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Bumpy road ahead for truck-driving schools?: Slowing freight and federal standards could hurt prospects and raise costs

With a driver shortage as bad as the freight industry says, one might think operating a truck-driving school would be a license to print money. But proposed federal rules to toughen training standards and, lately, a fishtailing economy could bring a shakeout among schools. There are even rumblings that a few big carriers that contract with driving schools are poised to eliminate tuition reimbursement as they sweat out the economic downturn. “We’re going to start losing schools,” predicted John Priest,…

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Purdue professor cooks up healthier way to ‘fry’ food: Invention could make microwaves seem like crock pots

A new cooking technology under development at Purdue University could please both dieters looking for lowercalorie meals and food retailers seeking lower costs. It has the potential to produce “fried” foods using vastly less oil, and to cook them at speeds that make microwave ovens seem as slow as crock pots. A Purdue professor is working with Anderson Tool and Engineering Co. in Madison County to create advanced prototypes of the device, called a “radiant fryer.” The first off the…

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IU makes plans to hatch more businesses: Incubator in Bloomington hopes to duplicate success of local Emerging Technologies Center

Ground should be broken late this month or in early November, with completion expected by summer. Cost of the 40,000-square-foot facility-4,000 square feet smaller than the one here-is estimated in the $8 million to $10 million range. While it may be a bit smaller in size, the scope is broader. The new incubator will promote both life sciences companies and information technology firms. That goal differs from the mission of the existing IU Emerging Technologies Center on 10th Street, which…

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Arcadia banking on DailyMed: Company hopes product sales can help it escape debt, lift stock

When Arcadia Resources Inc. moved from Southfield, Mich., to Indianapolis last fall, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. crowed with pride. In exchange for incentives worth more than $6 million, the state had landed the headquarters of a publicly traded life sciences firm with more than 5,000 employees. Even better, the company was ready to launch an innovative new product that promises to improve home health care while simultaneously reducing its cost. A year has passed, but investors still aren’t as…

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Velodrome becomes slippery slope

You have to give the folks at Indy Parks and Recreation credit for creativity. How many people would consider turning a world-class sporting facility into a glorified sledding hill and hope to profit from it? Shiver…

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Lilly Endowment crawls toward diversification goal: Bear market, low Lilly stock price slow selloff

Lilly Endowment Inc. is still on its journey to sell off $2 billion of its Eli Lilly and Co. shares. But after a slow start and a few stops for rest, it may take a little longer to get there than originally thought. The endowment, the single largest holder of Lilly stock, announced its plan to diversify its holdings back in July 2006. For nearly 70 years, the not-for-profit held its wealth almost exclusively in the pharmaceutical company’s stock. So…

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City shows up peers in luring, keeping young, educated, married couples

 Regional economic development experts say cities must woo talented people while they’re young–in
their 20s or early 30s–because, after that age, people tend to hunker down. The Indianapolis area apparently appeals to at
least two key groups of young people–particularly those already married, according to a new study by researchers at IUPUI.

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ON THE RECORD:

O N T H E R E C O R D First Merchants Corp. of Muncie announced Sept. 3 that it has agreed to buy Lincoln Bancorp of Plainfield for about $75 million. The acquisition expands First Merchants’ presence in the Indianapolis area from the northern suburbs into other fast-growing suburbs on the west and south sides. Announcement of the deal sparked a 37-percent runup in the value of Lincoln shares. Elanco, the animal-health division of Eli Lilly and Co.,…

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VIEWPOINT: Advancing manufacturing is key to future

We’ve all heard it: Our economy is creeping to a crawl. Skyhigh oil prices, a weak housing market and the struggling U.S. dollar are discouraging consumers and business owners alike. Fears about our nation’s fiscal health are shaking broader confidence in the banking industry, the system of global trade, and even our public image abroad. In the face of such adversity, it’s helpful to remember that Americans have faced daunting challenges in the past. In tougher times, such as the…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: China, higher education and our economic future

In mid-September, I’ll be traveling to China’s Liaoning province as part of a delegation led by Indiana State University, hosted by Liaoning University. We’ll arrive in the country too late for the Olympics, but we’ll be there to talk about another form of global competition-economic development. It’s appropriate that the two universities are co-hosting a conference on economic development issues, given the importance of human capital in our economy. It’s especially appropriate for China, where higher education has become a…

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No-bid contract lets local firm suggest sales or sale-leasebacks of city property

The Mayor’s Office has quietly agreed to consider selling some of the city’s more than 1,100 properties, including police stations, maintenance buildings and parks, in a bid to raise cash to help balance the budget. The city awarded the potentially lucrative no-bid contract to Venture Real Estate Services, a politically connected real estate firm led by John Bales.

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IUPUI faces tough decisions over aging sports facilities

From 1979 to 1982, IUPUI inherited three world-class athletic facilities that have since hosted Olympic trials and world-record performances by top-flight amateur and professional athletes. But that inheritance has turned into a financial albatross around the university’s neck. It’s grappling with how to pay for their upkeep and the improvements necessary to keep the facilities–and the city–in the hunt for high-profile sporting events.

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Developer pegs Plainfield for spec office building: Local real estate brokers question potential demand

Now a developer is banking on a new roadway and airport terminal to attract office tenants, although some brokers familiar with the area aren’t sold on the idea. The local office of Chicago-based Verus Partners LLC finished purchasing 200 acres along the east side of the Reagan Parkway and plans to build a 60,000-square-foot, two-story speculative office building. Verus’ mixed-use office and industrial park is called GreenParke at Airwest and could be ready for occupancy by next summer. Infrastructure work…

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Small towns with a heart: Spurning sprawl, more towns upbeat on downtown

From Andy Griffith’s Mayberry, the small town evolved into the likes of Avon, Ind. The tree-shaded bungalow on Oak Street within walking distance of the town center became the vinyl-clad, single-family home planted in a former cornfield with a contrived name ending in “creek” or “woods” or “farms.” Residents have to jump in the car if they want to buy a cup of coffee or to patronize the predictable chain restaurants and bigbox retailers. The Best Buy on Avon’s main…

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Small towns with a heart: Spurning sprawl, more towns upbeat on downtown

From Andy Griffith’s Mayberry, the small town evolved into the likes of Avon, Ind. The tree-shaded bungalow on Oak Street within walking distance of the town center became the vinyl-clad, single-family home planted in a former cornfield with a contrived name ending in “creek” or “woods” or “farms.” Residents have to jump in the car if they want to buy a cup of coffee or to patronize the predictable chain restaurants and bigbox retailers. The Best Buy on Avon’s main…

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Developer pegs Plainfield for spec office building: Local real estate brokers question potential demand

Now a developer is banking on a new roadway and airport terminal to attract office tenants, although some brokers familiar with the area aren’t sold on the idea. The local office of Chicago-based Verus Partners LLC finished purchasing 200 acres along the east side of the Reagan Parkway and plans to build a 60,000-square-foot, two-story speculative office building. Verus’ mixed-use office and industrial park is called GreenParke at Airwest and could be ready for occupancy by next summer. Infrastructure work…

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NOTIONS: Blessings and benefits of bestowing that first break

Dear Win: I’m writing to say thank you. I’m not sure I’ve ever adequately done that. I’m not sure I ever can. I’m also not sure I ever quite grasped the gamble you took on me when I was a not-even-graduated college senior 28 years ago-not until the resumes and referral requests started filling my inbox and the risks of hiring rookies sank in. But this isn’t just between you and me. I hope this letter will prompt others to…

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Commentary: Please copy this column

(In deference to ’60s radical Abbie Hoffman and his 1971 cult paperback “Steal This Book,” I hereby relinquish our copyright to this column and give you permission to copy it. I’ll tell you what to do with it later.) Silly me, I thought Mitch Daniels had really shaken things up and done a great job in his first four years as governor. To hear his Democratic opponents in the upcoming election tell it, you’d think he had provided uninspired leadership…

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Government officials dangle incentives, attracting firms across county lines

Marion County economic development officials are proud of their latest headquarters attraction. Bowen Engineering Corp.
will inject 103 high-paying jobs into the Indianapolis economy immediately. And over time, the company expects
to add another 138. Their average salaries will top $70,000. The deal didn’t require Mayor Greg Ballard
to travel to Japan, or even to another state. Bowen Engineering is moving all of 8.4 miles, from its former
home in Fishers to the 8800 block of North Meridian Street.

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Recession squeezes local logistics industry

State economic development leaders remain bullish on Indiana’s future as a logistics hub even as two local players have been
forced into bankruptcy and others struggle with high fuel prices.

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