Government

By Tony Sandleben— MUNCIE, Ind. – The Restaurant and the Small Business/Tourism committees have selected the businesses that will be receiving grants from Muncie’s American Rescue Plan (ARP). Mayor Ridenour and the City of Muncie have worked to award 189 businesses and restaurants $3.11 million which will all go out once the businesses selected complete the federally required paperwork. The restaurant committee has selected and sent checks to 43 restaurants. Those are: Sea Salt & Cinnamon, Elm Street Brewing Company, Roots, Mulligans, La Hacienda, Yats, Vera Maes, 12th Street Café, Frozen Boulder, the Caffeinery, Twin Archers, Dumpling House, Red Apple, GGs,…

By Lt. Governor Press Office— STATEHOUSE – Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs have announced a new program aiming to help more Hoosiers obtain access to reliable and quality broadband. Homeowners and business owners can apply for consideration for the Indiana Connectivity Program, which opens for applicants on Monday, Sept. 27. This new tool can connect residents and businesses that lack internet service with internet service providers and assist in the expense of extending broadband to unserved and underserved locations. “The Indiana Connectivity Program aims to bring high quality broadband service to unserved and underserved…

 By J.P.Hall— MUNCIE, Ind.—After years of challenges, the private Halteman Swim Club closed its doors in 2017 and was sold shortly after at the county tax sale. The property became abandoned, blighted, dangerous, and an overall eyesore upon the community. Via an incredible public/private partnership between the Halteman Village Neighborhood Association (HVNA), the City of Muncie, the Muncie Parks Department, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority’s (IHCDA) CreatINg Places program, and many individual and local Foundation’s, all are ready to celebrate a soft opening of the public park specifically highlighting the new playground, pavilion and splash pad. What: Playground/Pavilion/Splash…

By Ro Selvey— MUNCIE, Ind. – Like many midwestern cities with a rich history, the City of Muncie has seen its fair share of changes to our local economy, our demographics, and to our neighborhoods. Many of these changes are the inevitable price of progress, they are all accompanied with their own unique challenges. Our housing is no exception. While our community has seen necessary and prudent growth in our residential structures, at the same time we are not exempt from the many homes that are left blighted and in disrepair. According to the most recent census data, 15% of…

By Jeff Robinson, President, Muncie City Council— I’ve been receiving the below email from a number of people throughout Delaware County. Each email I receive is the exact same wording, although the signatures are all different. I don’t blame these people for not understanding the limits of local government’s authority. Someone has misled these people (either purposefully, or through sheer ignorance) to believe city council has the authority on anything regarding vaccine mandates, which it does not. That authority rests with the state and a long standing precedent has been set (see Jacobson v. Massachusetts and the Supreme Court Decision…

 By Keith Roysdon— DELAWARE COUNTY, Indiana — A longtime local company will purchase an old Muncie industrial building and give it a total makeover into a modern warehouse and distribution facility. North Central Industries, an importer of fireworks with headquarters in Delaware County for decades, will turn the former City Machine Tool & Die building into an updated facility, Delaware County officials said. They intend to take a currently rundown property and make it a new and revitalized commercial site. The project means a new owner and a complete rebuild and reuse — as a warehouse — of the long-empty…

By Muncie City Council— MUNCIE, Ind.—Non-profit organizations can now apply 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 Rescue Plan (ARP) funding of $31.7 million was set aside specifically to help the non-profit sector. Applications are available on the city’s website and are due September 30, 2021. Jeff Robinson, President of the City Council and District 2 Councilman, recruited a diverse committee representing non-profits, grantors, and local leaders to help inform how this grant process might work. He appointed 11 members…

By Tony Sandleben, Director of Communications, City of Muncie— MUNCIE, Ind. – On August 30th, Mayor Dan Ridenour filed his proposed budget for 2022 officially to the clerk’s office for the Muncie City Council review. This is the second budget of his term and will be introduced at the September 13th city council meeting. As was the case in 2021, Mayor Ridenour focused increased funding toward parks and other quality of life items such as streets. “My budget remains focused on parks, sidewalks, and streets as a method to improve the quality of place for city residents. To accomplish this focus…

By Keith Roysdon— DELAWARE COUNTY, Indiana — Delaware County taxpayers will save hundreds of thousands of dollars thanks to refinancing of bonds — and motorists will see newly repaved roads as a result.  The Delaware County commissioners announced the savings and repaving, which was made possible by recent action taken by the Delaware County Redevelopment Commission.  Officials said $529,000 will be saved by refinancing capital infrastructure bonds issued through the Morrison Road and Park One tax increment financing districts. The Morrison Road TIF refinancing in particular generated funds that the county decided to use to improve roads on the northwest…