Articles by Mike Rhodes

One of Meadow Park's Labradoodle Puppies. Photo provided.

Education January 5, 2017

Therapy Puppies to be at Muncie Central Girls’ Varsity Game—Muncie Central Raising Funds to Adopt Therapy Dog

By: Ana Pichardo and Holly Ford— Muncie, IN —Muncie Central High School is raising funds to purchase a hypoallergenic therapy dog who will support students academically, physically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. The dog will belong to the school and be present during the school day to benefit students. Muncie Central Counselor Sabrina McKnight will be the dog’s primary caretaker. According to Mrs. McKnight, adopting a therapy dog is a proactive approach to meeting students’ needs. Muncie Central’s therapy dog  will be…

Read More
Photo provided.

Business January 5, 2017

Small Business Workshops Scheduled for January

By: Christy Ragle— The East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC) will present two workshops at the Innovation Connector (1208 W. White River Blvd. in Muncie) during the month of January. Sign up for these workshops by contacting Judy Porter at (765) 282-9950 or jporter@isbdc.org. “Can Customers Find Your Website?” will be from 9 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 10. Angela Barbosa, Marketing Director for Solutions4ebiz, will share 10 ways to help businesses connect with customers using local search….

Jody Leddy is the new Executive Director of ARF & ARF’s PAW, Inc. Photo provided.

Non-Profit January 4, 2017

Animal Rescue Fund (ARF) and ARF’s PAW, Inc. Gets New Executive Director

By: Jody Leddy— Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jody Leddy and I am very grateful and proud to be the new Executive Director of ARF & ARF’s PAW, Inc. My professional background includes 14 years of experience in higher education administration at Purdue University in West Lafayette, as well as 5 years of government and public relations in Annapolis, Maryland. I also have experience in manufacturing with General Motors Corporation and real estate sales with Coldwell…

Steve Smith accepts the Al Rent Spirit of Muncie Award at a past Chamber Champions luncheon. Photo provided.

Non-Profit January 4, 2017

Chamber Champions Awards Luncheon to be Held March 15th

Muncie, IN—Join the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber for an elegant luncheon this March, as we celebrate individuals who help make our Chamber and our community great. We will present the Al Rent Spirit of Muncie Award, Ambassador of the Year, Business Longevity Awards, and a special Chairman’s Award. The awards luncheon will be held March 15, 2017 from 11:30am to 1:00pm at the Horizon Convention Center. The Al Rent Spirit of Muncie Award was created in 2002 to honor Al Rent and his support and…

Photo courtesy of: http://delawarecountyhistory.org

Non-Profit January 4, 2017

Delaware County Historical Society Awarded $19,000 Grant by IHS

By: Rachel Hill Ponko— Indianapolis, IN—The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is recognizing a Delaware County organization for its work upholding the state’s heritage, through the state’s Bicentennial year and beyond. IHS is awarding the Delaware County Historical Society with a grant of $19,000. The funding comes from the second round of IHS’s Heritage Support Grants, made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. Grant funds from the Endowment are allowing IHS to award a total of $2.5 million to organizations…

Muncie, IN. Photo by: Mike Rhodes

Non-Profit January 3, 2017

Muncie Action Plan to Host Public Report to Community on January 4th

By: Aimee Fant— Muncie Action Plan houses 5 task forces and is a strategic guide that expresses the values and aspirations of our community, whose mission is to create a compelling action agenda for the community of Muncie, by the community of Muncie. Want to learn more about and become involved in one Muncie Action Plan’s 5 task forces? Join us for our annual Public Report to the Community; Wed. 6pm, January 4th, 2017 at Minnetrista Cultural Center. CONTACT: Aimee…

The DANNAR Mobile Power Station® visited Wright-Patterson AFB on Sept. 26 to introduce several Air Force officials to its power and utility. Photo provided.

Business January 1, 2017

DANNAR Announces Muncie Sanitary District as New Customer of the Mobile Power Station®

By: Matt Kantz— Muncie, IN – DD DANNAR, LLC, (DANNAR) is pleased to announce Muncie Sanitary District as a new owner of the Mobile Power Station® (MPS), the revolutionary electric work vehicle and energy platform that provides emergency power for disaster response and multi-function utility for daily maintenance. The Mobile Power Station® was manufactured and assembled in Muncie, Indiana, and is equipped with a high-performance electric drivetrain capable of pulling over 700,000 pounds and requires nearly zero maintenance. The MPS is…

Some resolutions are tastier than others. Photo by: Nancy Carlson

Carlson December 30, 2016

John Carlson: Time for self-improvement!

By: John Carlson— It’s time to start making New Year’s resolutions, an annual endeavor in which I am commonly guided by four little words. The easier the better. For example, I could vow to lose 30 pounds in 2017, but I’d be setting myself up for failure, my chances of losing 30 pounds being roughly equal to my chances of Donald Trump naming me ambassador to Sweden. Why invite such disappointment? But suppose, instead, I resolve to eat more onion…

The Fresh Thyme Farmers Market in Fishers. Photo by: Mike Rhodes

Business December 29, 2016

Muncie Journal’s Most Viewed Stories of 2016

By: Mike Rhodes— Economic development activity in Delaware County topped Muncie Journal’s most viewed stories list for 2016. The announcement of an upcoming Fresh Thyme Farmers Market on McGalliard topped the list with over 12,300 story views in 24 hours—a pretty good showing for a hyper-local publication that only covers content from Delaware County. You’ll find the rest of our most viewed stories below. You can click on any story headline to review the initial story and the date it was published. Here’s…

Apple Tree YMCA Child Development Center on Chadam Lane in Muncie.

Business December 28, 2016

Apple Tree YMCA Wins Energy Grant

INDIANAPOLIS, IN— The Indiana Office of Energy Development (OED) today announced the three winners of the Community Conservation Challenge (CCC) grants. The grantees will share more than $170,000 to help support their unique, Hoosier-based community energy conservation projects. The CCC program offers financial assistance to non-residential entities for projects that reduce an organization’s energy consumption or generates energy from renewable sources. By diversifying energy sources and reducing energy consumption, grantees may reduce their exposure to fueling price shocks and improve…