Articles by Mike Rhodes

Fall 2017 Deadline For 2018 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars

Muncie, Ind. – The 2018 recipients of the Delaware County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship will be named in December 2017. This change continues from the 2016-2017 academic year. Previously scholarship recipients were identified in March of the year they graduated from high school. This change affects the program for all Indiana community foundations. In selecting recipients for the Delaware County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships, consideration is given to student activities and achievements, community and civic service, academic ability and potential…

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Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance Introduces Vision 2021 Program

By: Mike Rhodes— This morning the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance introduced the Vision 2021 5-year economic development program at a breakfast for community and business leaders. The program was held at the Horizon Convention Center. Jay Julian, Chief Economic Development Officer, President/CEO, introduced the program and acknowledged those in attendance and special guests. Accomplishments of the Vision 2016 economic development plan, were also presented and reviewed by Jeff Daniels, Vision 2021 Co-Chairman. “Every winning team needs a playbook. Our playbook has…


Gateway to Growing Grand Opening to Be Held Friday

By: Ellie Flaherty— Gateway to Growing along with Hoosier Roots, a non-profit looking to fight food insecurity in Muncie, will be hosting an opening celebration on Friday April 28th from 1:00-5:00 at the Maring-Hunt Community Garden! Gateway to Growing is the product of a semester long partnership between Ball State Architecture students, the Maring-Hunt Community Garden, and Muncie Public Library. The shade pavilion will expand the current impact of the Garden on-site at Maring-Hunt Library.  Gateway to Growing will be…


Muncie Food Hub Partnership Joins Forces With Farmished

Muncie, IN—With similar goals and missions, the Muncie Food Hub Partnership and Farmished have combined efforts to help local food systems succeed. Through elections held last week, Kate Elliott, Dr. Josh Gruver, Russell Kischuk, and Elaine Vidal were elected to the Farmished Board of Directors. The four bring a range of expertise and resources as they join existing board members Kelli Huth and Michael Wolfe. Gruver, a Ball State professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, said the Muncie Food…


Youth Opportunity Center Launches a $4.25 Million Capital Campaign

By: Polly Craig— Muncie, IN—The Youth Opportunity Center (YOC) and YOC Foundation announced a $4.25 million Capital Campaign at an event on Thursday, April 20, 2017. The YOC’s Transforming Together: The Next Chapter Campaign addresses the YOC’s need to renovate existing facilities and create innovative treatment programs to more effectively treat youth with complex psychological and behavioral challenges. Campaign chairman Kelly Stanley, YOC Board member and a well-known community leader, hosted the campaign celebration and reveal for approximately 100 early…


General Assembly Approves $39 Million for Ivy Tech Community College

 Additional $4 million in private funding will support improvements to the Muncie Campus in the East Central Region Muncie, Ind. – Ivy Tech Community College East Central Region’s Muncie Campus will undergo a transformation over the next few years, thanks to the $39 million earmarked for the project in the 2017-2019 biennial state budget approved today by the Indiana General Assembly. The total cost of the project, about $43 million, will include $4 million in private funding to be raised…


Attention Photographers: “Shoot For Good Muncie” Wants Your Images on Saturday

Muncie, IN – A group of Ball State photojournalism students are coming together on Saturday, April 22, (Earth Day), to spend a 24-hour period documenting and celebrating acts of volunteerism and “giving back” in the Muncie, Indiana area. Shoot for Good Muncie uses documentary photojournalism as a celebration of community, volunteerism and positive human connections. The NPPA (National Press Photographer’s Association) Student Chapter at Ball State has been organizing the project and wants to reach out to local photographers, Muncie…


John Carlson: Time to Shed Some Flab

By: John Carlson— Spring is here and summer is on the way, along with the promise of sunny days spent wearing Speedos and bikinis at poolside parties and beaches. Regrettably, it is also time for some of us to shed those pesky 60 to 70 pounds of rippling, gurgling blubber that somehow snuck up on us over the winter. Afterward, we can once again seductively waddle, er, walk the sand like the Girl, or even the Guy, from Ipanema, without…


Muncie Journal Adds NEW “Opinion” Section

By: Mike Rhodes— When MuncieJournal.com launched in July of 2015, our founding partners and leadership felt it was important to keep the publication’s content positive within the 3 key coverage areas of our core mission: Education, Economic Development and Quality of Place in Muncie and Delaware County. Thousands of articles later, that is still our mission and focus. That will not change. However, we are introducing a new OPINION section, so our over 117,000 users can express their own unique thought…


ecoREHAB to Give out Free LED Bulbs This Saturday at The Downtown Farm Stand

By: Mackenzie Schroeder— To celebrate Earth Day, Muncie non-profit ecoREHAB will pass out free LED light bulbs (two per family) from 5-8 p.m. during The Downtown Farm Stand’s 5th Annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 22, at the Farm Stand, 125 E. Main Street. The event will pair music and food with tips to realize savings through energy-efficient living.  Switching from incandescent to LED bulbs can save about $30 each year per bulb, said Craig Graybeal, ecoREHAB executive director….