Government

By Tony Sandleman— MUNCIE, Ind. – The City of Muncie is continuing to work on its streets and roadways. The city street department continues to work on its pavement plan for 2022.  The plan covers 63 different projects and represents a dramatic increase in the number of projects to be undertaken. In 2020, Muncie was dealing with a negative $1.9 million balance in the local road and streets account. That balance was addressed in 2020 and 9 streets were still paved. With financial challenges addressed, the street department is now going full steam ahead on pavings. The second quarter of…

By Tony Sandleben— MUNCIE, Ind.—The Indiana Housing Market update for 2021 has been posted by the Indiana Association of Realtors. The report reviewed two specific areas that are of interest to realtors/developers/homeowners: Closed Sales and Median Price. For the year 2021 Muncie/Yorktown showed impressive results to advance up 3 spots to the 17th most active large real estate market (by number of sales) in the state. These 2021 results indicate that Muncie/Yorktown moved ahead of the Kokomo area, plus the Lebanon/Zionsville/Whitestown area, and the New Albany area in number of transactions. The percentage increase (+10.1%) in closed sales for the Muncie/Yorktown area…

By Troi Watts, Press Secretary— INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Sue Errington (D-Muncie) has introduced House Bill (HB) 1047, which would require state-accredited schools to provide age-appropriate, medically- and scientifically-accurate sexual health education to their students, for consideration in the 2022 Legislative Session. Errington, a former school teacher and former Public Policy Director for Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, offered a similar bill last session, but it was not granted a hearing in the House Committee on Education. Errington remains determined to help students understand their sexual health as a handful of Indiana counties continue to remain above the national…

By Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb— Delivered January 11, 2022 Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Madam Chief Justice, Lt. Governor, members of the General Assembly, my fellow Hoosiers, it is indeed an honor to once again discuss the state of our great state and the work before us as we seek to make life better for all Hoosiers.Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”Ladies and gentlemen, color me an optimist, because there has never been a more opportune time to realize our true potential than right now. Even as we’re contending with the challenges of a…

By Tony Sandleben, Director of Communications, City of Muncie— MUNCIE, Ind. – Using his banking background and with the help of many dedicated employees, in the first two years of Mayor Ridenour’s Administration, the Muncie Redevelopment Commission (MRC) has avoided borrowing and has instead focused on paying cash for projects if possible. The result of the mayor’s first two years (2020 and 2021) show MRC has reduced debt totals by $6.7 million dollars from just over $58 million to $51.7 million. The consolidated TIF Cash amounts have increased during these first two years by $1.75 million as well, from $1,065,744 to$2,821,537….

By City of Muncie— MUNCIE, Ind.—1925 PubHouse, which operates a restaurant in Anderson on the Grandview Golf Course, has signed an agreement to open a new location at the Courtyard Marriott hotel in downtown Muncie. Mayor Dan Ridenour commented, “This transaction has been months in the planning and we are pleased to be able to  announce that 1925 PubHouse is coming to Muncie. We look forward to adding them to our list of great restaurants in downtown Muncie. They have big plans in mind and I believe that Muncie is going to enjoy their style and commitment to service.” 1925…

By Juli Metzger— YORKTOWN, Ind.—A 20-year law enforcement veteran has been named Town Marshal for the Town of Yorktown.Shane Ginnan, who most recently was Deputy Chief of Police for the City of Noblesville, assumes his new role Jan. 7. Yorktown Town Manager Pete Olson made the announcement. “Shane has spent a majority of his time in the patrol division and progressed up the ranks into administration,” Olson explained. “Most recently, he has spent time dealing with policy issues and working with schools in the City of Noblesville. As a community that desires to experience additional growth, Shane has worked through…

By Mike Rhodes, Editor-in-Chief— DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind.—The Delaware Commissioners and Economic Development staff have released their 2021 Economic Development and Redevelopment report which you can view in its entirety here on MuncieJournal.com. The full report is 28 pages, the file is 5 MB in size, and reviews their projects and status.   Click on the photo above to open the full report.          

By Rokita Press Office— INDIANAPOLIS—Attorney General Todd Rokita is warning Hoosiers to watch for scams while finishing their holiday shopping this year. “Christmas should be about celebrating faith and family and friends,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Amid each year’s festivities, though, it seems we must always contend with shameless con artists determined to defraud generous Hoosiers and separate them from their hard-earned money.” Scammers are known to look for rushed, unsuspecting victims. “This time of year,” Attorney General Rokita said, “individuals most absorbed in the season’s traditions could become easy prey to fraudsters. That includes shoppers hurrying to finish buying…