Government

By Nathan Sloan, Muncie Chief of Police— MUNCIE, Ind.—The Muncie Police Department is pleased to announce that the Department of Justice, through the COPS Hiring Program (CHP), has selected our agency to receive a grant in the amount of $375,000.00. The funds are to be used to hire three new officers beyond what our current budget allows, with a focus on community oriented policing and crime reduction. The funding is intended to cover the new officer’s entry-level salary, benefits, and other costs. We have been continuously recruiting, but the Muncie Police Department is not fully staffed at this time. Once…

By Jeff Robinson, President of Muncie City Council, District 2— MUNCIE, Ind.—Seventy-four non-profits applied for grant dollars earmarked to help those organizations and their clients who were hardest hit by COVID-19. In total, $2 million of the City of Muncie’s American Recovery Plan funding of $31.7 million will be awarded to help the non-profit sector and the people they serve. District 2 Councilman and City Council President Jeff Robinson and Heart of Indiana United Way’s President & CEO, Jenni Marsh recruited a diverse committee for the ARP Non-Profit Awards Committee. There were representatives of the LGBTQ+ and Black Indigenous People…

By U.S. Senator from Indiana Todd Young— INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—In the town of Hartsville, in Bartholomew County, not more than 60 miles south of here, there is a small red headstone in a Baptist cemetery. It reads simply: B.W. Mitchell 1816-1868. Below that, it mentions the 27th Indiana volunteer infantry in letters so small they strain the eye. Corporal Barton Warren Mitchell was a 45 year old railroad worker from Putnam County who joined the Union Army at the onset of the Civil War. In his life Corporal Mitchell was little known. He remains so today. No biographers have painstakingly retraced…

By Dr. Kimberly Roop, Medicaid Plan President for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana— As a U.S. Air Force veteran, I had the privilege of serving with men and women who put personal priorities aside to serve and protect our country. As I saw first-hand, our service members are trained to do more with less. We make sacrifices and step in front of harm’s way when duty calls and pack up personal belongings on command. We are trained to solve problems, often with few resources, because the mission is critical, and our personal comfort or convenience must take…

By Braden Dunlap, Press Secretary— STATEHOUSE – Delaware County communities will receive more than $1 million in state matching grants to steer toward much-needed road improvement projects, according to local legislators. State Rep. Elizabeth Rowray (R-Yorktown) said 218 towns, cities and counties throughout Indiana received a combined total of over $101 million through the Community Crossings Matching Grant program. The Indiana Department of Transportation oversees and distributes these grants twice each year. “Upgrading our roads and bridges is critical to our economy,” Rowray said. “By improving infrastructure in our towns and cities, we can ensure Hoosiers are able to reliably and safely…

By Tony Sandleben, City of Muncie Communications—  MUNCIE, Ind. – Mayor Ridenour and the City of Muncie have closed on a deal to acquire 13 more acres of land for a yet to be named park currently referred to as either Tillpond or Southwest Park on the city’s southwest side. This sale has been almost a year in the making. Mayor Ridenour announced the plan in early December of 2020. The $25,000 purchase is part of Mayor Ridenour’s push to improve public parks and green space in the City of Muncie by using money from his office’s EDIT Funds to…

By Greg Pence Press Office— Columbus, IN –  Congressman Greg Pence (IN-06) has introduced H.R. 5506, the Rural Telehealth Access Task Force Act with Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02) seeking to expand rural communities’ access to telehealth capabilities. The proposed legislation seeks to establish a Rural Telehealth Access Task Force between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), United States Department if Agriculture (USDA), Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). If enacted by law, the task force would be commissioned with identifying barriers to the adoption of telehealth technologies in…

By Jeff Robinson, President, Muncie City Council—  MUNCIE, Ind.—The September 30th deadline for local non-profits to apply for grant dollars earmarked to help those organizations and their clients who were hardest hit by COVID-19 is fast approaching. In total, $2 million of the City of Muncie’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding of $31.7 million was set aside specifically to help the nonprofit sector. Applications are available on the City’s website and must be submitted by September 30th, 2021. Jeff Robinson, President of the City Council and District 2 Councilman, recruited a diverse committee representing non-profits, grantors, and local leaders to…