The Dawning of DST in Indiana
Until April 2005, when Indiana passed a law agreeing to observe daylight saving time, the Hoosier state had its own unique and complex time system. Not only is the state split between two time zones, but until recently, only some parts of the state observed daylight saving time while the majority did not.
Under the old system, 77 of the state's 92 counties were in the Eastern Time Zone but did not change to daylight time in April. Instead they remained on standard time all year. That is, except for two counties near Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky., which did use daylight time.
But the counties in the northwest corner of the state (near Chicago) and the southwestern tip (near Evansville), which are in the Central Time Zone, used both standard and daylight time.
The battle between the old system and DST was contentious and hard-won—bills proposing DST had failed more than two dozen times in the past until it squeaked through the state legislature in April 2005. The old, familiar, bewildering system will remain in place for 2005; Indiana will join 47 other states in observing DST in April 2006.