United Van Lines, the Missouri-based moving company, said today that a smaller proportion of its customers left Indiana last year than in any year since 1993. United counted 3,871 customers leaving Indiana compared to 2,780 moving into the state—meaning 58.2 percent of all moves were outbound. That’s the best the state has experienced since the […]
WellPoint calls for expanded government health insuranceWellPoint Inc. this morning called for expanding government programs and public-private partnerships as part of a plan to provide health insurance coverage for the uninsured. The Indianapolis insurer supports broadening state health care programs that cover uninsured children. WellPoint also advocates expanding programs that cover children in families earning […]
Ivy Tech Community College has received $1 million from the Joyce Foundation to help the school expand its offerings for low-skilled adults. The money will be paired with a partnership with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to help full-time workers complete an intensive part-time school schedule.
The United Way of Central Indiana has received a $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to expand United Way’s capital improvement program. Funds from that program have been used to renovate and expand partner facilities and services.
ChaCha, the Internet search engine co-founded by Carmel tech entrepreneur Scott Jones received commitments of $6 million in private financing last year from investors including Jeff Bezos, who started Amazon.com. Other investors in the Indianapolis start-up are Compaq Computer founding CEO Rod Canion and Jack Gill, who co-founded of the Palo Alto, Calif., venture capital […]
Truck makers might slow production and lay off employees this year if trucking companies lift the throttle on purchases, as many experts anticipate. Trucking firms scrambled to stock up on tractors before Jan. 1 this year to avoid paying the extra $9,000 or more associated with cleaner-burning diesel engines mandated by environmental regulations. International Truck […]
A strategic plan written for the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority to redevelop the area would cost $4.1 billion if its board and state officials approve, according to The Times of Munster. The plan, to be unveiled Tuesday, calls for condos along Lake Michigan, new commuter rail service, more bus transportation and an airport that […]
The building committee of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public has voted unanimously to move its branch out of Glendale Mall—a potential blow to Kite Realty Group’s attempt to redevelop the site into an open-air mall. The library announced this afternoon that the new configuration wouldn’t be conducive to patron access and would make moving materials more […]
IMMI, a Westfield company that makes buckles, harnesses and other components for child car seats, said none of the seats using its parts failed a recent test by Consumer Reports. The not-for-profit watchdog group said this week that it could recommend only two of 12 infant seats it tested. Infant seats face to the rear […]
ATA Airlines said today it is filling more seats on its aircraft. The Indianapolis-based carrier said its scheduled service passenger load factor increased 3.3 points, to 79.1 percent, compared with December 2005. Scheduled service traffic was down 15.4 percent and total passengers fell 32 percent, to 217,029, in December. But comparisons are difficult because ATA […]
Harris has closed its $290 million acquisition of First National Bank & Trust, the Kokomo bank owned by the Hasten family of Indianapolis, the Chicago institution announced today. Harris is the U.S. arm of Bank of Montreal in Canada. It said in September it bought First National as part of a strategy to expand personal […]
A confined feeding operation specializing in calves up to 90 days old has been approved 4-1 by the Jasper County Board. Wolf Creek Calf Co. agreed to dust and odor controls before being allowed to proceed with plans to inventory as many as 10,000 head on the property at a given time, according to the […]
Semafore Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised $9.5 million in equity partly to finance Phase I clinical tests of its cancer treatment. The start-up Indianapolis drug developer said both existing and new investors were involved in the infusion, and that the funding would be paired with $4 million received last year from the state’s 21st Century Research […]
Eli Lilly and Co. said this morning that it has licensed rights to the diabetes and obesity subsidiary of Melville, N.Y.-based OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $25 million plus as much as $360 million in addition payments, depending on the success of any compounds developed through the arrangement. The subsidiary, Prosidion Limited, is in the United […]
A slowdown in house construction has prompted United Technologies Electronic Controls to lay off 112 workers at its Huntington plant, where it makes components for heating and air-conditioning units. The layoffs, effective Jan. 1, were mostly voluntary. But International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 983 President Tyler Brown told The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne […]
Health insurance was unexpectedly canceled Dec. 1 for about 100 retired workers of Steel Parts Corp. in Kokomo, complains Scott Sigler, vice president of Local 3875 of the United Steelworkers Union. A union lawyer said the Cleveland turnaround firm that bought Steel Parts out of bankruptcy the same day, Resilience Capital Partners, canceled the policy. […]
OFS Brands, a family owned manufacturer of desks, bookcases and other case goods in Huntingburg, has bought Carolina Business Furniture of Archdale, N.C., for an undisclosed price. The purchase will speed an expansion by the southern Indiana company into health care, according to the Evansville Courier & Press. OFS also operates as Styline Industries.
Former Bloomington mayor John Fernandez has joined First Capital Group, a Bloomington firm that invests in new business ventures, as partner and senior vice president. Fernandez served from 1996 to 2003, and lost the 2002 race for Indiana Secretary of State to Republican Todd Rokita. Fernandez most recently advised on real estate deals at the […]
Neighbors of a proposed subdivision in northwestern Johnson County complained so fiercely that developer Paul Shoopman now plans to meet zoning requirements precisely—and take the project downscale. Shoopman’s Indiana Land Development Corp. is stripping parks and walking trails as well as businesses, apartments and town homes, according to the Daily Journal of Franklin. House density will […]
Indianapolis-based F.S. English Inc., which operates three buy-here/pay-here auto dealerships in the area, has been bought by Dallas-based Manchester Inc. for $8 million. The deal includes GNAC Inc., the company’s auto lending unit. F.S. English’s owner, Rick Stanley, will continue as CEO of the dealerships.
