Indiana Stage Builder Cited In Collapse

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The State Labor Department says the company that built the stage ahead of last summer’s deadly Indiana State Fair collapse showed “plain indifference” to safety standards.

Commissioner Lori Torres said Wednesday that Mid-America Sound Corp. has been cited with three major safety violations in connection with the collapse of outdoor stage rigging in high winds that killed seven people Aug. 13. A crowd has gathered at the stage to see the country duo Sugarland perform.

The department issued a $63,000 fine against the company.

It is also citing the Indiana State Fair Commission and a stagehands union for safety regulation violations.

Officials say the commission failed to conduct proper safety evaluations of its concert venues. Smaller fines were issued against the fair and the union.