Survey Shows Indiana Manufacturers Worried about Economy
A new survey shows Indiana manufacturers are adjusting their future plans due to inflation and subsequent high interest rates. The 2023 Indiana Manufacturing Survey was conducted by Katz, Sapper & Miller in partnership with the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and the Indiana Manufacturers Association. The survey shows about a quarter of the 80 surveyed manufacturing companies based in Indiana believe their current financial performance is challenged. 55% percent of Hoosier manufacturers think there’s going to be a recession next year. As a result 33% of companies said they are planning to invest fewer dollars in new equipment and facilities, while 27% plan to revise their future growth plans downward, and 18% expect to lose sales, according to an IBJ report.
I-69 has been a work in progress for the better part of the last decade as the highway will connect the state from Evansville all the way up to the Michigan border.
The final piece is being laid on the south side of Indianapolis as INDOT workers say they are on schedule to attach the interstate to I-465 by the end of 2024.
Ball State economist Michael Hicks says it’s been an astonishingly good year despite what a lot of folks have been hearing. He rates the economy as a 9 on a scale from 1 to10. Hicks told IndyPolitics he’s not necessarily concerned with the various data points shared by a variety of different economists. He looks at spending and investing trends across the country, explaining that if the economy seems to be strong and reliable, people will spend more money, build more businesses, and invest more money. And they are.
The Muncie Sanitary District says all trash and recycling will be on a one-day delay this week because of the Christmas Holiday. They will be picking up Friday’s trash on Saturday, December 30th. They will resume their regular schedule next week.
The Museum of Madison County History will be hosting “FAMILY DAY AT THE MUSEUM” on December 30th, 2023, from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. The museum is operated by the Madison County Historical Society and is located at the corner of 11th and Meridian streets in downtown Anderson. All exhibits will be open for guided tours and are free to the public.
Speaking of Museums, The Muncie Children’s Museum is having a New Year’s Eve bash for kids. The event will take place on December 31st from 1:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. There will be music, crafts, a bounce house, face painting and more. The museum is located at 515 S. High Street in Muncie.
Taylor Swift, who dominated the entertainment world and pop culture in 2023, is now tied with Elvis Presley for solo artist with the most weeks spent at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The artist with the all-time record for most weeks is still held by The Beatles, which are categorized separately from solo artists. Swift was named “Person of the Year” by TIME magazine earlier this month.
The IndyStar reports Andrew Royer, who spent 16 years in prison after falsely confessing to the killing of an elderly woman, has reached an $11.7 million partial settlement with the city of Elkhart over his wrongful conviction, his attorneys announced Friday. The amount is the largest known settlement reached for a wrongful conviction case in Indiana.
More than 50 cultural institutions, libraries, universities and other nonprofit organizations across the state have received grants from Indiana Humanities to provide public humanities programs in their communities this year. Muncie was a recipient of one of those grants. Indiana Humanities awarded 45 Action Grants, 11 Historic Preservation Education Grants, nine INcommon Grants and six Wilma Gibbs Moore Fellowships totaling approximately $225,000.
One man was arrested and another man was charged in connection to a drug deal involving a stolen car from Muncie. Police said the investigation began on December 7th around 1:30 P.M. after a Muncie officer spotted a stolen Chevy Cruze near East 8th Street and Batavia. The officer confirmed that the car was stolen and pulled the vehicle over. The driver was identified as 39-year-old David Schmidt. Schmidt was charged with auto theft, Level 6 felony and has an initial hearing scheduled for January 4th, 2024 according to Fox 59.
Purdue Global’s School of Multidisciplinary and Professional Studies is launching a new course that will help people not only put artificial intelligence to work for them but also teach individuals how to use AI both ethically and productively to improve their writing skills .
The new course, titled Writing for Life: Leveraging AI and Other Digital Writing Tools, is available for free to both enrolled Purdue Global students as well as the general public. The course features eight modules and is self-paced. Visit purdueglobal.edu for more information.
Holiday sales rose this year and spending remained resilient during the shopping season even with Americans wrestling with higher prices in some areas and other financial worries, according to the latest measure. Holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.1%, a slower pace than the 7.6% increase from a year earlier, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards.
Local Muncie residents can now sign up for the January 2024 Impact X Class. The class is open to the public and it’s free. This course is designed to create business, non-profit, or municipality solutions designed and created by residents. The Impact X Class is a 12 week intensive (non-credit) course designed to walk community members through the process of taking their proposed solutions from idea to launch. The goal is help empower local residents to be ready for funding and execution of their idea, and to understand the financial and regulatory issues that are often the barriers to entry for community members. Visit “In Place Impact Muncie” on Facebook for more information.
Meridian Health Services has announced that they have concluded their popular Rialzo fundraising event. The Rialzo event held by Meridian last year was the last one. Meridian believes a renewed focus is necessary and the company will begin to provide more free healthcare services to underprivileged populations in more communities. Meridian expects to expand their community events in the future.
Gov. Eric Holcomb and Indiana Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Bortner have announced 14 communities will receive a combined $31.2 million for 28 miles of new trail as a part of the fourth round of the Next Level Trails program. According to the list of round 4 awards on the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website, Yorktown’s River Road and Tiger Drive Trails project received a grant in the amount of $1.6 million. In Randolph County, the “Vision Trail Phase 1” project received a grant in the amount of $4.1 million. The Next Level Trails program is the largest infusion of trails funding in state history. In rounds one, two, and three, a total of $120 million was awarded to 73 communities to build 190 miles of trails throughout Indiana.
State Police say a person was struck and killed walking on Interstate 70 westbound near the 22-mile marker on Christmas night. State Police from the Putnamville Post and the Clay County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene. Police say the person had been walking in the passing lane of the highway before they were hit. The vehicle’s driver promptly pulled over and contacted 911, cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation. State Police say the investigation will center on why the person was walking on the highway in the first place.
Indiana Michigan power, has announced they will own and operate the Lake Trout solar plant near Montpelier, Indiana, which will be capable of powering up to 73,500 homes and will be connected to the power grid that serves both Michigan and Indiana. It is the largest utility-owned solar plant not just for I&M but for the AEP system as well. I&M’s current clean-energy generation includes five solar power plants; wind power from four Hoosier plants; six hydro-electric plants; and the Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman, Michigan.
The new trail along Riverside Avenue between Tillotson Avenue and Morrison Road is now complete and builds upon decades of efforts within Muncie and Delaware County to increase and improve pedestrian connectivity. A ribbon cutting was held on Wednesday, November 15th at 2:00 P.M. at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. The total investment in the pedestrian, vehicular, and stormwater improvements came in just shy of 4 million dollars, with 98% of the funding originating from federal, state, and local grants. While not directly tied to the trail project, the City of Muncie used an INDOT Community Crossings grant to cover road improvements at the Riverside and Jackson Street intersection.
Indianapolis police officers are searching for a person who fired off numerous shots just a block away from a busy Monument Circle. It happened during a road rage incident on Christmas night and one of the bullets ended up lodged in a victim’s back seat. The unnamed victim said he was able to get away from the shooter and pull into a parking lot to wait for police to arrive. The downtown area and Monument Circle were busy with people stopping by for a photo op with the Circle of Lights according to a Fox 59 report.
On this day in history: On December 28th, 1958, the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23-17, in overtime in the NFL Championship Game—a back-and-forth thriller that later was billed as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” The nationally televised championship—the league’s first overtime contest—was watched by 45 million viewers and fueled the NFL’s meteroric rise in popularity. The star of the game was Colts quarterback and future Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas, who completed 26 of 40 passes for 349 yards and a touchdown.
