Articles by Mike Rhodes

Minnetrista has been named Ball State’s Community Partner of the Year for collaboration with University project. During a ceremony on October 28, Delaina Boyd (top left), the University’s associate vice president for community engagement, and Paul Gestwicki (bottom left), a Ball State computer science professor, presented the award to Minnetrista’s Betty Brewer (top right), president and chief executive officer, and George Buss (bottom right), vice president of visitor experience.

Business November 16, 2020

Minnetrista Honored as Ball State Community Partner of the Year  

By Ball State Marketing and Communications— Muncie, IN – Ball State University has named Minnetrista Cultural Center the 2020 Community Partner of the Year for collaborating with college students on an award-winning educational video game project. The annual award recognizes a Delaware County business, organization, or agency that demonstrates excellence as part of a Ball State community-based learning experience during the previous year. Partners are nominated by Ball State faculty and staff. Past winners include the Youth Opportunity Center (2018)…

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This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion.

Health November 13, 2020

Delaware County Weekly COVID-19 Update, November 12th

Editor’s note: The following COVID-19 update is brought to you through a collaboration of healthcare partners including Delaware County Health Department, Delaware County Emergency Management Agency, Delaware County Office of Information, and other major healthcare providers. Delaware County weekly COVID-19 updates are released every Thursday and include information from the Indiana State Department of Health county metrics dashboard, which is updated every Wednesday afternoon. Muncie, IN—On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Indiana once again set a new record for its daily positive…

Interesting headstones sprout from Beech Grove Cemetery’s old sections. Photo by Nancy Carlson

Carlson November 13, 2020

John Carlson: In the Market For a Stone

By John Carlson— You know how on Sundays many Hoosiers visit car lots, comparison shopping when there aren’t any sales people around to interrupt their looking? Nancy and I recently joined them. We weren’t kicking tires, though. We were kicking headstones. Not that we were actually kicking headstones. Walk around kicking headstones and you’ll need a pair of crutches to hobble back to your car. But we were kicking headstones in a figurative manner, just gathering ideas of what’s available…

MPL facilities staff post signs for the new Smoke & Tobacco Free Policy. Photo by Susan Fisher

Non-Profit November 12, 2020

Muncie Public Library Becomes Smoke and Tobacco Free

By Susan Fisher— Muncie, IN—Beginning November 19, 2020, Muncie Public Library (MPL) will move from its no smoking policy to a more comprehensive smoke and tobacco free policy for all of its facilities. “Our Board of Trustees approved this policy in January of this year,” said MPL Director Akilah S. Nosakhere. “We planned to implement it in early spring, but the plans were sidetracked by the COVID-19 pandemic.” The new policy moves MPL from no smoking within 25 feet of…

Mike Rhodes, Editor-in-chief of MuncieJournal.com is pictured sporting a mask Nancy Carlson made for him in the early days of the pandemic.

Health November 12, 2020

BSU Researcher: Certain Groups ‘Masked Up’ More than Others During Early Days of Pandemic

By Ball State Marketing and Communications— Muncie, IN– During the early stages of the pandemic, some people were more likely to wear masks than others, says a Ball State University researcher. A survey of 838 adults found that the people most likely to mask up were women, older adults, African-Americans, Hispanics, and low-income employees forced to work outside the home, said Diana Saiki, a Ball State fashion merchandising professor. Saiki was part of a team of researchers that conducted the largest…

Photo montage provided

Non-Profit November 12, 2020

Ball Brothers Foundation Awards Over $6 Million in Grants to Support Education, Workforce Development, and More 

By Melissa Jones— Muncie, IN— In its final round of grants for the year, Ball Brothers Foundation awarded more than $6 million to local nonprofits, schools, workforce development organizations and other entities, demonstrating the foundation’s commitment to helping local organizations adapt to new circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as preserving and improving the community’s quality of life well into the future.  While Ball Brothers Foundation has awarded numerous COVID-19 emergency/crisis grants—totaling nearly $500,000 to date—throughout the year, this…

Ross Center’s Executive Director Jacqueline Hanoman receives 620 masks from non-profit Classroom Connections of ECI. Photo by Stacy Wheeler

Education November 11, 2020

Classroom Connections of ECI Donates 45,300 Masks to Local Schools

By Joanna Robertson— Muncie, IN—Classroom Connections of ECI has been selected as the regional hub to distribute a Midwest portion of JOANN’s nationwide donation of 1.8 million masks to pre-K—12th grade schools in partnership with the Kids In Need Foundation. “Our longtime corporate partner JOANN’s, who donates tens of thousands of dollars in arts and craft products annually, will be playing an active role in ensuring the health and safely of regional teachers and students we serve,” said Stacy Wheeler,…

Habitat for Humanity homebuilder volunteers. Photo provided

Non-Profit November 10, 2020

CenterPoint Energy Foundation Awards $300,000 to Muncie Habitat for Humanity

By Eileen Oaks Molter— Muncie, IN—The CenterPoint Energy Foundation recently awarded $300,000 to Muncie Habitat for Humanity over the next three years in order to help serve 88 families (approximately 220 people) in Muncie, Indiana. This investment supports Muncie Habitat’s housing program, which includes the construction or rehab of entire homes for purchase by families who partner with Habitat, as well as home repairs, so that current homeowners can continue to live safely in their own homes. “We are thrilled…

The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County will be participating in Giving Tuesday, December 1 to raise funds for the K-12 Technology Resilience Initiative. Photo provided

Non-Profit November 10, 2020

Community Foundation To Celebrate ‘GivingTuesday’ With Technology Resilience Grants

By Kallie Sulanke— Muncie, IN—The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County is responding to meet the needs of local students by raising funds to support technology resilience in local K-12 schools. GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and their world. GivingTuesday will kick off the generosity season this year by inspiring people to give back on December 1, 2020, and throughout the year. In response to the COVID-19…

First Merchants Corporation

Business November 9, 2020

First Merchants to Acquire Hoosier Trust Company

Indianapolis-based trust and investment management firm holds $300 million in assets— Muncie, IN – First Merchants has announced that it will acquire Indianapolis-based Hoosier Trust Company. Established in 2001, Hoosier Trust Company provides trust and investment management services to clients in Central Indiana. The company’s employees have a combined service of more than 75 years in the industry and work exclusively to serve the financial and fiduciary needs of their clients in tight alignment with their legal and tax advisors….