Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Last week’s Engage Indiana event in Terre Haute marked the halfway point for our Engage Indiana statewide series for 2023. At the request of regional leaders, we expanded the series significantly this year by adding events in west central Indiana (Terre Haute), northwest Indiana (Valparaiso) and greater Lafayette (West Lafayette). We returned to Evansville earlier this year for our second annual event there and will return to northern Indiana (South Bend), northeast Indiana (Fort Wayne) and central Indiana (Indianapolis) later this year.
Our Engage events highlight regional initiatives that are working, as well as challenges each region hopes to address in order to grow and provide better opportunities for its residents. Each event includes an update from Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers on the state’s economic development efforts, including in the areas of entrepreneurship, placemaking, alternative energy, attracting the industries of the future and the state’s effort to market Indiana to the world.
Each event also features a panel discussion with local regional leaders representing the private, public, educational and philanthropic sectors that is moderated by Gerry Dick, host of Inside INdiana Business. The conversations and takeaways from our first four events this year in Evansville, Valparaiso, West Lafayette and Terre Haute share some common themes but also highlight the unique challenges and opportunities of each region of our state.
In terms of common themes, each region is focused on quality-of-life enhancements and amenities in its communities in order to retain residents and attract new ones. All agreed that the state’s READI grant program that has allocated $1 billion to communities across Indiana has encouraged regional collaboration around key projects that have the potential to drive population and economic growth. The state’s $1 billion investment is anticipated to leverage over $16 billion in private and public investment, representing a tremendous return on investment. Riverfront development, housing and infrastructure projects are at the top of the list for many communities.
While communities across the state are adding jobs, given the state’s low unemployment rate, increasing the worker participation rate is seen as vital to economic growth in each region. The lack of quality and affordable housing, as well as child care, is often mentioned as a barrier to this goal.
Unique regional challenges and opportunities highlighted in the first four Engage events include: lack of direct flights to Chicago and opportunities in the semiconductor industry (Evansville); the need for stronger regional collaboration and the potential for a hydrogen hub (Valparaiso); the need for improved public transportation options and the development of a hard-tech corridor between West Lafayette and Indianapolis (West Lafayette); and the need for more zoning standards and the opportunity to retain graduates from the many area colleges (Terre Haute).
This year’s expanded Engage Indiana events have been an important part of our efforts to further expand our coverage statewide and better connect Hoosiers across our state. We have also increased our coverage of each region by producing Inside INdiana Business television shows on site in each region. Finally, we launched our first region-specific weekly digital newsletter covering the Evansville area, with more to follow this year.
Attendance at our regional events has exceeded our expectations. Audience participation is high, ensuring rich and pertinent conversations regarding the state of each region. Join us for conversation and networking at our remaining Engage Indiana events in South Bend on Aug. 1, Fort Wayne on Oct. 10 and Indianapolis on Dec. 6.•
__________
Feltman is publisher of IBJ and CEO of IBJ Media. Send comments to nfeltman@ibj.com.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.