Kankakee-Iroquois
Regional Planning Commission
Benton
Carroll
Jasper
Newton
Counties, Indiana
Pulaski
Starke
Warren
White
Comprehensive Economic
Development Strategy, 2010
Table of Contents
Map: Proximity to Major Cities
iv
Administrative Organization
1
A. Composition of KIRPC
C. Inter-County Organization
D. Regional Organization
Map: Region Map
KIRPC Board of Representatives
2
B. General Description
The Region and Its Economy
4
5
11
A. General Description
Map: Hydrography
Chart: Number and Average Size of Farms
Table: Agricultural Market Values (2007)
12
14
17
B. Regional Infrastructure
Map: Rail and Air Transportation
Table: KIRPC Region Industrial Parks
Table: Higher Learning Institutions
18
21
26
30
31
34
35
Map: School Districts
Table: State-Owned Recreation Areas
Table: (Housing) Vacancy Rates
Table: (Housing) Average Listing Price
Chart: Housing Types in Region
36
Chart: Housing Stock - Year Built
C. Population
Chart: Population Trend
Table: Populations of Counties and Municipalities
Chart: Urban/Rural (Population)
Chart: Educational Attainment
37
41
42
44
D. Labor Force
Table: Labor Force Summary
Chart: County Unemployment Rates Chart: Unemployment Rate Comparison
Maps: Commuting Patterns Table: Commuting Statistics
Tables: County Location Quotients
Table: Major Employment Sectors (2007)
E. Potentials for Economic Development
Table: Regional Location Quotients (2009)
Table: Economic Cluster Growth (2002-2009)
53
55
56
38
40
45
49
50
Regional Development Expectations
61
62
B. Strategic Projects, Programs and Activities
Tables: County-level Projects, et cetera
64
69
C. Implementing the CEDS
82
A. Defining Regional Expectations Proximity to Major Cities
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
iv
Administrative
Organization
Administrative Organization
A. Composition of KIRPC
The Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission (KIRPC), established on July 2, 1973, under provisions of Public Law 183 of the Acts of 1973
(36-7-7-1, et seq., in the Indiana Code), is a multicounty governmental service that assists county and
municipal governments in the eight-county Region
in economic and community development and planning. Headquartered in Monon, in northern White
County, KIRPC belongs to the Indiana Association
of Regional Councils (IARC), which provides a forum for regional planning-agency members to network and to share ideas. As regionalism comes to be
more strongly appreciated, with organizations such
as IARC and the Indiana Office of Community and
Rural Affairs (OCRA) emphasizing it, KIRPC looks
to broaden the means by which it facilitates community and regional development and planning by
expanding beyond grant writing and project management to regional collaboration, cooperation, and
coordination. Originally composed of Jasper, Newton, Pulaski, and Starke Counties, it has expanded
to include White (1985), Benton (2000), and, most
recently, Warren and Carroll (2009) Counties.
B. General Description
A primarily rural area, some 88 percent of the land of
which is dedicated to agriculture, the KIRPC Region
was, as of 2008, home to a population of 144,827,
.25 percent smaller than the populace as of the 2000
Census. This decrease followed population increases
by rates of 5.7 percent, .98 percent, and 9.7 percent in
the 1970s, ’80s, and ‘90s, respectively. Ranging from
the diminutive Yeoman (Carroll Co.), at 90 persons,
to the Region’s largest municipality, Rensselaer (Jasper Co.), home to 6,271, 38 incorporated cities and
towns, as well as nine census-designated places, including Bass Lake (Starke Co.), Collegeville (Jasper
Co., home to Saint Joseph’s College), and Roselawn
(Newton and Jasper Co’s) dot the Region. As defined
by the 2000 Census, six communities — Delphi, DeMotte, Knox, Monticello, Rensselaer, and Roselawn
—, all with populations larger than 2,500, qualify as
urban clusters; a seventh, Winamac, hovers just below the cut-off mark. (See Region Map, page four,
and Populations of Counties and Municipalities table,
page 38.)
C. Inter-County Organizations
A number of inter-county organizations, tending to various concerns, overlap and coincide with KIRPC. The
newly forming Midwest Indiana Economic Development commission includes multiple KIRPC counties,
including Pulaski, White, and Benton; Starke and Jasper Counties have affiliations with other, northern Indiana-based regional economic-development groups.
All KIRPC counties, save Starke and Warren, which
constitute their own districts, belong to the Northwest
Indiana Solid Waste District, responsible for wastemanagement and recycling programs.
D. Regional Organization
The Region is served by a board of representatives of
each member county. Representation on the board, per
Indiana Code 36-7-74, is structured as follows on the
next page.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
2
Administrative Organization
1. A representative of the county executive, who may be either a member of the executive
or a person appointed by it.
2. A representative of the county fiscal body (county council), who must be a member
thereof.
3. In counties with a population less than 50,000:
a. One person appointed by the ex-
ecutive of each of the five largest
municipalities, or of each municipal-
ity if the county contains fewer than five.
b. If a county has fewer than five
municipalities, enough additional persons to bring the total under this
subsection to five are to be appointed by the county executive.
4. A member of the commission appointed by
the governor of Indiana.
The statute further requires that a minimum of twothirds of commission members be elected officials.
Appointees must (a) “be knowledgeable in matters of
physical, social, or economic development of the re-
gion” and (b) “be residents of the municipality, county
or region that they represent.”
All elected officials, save the mayors of Delphi, Knox,
Monticello, and Rensselaer, are part-time government
officials; they represent a diverse range of interests,
including finance and business, agriculture, public
utilities, and professional interests. Many are involved
in several; a comprehensive list of commission members follows on the proceeding pages.
For the purpose of preparing this document, a sixteenperson executive committee composed of the economic-development officer of each county (save Jasper),
various county and municipal officers, and business
people was initially formed. Prior to convening the
committee, county economic-development officers
conferred with county-level subcommittees comprising elected officials and community business leaders.
After completion of the first draft of the document, and
before the public-review period, county economic-development officers met with private-sector individuals
and county government agents, acting as county-level
subdivisions of the CEDS committee, to solicit further
and final thoughts on the profile of the Region and the
contents of the “Regional Development Expectations”
section of this document. Furthermore, the executive
committee was expanded to include more business
representatives — one from each county — prior to
the public-comment period.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
3
Administrative Organization
Region Map
0 2.5 5
miles
10
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
4
NAME & ADDRESS
Benton County (6)**
BRYAN BERRY
4436 N. 1100 W.
Fowler, IN 47944
BERNARD GICK
1281 West S.R. 18 P O Box 96
Fowler IN 47944
BRIAN KNILL
P.O. Box 363
Boswell IN 47921
RAYMOND BRIDGES
P.O. Box 217
Earl Park, IN 47942
FRED BYERS
106 E. Anstett Dr.
Fowler IN 47944
RONALD SHOUP
509 S. Main St.
Otterbein IN 47970
Carroll County (6)**
ANDY KELLY
P.O. Box 195
Camden, IN 46917
PATRICK CLAWSON
6726 W. Milkhouse Rd.
Delphi, IN 46923
JOSEPH ARMSTRONG
PO Box 72
Burlington, IN 46915
RON SLAVENS
12018 N. 600 W.
Idaville, IN 47950
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
5
[email protected]
574-943-3523 (H)
765-532-3395 (W)
[email protected]
765-566-3986 (H)
765-566-3362 (W)
[email protected]
765-564-4915
765-202-0334 (W)
574-686-2737
[email protected]
765-491-5103 (C)
765-337-5876
765-884-0515 (H)
[email protected]
219-227-5063
[email protected]
219-376-1981 (C)
765-869-4275
[email protected]
765-884-0629 (H)
219-474-3474
PHONE
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Page 1
Representative
Representative
Commissioner
Member
Representative
Representative
Member
Member
Member
Commissioner
ELECTED LOCAL
YES
AFFILIATION
Sheet1
Carroll County
Council
Burlington
Town Council
Carroll County
Commissioners
Camden
Town Council
Otterbein
Town Council
Fowler
Town Council
Earl Park
Town Council
Boswell
Town Council
Benton County
Council
Benton County
Commissioners
APPOINTED BY
Exec. Comm.
Exec. Comm.
1st Vice Chair
Exec. Comm.
POSITION
Administrative Organization
NAME & ADDRESS
Carroll County (Cont.)
DAVID ALBAUGH
17 E. Clark Street
Flora, IN 46929
RANDY STRASSER
201 S. Union St.
Delphi, IN 46923
Jasper County (7)
JAMES A. WALSTRA
12701 N. 1100 W.
DeMotte IN 46310
JAMES C. GWIN
630 East Grace Street
Rensselaer In 47978
GERRIT DEVRIES
617 Cedar St. NW
DeMotte, IN 46310
PAT BERGER
PO Box 382
Remington IN 47977
HERBERT ARIHOOD
P.O. Box 280
Rensselaer IN 47978
DON GEAR
PO BOX 235
Wheatfield IN 46392
PEGGY WOODS
401 Almond St. NW
DeMotte, IN 46310
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
6
[email protected]
219-866-8275 (H)
219-866-5212 (W)
219-866-7551 (F)
219-9563534 (H)
219-956-3119 (W)
219-863-2705 ©
219-987-4848 (H)
219-866-5881 ©
X
Page 2
DeMotte
Town Council
Wheatfield
Town Council
Representative
Representative
City of Rensselaer
Mayor
Remington
Town Council
Councilman
Jasper County
Commissioners
Jasper County
Commissioners
City of Delphi
219-261-3155 (H)
765-427-0357 ©
Representative
Commissioner
Mayor
Flora
Town Council
APPOINTED BY
Jasper County
Council
X
X
X
Member
ELECTED LOCAL
YES
AFFILIATION
219-987-5840 (H)
219-987-5287 (W)
219-866-7619 (H)
219-866-4908 (W)
219-987-2855 (H)
[email protected]
765-564-3039
765-564-2862
[email protected]
574-967-3674
PHONE
Sheet1
Exec. Comm.
2nd Vice Chair
POSITION
Administrative Organization
NAME & ADDRESS
Newton County (7)
JAMES PISTELLO
P O BOX 172
Sumava Resorts IN 46379
SHARON MILLER
P.O. Box 111
Roselawn, IN 46372
CHRISTINE CHAPMAN
PO Box 1
Brook, IN 47922
ELAINE ENGLISH
P.O. Box 475
Goodland IN 47948
LELAND MAYHEW
903 N. 1st Street
Kentland IN 47951
RICK McCANN
PO Box 426
Morocco IN 47963
WILLIAM TURNER
PO Box 282
Mt. Ayr, IN 47964
Pulaski County (6)**
MIKE TIEDE
2106 S. 1200 W.
Francesville, IN 47946
DANIEL DOLEZAL
964 S. 25 W.
Winamac IN 46996
RITA M. CARPENTER
16469 West S.R. 14
Francesville IN 47946
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
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Page 3
Pulaski County
Council
Pulaski County
Commissioners
Mount Ayr
Town Council
Morocco
Town Council
Kentland
Town Council
Goodland
Town Council
Brook
Town Council
Newton County
Council
Newton County
Commissioners
219-567-2627 (H)
Member
Commissioner
Representative
Member
Member
Representative
Representative
Representative
Commissioner
APPOINTED BY
Pulaski County
Representative
X
x
X
X
X
ELECTED LOCAL
YES
AFFILIATION
574-946-7151 (H)
574-946-3869 (W)
[email protected]
219-567-2430
219-394-2202 (H)
[email protected]
219-285-8133 (H)
219-629-0076 ©
219-474-5368
219-297-4807 (H)
219-297-3329 (W)
crchap@mchsi
219-275-8123 (H)
765-427-3610 ©
219-345-2534 (H)
[email protected]
219-992-2724 (H)
219-285-2871 (W)
PHONE
Sheet1
Secretary
Exec. Comm.
Exec. Comm.
Exec. Comm.
POSITION
Administrative Organization
NAME & ADDRESS
Pulaski County (Cont.)
STEVE SEWELL
PO Box 616
Francesville In 47946
JOHN SIMMERMAKER
407 North Market Street
Winamac IN 46996
NEMA WIREMAN
211 West Main Street
Medaryville, IN 47957
Starke County (7)
KATHY NOREM
0559 N. 650 E.
Knox, IN 46534
JOHN SIMMONS
5595 E. 650 S.
Knox, IN 46534
JENNIFER DAVIS
4810 E. 200 S.
Knox IN 46534
CURT SIMPKINS
4 Hamlet St. PO Box 238
Hamlet IN 46532
RICK CHAMBERS
101 W. Washington St.
Knox IN 46534
DAN ANDERSON
204 Keller Ave.
North Judson IN 46366
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
8
[email protected]
574-806-5646
574-772-4556 (W)
574-867-8831 (H)
574-772-5000 (H)
[email protected]
574-772-6892
574-772-3910
[email protected]
574-946-4048 (H)
888-772-4771 (W)
574-225-1411 Cell
219-843-2141
219-567-2221 (W)
PHONE
X
X
X
X
X
X
Page 4
President
Mayor
President
Councilman
Commissioner
North Judson
Town Council
City of Knox
Hamlet
Town Council
Starke County
Council
Starke County
Commissioners
Starke County
Commissioners
Medaryville
Town Council
Member
Commissioner
Winamac
Town Council
Francesville
Town Council
APPOINTED BY
Representative
President
ELECTED LOCAL
YES
AFFILIATION
Sheet1
3rd Vice Chair
Exec. Comm.
POSITION
Administrative Organization
NAME & ADDRESS
Starke County (Cont.)
BEVERLY FRAINE
7829 N. Clover Ln.
Walkerton, IN 46574
Warren County (6)**
TONY BRILES
421 Old State Road 28
Williamsport, IN 47993
DICK DOBBELS
525 Grant Street
Williamsport, IN 47993
RICHARD BRILES
P.O. Box 24
Williamsport, IN 47993
GERGORY ROBINSON
P.O. Box 36
State Line City, IN 47982
JEFFERY MARTIN
1971 S. State Road 263
West Lebanon, IN 47991
DONNY HENSLEY
105 S. Jefferson PO Box 24
Pine Village, IN 47975
White County (7)
GARY HENDRIX
11770 South 200 East
Battle Ground, IN 47920
RONALD SCHMIERER
205 Sandlewood
Monticello IN 47960
TERRY NORTH
412 West 5th Street - Box 134
Brookston IN 47923
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
9
574-583-3410
219-863-3814 (Cell)
219-866-2715 (W)
765-563-6432 (H)
[email protected]
765-563-3669 (H)
765-563-6508 Cell
765-385-0736
765-893-8582 (H)
765-585-4032 (W)
Member
X
Page 5
Brookston
Town Council
Councilman
White County
Council
Pine Village
Town Council
West Lebanon
Town Council
State Line City
Town Council
Williamsport
Town Council
Warren County
Council
X
Representative
President
Representative
Member
Representative
Representative
Commissioner
Warren County
Commissioners
Starke County
Commissioners
APPOINTED BY
White County
Council
X
X
X
765-793-7232 (H)
217-494-9189 (W)
[email protected]
X
X
X
Commissioner
ELECTED LOCAL
YES
AFFILIATION
765-762-3804 (H)
765-762-3257 (W)
765-764-4921
765-762-0612
574-586-2175
PHONE
Sheet1
Treasurer
Exec. Comm.
4th Vice Chair
POSITION
Administrative Organization
219-279-2947 (H)
219-984-5665
[email protected]
219-253-7900 (H)
574-870-1762 cell
[email protected]
574-583-7723(H)
574-583-2128 (W)
PHONE
X
Representative
Member
President
Member
ELECTED LOCAL
YES
AFFILIATION
Wolcott
Town Council
Reynolds
Town Council
Monon
Town Council
Monticello
City Council
APPOINTED BY
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
10
Page 6
**Carroll and Warren County, new to K-IRPC as of 2009, have not completed their representation
**Pulaski County presently has no representative from Monterey. Benton County has no representative from Oxford
NAME & ADDRESS
White County (Cont.)
ERIC STORM
714 Maple Street
Monticello, IN 47960
BRYAN RINKER
PO Box 356
Monon, IN 47959
SID HOLDERLY
509 N. Main Street
Reynolds IN 47980
LARRY WILEY
501 W. Winter, P.O. Box 292
Wolcott IN 47995
Sheet1
Chairman
POSITION
Administrative Organization
The Region and
Its Economy
The Region and Its Economy
A. General Description
1. Location and Climate
Containing eight counties, from Starke in the northeast to Warren in the southwest, the KIRPC Region,
located in northwestern Indiana, covers 3,353.4
square miles of land and about 15 square miles of
water. With its center point located approximately
equidistant between Chicago and Indianapolis, about
95 miles from each, the Region bounds the fringes
of both cities’ greater areas of economic influence;
additionally, Newton and Jasper Counties belong
to the Gary Metropolitan Division of the ChicagoNaperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI, Metropolitan Statistical
Area. Interstate 65, which connects Indianapolis to
Chicago by way of I-80/I-94 and I-90, crosses Newton, Jasper, and White Counties.
Heavily industrialized and populated Lake and Porter Counties — home to the Gary-Hammond area —,
north of Newton and Jasper Counties, respectively,
provide employment for more than 10 percent of the
working population of the Region. To the south of
the Region, Tippecanoe County, where West Lafayette (home to Purdue University) and Lafayette are
located, offers even more jobs for workers from KIRPC counties. Also to the north of the Region, across
the Kankakee River from Starke County, lies LaPorte
County; to the east lie Marshall, Fulton, Cass, and
Howard Counties. South of Carroll County lies Clinton; beyond Warren County lie Fountain and Vermillion Counties. Across the state line in Illinois, from
north to south, Kankakee, Iroquois, and Vermillion
Counties border the KIRPC Region on the west.
Climatically classified as humid continental (with
some variation), the Region enjoys moderately warm,
frequently humid summers, with an average annual
growing season lasting 163 days. With an average
temperature of 74.8°F, July is the warmest month;
January, with a mean temperature of 22.4°F, is the
coldest. Low temperatures in January average in the
low teens, often dropping below zero; snowfall in the
Region, generally coming between late October and
mid-March, usually accumulates to a total of 26 inches, with a maximum monthly average of six and threetenths inches covering the Region in January. The Region receives, on average, about 37.23 inches of rain
annually, slightly more frequently in April, May, and
June, and more heavily in the northern counties.
2. Geology
Pleistocene glaciation primarily contributed to the
geological and topographical makeup of the Region,
leaving behind, in northern Newton, Jasper, and Pulaski Counties and part of White, coarse-grained outwash. Composed mainly of sand, with some pockets
of peat, the outwash varies in depth across the Region,
descending 50 subterranean feet in some places. Loam
and, occasionally, more finely textured soils comprise
the bulk of the glacial till.
An elevated, rolling area, the Iroquois Moraine, dominates eastern Newton and western Jasper Counties.
Twenty-to-25-feet-thick loamy till caps a silt clayto-loam till in these uplands. Another moraine, the
Nebo-Gilboa Ridge, covers much of northern Benton
County. The Chatsworth, Cropsey, and Crawfordsville
Moraines extend from central Benton County southward into Warren County and beyond.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
12
The Region and Its Economy
Consistent fine-grained till and lacustrine clay cover
southern Newton, Jasper, and Pulaski Counties and
parts of White; throughout the rest of the Region, soil
features include dune sand, gravel, and outwash sand.
An extensive till layer underlies surface material.
Along the Kankakee River in Newton, Jasper, and
Starke Counties, drainage becomes problematic.
Spring flooding is a regular occurrence, delaying
planting and damaging property. Once extensive
swampland known as the Grand Marsh, the areas
nearest the river now host farmland and development
courtesy of various drainage techniques applied early
in the 20th Century.
Ranging as deep as 200 feet, sedimentary bedrock
lies beneath a mantle of glacial drifts. Major rock
types that comprise this bedrock are listed in order of
increasing age:
1. Wisconsin sand and silt — White and
Benton Counties
2. Mississippian shale and sandstone —
Warren County
3. Mississippian siltstone — Southern
Newton and Jasper, southwestern White, Benton Counties
4. Late Devonian shale — Southern Newton, Jasper, western White, and Benton Counties
5. Middle Devonian limestone and dolomite — Central area of Region
6. Silurian dolomite — Southern Pulaski, northern Newton, eastern White, and Carroll Counties
3. Natural Resources
Water Resources
The Kankakee, a major river of the Region, originates in St. Joseph County and runs southwestward to
the Illinois River; it forms the northern boundary of
Starke, Jasper, and Newton Counties. Also beginning
its course in St. Joseph County, the Yellow River flows
through Marshall County into Starke, running along
the northern side of Knox and joining the Kankakee at
English Lake.
From its headwaters in Jasper County, the Iroquois
River, which flows into the Kankakee River in Kankakee, IL, circles around Rensselaer and meanders
through southern Jasper and Newton Counties before
reaching the state line.
From its starting point in Kosciusko County, the
Tippecanoe River wanders southwestward, crossing
Marshall and Fulton Counties before entering the corners of northeastern Pulaski and southwestern Starke
Counties. Returning southward toward Winamac, the
river abuts Tippecanoe River State Park, north of the
city, and the Winamac Town Park. Continuing on its
path, it serves as the border between White and Carroll
Counties; electricity-generating dams built in Monticello by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) form two lakes, Shafer and Freeman,
which provide flood control and water-based recreation for the Region. In Tippecanoe County, the river
meets the Wabash River.
Beginning in western Ohio, flowing across the width
of Indiana, and forming part of the Indiana-Illinois
boundary before terminating at the Ohio River, the
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
13
The Region and Its Economy
Hydrography
0 2.5 5
miles
10
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
14
The Region and Its Economy
Wabash flows through Carroll County (including
Delphi, where the former Wabash and Erie Canal is
the focus of a park named therefor) and forms the
eastern boundary of Warren County.
In addition to Shafer and Freeman, the Region is
home to Bass Lake, a major recreation destination,
and Koontz Lake, both in Starke County, as well as
smaller bodies. Ringneck Lake, at the Jasper-Pulaski
State Fish and Wildlife Area, and J.C. Murphy Lake,
enclosed by the Willow Slough State Fish and Wildlife Area in Newton County, are shallower lakes, better suited for fishing than swimming or boating. A
network of man-made ditches that connect the rivers
of the Region constitutes the remainder of surface
water, providing for tile drainage and irrigation.
Forest Resources
The Region contains 33,421 acres (about 52 square
miles, or 1.5 percent of the whole area) of state park
and fish-and-wildlife-area grounds, which are home
to the only publicly owned forestland in the Region.
Hardwoods — ash; beech; cottonwood; hickory; maple; black, red, and white oak; and sycamore — comprise more than 95 percent of commercial forests in
the Region. Both to preserve natural resources and to
sustain forestry in the KIRPC Region, employing innovative management and harvesting techniques has
become essential.
Mineral Resources
Mining in the Region primarily involves three resources: sand and gravel, shale, and limestone; ad-
ditionally, but less important, some clay is extracted
from deposits in southwestern Pulaski County. Sand
and gravel, plentiful in northern Newton, Jasper, and
White and southwestern Pulaski Counties, are exceedingly more abundant than other resources mined here.
Sand and gravel extricated from the earth here are
used a great deal by the construction industry to make
cement and for road surfacing; shale and limestone
supplement commercial fertilizers used on farmland.
Natural Gas and Oil
Though inactive, five small gas fields, two oil fields,
and two gas-storage fields dot the Region, suggesting
that additional, heretofore undiscovered, fields may
still underlie the Region. At one time, Jasper County’s
Gifford oil field pumped from as many as 131 wells.
If oil production were ever to resume in the Region, it
likely would do so in the Black River, Knox, or Trenton formations; all of these geological rock formations
have produced oil elsewhere in the state.
No active natural gas wells remain in the Region, although a NISPCO underground gas-storage facility in
southeastern Pulaski County once hosted some.
Soils
Soil formation and diversity play a prominent role in
the determination of land-use classification; subsequently, the composition of any given site’s soil tremendously affects how the site influences the built
and human environments and the limitations thereon.
Given that soil is a non-replaceable resource, planners, developers, and other public and private leaders
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
15
The Region and Its Economy
involved in the stewardship and guidance of public growth must give careful consideration to how
we build and expand our communities, businesses,
farms, homes, and infrastructure; how we should approach conservation and other proactive measures to
protect the natural environment; and when wholly
preventing growth is the only sustainable option.
4. Agriculture
Farms, Land, and the Region
KIRPC being almost entirely rural in nature, agriculture remains an important economic sector in the
Region, accounting for 9.8 percent of total earnings
in the Region. A leading agricultural-producing area
of Indiana, the Region, of late, has bucked a significant national trend. Whereas the number of farms nationwide continues to decrease, and the average size
of farms increases, the number of farms in the Region has increased noticeably; the average farm size
has continued to follow the national trend, though.
In 1997, the eight counties of KIRPC were home
to 4,406 farms averaging 380 acres; over the next
five years, the number decreased by 11.82 percent
to 3,885, while the average size increased almost 17
percent to 443. As of 2007, the number of farms had
increased by a noteworthy 12.7 percent: The eight
counties contained 4,377 farms. Nationally, the number of farms decreased by almost 1 percent over this
period.
With 734 farms, Jasper County has the most in the
Region; following are White, 646; Starke (which
saw significant increases in the quantity of farms
and measurable decreases in farm size from 1997 to
2007), 640; Carroll, 581; Pulaski, 552; Newton, 434;
Benton, 399; and Warren, 391.
Benton and Warren Counties, home to the fewest
farms in the Region, are also home to the largest, with
establishments averaging 679 and 501 acres, respectively. Ranking third is White County, with a mean of
492 acres. Excepting Benton County, Jasper County
saw the greatest increase in average size, 6.2 percent,
from 437 acres to 464. Farms shrunk from 528 acres to
439 in Newton County, a change of -17 percent; a 13
percent reduction in size has brought Carroll County’s
average farm to 331 acres. Positioned between these
two counties, Pulaski County hosts farms 421 acres
in size. The smallest farms are to be found in Starke
County, where they average 240 acres, 65 percent
smaller than those in Benton County. (See Number
and Average Size of Farms chart, next page.)
Approximately 88 percent of land in the Region is
dedicated to farming, whether in the form of cultivated land, pasture, yard uses, or for other agricultural
purposes. Between 1997 and 2002, 181,891 acres
were converted to agricultural use, marking an 11-percent increase; the total enlarged another 10.2 percent
over the next five years, to 1,893,846 acres. The total
in Jasper County increased by 21 percent; only Carroll County lost farm ground between 2002 and 2007,
shrinking from 201,683 acres to 192,334. Almost all
of Benton County is in farmland; at the opposite end
of the spectrum, only 74 percent of Newton County is
dedicated to agriculture. Jasper County has the most
acres dedicated, while Starke, despite ranking third in
number of farms, has the least acreage.
According to National Resources Inventory data for
Indiana, about 60 percent of the Region’s land quali-
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
16
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
AGRICULTURAL MARKET VALUES (2007)
Benton
Carroll
Jasper
Newton
Pulaski
Starke
Warren
White
Region
Agricultural Products
Sold
Agricultural Products
Sold Per Farm
Land and Buildings
Per Farm
Land and Buildings
Per Acre
$231,957,000
$151,361,000
$293,544,000
$193,370,000
$159,211,000
$59,135,000
$103,670,000
$231,957,000
$1,424,205,000
$346,900
$260,518
$399,924
$445,553
$288,425
$92,399
$265,142
$359,066
$2,457,927
$2,297,119
$1,364,641
$1,550,715
$1,583,756
$1,305,431
$728,640
$1,770,103
$1,888,323
$12,488,728
$3,384
$4,122
$3,344
$3,609
$3,103
$3,035
$3,532
$3,835
$27,964
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
17
The Region and Its Economy
fies as prime agricultural land. Ninety-seven percent
of Benton County’s land falls into this category, but
only about 15 percent of Starke County does. Preserving as much prime ground as possible as industrial growth occurs in the Region is necessary; sacrificing healthy, higher-yielding soil should not be a
cost of economic development.
Agricultural Values
The value of farm land and buildings in the Region
increased significantly from 2002 to 2007; excepting Carroll and Newton Counties, all KIRPC counties experienced escalations in average farm values
of at least 50 percent. Benton County’s average value
increased by 96 percent, Jasper County’s by 93 percent. Carroll-County farms are worth the most per
acre, $4,122. (See Agricultural Market Values table,
preceding page.)
Farmers in KIRPC counties primarily produce corn
for grain and soybeans; hay, nursery and greenhouse
crops, vegetables, and mint are also grown, as is a
variety of other crops on a smaller scale. Beef and
dairy cattle, swine, and poultry predominate amongst
livestock raised.
The market values of agricultural products sold by
Region farmers increased stupendously between
2002 and 2007. Excluding Carroll, 59 percent, and
Newton, 62 percent, all counties saw values soar
by at least 96 percent; two, Jasper, 121 percent, and
Starke, 108 percent, experienced a doubling in value.
Jasper and Starke, respectively, also have the highest
and lowest total values, although Newton County has
a greater total per farm than Jasper.
Farm Labor
From 2002 to 2007, the number of Region residents
employed on farms increased by 9.4 percent. Starke
County saw an increase of 49.7 percent and the total in
White County scaled upward by 36.3 percent; Newton
and Warren Counties both experienced losses of about
10 percent. Eight percent of the Region’s workforce is
employed in the agriculture sector.
B. Regional Infrastructure
1. Transportation
Highways
A network of Interstate, United States, and Indiana
highways provides adequate transportation within the
Region. A number of the highways connect the Region with important markets and allow for industrial
growth. Six of them — Interstate 65; United States
Highways 24, 30, and 41; and State Roads 25 and 26
— are components of the National Highway System.
The highway-classification system delineates roadways according to how they fit into the total network
of transportation routes.
Interstate: Divided, limited-access highways meant
for major, long-distance movement of automobile
and truck traffic through regions and across multiple
states. I-65, stretching across 50.05 miles of the Region, is the only interstate highway in the Region.
Principal Arterial: Divided, semi-limited-access highways intended for intra- and interstate transport with
close accessibility to cities and towns. Principal arte-
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
18
The Region and Its Economy
rial highways in the Region are IN-63 and U.S.-30,
41, and 52. IN-25 is currently undergoing expansion
and improvements and when finished will constitute
a principal arterial, the Hoosier Heartland Highway.
Airports
Minor Arterial: Federally and state-oriented routes
that link cities and towns within counties and connect areas in multi-county districts that exhibit an interdependent nature. The KIRPC Region contains the
following minor arterials: State Roads 10, 14, 18, 25,
26, 28, 43, and 114 and U.S. Highways 24, 35, 136,
231, and 421.
Located north of Knox, Starke County Airport is the
busiest; in 2006, operations here totaled 15,288. Featuring a 4,400-ft.-long–by–75-ft.-wide asphalt runway
adequate for private and small-business aircraft and
a 3,096-ft.-long–by–145-ft.-wide turf strip, the airport
houses 17 aircraft.
Major Collector: State and county roads that provide
intra-county accessibility. The eight-county Region
contains the following major collectors: State Roads
8, 10, 14, 16, 18, 23, 29, 39, 49, 53, 55, 71, 75, 218,
and 263.
Minor Collector: Spur highways that connect primary sources of traffic with more important highways.
State Roads 119, 143, and 352 and numerous blacktopped county roads belong to this system.
Local Service: County and municipal roads that provide local access and serve short traffic patterns.
Proper maintenance of the Region’s network of highways and local roads is necessary to enhance economic stability and growth, given the interdependence
of business, industry, and agriculture needs to their
market area and the reliance upon truck transportation. Numerous over-the-road and local truck lines
operate in the KIRPC Region, hauling grain, freight,
furniture, and groceries, inter alia, over longer distances and hauling dirt, grain, and stone regionally.
(See Region Map, page four.)
County airports serve six of the eight KIRPC counties.
(See Rail and Air Transportation map, page 21.)
White County Airport, second-busiest in the Region,
located near Monticello’s Sixth Street Industrial Park,
is home to 14 aircraft and a 4,002-ft.-long–by–60-ft.wide asphalt runway. Fourteen thousand one hundred
and forty-four operations occurred here in 2006.
In 2006, 8,420 operations occurred on Jasper County
Airport’s 4,001-ft.-long–by–60-ft.-wide asphalt and
1,930-ft.-long–by–150-ft.-wide turf runways; this airfield is home to 22 aircraft.
Serving Carroll County, Delphi Municipal Airport,
home to 25 aircraft, hosted 7,852 operations in 2006
on its 2,891-ft.-long–by–60-ft.-wide asphalt strip.
Almost as busy as Delphi Municipal, Newton County’s Kentland Municipal Airport facilitated 7,280 operations in 2006. Home to 15 flying machines, this
airport services pilots with a 3,504-ft.-long–by–50-ft.wide asphalt landing strip.
Located north of Winamac on U.S. 35, Arens Field
serves Pulaski County with a 4,200-ft.-long–by–75ft.-wide asphalt runway. Base for 10 aircraft, in 2006
Arens was the site of 5,564 take-offs and landings.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
19
The Region and Its Economy
Numerous smaller, often private, airfields dot the
eight-county Region, too, including Burnettsville’s
Boyer Flight Park and Flora Municipal Airport (Carroll Co.), Lake Village Airport (Newton Co.), and
Wheeler Airport near Bass Lake (Starke Co.).
Within a two-hour drive are three international airports: Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway, and Indianapolis International. Regional airports in South Bend
and Gary and at Purdue University are easily accessible from the Region, too.
Local airports not only serve their communities by
providing air-transportation access. They also contribute positively to local economies. In 2007, the
Region’s airports had a combined economic impact
of more than $9,300.000.
Arens Field contributed nearly $300,000 to Pulaski
County’s economy; Delphi Municipal had an impact
of $703,882. Jasper County Airport added $2,036,999
to the economy there, while Kentland Municipal
added more than $1,330,000 to the Newton County
economy. For Starke County Airport, the number is
$3,411,769, and in Monticello, White County Airport
provided a $1,607,148 burst. Flora Municipal airport
had an impact of $69,724, and Lake Village Airport,
conveniently located near “The Region” of northwestern Indiana, added nearly $500,000.
Rail
More than 250 miles of active rail lines serve the
Region. CSX; Norfolk Southern; the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern; the Chicago, Fort Wayne and
Eastern; and the Toledo, Peoria and Western (TPW)
constitute the primary railroads in the KIRPC Region;
short-lines — the Bee Line, the Chesapeake and Indiana (CKIN), and Vermillion Valley — also serve the
Region, as does an intermodal transportation hub center located on the TPW along U.S.-24 near I-65. A
number of inactive lines, some with tracks still intact,
crisscross the Region, too. In Rensselaer, passengers
can board Amtrak trains.
Water Transportation
None of the Region’s five rivers suffice for cargo transport, but only about an hour to the north of the KIRPC
Region, on Lake Michigan, sits the Port of Indiana at
Burns Harbor. Easily accessible to truck traffic from
the Region, the Port, responsible for 15 percent of all
American steel trade, has 10 ship berths, three bargeonly berths, and two others. It offers year-round access to the Mississippi River System and eight-month
access to the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Public Transportation
Demand-responsive public transportation, provided
by county-level Councils on Aging or Human Services
Agencies, operate Monday through Friday in Jasper,
Pulaski, and Starke Counties; the KIRPC-based Arrowhead Country Public Transit Service coordinates
these efforts. Newton and White Counties operate
their own unaffiliated services, too. Community-based
transportation lines operate in Boswell, Brookston,
Flora, and Fowler; a mobile-access-care van serves
Warren County with minimal adequacy.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
20
The Region and Its Economy
Rail and Air
Transportation Map
•
Legend
0 2.5 5
miles
10
*
Airport
Private
Active Railroad
Inactive Railroad
• TPW Intermodal Hub
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
21
The Region and Its Economy
2. Public Utilities
Natural Gas
Electricity
Save Rensselaer, which operates its own utility, and
Williamsport, served by Vectren, all incorporated (and
some unincorporated) areas use natural gas provided
by NIPSCO, which has underground storage facilities
in southeastern and south-central Pulaski County.
NIPSCO supplies electricity to most KIRPC municipalities. The company generates power at plants near
the Norway and Oakdale dams on the Tippecanoe
River near Monticello and at the Schaefer Generating
Station near Wheatfield, in northern Jasper County.
Completed in 1983, Schaefer was designed to satisfy
customer demands through 2020.
Water Systems
Benton County
For peak demand periods, the City of Rensselaer
maintains its own plant; Rensselaer, Brookston,
Chalmers, and Winamac purchase power wholesale from the Indiana Municipal Power Association
(IMPA) and distribute it through municipally owned
transmission lines.
Carroll County’s municipalities, notwithstanding
Yeoman and Flora, and some rural parts of the county
are served by Duke Energy; IMPA supplies electricity in Flora; and the Carroll County Rural Electric
Membership Cooperative (REMC) serves Yeoman.
Excepting Pine Village, which NIPSCO serves, all of
Warren County is served by Duke Energy or Warren
County REMC.
Multiple REMC’s furnish power to rural areas of the
Region. These member-owned companies purchase
the bulk of their power at wholesale rates from the
statewide rural cooperative based in southern Indiana
and, to a lesser extent, from NIPSCO.
All incorporated towns here have public water systems. Boswell has recently rebuilt one well. Fowler has
extended water to the Shovel-Ready Benton County
Industrial Park. Otterbein is upgrading a well and water filter, as well as making smaller improvements, and
plans to extend a new water line to its treatment plant.
Earl Park’s system requires major improvements.
Carroll County
Three of the five incorporated municipalities here have
public water systems; neither Burlington nor Yeoman
has. Major planning is underway to relocate lines to
the Hoosier Heartland Highway (HHH) right-of-way
south of Delphi; additionally, the City is working with
the County and the economic development corporation (EDC) to extend water to the Shovel-Ready industrial site south of the HHH. Within five years, Delphi will need to secure a new well field.
Jasper County
Remington and Rensselaer maintain public systems.
To address storage needs, the former has constructed a
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
22
The Region and Its Economy
new 250,000-gallon water tower recently. Rensselaer
has built one new well, is currently constructing another, and extended water lines to the Jasper County
Fairgrounds. The City plans to increase storage capacity. Residents of Wheatfield rely on individuals
wells for their water, as do residents of DeMotte,
which is waiting for final formal approval before
constructing a municipal water-supply system.
Newton County
its system, hopes to construct a new water tower in the
next few years.
Starke County
Hamlet, Knox, and North Judson all maintain public utilities. As part of the Hamlet West infrastructure
project, that Town is building a new water tower and
well field and running two miles of 12-inch main.
Warren County
In 2007, the Newton County Regional Water and
Sewer Board (NCRWSB) formed; it coordinates efforts in the county, working both with incorporated
communities and in unincorporated areas.
Brook, Goodland, Kentland, and Morocco maintain
municipal water systems; Brook is upgrading its
water system presently and will connect it with the
water system being constructed by NCRWSB for the
Newton County Renewable Energy Park.
Although neither Mt. Ayr nor any unincorporated
area of the county has a water system, NCRWSB
considers Mt. Ayr to be phase five of its development
plan. Residents of unincorporated Roselawn, which
is phase two, will be surveyed about having a water
system installed; the county has performed a study.
Pulaski County
Francesville, Medaryville, and Winamac maintain
public water systems of wells and above-ground storage facilities; Winamac built a new water plant, with
a gravity filter, between 2003 and 2005, along with
two miles of water main. Monterey presently has no
water system. Medaryville, which recently improved
West Lebanon, which is studying an upgrade to its
system, and Williamsport, which upgraded its supply
system and extended water to the industrial park five
years ago, operate public water systems. Neither State
Line City nor Pine Village has a public water system.
White County
Save Burnettsville, all incorporated municipalities
here maintain water systems. Brookston has in recent years built a new treatment plant. Burnettsville is
considering implementing a public water system, including applying for a grant and discussing surveying
residents about the possibilty, but has gone no further
than this. In 2008, Chalmers constructed a new water
tower and upgraded its water plant and lines. Monon
recently built a new water plant and two new wells.
Monticello is making minor improvements to its system, including replacing a water main and rerouting
an extant line. Reynolds needs to increase its storage
capacity.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
23
The Region and Its Economy
Sewer Systems
Newton County
Benton County
Excepting Mt. Ayr, all incorporated communities
maintain sewage systems; in 2007 Kentland finished
upgrading its treatment plant. NCRWSB is constructing sewers in Mt. Ayr as part of its long-term plans;
Roselawn residents will be surveyed about having a
sewer system built along with a water system.
Boswell has upgraded wastewater equipment. Fowler has recently remodeled a clarifier tank and made
minor upgrades to its system. Oxford has built a new
utility building, is upgrading its lagoon, and is undertaking a study regarding storm-water upgrades. Neither Ambia nor Earl Park owns a sewer system, but
the latter hopes to construct one.
Carroll County
All municipalities, excepting Yeoman, maintain sewage-treatment systems. Additionally, unincorporated
Rockfield is served by a sewer district, in part overseen by Delphi, and parts of northwestern Carroll
County, in the vicinity of Lake Freeman, are served
by the Twin Lakes Regional Sewer District, which
is working to upgrade its system currently. Delphi is
working to extend sewers to the Shovel-Ready site.
Camden, using OCRA Community Focus Fund grant
money, is upgrading its treatment system to meet
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
standards; Flora hopes to address water-infiltration
issues, and is working with KIRPC to write a planning grant to this end; and Burlington, too, is working
with KIRPC toward the end of curtailing infiltration.
Jasper County
Rensselaer will extend sewer lines along IN-114, and
is constructing a storm sewer to replace a combined
sewer overflow. Remington in recent years has extended sewer lines and upgraded its treatment plant.
Wheatfield and DeMotte maintain sewer systems.
Pulaski County
Francesville has expressed interest in rehabilitating
its sewage system; Monterey recently completed a
storm-drainage study and is applying for grant money
to improve the sewer system. Unincorporated Star
City, in southeastern Pulaski County, has established
a regional sewer district and plans to collect sewage
and then to pipe it to Winamac’s treatment plant. Additionally, Winamac installed a sanitary sewer in the
park to eliminate septic tanks and leach fields, and
also extended additional sewer lines to the ShovelReady industrial park. Presently, the Town is working on sewer separation on the north side — Phase III
will begin in the summer of 2010. — and installing
a clarifier. Medaryville is considering making storm
drainage upgrades.
Starke County
Hamlet recently upgraded its treatment plant; Knox
has received a grant to do this, too. Hamlet, furthermore, has extended sewer lines to its Hamlet West
Industrial Park, is building a new treatment facility,
and intends to install new stormwater sewers. North
Judson has plans to improve its pond and to construct
new storm sewers on the south side of town. Unincorporated Koontz Lake, in the northeastern corner of the
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
24
The Region and Its Economy
county, is installing a new collection and treatment
system.
Warren County
West Lebanon is looking into upgrading its sewer
system; Williamsport upgraded its five years ago and
expanded sewer lines to the industrial park. Neither
Pine Village nor State Line City has publicly maintained sewage.
White County
All incorporated municipalities maintain sewer systems, as does unincorporated Idaville in the eastern
part of the county. The Twin Lakes Regional Sewer
District serves some areas around Lakes Freeman
and Shafer. In 2005 Chalmers built a new wastewater plant and lagoon and hopes to upgrade its stormwater-management system. Monticello recently received a grant of $600,000 for the National Homes
Drainage Project. Brookston recently upgraded its
wastewater-treatment plant and is looking to make
improvements to its storm sewers. Monon intends to
upgrade its sewer system. Reynolds is currently upgrading its sewer lines. Wolcott recently has made significant improvements to its sewer lines and intends to
upgrade its wastewater-treatment plant.
3. Industrial Parks
The KIRPC Region is home to several industrial parks,
ranging from fully developed to Shovel-Ready and informally planned. Every county has at least one. Carroll, Jasper, and Newton Counties are all home to five:
three in Flora and two in Delphi, with an additional
available site, with undeveloped ground surrounding
it, in Delphi; two in Rensselaer and Remington and
one in DeMotte; and three in Kentland and one each in
Goodland and Morocco. (See KIRPC Region Industrial Parks table, next three pages.)
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
25
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
26
Remington
US 24 east
Remington Industrial Park
Lintner Industrial Park
Drexel Industrial Park
Demotte
SR 10 East and US 231
Southwest Rensselaer
US 231
Northeast Rensselaer
Remington
US 24 west
DeMotte Industrial Park
Jasper County
Bridgewater Farms Site
Southwest Flora
West Flora Industrial Park
31.5 acres undeveloped
Northeast Delphi
Hoosier Heartland Highway
Northwest Delphi
Sycamore Industrial Park
(Private)
South Delphi Industrial Park
(Shovel-Ready)
100 acres undeveloped
South Fowler
US 52 and SR 18
Page 1
160 acres developed
300 acres undeveloped
40 acres developed
80 acres undeveloped
21.5 acres developed
132 acres undeveloped
50 acres developed
87 acres undeveloped
80 acres undeveloped
154,825-sq.-ft. building
(with 12.9 acres developed)
14 undeveloped acres
50 acres developed
24 acres undeveloped
75,000-sq.-ft. building
(15 suites)
60 acres undeveloped
Size
Location
Flora
SR 75 south
Flora
Sr 75 and Sycamore St.
South Delphi
Hoosier Heartland Highway
Flora Industrial Park
Globe Valve facility
Name
Benton County
Benton County Industrial Park
(Shovel-Ready)
Carroll County
Deer Creek Industrial Park
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service,rail siding, access to I-65,
3 miles to TPW hub
Paved road, sewer,
electric service
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service,rail siding
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service, access to I-65,
2 miles to TPW hub
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service, access to I-65
rail spur (Norfolk Southern), raised docks
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service, raised and ground-level docks
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service, access to I-65, Internet
2 miles to Norfolk Southern line
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service, Internet,
2 miles to Winamac Southern line
Water, along Kankakee, Beaverville,
and Southern Railroad
Infrastructure
K-IRPC REGION INDUSTRIAL PARKS
Sheet1
The Region and Its Economy
The Region and Its Economy
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
27
Wolcott Corridor
(TIF)
Wolcott Industrial Park
Sixth Street Industrial Park
White County
Brookston Industrial Park
Name
Wolcott
US 24 west
Northwest Wolcott
US 24 west
Brookston
SR 43 north
Southwest Monticello
Location
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
28
Page 3
30 acres developed
220 acres undeveloped
25 developed acres
135 acres undeveloped
Undefined area
145 acres undeveloped
Size
Gas, electric service
access to I-65, on TPW hub
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service, access to I-65
Sewer, water, gas,
electric service
Gas, electric service
Infrastructure
K-IRPC REGION INDUSTRIAL PARKS
Sheet1
The Region and Its Economy
The Region and Its Economy
4. Telecommunications and News Media
Telephone and Internet Service
The bulk of the Region’s 30-plus telephone exchanges are served by either CenturyLink or AT&T. The
Northwest Indiana Telephone Company serves three
exchanges in northern Newton and Jasper Counties, the Pulaski-White Rural Telephone Cooperative supports two exchanges in south-central Pulaski
and northeastern White Counties, Monon Telephone
serves the Monon area, and parts of Carroll County have their exchanges served by the Yeoman and
Camden Telephone Companies. All of these carriers
belong to the Indiana Exchange Carrier Association.
Cell phone coverage is adequate in most of the Region, although the strengths of various carriers’ signals fluctuate across the Region. All residents and
businesses in the Region have access to at least one
Internet provider; in many places, multiple providers
compete to serve the populace; high-speed access,
however, has not yet reached all rural parts of the Region.
Radio and Television
Five radio stations have their headquarters within
the KIRPC Region: Rensselaer’s WRIN and WLQI,
Knox’s WKVI, Monticello’s WMRS, and Oxford’s
WIBN. Although no television stations are based
within the Region’s borders, Lafayette’s WLFI and
WYIN, out of Merrillville, often cover events in the
Region. Additionally, stations out of South Bend offer coverage of news from and events in northern
communities; these and Chicago-based stations are
available over the air and as local networks on cable
in parts of the Region; in southern parts of the Region, Indianapolis stations can be received. Residents
in most incorporated areas have access to cable television systems, and digital satellite service is widely
available, too.
Print Media
The Monticello Herald Journal and the Rensselaer
Republican are the only daily newspapers published in
the Region; however, daily papers from Lake and Porter Counties, South Bend, Lafayette, and Logansport
often feature coverage of the Region; many KIRPC
counties and communities are served by the plethora
of weekly papers printed across the Region.
5. Educational Facilities
School Corporations
Students in the Region are served mainly by 17 public
school corporations with generally modern facilities.
The largest school districts are Kankakee Valley, in
northern Jasper County; Twin Lakes, in Monticello;
Knox; Rensselaer Central; and Benton, in Oxford. Enrollment in the 17 schools (including residents of other
counties at in-Region schools) totaled 25,201 for the
2008-2009 school year; students from KIRPC communities also contribute to the enrollments of Covington, Culver, Pioneer Regional, and Rossville, which
primarily serve non-Region students. (See School
Districts map, page 31.)
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
29
The Region and Its Economy
A number of private outfits also educate students
in the Region, including numerous primary schools
and the Culver Military Academy and a handful of
Roman Catholic high schools that lie outside of the
Region.
for Lifelong Learning (SCILL) Center and the Winamac-based Pulaski Alliance for Community Education (PACE).
Vocational Training
Collegeville, just south of Rensselaer, is home to
Saint Joseph’s College, a Catholic college of about
1,000 students. Known for its Core Education Program, which requires a certain number of integrated
liberal-arts courses of its students, the school offers a
variety of associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. Ivy Tech
Community College’s Lafayette campus has a satellite
campus in Monticello, the White County Instructional
Center.
High schools throughout the Region offer various
vocational training programs in addition to core
subjects. Auto and small-engine mechanics, building trades, business-related courses, drafting, electronics, graphic arts, metal- and wood-working, and
vocational-agriculture courses are amongst them.
Although not all schools offer instruction in every
field listed, availability is adequate across the Region.
Through Indiana’s Work One program, KV Works
offers post-high school training, as do county-specific programs such as the Starke County Initiative
Higher Education
Numerous colleges and universities lying outside the
Region are within driving distance and provide a wide
variety of educational opportunities for residents and
are a source of employment for many others. (See
Higher Learning Institutions table, below.)
Sheet1
HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS
Institution
Ancilla College
Indiana University – Gary
Indiana University – South Bend
Ivy Tech – Gary
Ivy Tech – Lafayette
Ivy Tech – South Bend
Purdue University – Calumet
Purdue University – North Central
Purdue University – West Lafayette
University of Notre Dame
Valparaiso University
Knox
17
50
46
50
77
38
65
41
74
41
32
Distance (In Miles)
Monticello Rensselaer
76
73
86
50
80
95
70
34
28
53
80
90
101
65
64
72
27
50
83
92
62
32
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
30
The Region and Its Economy
School Districts
0 2.5 5
miles
10
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
31
The Region and Its Economy
6. Health Care
Hospitals
Three of the eight KIRPC counties have a hospital
at least partially funded by local property taxes that
provides excellent care for persons with basic afflictions, illnesses, and injuries requiring immediate
or long-term care. Hospitals in Northwest Indiana,
South Bend, and Lafayette offer more serious care.
Rensselaer’s Jasper County Hospital, with 69 beds, is
the largest in the Region; White County Memorial, in
Monticello, and Winamac’s Pulaski Memorial each
have 25 beds.
Until recently, Starke County Memorial, in Knox,
with 49 beds, was publicly funded. Recently, LaPorte
Regional Health System, a partner of the Indianpolis-based not-for-profit Clarian Health, purchased the
facility; this transaction is expected to improve the
quality and variety of services available to Starke
County residents.
Wabash Valley Hospital, in Lafaytte, serves Benton,
Carroll, and Warren Counties; Williamsport, in Warren County, is also home to a 16-bed branch of the
private, Catholic St. Vincent Hospital system.
Medical Personnel
At least part, if not all, of every KIRPC county, excepting Benton, falls under at least one federally designated category for inadequate healthcare. Starke
County and Honey Creek, Liberty, and Lincoln Townships in White County are considered to be Medi-
cally Underserved Areas, suffering from a shortage of
personal-health resources. Carroll and White Counties
are home to Medically Underserved Populations —
the large number of Hispanics here whom cultural and
linguistic barriers keep from receiving adequate care.
For a variety of reasons — mental-healthcare deficiencies and low-income populations amongst them —,
Newton and Starke Counties are designated as Health
Professional Shortage Areas, as are Gillam, Hanging Grove, Marion, and Milroy Townships in Jasper
County; Cass, Franklin, Jefferson, Rich Grove, and
White Post Townships in Pulaski County; and Honey
Creek, Monon, Princeton, and West Point Townships
in White County.
To help to alleviate the dearth of services, family
health centers, offering basic healthcare provisions to
underserved people — particularly Hispanics — serve
White and Carroll Counties.
Mental Health Care
Three comprehensive mental-healthcare organizations provide support and care for residents of the
Region. The Wabash Valley Hospital Mental Health
Center, headquartered in Lafayette, with satellite offices in outlying areas, offers coverage to residents in
Benton, Carroll, Jasper, Newton, Warren, and White
Counties. Residents of Starke County are served by
Porter-Starke Services, which has an office in Knox.
The Logansport-based Four County Center offers
mental health care to Pulaski County residents.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
32
The Region and Its Economy
Long-Term Care Facilities
According to the Indiana State Department of Health,
the Region is home to 1,193 long-term-care beds in
15 facilities. Every county has at least one facility.
Jasper County has three, and the most beds, 342.
Benton County has the fewest beds, 64 in one facility.
7. Recreation Facilities and Festivals
In northwestern Pulaski County, a few miles south of
North Judson, sits Kersting’s Cycle Center, a wellknown motorcycle dealership renowned for its popular motorcycle museum, which attracts visitors from
the Region, across the state, and other states.
Warren County is home to Williamsport Falls, at 90
feet, the largest freefalling waterfall in Indiana; though
its water flow is intermittent, it is a majestic site to behold, wet or not, and a trail leads downstream to the
fall.
Local - Public and Private
From the amusement park that proves that “[t]here’s
more than corn in Indiana” and riverside campsites
to annual town festivals (often celebrating food) and
lakes conducive to the fulfillment of the angler’s wildest dreams, the Region offers a plethora of opportunities whereby one can elude the quotidian banalities
of the workaday world, if only for long enough to
enjoy an arctic-cold ale on the beach or to wolf down
one too many bratwursts sold by the Lions Club.
In Carroll County, seekers of rejuvenation can enjoy
10-plus miles of crushed-limestone cyclist and pedestrian pathways on the Delphi Historic Trails, which
include a preserved section of the Wabash and Erie
Canal and historic bridges and connect with Delphi’s
Wabash and Erie Canal Park.
Newton County is home to Fair Oaks Farm, located
near unincorporated Fair Oaks, northwest of Rensselaer, a fully operational, multi-family-owned dairy
farm that offers tours and presentations, a dairy store,
and 30,000 cows spread across 10 sites. Both Jasper
and Newton Counties afford opportunities for recreation at the Kankakee River.
With two sizable lakes — Bass and Koontz —, plus
ample waterways — the Kankakee and Yellow Rivers
—, Starke County’s environment especially endears
itself to an intense concentration of outdoor activities.
Featuring man-made Lakes Freeman and Shafer and
their source, the Tippecanoe River, White County, too,
offers numerous opportunities for boating, fishing, and
swimming. Additionally, the state’s largest amusement park, Indiana Beach, adjoins Lake Shafer and
offers six roller-coasters, a water park, a resort area,
and dining. These two counties lead the Region in
the development of vacationing, fishing, and hunting
areas; the extent to which development has occurred
around Lake Shafer, however, has raised questions
about environmental damage. Both of these counties
also are home to railroad museums: the Monon Connection, which features the Whistle Stop Restaurant
and numerous railroad artifacts, and North Judson’s
Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, a well known, popular museum that offers train rides on Saturdays and is
constantly adding to its attractions.
Most KIRPC communities are well equipped with
park facilities that provide for general outdoor recreation, including baseball diamonds, basketball courts,
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
33
The Region and Its Economy
pools, and playground equipment, as well as picnic
shelters and walking trails. Numerous golf courses
dot the region, too. From the Mint Festival in North
Judson, over Father’s Day weekend, to Delphi’s Canal Days, from the Northern Indiana Power of the
Past in Winamac to the Wolcott Summer Festival,
weeklong and weekend celebrations express local charm and attract visitors to the Region’s many
towns and cities.
contained 12,743. Following, in order: Starke, 10,749;
Carroll, 8,675; Pulaski, 5,918; Newton, 5,726; Benton, 3,818; and Warren, 3,477. The popularity of
White County amongst seasonal visitors accounts for
both the total number of units and a high number of
mobile homes there.
Vacancy Rate
As of 2000, vacancy rates for homeowners in the
State-Owned Facilities
Region were relatively low, suggesting a tight market, with levels below 2 percent in Carroll, Jasper,
State-owned areas account for most of the recreand Starke Counties. (See Vacancy Rates table, next
ational acreage in the Region. Rural Winamac is
page.) In two of the three counties — Starke and
home to the Region’s one state park, Tippecanoe
White — for which 2005-2007 American Community
River, as well as one of five fish-and-wildlife areas
Survey (ACS) data are available, the rates increased
significantly. In Jasper County, only a minimal rise in
within the borders of the KIRPC Region. Although
hiking, hunting, fishing, and nature-watching occur
vacancy occurred. In Starke County, the rental vacancy rate decreased from 2000 to 2005-2007, as it had
at these sites, intensive athletic activities are generally prohibited as threats to the natural habitats that
over the previous 10 years; it increased mildly in Jasthese areas exist to protect. Some camping facilities,
per County and tremendously in White County. As of
including at Tippecanoe River, exist. These six state2000, most counties had rates hovering about 5.5 perSheet1 cent; at the high end was Pulaski County, at 8.6 perowned areas cover 33,421 acres. (See State-Owned
Recreation Areas table below.)
cent; Jasper County has a reasonably low 4.4-percent
rental vacancy rate, implying limited rental options.
STATE-OWNED RECREATION AREAS
State Area
Acreage
Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife
8,062
LaSalle Fish & Wildlife
3,797
Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife
9,956
Tippecanoe River State Park
2,761
Winamac Fish & Wildlife
4,750
Kankakee Fish & Wildlife
4,095
8. Housing
The Region had (as of the 2000 Census), a total of
63,953 housing units, 12,847 of them in White County. Ranking second in number of units, Jasper County
Housing Types
Single-family houses predominate in the Region,
comprising 53,500 of the 63,953 total units, or 83.66
percent. Six thousand one hundred and forty-seven
mobile homes dot the Region, most numerically heavily in White, Pulaski, and Starke Counties. The combination of recreational and seasonal units in these
counties and the affordability of mobile homes, which
permits more lower-income residents to become ho-
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
34
Sheet1 The Region and Its Economy
VACANCY RATES
Benton
Carroll
Jasper
Newton
Pulaski
Starke
Warren
White
1990
3.3%
2.0%
1.1%
2.0%
1.2%
2.2%
1.0%
1.8%
Homeowner
2000
2.5%
1.1%
1.5%
2.4%
2.3%
1.7%
2.0%
2.0%
2007
NA
NA
1.8%
NA
NA
4.0%
NA
5.0%
meowners and renters, likely explains this. Negating
these benefits, mobile homes depreciate in value, denying owners the very important benefit of home value. (See Housing Types in Region chart, next page.)
Housing Costs
According to ACS data, Jasper, Starke, and White
Counties have median gross monthly rental rates of
$603, $565, and $592, respectively; over the first
half of this decade, Jasper County surpassed White
to have the highest rate. As of 2000, all other counties
had average monthly rents between $430 and $490,
save Pulaski, at $397. The ACS shows the following
median home values: Jasper, $137,000 (up 29 percent from 2000); Starke, $99,700 (23.9 percent); and
White, $102,700 (19.7 percent). As of 2000, the re-
1990
5.1%
6.0%
3.8%
5.4%
5.7%
6.4%
10.0%
5.5%
Rental
2000
6.3%
5.0%
4.4%
6.1%
8.6%
5.6%
5.0%
6.4%
2007
NA
NA
6.4%
NA
NA
4.0%
NA
11.0%
maining five counties had the following median home
values: Benton, $75,000; Carroll, $87,200; Newton,
$87,500; Pulaski, $72,500; and Warren, $74,100.
Though extremely limited in scope, the table below
provides more recent information, based on prices
listed for for-sale homes as of early February 2010.
Age of Housing Stock
The age of structures is one indicator used in evaluating quality. To remain part of available housing stock,
older homes often require rehabilitation; typically,
they are more prone to need maintenance. About 41
percent of homes in the Region date to before 1950;
28.7 have been built since 1980. (See Housing Stock Year Built chart, next page.)
Page 1
Sheet1
Average Listing Price
Benton
Carroll
Jasper
Newton
Pulaski
Starke
Warren
White
3 February 2010
$75,275
$140,162
$172,084
$120,537
$101,939
$146,323
$108,598
$177,841
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
35
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
Benton
Carroll
Jasper
Newton
Pulaski
Starke
Warren
White
Before 1940 1940-1959
1960-1969
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2005
1643
795
406
527
177
261
9
3059
1646
832
1222
681
1199
38
2362
1653
916
2149
1449
2567
1647
1604
1156
472
1234
432
809
19
1829
1160
680
838
557
836
18
1517
2470
1194
2045
994
1259
1270
1336
445
403
475
303
506
9
2946
900
1538
2222
1184
1584
564
3818 Benton
8677 Carroll
12743 Jasper
5726 Newton
5918 Pulaski
10749 Starke
3477 Warren
10938 White
Housing Stock - Year Built
45.00%
40.00%
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
Before 1940
1940-1959
Benton
Carroll
1960-1969
Jasper
1970-1979
Newton
Pulaski
1980-1989
Starke
Warren
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
36
Page 1
1990-1999
White
2000-2005
The Region and Its Economy
C. Population
1. Total Population
As of 2008, an estimated 144,827 people populated
the Region. With 32,554 people, Jasper County has
the largest populace; home to 8,547, Warren County
is the least populous. With a population of 6,271,
Rensselaer has overtaken Monticello as the largest
municipality in the KIRPC Region. Delphi, DeMotte,
Flora, Fowler, Knox, unincorporated Roselawn, and
Winamac are all home to more than 2,000 individuals. (See Populations of Counties and Municipalities
table, next page.)
2. Population Growth
After experiencing a population increase of 8.7 percent in the 1990s, the Region lost about 365 residents
between 2000 and 2008, a decrease of .25 percent.
Benton County
37,500
Carroll
County
Jasper County
35,000
Newton County
32,500
Pulaski
County
Starke
County
30,000
Warren County
27,500
White
County
25,000
22,500
20,000
17,500
15,000
12,500
10,000
7,500
5,000
2,500
0
1960
1960
11,912
16,394
18,842
11,502
12,887
17,911
8,045
19,709
1970
11,262
17,734
20,429
11,606
12,534
19,280
8,705
20,995
Over the same period, Indiana’s population increased
by nearly 4.9 percent. Through 2000, most counties,
save Benton, had experienced increases; since 2000,
amongst KIRPC counties, only Jasper and Warren
have seen their populations continue to grow, the
former still relatively significantly. (See Population
Trend chart, below.)
Most incorporated municipalities have lost residents
in the first decade of the third millennium. A handful,
however, have experienced growth, most notably DeMotte (34.2 percent); two other Jasper County communities, Rensselaer (18.45 percent) and Wheatfield
(19.17 percent) have also enlarged. These municipalities, particularly DeMotte and Wheatfield, continue to
benefit from migration from Lake and Porter Counties. North Judson, in Starke County, enjoyed a rise in
population of 12.48 percent after having lost almost
14 percent of its 1960 population by 2000; people
exiting Lake and Porter Counties have contributed to
this expansion,
too.
Sheet1
Population
Trend2000
1980
1990
10,218
19,722
26,138
14,844
13,258
21,997
8,976
23,867
9,441
18,809
24,960
13,551
12,643
22,747
8,176
23,265
9,421
20,165
30,043
14,566
13,755
23,556
8,419
25,267
2008 (Est.)
8,796
19,864
32,544
13,933
13,712
23,658
8,547
23,800
2020 (Proj.)
8,140
20,705
35,206
14,097
13,836
22,074
9,238
Benton
23,417 County
Carroll County
Jasper County
Newton County
Pulaski County
Starke County
Warren County
White County
1970
1980
1990
2000
2008
(Est.)
2020
(Proj.)
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
37
Benton County
Ambia
Boswell
Earl Park
Fowler
Otterbein
Oxford
Carroll County
Burlington
Camden
Delphi
Flora
Yeoman
Jasper County
DeMotte
Remington
Rensselaer
Wheatfield
Newton County
Brook
Goodland
Kentland
Morocco
Mount Ayr
Pulaski County
Francesville
Medaryville
Monterey
Winamac
1970
11,262
300
998
478
2,643
899
1,098
17,734
685
577
2,582
1,877
145
20,429
1,697
1,127
4,688
713
11,606
919
1,176
1,864
1,285
194
12,534
1,015
732
268
2,391
1960
11,912
351
957
551
2,491
788
1,108
16,394
——
601
2,517
1,742
172
18,842
——
1,207
4,740
679
11,502
845
1,202
1,783
1,341
186
12,887
1,002
758
278
2,375
10,218
274
810
469
2,319
1,118
1,327
19,722
680
618
3,042
2,303
154
26,138
2,559
1,268
4,944
755
14,844
926
1,200
1,936
1,348
287
13,258
944
731
236
2,370
1980
9,441
249
767
443
2,333
1,291
1,273
18,809
568
607
2,531
2,179
131
24,960
2,482
1,247
5,045
621
13,551
899
1,033
1,798
1,044
151
12,643
969
689
230
2,262
1990
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
38
Page 1
9,421
197
827
485
2,415
1,312
1,271
20,165
444
582
3,015
2,227
96
30,043
3,243
1,323
5,294
772
14,566
1,062
1,096
1,822
1,127
147
13,755
905
565
231
2,418
2000
8,796
180
755
443
2,199
1,228
1,166
19,864
431
546
2,862
2,085
90
32,544
4,352
1,253
6,271
920
13,933
980
997
1,665
1,112
130
13,712
859
541
222
2,493
*1970-2000
-20.91%
-43.87%
-13.58%
-11.98%
-3.05%
66.50%
14.71%
23.00%
*-35.18%
-3.17%
19.79%
27.84%
-44.19%
59.45%
*91.1%
9.61%
11.69%
13.70%
26.64%
25.68%
-8.82%
2.19%
-15.96%
-20.97%
6.74%
-9.68%
-25.46%
-16.91%
1.81%
-6.63%
-8.63%
-17.34%
-8.66%
-8.94%
-6.40%
-8.26%
-1.49%
-4.42%
-6.19%
-5.07%
-6.38%
-6.25%
8.32%
34.20%
-5.29%
18.45%
19.17%
-4.35%
-7.72%
-9.03%
-8.62%
-1.33%
-11.56%
-0.31%
-5.08%
-4.25%
-3.90%
3.10%
13,836
14,097
35,206
20,705
8,140
Percent
Change
Projected
2008 (Est.) 1960-2000 2000-2008
2020
POPULATIONS OF COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES
Sheet1
The Region and Its Economy
1960
17,911
Starke County
Hamlet
608
3,458
Knox
North Judson
1,942
Warren County
8,045
Pine Village
309
State Line City
171
West Lebanon
720
Williamsport
1,353
White County
19,709
Brookston
1,202
Burnettsville
452
Chalmers
548
Monon
1,417
Monticello
4,035
Reynolds
547
Wolcott
877
Region
117,202
State
4,662,498
1970
19,280
761
3,519
1,738
8,705
291
176
899
1,661
20,995
1,232
510
544
1,548
4,869
641
894
122,545
5,193,669
1980
21,997
738
3,674
1,653
8,976
257
233
946
1,747
23,867
1,701
496
554
1,540
5,162
632
911
139,020
5,490,224
1990
22,747
789
3,705
1,582
8,176
134
182
760
1,798
23,265
1,804
401
525
1,585
5,237
528
886
133,592
5,544,159
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
39
Page 2
Percent Change
Projected
2000
2008 (Est.) 1960-2000 2000-2008
2,020
23,556
23,658
31.52%
0.43% 22,074
820
787
34.87%
-4.02%
3,721
3,831
7.61%
2.96%
1,675
1,884
-13.75%
12.48%
8,419
8,547
4.65%
1.52%
9,238
255
242
-17.48%
-5.10%
141
135
-17.55%
-4.26%
793
759
1.01%
-4.29%
1,935
1,851
36.81%
-4.34%
25,267
23,800
28.20%
-5.81% 23,417
1,717
1,576
42.85%
-8.21%
373
341
-17.48%
-8.58%
513
468
-6.39%
-8.77%
1,733
1,596
22.30%
-7.91%
5,723
5,293
41.83%
-7.51%
547
504
0.00%
-7.86%
989
905
12.77%
-8.49%
145,192
144,827
23.89%
-0.25% 146,713
6,080,485 6,376,792
30.41%
4.87% 6,739,126
Sheet1
The Region and Its Economy
The Region and Its Economy
3. Population Characteristics
Population Densities
Highly rural in nature, the Region is considerably less
dense than the state of Indiana on the whole. Covering 3,353.4 square miles of land and about 15 square
miles of water, the KIRPC Region constitutes just
under 10 percent of Indiana’s land area, but is home
to less than 2.3 percent of all Hoosiers. The Region’s
population density is 43.2 persons per square mile,
making it one-fourth as dense as the State, which
has a density of 169.5. Starke County is the Region’s
densest, at 76.5 persons per square mile; the other
seven counties’ densities are as follow: Jasper, 58.1;
Carroll, 53.4; White, 47.1; Newton, 34.7; Pulaski,
31.6; Warren, 23.4; and Benton, 21.6.
Urban/Rural
Urban/Rural Composition
Educational Attainment
As mentioned earlier in this document, only Delphi,
DeMotte, Knox, Monticello, Rensselaer, and Roselawn, with populations greater than 2,500, comprise
urban areas. The remainder of the Region’s population — 167,589, or 84.3 percent — is rural, mostly
non-farm. Three counties — Benton, Pulaski, and
Warren — have no urban population, while urban
population constitutes about 40 percent of the total
population in Jasper County. (See Urban/Rural chart,
this page; estimated figures.)
Race and Sex
As of 2007, non-Hispanic whites made up 94.25 percent of the Region’s population. Numbering more
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
40
The Region and Its Economy
than 5,000, an increase of more than 1,500 since
2000, Hispanics constituted just under 4 percent of
the populace; they form the largest minority group
in the Region and in every county. In 2000, KIRPC
counties were home to fewer than 500 blacks; their
presence has more than doubled, reaching above
1000. Ninety-seven-point-nine-percent white, Warren County has the smallest minority population per
county; almost 8.0 percent of White County’s residents are Hispanic, black, or other, giving that county the largest minority population. Women comprise
a slim majority in the Region, 50.29 percent of residents.
median age of 40.5, followed by Warren, 40.3; Benton, 40.1; Newton, 39.9; Carroll, 39.7; Pulaski, 39.1;
and Starke, 38.8. Region-wide, the median age in
2007 was 38.8. In 2000, Pulaski County had a higher
median than both Benton and White Counties. In all
counties, the median age increased; the portion of Region residents younger than 18 decreased from 28 percent in 1990 to 27 percent in 2000, and thence to 24.1
percent in 2007. In 2000, just less than 14 percent of
KIRPC residents were 65 or older; this has increased
slightly, to 14.9 percent. These trends are likely to
continue.
D. Labor Force
Educational Attainment
In 2000, more than 81 percent of the Region’s residents over the age of 25 had received a high school
diploma; 82 percent of all Hoosiers had. At 87 percent, Benton County had the highest rate, while
Starke County had the lowest, 74 percent. Ten percent of residents owned bachelor’s degrees or higher, markedly lower than Indiana’s rate of 19 percent.
Data for Carroll, Jasper, and Starke Counties from
the ACS reveal improvements in those counties since
2000; given measurable Region-wide improvements
between 1990 and 2000, that these gains have been
made across the Region stands to reason. (See Educational Attainment chart, previous page.)
Age
As of 2007, the median age in every KIRPC county,
excepting Jasper (35.8 years) exceeded the state average of 36.5. White County was the oldest, with a
As of 2008, the Region had a labor force of 72,150
persons, down 1.6 percent from 2000, but above every
annual total since 2002, and an increase of 6.4 percent
from the 2003 total of 71,692. From 2007 to 2008, every county’s labor force increased save Pulaski County’s, which decreased by less than 1.0 percent. The
most sizable expansion occurred in Carroll County,
where the labor force increased by 2.3 percent. (See
Labor Force Summary table, next page.)
1. Unemployment
In 2008, the Region had, on average, 4,320 members,
or 6.0 percent, of the labor force unemployed, a notable
increase from 2007’s rate of 4.6 percent. This change
is similar to those Indiana and the United States, 4.6
percent to 5.9 percent and 4.6 to 5.8, respectively. As
has been the case since 2004, Starke County led the
Region in unemployment, with a rate of 7.9 percent;
Warren County had a remarkably high employment
rate of 96.1 percent.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
41
Benton County
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Carroll County
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Jasper County
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Newton County
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Pulaski County
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Starke County
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
4,857
4,723
134
2.8%
10,557
10,274
283
2.7%
14,782
14,297
485
3.3%
7,299
7,091
208
2.8%
6,792
6,505
287
4.2%
10,883
10,380
503
4.6%
12,560
12,304
256
2.0%
14,575
14,017
558
3.8%
6,542
6,315
227
3.5%
6,251
5,841
410
6.6%
10,933
10,442
491
4.5%
2000
5,487
5,325
162
3.0%
1999
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
42
10,710
10,087
623
5.8%
6,800
6,485
315
4.6%
7,252
6,946
306
4.2%
14,979
14,271
708
4.7%
10,757
10,307
450
4.2%
4,844
4,679
165
3.4%
2001
10,639
9,851
788
7.4%
6,810
6,420
390
5.7%
7,214
6,817
397
5.5%
15,017
14,166
851
5.7%
10,845
10,323
522
4.8%
4,893
4,647
246
5.0%
2002
Page 1
10,535
9,766
769
7.3%
6,695
6,316
379
5.7%
7,160
6,776
384
5.4%
15,088
14,230
858
5.7%
10,623
9,976
647
6.1%
4,689
4,433
256
5.5%
2003
10,548
9,820
728
6.9%
6,834
6,478
356
5.2%
7,037
6,680
357
5.1%
15,140
14,276
864
5.7%
10,490
9,893
597
5.7%
4,632
4,386
246
5.3%
2004
LABOR FORCE SUMMARY
Sheet1
10,615
9,884
731
6.9%
7,064
6,717
347
4.9%
7,071
6,697
374
5.3%
15,198
14,349
849
5.6%
10,588
10,049
539
5.1%
4,591
4,354
237
5.2%
2005
10,583
9,896
687
6.5%
6,865
6,554
311
4.5%
7,048
6,700
348
4.9%
15,486
14,710
776
5.0%
10,559
10,072
487
4.6%
4,612
4,387
225
4.9%
2006
10,496
9,877
619
5.9%
6,829
6,546
283
4.1%
6,996
6,630
366
5.2%
15,575
14,838
737
4.7%
9,967
9,563
404
4.1%
4,355
4,164
191
4.4%
2007
10,607
9,771
836
7.9%
6,794
6,410
384
5.7%
7,024
6,586
438
6.2%
15,653
14,739
914
5.8%
10,196
9,596
600
5.9%
4,408
4,178
230
5.2%
2008
The Region and Its Economy
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
43
13,664
13,273
391
2.9%
73,343
70,936
2,407
3.3%
3,144,379
3,052,719
91,660
2.9%
142,583,000
136,891,000
5,692,000
4.0%
74,150
71,502
2,648
3.6%
3,136,581
3,046,922
89,659
2.9%
139,368,000
133,488,000
5,880,000
4.2%
4,509
4,393
116
2.6%
2000
13,810
13,376
434
3.1%
3,992
3,882
110
2.8%
1999
3,165,768
3,002,515
163,253
5.2%
72,911
68,578
4,333
5.9%
12,859
11,957
902
7.0%
4,634
4,397
237
5.1%
2002
3,180,279
3,011,436
168,843
5.3%
71,692
67,254
4,438
6.2%
12,353
11,433
920
7.4%
4,549
4,324
225
4.9%
2003
3,185,893
3,017,271
168,622
5.3%
71,644
67,478
4,166
5.8%
12,324
11,516
808
6.6%
4,639
4,429
210
4.5%
2004
3,227,444
3,054,803
172,641
5.3%
72,141
68,505
3,636
5.0%
12,241
11,546
695
5.7%
4,773
4,562
211
4.4%
2005
3,235,132
3,074,927
160,205
5.0%
72,102
68,476
3,626
5.0%
12,156
11,555
601
4.9%
4,793
4,602
191
4.0%
2006*
3,221,054
3,074,079
146,975
4.6%
71,567
68,263
3,304
4.6%
12,337
11,794
543
4.4%
5,012
4,851
161
3.2%
2007*
3,230,367
3,039,795
190,572
5.9%
72,150
67,830
4,320
6.0%
12,453
11,733
720
5.8%
5,015
4,817
198
3.9%
2008
143,734,000 144,863,000 146,510,000 147,401,000 149,320,000 151,400,000 153,100,000 154,286,667
136,933,000 136,485,000 137,736,000 139,252,000 141,730,000 144,435,600 146,057,400 145,362,417
6,801,000
8,378,000
8,774,000
8,149,000
7,590,000
6,964,400
7,042,600
8,924,250
4.7%
5.8%
6.0%
5.5%
5.1%
4.6%
4.6%
5.8%
3,152,135
3,020,985
131,150
4.2%
73,312
69,965
3,347
4.6%
13,400
12,767
633
4.7%
4,570
4,423
147
3.2%
2001
Page 2
Source: Indiana Department of Workforce Development
*Indicates Rough Estimates for National Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment Numbers
Warren County
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
White County
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Region
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
State
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Nation
Labor Force
Employed
Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Sheet1
The Region and Its Economy
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
County Unemployment Rates
Benton County
Carroll County
Jasper County
Newton County
Pulaski County
Starke County
Warren County
White County
9.0%
8.0%
7.0%
1999
3.0%
2.0%
3.8%
3.5%
6.6%
4.5%
2.8%
3.1%
2000
2.8%
2.7%
3.3%
2.8%
4.2%
4.6%
2.6%
2.9%
2001
3.4%
4.2%
4.7%
4.2%
4.6%
5.8%
3.2%
4.7%
2002
5.0%
4.8%
5.7%
5.5%
5.7%
7.4%
5.1%
7.0%
2003
5.5%
6.1%
5.7%
5.4%
5.7%
7.3%
4.9%
7.4%
6.0%
2004
5.3%
5.7%
5.7%
5.1%
5.2%
Benton6.9%
County
4.5%
Carroll6.6%
County
Jasper County
Newton County
Pulaski County
Starke County
Warren County
White County
5.0%
4.0%
3.0%
2.0%
2005
5.2%
5.1%
5.6%
5.3%
4.9%
6.9%
4.4%
5.7%
Unemployment rates for December 2009 were as follow: Benton, 9.7 percent, down from 9.8 percent in
June; Carroll, 9.3 percent, down from 12.1 percent;
Jasper, 10.6 percent, up 0.9 percent; Newton, 11.6,
up more than 1.0 percent; Pulaski, 9.6 percent, down
from 11.1 percent; Starke, 13 percent, down from 15
percent; Warren, 8.9 percent, down from 11.8 percent;
White, 10.8 percent, down from 11.0 percent; and
KIRPC, 10.6 percent, down from 11.4 percent. Unemployment levels have improved since June, but have
crept upward slightly from November’s figures. (See
County Unemployment charts, this page.)
2006
4.9%
4.6%
5.0%
4.9%
4.5%
6.5%
4.0%
4.9%
1.0%
0.0%
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Commuting Patterns
Page 1
1999
4.2%
2.9%
3.6%
Nation
State
Region
2000
4.0%
2.9%
3.3%
Sheet1
2001
4.7%
4.2%
4.6%
2002
5.8%
5.2%
5.9%
Unemployment Rate Comparison
7.0%
6.0%
5.0%
In 2007, about one-third of all workers in the Region
were employed outside of their home counties; inadequate opportunities in KIRPC counties and the pres2003
2004
6.0% ence 5.5%
of sizable labor markets in nearby counties both
5.3%
5.3%
6.2% contribute
5.8%
to this. By a significant margin, the Region
exports laborers: More than 20,400 of the 32,791
workers who work out of their home counties are
employed outside of the KIRPC Region; only about
3,000 laborers enter from outside of the Region. (See
Commuting Statistics table, maps on next pages.)
4.0%
Nation
State
Region
3.0%
2.0%
1.0%
0.0%
1999
Region
2001
State
2003
Nation
2005
2007
Warren County lost the most workers in 2007, exporting 44.54 percent of its workforce; Pulaski County retained the most, 77.32 percent of workers. The largest
recipients of commuters from KIRPC counties were
Tippecanoe, 8,969; Lake, 5,548; Cook, Iroquois, and
others in Illinois, 2,159 combined; Porter, 2,077; and
Marshall, 1,647. Exporting the most workers into the
Region were Tippecanoe and Cass Counties, 1,285
and 463, respectively, and various Illinois counties,
964 combined.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
44
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
COMMUTING STATISTICS (2007)
Implied
Labor Force
Benton County
6,025
Carroll County
13,957
Jasper County
21,918
Newton County
9,699
Pulaski County
9,022
Starke County
14,912
Warren County
6,037
White County
17,676
Region
99,246
Work in
Home County
3,850
63.90%
8,135
58.29%
15,522
70.82%
5,933
61.17%
6,976
77.32%
9,411
63.11%
3,348
55.46%
13,280
75.13%
66,455
66.96%
Commuting
Into County
675
1,466
3,159
1,414
1,180
895
799
2,316
11,904
Implied
Work Force
4,525
9,601
18,681
7,347
8,156
10,306
4,147
15,596
78,359
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
45
Work
Home
2,175
5,822
6,396
3,766
2,046
5,501
2,689
4,396
32,791
Out of
County
36.10%
41.71%
29.18%
38.83%
22.68%
36.89%
44.54%
24.87%
33.04%
The Region and Its Economy
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
46
The Region and Its Economy
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
47
The Region and Its Economy
2. Major Employment Sectors
Newton County
According to Bureau of Economics Analysis (BEA)
figures for 2007, the three employment sectors that
employed the most workers in the Region were
Manufacturing, 15.93 percent; Government, 13.76
percent; and Retail Trade, 10.98 percent. (See Major
Employment Sectors table, page 50.)
Leading employment sectors in this county in 2007
were Manufacturing, 20.6 percent, and Government,
15.7 percent, with the Farm sector, responsible for 10.2
percent of jobs, in a distant third. Of Newton County
workers in 2007, 20.7 percent were self-employed.
Benton County
Pulaski County
The three most important employment sectors here
in 2007 were Government, 16.1 percent; Manufacturing, 11.2 percent; and Farm, 11.1 percent. Thirtynine-point-seven percent of Benton County workers
were self-employed in 2007.
As in Newton County, Manufacturing, 18.9 percent;
Government, 16.6 percent; and Farm, 12.0 percent,
were the top three employment sectors in Pulaski
County in 2007. Twenty-eight-point-five percent of
Pulaski County denizens employed themselves in
2007.
Carroll County
Starke County
Carroll County’s leading three sectors in 2007 were
Manufacturing, 20.6 percent; Retail Trade, 10.7 percent; and Other Services, 8.7 percent. Self-employment accounted for 44.0 percent of workers in the
county, the highest rate in the Region.
Jasper County
Government was the leading sector in Jasper County
in 2007, comprising 11.8 percent of jobs. Following
were Retail Trade, 11.4 percent, and Construction,
9.9 percent. About one-quarter of Jasper County’s
workers were self-employed.
In 2007, Government, 16.0 percent; Manufacturing,
15.1 percent; and Retail Trade, 12.2 percent, led all
other employment sectors. In 2007, approximately
one-fourth of Starke County workers were self-employed.
Warren County
Here, in 2007, as in five other KIRPC counties, Manufacturing, capturing 17.6 percent of the labor force,
led all other sectors. Next came Farm, 15.4 percent,
and Government, 14.4 percent. Self-employment
comprised 30.6 percent of jobs in Warren County.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
48
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
White County
BENTON COUNTY LOCATION QUOTIENTS
White County’s top three sectors in 2007 were Manufacturing,19.4 percent; Government, 16.8 percent;
and Retail Trade, 13.1 percent. The self-employment
rate in White County, 12.1 percent, was lower than
that of any other county — by a significant margin.
4. Location Quotient
Location quotients are used to determine the degree
of specialization of each economic sector in each
county. The following equation was:
where
LQ = (ei/eT)/(Ei/ET),
ei
eT
Ei
ET
= County employment in sector i
= Total county employment
= National employment in sector i
= Total national employment
Benton County
Benton County is most specialized in Farming and
Wholesale Trade and least specialized in Information
and in Professional and Technical Services.
Carroll County
The sectors wherein Carroll County is most specialized are Farming and Manufacturing; it specializes
least in Information and in Professional and Technical Services. (See Location Quotient table, page 51.)
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
2007
6.93
NA
NA
NA
0.94
1.35
2.04
0.98
NA
0.20
0.75
0.69
0.33
0.00
0.54
0.54
0.50
NA
NA
1.16
1.24
Jasper County
Jasper County specializes in Farming and in Transportation and Warehousing; at the opposite end of the
spectrum lie Management and Arts, Entertainment,
and Recreation. (See Location Quotient table, page
51.)
Newton County
Newton County specializes in Farming, with Manufacturing in a distant second; it is least specialized in
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation and in Administrative and Waste Services. (See Location Quotient
table, page 51.)
Page 1
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
49
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
50
Benton
504
D
L
D
276
507
369
479
D
18
170
124
106
0
147
49
226
D
D
316
727
4,524
Carroll
728
D
D
D
918
2,240
239
1,163
D
49
309
623
377
D
D
D
D
144
610
941
940
10,859
D: Not shown to avoid disclosure of confidential information
L: Fewer than ten jobs
*: Plus totals of undisclosed jobs.
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
Total
Newton
577
D
D
D
373
1,168
342
468
D
D
162
150
108
0
153
D
D
41
255
D
889
5,657
Page 1
Jasper
814
D
D
D
1,748
1,670
D
2,004
1,173
155
498
521
1,277
71
626
490
1,179
146
1,179
924
2,073
17,580
Pulaski
838
D
D
L
346
1,323
444
661
201
43
196
175
165
D
D
D
D
61
184
440
1,159
6,987
Starke
497
D
D
0
373
984
149
796
217
48
108
152
133
0
233
D
D
59
477
413
1,048
6,537
MAJOR EMPLOYMENT SECTORS (2007 DATA)
Sheet1
Warren
480
D
D
D
172
548
D
266
180
L
68
53
63
0
78
13
296
D
D
159
450
3,117
White
853
D
D
D
483
2,077
517
1,403
D
86
271
102
D
D
412
D
D
334
648
454
1,791
10,687
Region
5,291
D
D
D
4,689
10,517
2,060*
7,240
1,771*
399*
1,782
1,900
2,229*
71*
1,649*
552*
1701*
785*
3,353*
3,647*
9,077
65,948
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
CARROLL COUNTY LOCATION QUOTIENTS
NEWTON COUNTY LOCATION QUOTIENTS
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
2007
3.35
NA
NA
NA
1.41
2.58
0.55
0.97
NA
0.23
0.57
1.43
0.50
NA
NA
NA
NA
0.66
0.80
1.44
0.67
2007
5.10
1.10
NA
NA
NA
2.58
0.55
0.75
NA
NA
0.57
0.66
0.48
0.00
0.45
NA
NA
0.36
0.64
NA
1.21
Pulaski County
Sheet1
JASPER COUNTY LOCATION QUOTIENTS
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
2007
2.32
NA
NA
NA
1.66
1.19
NA
1.04
2.22
0.44
0.57
0.74
1.04
0.40
0.59
1.39
0.67
0.42
0.96
0.88
Page 1
0.91
Farming exceeds all other sectors respecting Pulaski County’s specialization, substantially surpassing
second-place Manufacturing. The county specializes
least in Information and Utilities. (See Location Quotient table, next page.)
Starke County
Unlike every other KIRPC county, Starke does not
specialize first in Farming; rather, Retail Trade is the
sector in which the county is most specialized. Then
comes Farming. At the bottom of the list come Professional and Technical Services, and Wholesale Trade.
(See Location Quotient table, next page.)
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
51
Page 1
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
Sheet1
PULASKI COUNTY LOCATION QUOTIENTS
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
2007
6.00
NA
NA
NA
0.83
2.37
1.59
0.86
0.96
0.31
0.56
0.63
0.34
NA
NA
NA
NA
0.44
0.38
1.05
1.28
STARKE COUNTY LOCATION QUOTIENTS
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
2007
3.80
NA
NA
O
0.95
1.88
0.21
4.06
1.11
0.37
0.33
0.58
0.29
0.00
0.59
NA
NA
0.45
1.04
1.05
1.23
Warren County
Sheet1
Warren County specializes in Farming more than in
any other sector, and more than any other KIRPC
county does. In a distant second, Manufacturing follows. Warren County specializes least in Educational
Services and in Information.
White County
After Farming, White County specializes most in
Manufacturing. The county is least specialized in Information and in Real Estate and Rental and Leasing.
(See Location Quotient table, next page.)
(See, also, Regional Tables on pages 55 and 56.)
Page 1
WARREN COUNTY LOCATION QUOTIENTS
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
52
2007
7.70
NA
NA
NA
0.92
2.20
NA
0.78
1.92
NA
0.44
0.43
0.29
0.00
0.42
0.21
0.95
NA
NA
0.85
1.14Page 1
The Region and Its Economy
Sheet1
WHITE COUNTY LOCATION QUOTIENTS
Industry Sector
Farm
Forest, Fishing, Related Activities
Mining
Utilities
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Information
Finance and Insurance
Real Estate and rental and leasing
Professional and Technical Services
Management of Companies and Enterprises
Administrative and Waste Services
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Accommodation and Food Services
Other Services
Government and Government Enterprises
2007
3.99
NA
NA
NA
0.75
2.43
1.21
1.19
NA
0.40
0.51
0.21
NA
NA
0.64
NA
NA
1.56
0.87
0.71
1.29
5. Wages
KIRPC residents earned the following average annual wages per job in 2007:
Benton: Carroll: Jasper: Newton: Pulaski:
Starke:
Warren:
White:
$27,233
$26,782
$31,123
$28,493
$31,383
$26,411
$29,984
$28,532
E. Economic-Development Factors
1. Identification of Potentials
Economic-development potentials are defined as those
factors that give the Region a comparative advantage
for developing and sustaining productive activities.
Geographic Location
Encompassed by or in propinquity to five metropolitan areas — Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI;
Michigan City-LaPorte, IN; Lafayette, IN; KankakeeBradley, IL; and South Bend-Mishawaka, IN —, and
not far from Indianapolis, the KIRPC Region’s location is ideal for the warehousing, manufacturing, and
shipping of goods for these sizable markets.
Transportation Network
A comprehensive network of highways and rail linkages, well developed and maintained, as well a number of smaller airports, serves the Region and connects
it effectively with surrounding markets.
Availability of Land
About 10.5 percent of the Region’s 2.15 million acres
is developed, affording much opportunity for further
No KIRPC county’s average wage matched the averbuild-up. A good portion of the undeveloped acreage
age in Indiana, $36,908, or nationally, $41,991. Adis dedicated to preserving natural habitats or constijusted for inflation, Jasper County’s wage decreased
tutes farmland too valuable to develop, but a substanby less than one percent from 2003; other counties’
tial amount remains to be improved upon in economiwages increased by about three percent.
Page 1 cally viable, environmentally sound ways.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
53
The Region and Its Economy
Labor Force
Desire to Undertake Economic Development
Because the Region has served as a site for bedroomcommunity development, many residents possess
skills, employed in out-of-county and out-of-Region
occupations, that they could contribute to industries
and commercial establishments that relocated to or
started in the Region.
County, municipal, business, and civic leaders in most
of the Region’s counties, cities, and towns earnestly
seek to improve the economic and social strengths in
their communities and are willing to take whatever
steps they must to facilitate positive, community-oriented, environmentally sustainable economic growth.
Recreation
Cost of Living
With its plentitude of open-spaces, numerous bodies
of water, countless festivals, well maintained parks,
cultural and historical sites, miles of trails, and Indiana Beach, the Region has the potential to increase
recreational tourism considerably.
Indiana’s lower taxes and business costs and the Region’s affordability (particularly in terms of housing
and retail goods) allows residents to enjoy a higher
quality of life for a lower cost, making the Region
particularly enticing to employers who can provide
wages that, while still improving our economic environment, are lower than what would be required of
them in more heavily urbanized areas.
Agricultural Base
The Region’s rich soils, extensive quantities and
variety of products harvested and raised, and proximity to important markets and transportation lines
make investing in and expanding agriculture-related
enterprises (e.g., wet-milling, food preservation, bioenergy) logical.
Education
2. Identification of Constraints
Constraints to economic development have been defined as those factors, within or outside of the eightcounty Region, that prevent, restrict, or otherwise inhibit economic growth.
Infrastructure
Although levels of educational attainment still lag
across the Region, they have improved dramatically,
in all counties and at all higher-education levels, over
the past two decades, having risen sharply between
1990 and 2000 and continued to escalate recently.
Many KIRPC communities continue to face infrastructure overloads, even as many have addressed, or
begun to address, the most urgent problems. Inadequate or aged water and wastewater treatment systems
especially constrain industrial expansion and develop-
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
54
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
55
Source: EMSI Complete Employment - 3rd Quarter 2009
Fabricated metal product mfg
Machinery mfg
AGRIBUSINESS, FOOD PROCESSING AND TECHNOLOGY
MANUFACTURING SUPERCLUSTER (6 subclusters)
MINING
Transportation equipment mfg
TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS
Primary metal mfg
FOREST AND WOOD PRODUCTS
CHEMICALS AND CHEMICAL BASED PRODUCTS
ADVANCED MATERIALS
APPAREL AND TEXTILES
ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, RECREATION AND VISITOR INDUSTRIES
ENERGY (FOSSIL AND RENEWABLE)
BIOMEDICAL/BIOTECHNICAL (LIFE SCIENCES)
DEFENSE AND SECURITY
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Computer & electronic product mfg
EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE CREATION
BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES CLUSTER
GLASS AND CERAMICS
PRINTING AND PUBLISHING
Electrical equip, appliance & component mfg
Cluster Name
Page 1
Size (Jobs)
1,915
915
9,690
5,281
371
1,207
2,701
438
8,030
3,376
4,456
2,464
3,470
16,041
12,669
7,263
7,876
230
571
4,338
69
850
576
7 Yr % Change LQ
-1%
49%
20%
-2%
3%
-13%
31%
-47%
4%
11%
-20%
37%
31%
-3%
0%
5%
4%
91%
-1%
-15%
-13%
0%
-96%
REGIONAL LOCATION QUOTIENTS (2009)
Sheet1
Current LQ
3.28
2.92
2.67
1.94
1.73
1.54
1.34
1.25
1.21
1.20
1.19
I
0.94
0.92
0.89
0.80
0.79
0.78
0.49
0.46
0.43
0.40
0.13
The Region and Its Economy
Cluster Name
AGRIBUSINESS, FOOD PROCESSING AND TECHNOLOGY
ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, RECREATION AND VISITOR INDUSTRIES
TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS
APPAREL AND TEXTILES
DEFENSE AND SECURITY
BIOMEDICAL/BIOTECHNICAL (LIFE SCIENCES)
Machinery mfg
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
CHEMICALS AND CHEMICAL BASED PRODUCTS
Computer & electronic product mfg
EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE CREATION
MINING
PRINTING AND PUBLISHING
GLASS AND CERAMICS
FOREST AND WOOD PRODUCTS
Primary metal mfg
BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES CLUSTER
Fabricated metal product mfg
Transportation equipment mfg
Electrical equip, appliance & component mfg
ENERGY (FOSSIL AND RENEWABLE)
MANUFACTURING SUPERCLUSTER (6 subclusters)
ADVANCED MATERIALS
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
56
Page 1
2002 Jobs
9,690
3,470
2,701
2,464
7,263
12,669
915
7,876
3,376
230
571
371
850
69
8,030
438
4,338
1,915
1,207
576
16,041
5,281
4,456
2009 Jobs
11,014
4,513
3,692
3,119
7,577
12,949
1,141
8,042
3,504
331
628
387
848
44
7,917
169
4,053
1,617
758
19
15,344
4,035
3,024
Growth
1,324
1,043
991
655
314
280
226
166
128
101
58
16
-2
-25
-113
-269
-285
-298
-449
-557
-697
-1,246
-1,432
ECONOMIC CLUSTER JOB GROWTH (2002-2009)
Sheet1
Growth %
14%
30%
37%
27%
4%
2%
25%
2%
4%
44%
10%
4%
0%
-36%
-1%
-61%
-7%
-16%
-37%
-97%
-4%
-24%
-32%
Current EPW
$33,425
$31,014
$33,811
$38,575
$39,776
$39,223
$55,012
$47,219
$20,956
$37,811
$50,841
$43,126
$49,097
$52,625
$53,630
$64,392
$28,344
$69,437
$24,801
$56,644
$79,128
$35,864
$37,448
The Region and Its Economy
The Region and Its Economy
ment, as does, in some places, a lack of proximity to
major roadways and railways.
above (II.D.5, page 53), are indicative of the effects of
this problem.
Developed Industrial Zones and Sites:
Housing
Industrial parks present significant financial risks for
many rural communities; the costs associated with
building them and attracting factories often threaten
the solvency of smaller communities. Many designated sites are little more, at present, than undeveloped or insubstantially developed open fields.
Slow population growth — and, recently, decline —,
high levels of unemployment, infrastructural overload, and the high proportion of unskilled workers in
the labor force coalesce to create a too-tight housing
market that severely limits availability for those who
may seek to follow companies to the Region or to reside here upon establishing a firm.
Commuting
Tourism
Given the necessity of commuting for so much of the
Region’s labor force, KIRPC communities and counties suffer consequential revenue losses in the forms
of taxes and commercial and retail transactions made
elsewhere and experience substantial wastes of energy in travel time, highway usage, automobile wearand-tear, environmental degradation, and other costs
associated with commuting
A dearth of adequate tourist facilities (hotels, services,
etc.) greatly reduces the Region’s ability to draw overnight and weekend visitors to the numerous cultural,
natural, and recreational opportunities that KIRPC
counties and municipalities offer. Additionally, insufficient publicity of many of these attractions may limit
the outside public’s awareness of the events and sites.
Unskilled Labor Force
Cultural Facilities and Opportunities
A sizable portion of the Region’s labor force is unskilled, making relocating a business to or founding
one in the Region a seriously risky decision. This
void in employment opportunities created by the unskilled labor force compels numerous skilled workers residing in KIRPC counties to travel outside of
the Region, where a vaster array of jobs exists. The
presence of so many unskilled laborers often limits
wage scales; the Region’s average wages, as shown
Compared to the amenities offered by surrounding
metropolitan areas, the rural ambience of the Region
often appears to many outsiders as being something of
a cultural desert. Though limited opportunities do exist, many (e.g., the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum)
are only intermittently active. The lack of sufficent
publicity may hinder both public awareness of these
cultural attractions and their ability more actively to
engage and to serve the public.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
57
The Region and Its Economy
Economic-Development Tools
Although most leaders in KIRPC communities are
eager to encourage and to facilitate economic growth,
many communities fail to take full advantage of tools
available to them — tax abatements, state and federal grants, and so forth — to retain existing business and to encourage their expansion, to attract new
business, and to help new firms to develop. Moreover, financial straits limit communities from using
these and other economic-development tools.
3. Financial Resources
payment of these bonds is achieved through the lease,
rental, or sale of property or equipment to a business
or industry. Local governments may not direct the proceeds of property taxation toward repayment of these
bonds, but the indebtedness created by the bonds is
exempt from the 2-percent-bonded-indebtedness ceiling that the Constitution of the State of Indiana imposes on all units of government.
(N.B. Units of government may enter into bonded indebtedness by issuing revenue bonds or general obligation bonds to finance long-term financing needs.
Indebtedness on general obligation bonds may not exceed 2 percent of the unit’s assessed valuation. These
methods of financing are limited strictly to governmental purposes.)
Private Sector
Throughout the Region, numerous local, regional,
and national financial institutions operate branches
that offer personal and commercial loans to residents
and businessmen in KIRPC communities. Amounts
available, interest rates, and other specifics of loans
range from bank to bank and often depend on the
reasons for borrowing.
Public Sector
Local
Local governments are able to promote and to shape
commercial and industrial development primarily
through Economic Development Corporations/Commissions (EDCs). EDCs are empowered to issue
revenue bonds for the acquisition of property, buildings, and equipment; to facilitate construction; and to
cover costs incidental to the issuing of the bond. Re-
State
The State of Indiana takes an active role in aiding economic and community development, offering a variety of programs to assist local communities through
numerous agencies. Particularly relevant to development in the Region is OCRA, the Indiana Office of
Community and Rural Affairs, which “work[s] with
local, state, and national partners to provide resources
and technical assistance to aid rural communities in
shaping their visions for economic development.”
Federal
Numerous federal agencies make a variety of financial
programs available to communities for development.
The following have a long tradition of providing capital for economic-development-related purposes:
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
58
The Region and Its Economy
1. United States Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration
2. United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development
3. Small Business Administration
4. Environmental Protection Agency
5. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
Just as Region 4 emphasizes regionalism, so, too, is
KIRPC beginning to do so, taking on responsibility
for coordinating Region-wide wage-and-benefit and
brownfield studies and establishing the CEDS Committee as a regularly meeting body to track and to discuss the status of projects and overall development.
4. KIRPC CEDS in Context
In the past few years, the Region has seen a number
of investments lead to an improved base for economic
development. A number of communities and counties
— Wolcott, Brook, Boswell, and Pulaski County —
have completed, or are undergoing, comprehensive
plans, economic-development studies, or revitalization projects to determine how best to attract and to
grow new businesses.Most of the funding for these
has come from OCRA. A number of communities
have continued to make infrastructure improvements
to ready themselves for economic growth.
“Once upon a time, the mantra of economic development was ‘Build and they will come’.… [B]ut in the
90’s two other mantras gained notoriety, ‘Grow your
own — locally innovate new technologies/products
and spur entrepreneurial growth’ and ‘workforce development = economic development’.” This paragraph comes from the 2009 State of the Workforce
report published by the West Central Indiana Region
4 Workforce Board, which comprises four KIRPC
counties — Benton, Carroll, Warren, and White —,
as well as other Indiana counties. A few paragraphs
later, the report continues by emphasizing the importance of looking beyond local potentials and constraints as isolated factors and recognizing them as
parts of Regional strengthes and weaknesses.
Much the same, as is noted on page three and will
be discussed below, KIRPC and its members have
come to approach economic development with these
attitudes. Amongst our Vital Regional Projects list
are cross-county infrastructure projects that will increase interconnectedness while facilitating economic expansion, and programs that seek to develop our
Region’s economy from the ground up — especially
the internship and economic-gardening programs.
5. Economic-Development Investments
Currently, Goodland and Wolcott are undertaking homeowner housing-rehabilitation projects, with money
to come from the Indiana Housing and Community
Development Authority.
The largest economic-development project in the Region presently underway is the SYSCO, Inc., infrastructure project near Hamlet. Funding for this project,
much of which has been completed, has come from
EDA, OCRA, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. SYSCO’s coming to Starke County
is projected to create 490 new jobs and to bring approximately $100 million in private investments to the
Region, all while enhancing further economic-development opportunities.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
59
Regional Development
Expectations
Regional Development Expectations
A. Defining Regional Expectations
1. Community and Private-Sector CEDS Involvement
Because it is ultimately the general public — citizens and private-sector contributors to economic
development and growth — to whom economic
developers are accountable morally, electorally,
and fiscally, the Committee has kept the concerns
of this constituency in mind throughout the development of the CEDS. As noted on page three,
some private-sector representatives sit on the
immediate Committee, and county economicdevelopment officers have made concentrated
efforts throughout the development process to
come to Committee meetings with perspectives
that they have developed by consulting the people whom they serve. Private-sector individuals
have provided invaluable information regarding
what they perceive to be necessary for them to
improve, to expand, and to remain competitive,
on topics ranging from freight rail to sewer systems to workforce-development programs.
As KIRPC and its member-counties and municipalities work to implement the goals, objectives, and projects outlined below, private-sector involvement will
prove to be even more consequential, and the Committee and its members will seek to engage interested
parties in multifarious ways. This will include obvious forms of engagement, including soliciting business people’s thoughts regarding projects that will affect their enterprises, but also will look to developing
public-private partnerships — for financing, management, and evaluation —; working closely with interest groups (e.g., the Farm Bureau or the Chamber of
Commerce) and state and federal agencies; and taking other steps to ensure that economic development
in the Region occurs in a manner sensitive to private,
public, and environmental concerns, as well as suitable for current economic conditions and aligned with
the long-term vision of the KIRPC CEDS.
2. Development Priorities
Longer-Term Development Goals
i. Decrease the gap between KIRPC employment rates
and Indiana and national rates.
In the past, unemployment has affected the
KIRPC Region noticeably harder than it has the State
of Indiana on the whole; although the Region has generally fared slightly better in comparison to the United
States, national levels, too, have remained marginally
lower than KIRPC rates in recent years. Indiana has
done well in preparing for economic downturns, and
the benefits of this preparation have helped the Region
to recover, slowly but surely. However, short-term improvements do not guarantee long-term change, and
the Committee still believes it necessary to aim realistically, hoping to keep the gap between the Regional
level and state and national levels close, without expecting to surpass employment levels soon.
ii. We seek to achieve a modernized road-and-rail
network in the Region, with local and county streets
and highways improved and properly connected to
state, federal, and interstate highways, and rail lines
improved and more effectively utilized better to serve
new and expanding economic sectors, particularly
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
61
Regional Development Expectations
wind power and agriculture-related ventures that fit
the Region’s profile. To this end, we shall commission studies as necessary (including a Region-wide
Transportation Study, below) to determine where to
direct funding, which roads and intersections demand
improvement, where rail expansion — especially in
the form of team tracks, in the short-term — should
occur, and so on.
iii. We hope to improve Regional connectivity to
provide the best comprehensive grid for business interests and government agencies in the Region and
better to attract new ventures in the Region. This includes improving telecommunications networks and
establishing new grids; partnering with healthcare
providers; breaking down barriers that stand between
various business interests, and state and local agencies and utility providers; lobbying INDOT to install
fiber-optics conduits whenever highway construction
or rehabilitation occurs; and enhancing public relations for municipalities and counties, business interests, and KIRPC.
iv. KIRPC, as a commission, seeks to expand the role
that it plays in Regional affairs by facilitating improved, long-term collaboration, coordination, and
cooperation amongst counties and municipalities in
the Region. We recognize the importance of regionalism in more effectively and efficiently strengthening economies and communities, and hope to take the
lead in acting within this framework.
v. Conscious of the pressing need for environmental
soundness in development policy, we hope always to
improve how we make use of natural resources, protect the environment, and establish best practices to
guide ourselves and our successors in the future.
Short-term Development Objectives
Across the Region, infrastructure improvements are
imperative for more substantial economic development to occur. The focus on these improvements is
primarily in the five following categories:
i. Water, sewer, and drainage improvements;
ii. Local-road-and-rail network improvements;
iii. Housing improvements;
iv. Community-services improvements;
v. Intra-Regional relationship improvements.
Water, sewer, and drainage improvements will involve
the construction of new facilities and systems, or the
upgrade thereof, as well as the extension of utilities
to industrial sites and other development-ready locations. Road improvements will focus on surface quality, pedestrian safety, and improved access from local
roads to state and federal highway networks, as well
as to rail networks for intermodal support, reload centers, and the like, and local-business development.
Housing improvements will aim to create better conditions in extant housing, to provide more diversified
housing options for a range of income levels, and,
where appropriate, to provide residential options in
mixed-use downtown districts. Community-services
upgrades should be directed toward seniors, the infirm,
and others in need, in the form of broadened transportation opportunities, meal-service, and the like. IntraRegional improvements will focus on strengthening
ties amongst member-counties and municipalities,
better publicizing KIRPC, and streamlining planning
efforts. We view the accomplishment of these tasks as
being crucial to providing a sufficient foundation for
long-term development.
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
62
Regional Development Expectations
B. Strategic Projects, Programs,
and Activities
75 and nine others), utility expansion to the HHH Corridor, and the acquisition of land for a new industrial
site.
1. Vital Regional Projects
a. Major-Corridor Infrastructure Upgrades
Realizing the need for up-to-date infrastructure, the
Committee has deemed the improvement of highway
interchanges to be the highest-priority vital Regional
project in the KIRPC Region.
i. Connect utilities to all five I-65 interchanges in
Jasper County (with IN-114 as top priority) and fastgrowing unincorporated areas of the county.
Although this most directly affects Jasper
County and the municipalities therein, it stands to
improve business opportunities, direct and indirect,
for towns and cities in the Region by facilitating infrastructural growth in some of the most quickly populating parts of the Region and upgrading the areas
surrounding five interchanges with I-65, the Region’s
only interstate highway, a primary connector to other
Another project focused primarily on one specific part of the Region, this nonetheless may help to
promote a stronger Regional economy by improving
transportation routes throughout the Region. As part
of or related to this project, improvement and expansion of the nearby Norfolk Southern line would be undertaken. Costs for the entire project, which likely will
be subdivided, are estimated at about $12.7 million,
with the expectation of ultimately creating nearly 500
well-paying jobs over 13 years. Significant private investment is anticipated once infrastructure expansion
permits industrial development.
markets. Jasper County expects to expend $5 million; although few jobs will arise directly because of
this project, the long-term job-creation benefits will
likely be impressive given the City of Rensselaer’s
plans to construct an industrial park near the I-65/IN114 interchange.
ii. Comprehensive study, and then, when feasible,
completion, of development projects — including a
multi-purpose complex housing a business incubator,
museum, the EDC, and the Chamber of Commerce
— related to the Hoosier Heartland Highway, along
with significant road-connection improvements (IN-
iii. Bringing utilities to the Wolcott Corridor is necessary for stimulating development — including a
Shovel-Ready industrial park — at this strategically
located site, in proximity to I-65, the TPW line, and
the TPW intermodal hub in Wolcott. Costs are expected to run just below $5 million, with an outcome at
least 100 new jobs.
The above list highlights the top-priority projects under this category; in no way is it meant to be viewed
as exhaustive. As these projects are completed, and
as other corridors’ and roadways’ signifcance may increase, county-level and inter-county projects will be
directed toward other areas.
b. Region-Wide Railroad Development
Recognizing not only that transportation infrastructure is important, particularly because of the Region’s
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
63
Regional Development Expectations
critical location, but also that for a plethora of reasons
— including economic and environmental efficiency
—, expanding freight rail (and perhaps, long-term,
passenger rail) is necessary, the CEDS Committee
believes that making better use of and expanding
current rail lines in the Region is a necessity. Two
projects in particular were kept in mind when making
this decision, but this section’s list is not exhaustive.
In addition to the primary projects (listed below),
Warren County is considering constructing a spur
to enhance the Bee Line, and the NS line in Carroll County is under consideration for upgrades. In
Starke County, an addition will be constructed to link
the current lead track in the Knox Industrial Park
with newly acquired land; trackage at the HamletEast Industrial Park will be extended to unserved
parts of the park; and a lead rail track with switches
is proposed for the Hamlet-West Industrial Park.
i. Rehab the North Judson-owned CKIN railroad
trackage, with a new teamtrack and docks for businesses not located along rail line and an extension to
the North Judson Industrial Park.
Improvements to the CKIN line will allow for
heavier freight transit — particularly agricultural —
from North Judson, and the teamtrack and the extension into the industrial park will help to facilitate the
development of industry, as well as providing new
opportunities to current businesses. Rehabilitation
costs are estimated at $3,675,000.
Although this would initially have an impact
only on North Judson, the pairing of a revived CKIN
line and the new trail being constructed between
North Judson and Monterey (Again, the presence of
end-users will be necessary.) could lead to long-term
reactivation of rail between the two, and beyond, and
could stimulate economic growth in the northernmost
counties of the Region. Moreover, it could serve as
an example of the benefits of emphasizing the importance of rail. Eventually, the siting of a reload center
in North Judson could become a strong possibility.
ii. Economic Development along the CSX line between Monon and Medaryville.
At minimum, three municipalities in Pulaski
and White Counties stand to benefit from taking advantage of still-extant rail lines. Increased economic
activity along the CSX-US 421 corridor could, beyond
improving the economic vitality of Monon (where
two CSX branches conjoin), Francesville, and Medaryville, spur increased economic activity in nearby
communities and encourage greater reliance on rail as
an asset to our Region, perhaps even encouraging other communities to work toward repairing and rebuilding rail lines. CSX Transportation, Inc., has expressed
interest in developing the corridor. Ultimately, this
line could be extended from Medaryville northward
through San Pierre and into Lacrosse, in southwestern LaPorte County, where it would meet the CKIN.
In White County, further economic development may
focus on Reynolds, Chalmers, and Brookston
c. Wind-Power Education/Visitors’ Center
Currently, four wind farms — Benton County, Fowler
Ridge, Meadow Lake I, and Hoosier Wind — produce green energy in the Region. When completed,
Fowler Ridge will be one of the world’s largest plants;
altogether, the Region’s wind farms will comprise
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Regional Development Expectations
the world’s largest concentration of turbines. These
farms have brought and will bring hundreds of temporary construction jobs and a number of permanent positions to the Region. As further construction
across Benton, White, Jasper, and Newton Counties continues, and spreads to the other four counties, the Region will become a national, if not global,
wind-power leader. The education/visitors’ site, to be
housed as part of a larger community center for Benton County, will help to draw attention to the innovative steps being taken in KIRPC counties to stimulate
the economy and to increase energy independence.
To facilitate enhanced tourism, highway expansion
will eventually be included in plans.
Furthering the Regional scope of wind-power development, Benton and White Counties have been collaborating to find an appropriate lookout point for the
education center, and intend to involve local landscaping businesses in the development of the site.
d. Region-Wide Transportation Study
this would be considerations for easier access of data
for dissemination on a county-level basis and for updating it regularly with ease, without necessitating
frequent formal updates. This may involve utilizing
Web- and electronic-mail-based surveys and in-person
meeting with human resources departments. Costs are
estimated about $25,000.
f. Establish Fiber-Optics Network and
Improve Regional Connectivity
Currently, this has been proposed in Starke County. In
Monon, a conduit follows the CSX mainline. An active route runs from the northwest through Rensselaer
and thence southeastward; eventually it connets with a
line that runs through Monticello, other parts of White
County, and part of Benton County, and runs southeastward toward Frankfort and Indianapolis. Mapping
and a planning study would be required to determine
exactly where to lay new conduits, but Region-wide
cooperation
This will help to identify key road and rail routes,
strengths and weaknesses in the Region’s transportation network, products shipped, existing and potential companies, and ways to improve the Region’s
road and rail network beyond those already listed in
this section of the CEDS document. For White County, costs have been estimated at $100,000.
An adequate network would connect industrial parks
and provide connectivity to schools, industries, medical facilities, and other firms that could benefit from it.
In addition to establishing a fiber-optics network, we
intend to work with private-sector companies as appropriate to ensure adequate high-speed Internet, by
way of wireless, cable, or both, to underserved rural
areas, residential and commercial alike.
e. Region-Wide Wage-and-Benefit Survey
g. Region-Wide Brownfield Survey
We intend to complete an update to a survey performed in the Region in 2006. Involved in planning
The KIRPC Region is home to several brownfields.
With proper clean-up, transfer of ownership, and mar-
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Regional Development Expectations
keting, these could welcome new economic-development opportunities. KIRPC will apply for the grant,
dispersing funds to counties on a site-by-site basis.
Steps would be taken to prioritize site-selection and
not to usurp property owners’ rights. IWM Consulting, of Indianapolis, will assist with this project.
h. Regional Internship Program
At present, White County alone is focusing on this.
As part of its efforts, with initial emphasis placed on
the Youth Retention pillar, the White County HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC)team is considering a
community-centered internship program as a vehicle
for attracting and retaining young professionals.
The program would be available to all employers,
with priority placed on those offering opportunities
in manufacturing, logistics, agribusiness, advanced
materials/polymers, tourism, and entrepreneurship
(encompassing those small businesses not tied to
one of the five listed sectors). Each employer would
benefit from the efficiencies and economies of scale
associated with a program administered by the HTC
team at the community/county level. Additionally,
the program’s structure would be such that a universally applied format could be leveraged across all of
the participating employers with opportunities for
customization as needed.
The program would focus on high-school students
and then expand to college students. Ivy Tech students would be involved, also, from the outset. The
main goal is to connect our youth to a local employer
and to bring them back to the community after graduation. The program could also help those not plan-
ning to attend college to develop skills and to find
well-paying positions for which they are qualified.
We could start with one or two counties and then expand to another with each school year. Initial costs for
White County have been estimated at $60,000 for two
years. This program has the potential to be particularly Regional in nature by offering cross-county internship opportunities, pairing students in one county with
employers in others when their home counties are not
home to suitable host companies.
Employers would pay the students, with the possibility of earning academic credit available to universitystudent interns. The program is employer-driven, so
business owners and managers will determine who
would be best for their project. It is important to have
the employers involved first, telling us what skills
they need, rather than sending students into the program without the guarantee of a matching employer.
A community-centered program offers an additional
benefit in the four types of learning that are incorporated into the program: formal, informal, experiential,
and service. Service learning includes the involvement
of the intern in community-/social-service activities
not generally a component of an internship program,
for example, presenting to community groups, giving
back to the HTC program, addressing potential interns
about the program and about coming back to the community after school, etc.
i. Multi-Use Regional Trail System
We propose to build trails throughout the Region, connecting them to each other and to already extant paths.
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Regional Development Expectations
Carroll County has a comprehensive system, and
Monticello hopes to connect trails to those in Carroll County. Recently, construction of a trail extending southeastward from North Judson, along the Erie
Lackawana rail bed, toward Monterey has occurred.
Eventually, it could connect to the trails at Tippecanoe
State Park, and thence to the nearly completed Panhandle Pathway, which runs along the Pennsylvania
Railroad bed between Winamac and Logansport (in
Cass County); from the south, trails in Delphi could
be connected to Logansport. Whenever possible, we
should prefer to use rail beds for new trails. Start-up
planning costs are estimated at $150,000 per county.
j. Region-Wide Economic
Gardening Program
Economic gardening is an entrepreneurial approach
to economic development using analysis, research,
and search engine optimization for second-stage
companies. White County leaders have met with
Purdue Center for Regional Development and the
Indiana Small Business Development Center to discuss what is needed to develop a pilot program in
multiple counties, and anticipate that the cost would
be approximately $85,500 for ten companies in three
counties. These costs would fund a “jump-start” team
that would analyze existing companies, to determine
how best to encourage their growth, and data-mining.
business programming to help to establish new homegrown employers in the Region.
2. Vital-Project Funding
We anticipate diverse sources for the funding of our
Regionally significant projects. Support from EDA,
OCRA, and INDOT are foremost amongst higherlevel-government sources; local-match support, TIF
districts, and other county- and municipal-level options exist, too. We particularly hope to increase
private-sector funding in the Region. As noted under
III.B.1.b.ii above, CSX has expressed interest in developing the corridor between Medaryville and Monon;
as rail continues to make a resurgence and fossil-fuel
costs limit on-the-road freight-hauling, private-public
partnerships involving rail carriers may become more
frequent. Partnerships with alternative-energy companies seeking to take advantage of the Region’s progressive attitude toward renewable energy (methane,
algae, etc.) may further increase the investments in
economic development in the Region.
3. Comprehensive List of
Suggested Projects
On the following pages, spreadsheets for each KIRPC
county detail all suggested county-level projects, programs, and activities.
The driving philosophy behind economic gardening — as opposed to “economic hunting” — is that
a community “grows” its own jobs through entrepreneurial activity instead of recruiting them. In addition to helping existing local companies to grow and
to add positions, this program could entail start-upKankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
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Description
Boswell
Wastewater plant improvements
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
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Oxford
Oxford
Otterbein
Otterbein
Downtown revitalization
Park improvements
Study of possible new uses for old Otterbein Nursing Home
Park/trails master plan, plans to connect to nearby trails
Boswell
Otterbein
Sidewalk-replacement project
Road/Street
Street Repairs
Improvements
Planning
Activities
Town of Boswell
Town of Earl Park
Town of Boswell
Town of Otterbein
Town of Otterbein
Town of Oxford
Town of Oxford
Town of Otterbein
Town of Otterbein
Earl Park
Construct wastewater plant and run water thereto
Town of Earl Park
Otterbein
Earl Park
Construct new well
Town of Otterbein
Town of Fowler
Otterbein
Stormwater improvements
Town of Oxford
Town of Oxford
Fowler
Oxford
Stormwater improvements
Infrastructure Grant Avenue Beautification
Improvements
Downtown revitalization
Oxford
Improve water lines
Town of Oxford
Town of Fowler
Fowler
Oxford
Town of Fowler
Sponsor
Fowler
Geographic
Location
Upgrade wastewater plant
Water/Sewer Improve/rebuild/build new storm-sewer system
Improvements
Construct new water plant
Type
Sheet1
Benton County
$50,000.00
$1,200,000.00
$500,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
Infrastructure
Improvements
Type
Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Complete development of infrastructure for South
Delphi TIF site: Roadwork, fire-water surge
protection, sewer, gas, fiber-optic, curbs, sidewalks
Utility improvement – east/Andersons/218
Downtown Revitalization
Utility improvement in west Delphi
Flood control upgrades
Pedestrian Trail: Armory Rd. to Hamilton St. Bridge
Inter-Urban Trail Project
Low-income housing project
High-end housing addition on south side
Redevelop Globe/P&R site
Page 1
Flora
Construct new fire station
Burlington
Upgrade fire station
Flora
Burlington
Downtown Revitalization
Demolish old Flora High School for econmic development
Camden
Geographic
Location
Downtown Revitalization
Description
CarrollSheet1
County
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City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
Carroll County
City of Delphi
Town of Flora
Carroll County
Town of Burlington
Town of Burlington
Town of Camden
Sponsor
Area 4
$2,500,000.00
$800,000.00
$1,500,000.00
$2,500,000.00
$1,360,700.00
$560,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
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Planning
Activities
Road/Street
Improvements
Water/Sewer
Improvements
Type
Page 2
Delphi
Camden
Delphi
Delphi
Carroll County Carroll County
Delphi
Delphi
Ground storage tank – 200 N.
Pave Water St. from Main St. to north end of
town to highway standard in anticipation of
county upgrade; sidewalk and light installation
Connector road: Dayton Rd. to US 421
US 421/Armory Rd. Interchange Upgrades
Establish countywide GIS — zoning, land use;
publicly accessible
Wastewater capacity study (and project)
Storm water study (and project)
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
Town of Camden
City of Delphi
City of Delphi
Delphi
New well site development
Town of Flora
Carroll County
Town of Burlington
Carroll County
Flora
Burlington
Identify, prioritize, and remediate water
infiltration problems in waste water system
Town of Camden
Sponsor
Monitor water infiltration in waste water
system, prioritize and remediate to lower flow
Camden
Geographic
Location
Upgrade collector system
Description
Carroll County
Sheet1 continued
$155,000.00
$1,500,000.00
$3,500,000.00
$900,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
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71
Page 1
Create industrial park accessible to I-65
and IN-114
Rensselaer
Renovate downtown around
courthouse square and environs
Economic
Development
Rensselaer
Replace windows on County Courthouse for better
use and energy efficiency
Rensselaer
Jasper County
Rensselaer
Convert old county jail into government offices
with new HVAC, plumbing, and electrical.
Resurface county roads with asphalt
* CR 400 N from US-231 to CR 430 E – 10 miles
* CR 1000 W from river to CR 850 S – 22.5 miles
* CR 1450 N/1500 N from CR 700 W to CR 200 E – 9 miles
Rensselaer
Re-roof County Courthouse
Road/Street
Improvements
Rensselaer
Replace HVAC at county jail
Infrastructure
Improvements
Rensselaer
Geographic
Location
Extend municipal sewage and water lines
to adversely affected commercial areas (I-65/IN-114)
Description
Water/Sewer
Improvements
Type
Sheet1
Jasper County
City of Rensselaer
Jasper County
City of Rensselaer
Jasper County
Jasper County
Jasper County
Jasper County
City of Rensselaer
Sponsor
$3,750,000.00
$4,700,000.00
$1,500,000.00
$600,000.00
$1,250,000.00
$600,000.00
$1,000,000.00
$2,500,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
300
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
Rural Brook
Kentland
Mt. Ayr
Kentland
Kentland
Kentland
Kentland
Goodland
Run water, sewer, electric to Newton County
Renewable Energy Park, plan site; develop streets
and lighting here.
Replace/add fire hydrants, repair water tower,
add water lines
Extend water and sewer services from
Newton County Reg. Water and Sewer
District — Phase 5 of NC RWSD PER
Install new storm sewer system, swales, flap gate
Community Pool Project — Upgrade for
safety and forty-five-percent decrease in
operational costs
US 24/US 41 Beautification project —
drainage and infrastructure, landscaping
Infrastructure and stormwater drainage at
Ross Industrial Park
Construct new fire station
Water/Sewer
Improvements
Infrastructure
Improvements
Brook
Geographic
Location
Develop industrial park on Cassini property
at northwestern corner of town
Description
Economic
Development
Type
Newton County
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Page 1
Town of Goodland
Town of Kentland
Town of Kentland
Town of Kentland
Town of Kentland
Town of Mt. Ayr
Town of Kentland
Newton County
Town of Brook
Sponsor
Sheet1
$1,300,000.00
$1,100,000.00
$3,200,000.00
$979,000.00
$16,500,000.00
$15,000,000.00
$5,500,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
150
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
Planning
Activities
Infrastructure
Improvements
Type
Sponsor
Kentland
Mt. Ayr
Brook
Kentland
Demolition of old school, construct new park
and community center
Addition to existing structure to construct new
fire station
Develop Economic Development Strategy
and Town Comprehensive Plan
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Page 2
Town of Kentland
Town of Brook
Town of Mt. Ayr
Town of Kentland
Lincoln Twp. Lincoln Twp.
Geographic
Location
Runway expansion at Kentland airport
for increased variety of serviceable aircraft
Construct new fire station and training
facility
Description
Sheet1
Newton County Continued
$500,000.00
$800,000.00
$3,200,000.00
$4,500,000.00
$3,900,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
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Francesville
Medaryville
Winamac
Acquire land within US 421/CSX corridor
for construction-ready industrial park
Construct new fire station
Downtown Revitalization
Economic
Development
Infrastructure
Improvements
Page 1
Pulaski County Pulaski County
Countywide Economic Development Strategy Plan
Planning
Activities
Town of Winamac
Town of Medaryville
Pulaski County
Town of Francesville
Francesville
Town of Monterey
Rehab sanitary sewer system
Monterey
Replace/add to current storm sewer system
Town of Winamac
Sponsor
Star City (CDP) Pulaski County
Winamac
Geographic
Location
Install new storm water system,
Repair/rehab sanitary sewer system
Description
Construct new sewer system in Star City
Water/Sewer
Improvements
Water/Sewer
Improvements
Type
Pulaski C
ounty
Sheet1
$2,500,000.00
$1,826,000.00
$4,100,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
Starke County
Regional Development Expectations
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
75
Starke County continued
Regional Development Expectations
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
76
Starke County continued
Regional Development Expectations
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
77
Infrastructure
Improvements
Water/Sewer
Improvements
Type
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
78
West Lebanon
West Lebanon
Pine Village
Redesign/implement new sewer system,
replace existing lagoon, add extensions
Install intrastate natural gas
distribution line with county ownership
of local distribution system
Upgrade HVAC, energy efficiency at
current and old fire houses
Page 1
West Lebanon
Two new wells, upgrade chlorination
house, new water main
Description
Geographic
Location
Sheet1
Warren County
Pine Village
Warren County
Warren County
Warren County
Sponsor
$58,000.00
$15,000,000.00
$3,500,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
66
67
67
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
Planning
Activities
Water/Sewer
Improvements
Type
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
79
Reynolds
Reynolds
Reynolds
Reynolds
Reynolds
Brookston
Wolcott
Monticello
White County White County
Repair and line wastewater lines, replace leaky manholes
Construct new water tower and treatment facility
Construct new wastewater treatment facility
Install new storm sewer system
Purchase backup generators for water and sewage plants
Run water and wastewater to Brookston
Industrial Park
Run water and wastewater to Wolcott Corridor
Feasibility study for renovation of Old Hospital
Countywide Strategic Economic Development Plan
Page 1
Burnettsville
Update water system
White County
White County
White County
Town of Brookston
Town of Reynolds
Town of Reynolds
Town of Reynolds
Town of Reynolds
Town of Reynolds
Town of Burnettsville
Town of Wolcott
Wolcott
Study, repair/install storm drainage tiles as needed,
Investigate use of ponds
Town of Wolcott
City of Monticello
Wolcott
Monticello
CSO long-term control plan
Town of Monon
Sponsor
Replace water main, improve water plant
Monon
Comprehensive update of storm sewer system
Description
Geographic
Location
WhiteSheet1
County
$55,000.00
$4,800,000.00
$102,000.00
$6,500,000.00
$3,700,000.00
$1,200,000.00
$600,000.00
$900,000.00
$900,000.00
$18,000,000.00
$900,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
Infrastructure
Improvements
Type
Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission
80
Reynolds
Monticello
Monon
Monticello
Monticello
Construct new community center/municipal-office/
shop building
Downtown Revitalization — sidewalks, lights
Multi-modal access, trees, plants, trash bins
Historic District Streetscape
Rehab of Old Hospital — Business incubator,
Ivy Tech expansion, other possibilities
Spec building/infrastructure in South TIF District
Water, sewer, electric, zoning: Shovel-Ready-anticipated
Page 2
Monon
Geographic
Location
Building replacement/public usage improvement: New
Town hall/police/clerk-treasurer/fire/superintendent bld.
Description
Sponsor
City of Monticello
White County
Town of Monon
City of Monticello
Town of Reynolds
Town of Monon
White County
continued
Sheet1
$3,200,000.00
$750,000.00
$2,700,000.00
$350,000.00
$2,000,000.00
Estimate
of Cost
Estimated
Jobs
Regional Development Expectations
Regional Development Expectations
C. Implementing the CEDS
1. CEDS Plan of Action
We shall encourage Regionalism in our efforts, establishing cross-county relationships and using KIRPC
to share costs and benefits, aware that a new plant in
Winamac will provide jobs not only to laborers there,
but also to residents of, for example, Monterey, Medaryville, and Francesville, and Starke, White, and
Jasper Counties.
We shall actively seek private-sector investment in
our Region, especially from parties whose involvement is most likely to encourage sustainable growth.
Rail companies and alternative-energy providers are
logical choices here. Although freight rail is not as
predominant as it was in the Region’s history, it remains vital, and is likely to increase in significance
as transporation costs — especially those associated
with trucking —, both financial and environmental,
continue to climb.
The Town of Reynolds, in White County, is
experimenting with a wastewater-processing system
that relies on algae to treat the water and to produce
gas and oil through photosynthesis. Fair Oaks Farms
uses biodigesters to convert animal waste into fertilizer and biogas for heat and energy.
We shall provide greater development incentives to
locally based firms and to employers where projected
pay and benefits will improve the quality of life of
Region residents by increasing average annual wages.
(See page 53.)
Using data from the forthcoming Region-wide wageand-benefits survey (See III.B.1.e. above.), we shall
establish an easily accessible, distributable, and manipulable database that allows us regularly to track
and to record changes in these data.
We shall work with communications firms and government agencies to increase rural access to highspeed Internet, employing broadband, fiber-optics,
and wireless connectivity.
The Region already has a strong base in alternative-energy production. Not only do four wind
farms operate here, but in Newton County, the landfill is a source for methane gas used to power one industry — INIG (a part of Urban Forest Recyclers), a
manufacturer of food packaging made from recycled
materials — presently, with plans for an expanded
Renewable Energy Park. The INIG plant and other
proposed industries help to offset recent job-losses in
the county and to create additional new positions, to
decrease energy costs, and to make Newton County
and the KIRPC Region leaders in alternative-energy
solutions. The Liberty Landfill in rural White County
could become the source of energy for a similar park.
We shall pursue, when possible, growth in sectors
best suited for our Region, taking advantage of our
transportation-crossroads location, proximity to major
markets, heavily agricultural nature, and alternativeenergy potential to become a leading national agricultural-products producer and distributor, and producer,
consumer, and exporter of renewable energy.
We shall focus on development in brownfields, open
parcels within corporations limits — especially in
already-developed business districts —, and where
utilities already exist to promote ecologically sound,
sustainable, and human-scale development, preferring
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Regional Development Expectations
mixed-use downtown district, pedestrian-oriented
shopping districts, and green building technology,
which itself provides jobs.
Recognizing that the low number of KIRPC residents
with higher-education skills influences what job sectors are appropriate, wishing to provide jobs accordingly, and also wishing for educated youth in our Region to return home after completing their schooling,
we must seek an appropriate balance between manufacturing, agriculture, and service-sector jobs, and
“knowledge-worker” fields. We shall work to provide opportunities for today’s KIRPC kids to become
tomorrow’s leaders in their communities, rather than
office-workers in Indianapolis, Chicago, or Washington, DC, both by creating jobs suitable for them
and by first encouraging higher levels of college-attendance when students are in high school, through
internship programming, information-dissemination,
and financial incentives.
To ensure an appropriate balance, especially
as we recognize economic trends and the need better
to train students who choose paths other than fouryear-degree schools, we shall solicit local-industry
input to determine what skills laborers need to help
firms to compete, to expand, and to provide good jobs,
and shall take what we learn from employers to work
with local educational institutions, high schools, and
jobs-skills centers to establish, to improve, and to
expand job-training and re-training programs. It is
also essential to reach students as early as possible,
working through high-school guidance counselors
and other leaders to present to students opportunities
available to them besides four-year degrees — vocational training, two-year degrees, internships, certification programs, and apprenticeships.
To retain both college graduates and those
who choose to enter the workforce through a different
route, as well as to encourage others to move into the
Region and to contribute to its growth, we shall better
publicize the benefits and amenities that the Region
offers: A reasonable cost of living in a places that offer
the benefits proximity to metropolitan centers, but also
afford the slower pace and quality of rural life; recreational opportunities ranging from Indiana Beach to
annual fairs to state parks; and vast economic-growth
potential.
2. Performance Measures
To track our municipal, county, and Regional progress
accurately, we must abide by objective standards of
measurement that offer insight into how our economies are performing, how they have improved — or
worsened —, and how we expect them to change in
the future. EDA’s baseline list provides a helpful, but
insufficient, rubric by which to judge the conditions in
the KIRPC Region:
i. Number of jobs created after implementa-
tion of the CEDS
ii. Number and types of investments under
taken in the Region
iii. Number of jobs retained in the Region
iv. Amount of private-sector investment
in the Region after implementation
v. Changes in the economic environment of
the Region.
Knowing the high rates of unemployment that have
hit the Region, we believe it unwise to leave the first
criterion as is. We intend, in judging the success of
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82
Regional Development Expectations
our efforts, to emphasize job retention over creation
in the short term. Because many communities in the
Region are underserved by infrastructure, it would be
highly imprudent to advocate too-rapid development;
in the name of stability, we hope to witness slower,
steady employment increases, rather than enduring
the risks of high-growth, high-loss fluctuations.
To determine how positive changes in the economic
environment have been, rather than focusing simply
on the quantity of jobs created, we plan to focus on
the quality of jobs that come to our communities, as
well as whether they are the result of economic hunting or gardening. Whether the gap between KIRPC
employment levels and state and national levels decreases will be monitored, but so will be whether the
jobs-increase has closed income gaps.
A plethora of entry-level factory jobs and retail and fast-food positions improves the Region’s
success rate superficially, but such opportunities may
provide little in terms of long-term expectations, living-wage potential, personal development, more vibrant communities, or sounder tax bases. Entry-level
positions are to be welcomed when the potential for
promotions and wage-increases exists. Solid middle-class jobs — jobs that help to boost the average
incomes of wage-earners —, especially those with
homegrown employers whose ties to the community
provide a stronger guarantee of long-term committment, are to be preferred. Further, we shall consider
how many jobs have been created per population of
the location of any particular employer as much as
we shall look at overall numbers.
Tracking changes in the “brain-drain” effect also
must be a priority. Providing for sufficient diversity
of employment options to allow college-educated residents of the Region to return home to jobs that allow
them to capitalize on their talents and schooling is essential if we hope to enable sustainable, economically
strong communities and to maintain our identify as a
Region and as locales. Likewise, we must monitor job
opportunities for those who do not obtain four-year
degrees, being sure that vocational programs are instructing students in ways that prepare them for the local workforce, and that our job-creation attempts lead
to neither too many nor too few jobs in any sector for
the number of workers suited for them.
Seeking both to guarantee that we improve the economic situation of the Region while protecting the environment and to create jobs in those sectors where
doing so makes the most sense, we shall gauge our
successes based on how many jobs are created, indireclty or directly, by renewable-energy programs: How
many laborers find work at Newton County’s Renewable Energy Park; how many maintain wind farms
and work in fields — e.g., food-service — that benefit
from eco-tourism here; and so on.
Additionally, we shall measure our successes by gauging how much interest prospective employers show in
opening facilities or expanding extant operations in
the Region. In an economically stunted Region, especially during a recession, even if we fail to reel them
in, so to speak, that the fish are biting is a good sign.
A final measure of success will be how effectively we
facilitate economic development that preserves positive features of our communities, protects the environment, and does not strain municipal and county resources and infrastructure. Brownfield development;
mixed-use development (especially in downtowns and
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Regional Development Expectations
other already-developed business districts); sensitivity to architecturally, historically, and ecologically
significant buildings and settlement patterns; and
sustainable, walkable urban design are all important
factors to consider when evaluating how well we
have implemented the CEDS.
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