Articles by Mike Rhodes

By: Susan Fisher— Muncie, IN—Visit beautiful Carnegie Library, a branch of Muncie Public Library, in downtown Muncie to discover a community treasure! In 1901, the City of Muncie received $55,000 from industrialist and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie to build a library. The foundation for Carnegie Library was laid in 1902. The date is carved into its cornerstone. The Carnegie Library was dedicated and opened on June 1, 1904. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In 2001, the building was remodeled with new HVAC systems, ADA compliant ramps, and elevators. A new public meeting space…

By: Mike Rhodes— Muncie, IN—One of downtown Muncie’s most popular eateries for the last 8 years has been Casa Del Sol, owned by Manuel Rodriguez Alonso. Casa Del Sol prepares and serves fresh Mexican food, ranging from fajitas, tacos, quesadilla, steak prepared Mexican style, chile verde, chimichangas and seemingly everything in-between. Even vegetarian options. Casa’s food runs the gamut, from tasty taco salads to burritos as big as your head. Even bigger, maybe. A steaming, sizzling hot quesadilla plate, be it chicken or steak, always draws admiring glances and never disappoints. You can wash all this bounty down with margaritas, frozen…

By: Mike Rhodes— Muncie, IN—Muncie, Indiana is a dynamic city located 58 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Muncie has a unique place in the history of American demographics and social sciences as the site of the Middletown studies. These studies carried out by Helen and Robert Lynd in the 1920’s and 1930’s were intended to examine the norms of American culture in post-World War One America. The city has been associated with being a “normal” small American city ever since. The city and the studies were inspirations for the Jimmy Stewart film Magic Town and the works of Sinclair Lewis, and to…

By: Jennifer Hasty— Muncie, IN—The Courtyard by Marriott at Horizon Convention Center offers travelers contemporary design, comfortable accommodations and innovative technology that combine to provide guests with a seamless lodging experience.  As the area’s newest and only full-service hotel, amenities include thoughtfully-appointed guest rooms featuring luxurious bedding, free WIFI and Marriott’s Entertainment Platform for access to personal Netflix and Hulu accounts. Additional guest amenities include indoor pool, exercise room with cardio theatre and weight system, 24-hour business center, lobby featuring media pods with privacy and free WIFI connectivity. When it comes to dining options, guests don’t have to look far….

By: Debbie Acree— Muncie, IN—My soap making journey began in 1999. While at a mom’s retreat, I heard one of the speakers mention that she made soap, and it immediately reached out and grabbed me. Wrestling with my daughter’s issues with eczema for the previous couple of years, and finding nothing that would relieve it, I thought “this might work.” So I went home and started studying everything I could find on soap making and how to do it. Our tiny library in Farmland, Indiana was so gracious to do everything they could to help me find all the information…

By: Chris Piche— Muncie, IN—The Fickle Peach was established in 2005 as an endeavor between two friends. My friend Brion Fickle and I always said we would open a bar together, so when the opportunity to open in the Francis T. Root building presented itself, we jumped. Initially, we established our mission statement as: Passionately Dedicated to Great Beer. Fourteen years later, our mission is still the same. The Fickle Peach focuses on quality local beer from the Midwest, but also rotates beers from many breweries from around the United States. We are constantly rotating in new beer on twelve of our twenty-six…

By: Sean Hale— Muncie, IN—At HeidiJHale Designs and Details, we take pride in offering custom designs that combine classic elegance with everyday casual. We offer handmade jewelry, crafted with high quality materials and natural stones sourced from all over the world. The majority of our pieces are made with fine silver, but we also offer some gold, bronze and sterling silver, as well. And although our beautiful source materials come from around the globe, everything is handmade in the United States. Every piece of jewelry we offer is designed and handcrafted by our skilled metalsmiths and local artisans in downtown…

By: Mike Rhodes— Muncie, IN—The Horizon Convention Center, Muncie’s premiere meeting space, is an innovative mix of historic beauty and modern design. Formerly Muncie’s Federal Building, the Horizon Convention Center’s beauty is evident in the glass-enclosed pavilion, outdoor terrace and classical splendor of the lobby’s original interior. In 1986, the Delaware County Advancement Corporation purchased the building and decided upon the name, “The Horizon Convention Center.” In 1988, the building opened with 10,300 square feet of meeting space. In 1996, a renovation project increased meeting space to 47,000 square feet. The addition of the Muncie Children’s Museum brought the total property…

By: Jennifer S Gasiorek— Muncie, IN—The Muncie campus of Ivy Tech Community College has been serving Delaware County for over 50 years. As the college looks to aligning programs to fit workforce needs, they will be doing so in state-of-the art facilities. “Our renovations were designed with the students end goal in mind, which is to obtain a high wage high demand job.” said Chancellor Jeffrey D. Scott. “Our community and our students deserve to learn in an environment that emulates where they will soon work professionally.” The new nursing and health science floor at the John and Janice Fisher…