riley Hospital for Children. The hemophiliac became famous worldwide after contracting AIDS from tainted blood products when he was 13. He fought in court to attend Western High School in Howard County after some parents objected. Later, he and his family moved to Cicero, where he attended Hamilton Heights High School.

White made many public appearances to spread awareness about AIDS. The day before he died, Elton John played at Farm Aid IV at the Hoosier Dome; he dedicated "Candle in the Wind" to White, then returned to keep vigil at the hospital. White's funeral in Indianapolis drew thousands, including first lady Barbara Bush.

Circle Centre

Indianapolis' Downtown renaissance has had many moments, but none bigger than the opening of Circle Centre mall in 1995. It drew a crowd of 40,000 on its first day and 12 million over its first 12 months.

The total cost to taxpayers for the two-block-long mall was about $230 million.