Articles by Mike Rhodes

By Lindsey Arthur— MUNCIE, IN—Take a drive around our community and you’ll see too many empty and sometimes abandoned homes. In fact, there are about 2,000 such structures in the city. Another 300 houses could be inhabitable but need repairs. Meanwhile, hundreds of people are on a waitlist for emergency housing. And that’s not counting the dozens of families waiting for what only Habitat can provide – the next step – stable housing meant to last a lifetime. What is clear in our community and in cities across the country, particularly in the industrial Midwest, is that the problem isn’t…

By Juli Metzger— MUNCIE, IN—One hundred paintings of Indiana waterways by five Hoosier plein air artists – rendered during the COVID-19 pandemic – will be available for the first time at auction in May. The sale culminates a three-year project – 20 months of painting and an 18-month traveling exhibit, plus an accompanying 200-plus page coffee table book, “Indiana Waterways: The Art of Conservation.” The book has sold out. Paintings by brothers Dan and Tom Woodson, of Muncie, Curt Stanfield, of Rosedale, John Kelty, of Fort Wayne, and Avon Waters, of Converse, will be available at a final exhibit beginning…

By Jud Fisher—  MUNCIE, IN —  In the heart of Muncie, there’s an organization powerfully reshaping the landscape—and the workforce—one house at a time and one life at a time. ecoREHAB, a nonprofit headquartered in Muncie’s Old West End, is on a mission to help revitalize the community’s neighborhoods through sustainable design, rehabilitation, and education. At the same time, the organization is building a new generation of workers prepared for high-demand jobs in construction trades. ecoREHAB was founded 15 years ago by Jonathan Spodek, a visionary Ball State University architecture professor, as a response to the housing crisis gripping the nation…

By Carly Acree-King— MUNCIE, IN—Nonprofit Support Network’s mission is deeply rooted in empowering nonprofit organizations throughout Muncie-Delaware County. We firmly believe that by providing organizations with the necessary resources, we can catalyze their ability to achieve their missions, serving our community with greater impact and effectiveness. As advocates and allies for the nonprofit sector, we recognize the critical importance of understanding our local community’s unique challenges, strengths, and opportunities. Understanding the significance of this, we’ve introduced the 2024 Muncie-Delaware County Nonprofit Landscape Survey to capture information about the nonprofits in our community and how we can best serve them. In…