Articles by Mike Rhodes

By Chuck Reynolds— Muncie, IN – The Muncie Action Plan spent 2020 preparing for the City of Muncie’s next strategic investment planning process in combination with an update to the Delaware County comprehensive plan. The last large-scale MAP planning took place in 2009 and although two updates have been completed since, it is time to re-visit the document with another large-scale engagement effort whereby residents help create a new vision for Muncie’s growth and investment. Representatives from the Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission, Muncie Action Plan board of directors and NEXT Muncie participated in a selection process that included a nation-wide Request for Proposals and…

Juli Metzger, United Way of Delaware, Henry and Randolph Counties— Muncie, IN—For many years, United Way of Delaware, Henry and Randolph Counties has coordinated volunteer reading programs in local schools. When COVID-19 restrictions kept school buildings closed to the public, United Way had to find another way to serve the community’s students this year. If necessity is the mother of invention, then Muncie Reads is an entrepreneurial dream. The virtual program pairs volunteers with participating elementary schools. Volunteers act as an additional reading role model to help foster a love of reading in each student. It has enabled people like Jan…