Business

By: Danielle Jones Steve Baule, new Superintendent of Muncie Community Schools officially began in office July1st.  Baule was appointed new Superintendent of Muncie Community Schools in April. Baule says he has been working very hard since students have been out of school. “I have been spending time meeting with the administrative team, board members, as well as city and county and community officials to hear from them what their concerns are and suggestions they may have of things they would like to see changed or continue.” Previously, Baule was the Superintendent of North Boone CSUD school district in Northern Illinois, which is home to about 1,800…

By Mark DiFabio— The Delaware County Fair Board recently dedicated the former Future Farmers building to longtime educator and 4-H leader Dr. John Wright. The board recently spent a Saturday to remodel the area into a picnic pavilion complete with tables for fair goers. “John had a big influence on the youth in this area and it was the fair board’s way of thanking him for his lifetime of service to them and the 4-H community,” said fair board president Jane Lasater. Wright recalled his first experience going to the fair with his father when he was eight years old…

The Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance joined Delaware County government officials and Garmong Construction to announce that the construction of a new, 200,000 SF shell building has been completed. The event was celebrated with a ribbon cutting by the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce. Located on a 34-acre site in the Industria Centre Industrial Park, the pre-cast concrete building features 32 foot ceilings and is expandable to 500,000 square feet. “Nationally, it has been reported that 70 to 80 percent of companies looking to locate or expand into an area will first look at available buildings. Having a strategically-located, modern,…

An important site for growth in the Muncie-Delaware County Area has earned a shovel ready Industrial Site Certification.  The Industria Centre Site #1, along the Muncie bypass, has completed the certification program for American Electric Power’s (AEP) Quality Site Program. McCallum Sweeny Consulting, one of the world’s leading site selection consulting firms, has conducted an 18-month, thorough analysis of the property. “A rapidly growing trend in economic development site selection is the requirement that sites be certified, or “shovel ready.” Companies are making location decisions in shorter timeframes, and they want to know that any potential risks with a site have already…

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ: FRME) and Ameriana Bancorp (NASDAQ: ASBI)  announced they have executed a definitive agreement whereby Ameriana Bancorp will merge with and into First Merchants Corporation, and its wholly owned bank subsidiary, Ameriana Bank, will merge with and into First Merchants Bank, NA. The merger agreement provides that shareholders of Ameriana Bancorp will have the right to exchange each Ameriana Bancorp common share held for 0.9037 shares of First Merchants’ common stock. Based on the closing price of First Merchants’ common stock on June 26, 2015 of $25.13, the transaction value is approximately $68.8 million, with an implied…