Articles

Columbus enjoying strong housing market

While the rest of the state struggles to hold its own through the national housing downturn, the Columbus area is thriving. Bartholomew County, where Columbus is the seat, saw the median house price rise 8.7 percent, to $139,000, in the third quarter, according to The Republic, the city’s daily newspaper. Nationally, the median price fell […]

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NE Indiana aluminum firm to expand

Columbia City-based 80/20 Inc., which makes modular aluminum framing for industry, plans to spend $5 million to expand its manufacturing and distribution center and add at least 40 jobs by 2010. Machining and manufacturing technology will be upgraded as part of the project. 80/20 Inc. employs 210 workers in its design, manufacturing and distribution center […]

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Lafayette Square owners to add entertainment

The new owners of Lafayette Square Mall plan to add entertainment on weekends as part of their efforts to revitalize the property, the mall said today. New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition, which closed the deal early this month, has set about filling the empty space. But it also wants to rejuvenate the property to make it […]

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Interactive Intelligence shares hit skids

Just when Interactive Intelligence Inc. was enjoying an extended run up in its stock price, more than half its value has been lost in the past few weeks. Shares in the Indianapolis-based software firm have fallen to $13, down from $28 in late December. The stock had undergone a sustained recovery after the technology bust […]

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Dixon promoted to president at Community

Community Hospitals of Indiana Inc. has named Mark Dixon president. Dixon had served as Community’s chief operating officer since 2003. Community spokeswoman Lynda de Widt said Dixon is not replacing another executive, but she would not elaborate. The Community system includes campuses on east, north and south sides of Indianapolis as well as Community Home […]

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Former Colt wants to rehab Anderson housing

Former Indianapolis Colts tight end Ken Dilger, in a plan pitched yesterday to Anderson city officials, said he aims to buy and revitalize foreclosed houses, and then sell them to low- and moderate-income buyers. The Spencer County native, who played seven seasons with the Colts, owns Legends Title, a title insurance company, and Dilger Financial […]

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New Albany firm to develop Cabela’s site

Property near the Cabela’s outdoor store under construction in Greenwood will be developed with a cinema, grocery store, restaurants and other shops. Lopp Properties, a developer based in the southern Indiana city of New Albany, signed a contract recently for rights to build on the 100-acre property, according to the Daily Journal of Franklin. The […]

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Honda boasts of flexibility at Greensburg plant

The new car assembly plant Honda Manufacturing of Indiana is building at Greensburg might make more than the Civic compact. In an interview this week with the trade publication Automotive News, a Honda official said the plant initially will make Civics. That will allow the company’s East Liberty, Ohio, plant to boost production of its […]

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Midwest growth still sluggish, Fed says

The Midwestern economy continued a pattern of slow growth in December and early January, the Federal Reserve Bank said today in its Beige Book report. Businesses made few changes to their spending plans and consumer spending was mixed, the report said. Home construction continued to decline and nonresidential construction began to slow. A modest expansion […]

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First Indiana Plaza owner takes control

New York-based Crown Properties Inc. has bought out its joint-venture partner on downtown’s First Indiana Plaza. The partner, an affiliate of Connecticut-based Greenfield Partners LLC, said today that it has sold its ownership interest in the 425,000-square-foot skyscraper at Ohio and Pennsylvania streets. Greenfield did not disclose a price. Crown has been trying to sell […]

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Long Thompson backs I-69 extension

Governor hopeful Jill Long Thompson told a group in Bloomington yesterday that she supports the Interstate 69 extension from Indianapolis to Evansville. The former congresswoman is running to become the Democratic nominee to face Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels in the general election this fall. She said the extension is needed to link Evansville to Indianapolis, […]

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Local tech consulting firm to expand

Locally based Fusion Alliance said today it plans to spend more than $2 million to expand its headquarters and add at least 110 jobs by 2010. Fusion Alliance employs 190 in Indianapolis and 30 in Cincinnati. It expects to begin hiring consultants, application developers, Web designers, business analysts and project managers this year, with most of […]

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Daleville snags finance company expansion

Indiana Finance Co. plans to move its Chesterfield headquarters to Daleville and double its employee roster to 90, according to The Star Press of Muncie. The site of the expansion, in Heartland Business Center, is where IBM launched a 200-employee call center this fall. The former outlet mall on Interstate 69 also attracted Jarden Home […]

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UPDATE: Steak n Shake stock continues slide

Shares of The Steak n Shake Co. have tumbled 20 percent over the last two trading days – driven down, in part, by the company’s announcement late Friday afternoon that sales remained weak. The stock trended down throughout the day Friday and shed another $1.30 a share this morning, leaving it at $8.18. It now […]

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State crying for more registered nurses

Demand for registered nurses is remarkably strong across Indiana, a state ranking shows. The occupation is classified as hottest of the “hot” jobs tracked by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. Projected demand for registered nurses ranks at the top in seven of 11 regions of the state, the department says. In the other four […]

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Legislation aims to scrutinize business tax breaks

Legislation has been introduced in the Indiana House that would look at the nearly 120 corporate tax breaks now in Indiana code to see if the incentives are improving the economy, reports The News-Dispatch of Michigan City. State Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, who introduced House Bill 1242, believes tax breaks that haven’t created jobs […]

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Steak n Shake sales tumbled in latest quarter

The Steak n Shake Co. announced late this afternoon that same-store sales in its fiscal first quarter tumbled 9.5 percent. It was the latest bleak news for the Indianapolis-based diner chain, which now has reported 10 straight quarters of declining same-store sales. The latest results cover the quarter that ended Dec. 19. The company will […]

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Southern Indiana veneer firm adding 60 workers

Carl F. Booth Veneers, which provides exotic wood veneers to the executive aircraft industry, will move its New Albany operations to Jeffersonville and create 60 new jobs. The company will close the existing plant and build a 100,000-square-foot facility in Jeffersonville within the next year to increase production and meet increasing demand for its products, […]

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Feds clear sale of Indy radio stations’ owner

Federal Communications Commission members have approved the buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc., which owns WFBQ-FM 94.7 and two other Indianapolis radio stations, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said a formal announcement could follow within a week, although the FCC wouldn’t comment. Leading the group acquiring San Antonio-based Clear […]

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Lechleiter impresses CNBC pharma reporter

Incoming Eli Lilly and Co. CEO John Lechleiter can add another feather to his nice-guy hat. Mike Huckman, who follows the pharmaceutical industry for CNBC, wrote in an online posting this week that he was impressed when he interviewed Lechleiter during an industry gathering Monday. Lechleiter takes over for retiring Lilly CEO Sidney Taurel on […]

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