Indiana at 200 (68): Indiana’s Round Barns
by Andrea Neal Fulton County historian Shirley Willard calls round barns the “cathedrals” of the countryside. They are symbols of a bygone time in Indiana agriculture when farmers combined form, function and aesthetics. Their heyday was 1890 to 1915. Agricultural experts of the day advocated round barns as efficient and economical. Architect Benton Steele of Read the full article…
Schansberg: The ‘Tragedy’ of Repair-Free Cars
by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Imagine a world where cars no longer require repairs and maintenance. Would this be good for the economy and society? For individuals and the economy, the costs of this improvement are obvious. Producers of auto parts and engine fluids would go bankrupt, with job losses and investment failures. Service providers of Read the full article…
Huston: Commanding Neighborhood Groceries
by Tom Huston I’ll bet you didn’t know that barely five percent of Indianapolis residents live within easy walking distance to a grocery store that sells fresh produce. Being familiar with the geography, demographics and zoning code of our capital city, I would have guessed as much. Where I would have gone wrong was in Read the full article…
Backgrounder: Regional Cities Plans
by Jason Arp “This is how Liberty dies . . . with thunderous applause.” — Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), “Revenge of the Sith” The excitement over Indiana’s recently announced Regional Cities awards reminds me of the scene in the 2005 Star Wars in which the Galactic Republic is dissolved and is replaced with an emperor. Read the full article…
Cummins: Is Your Town Going Bankrupt?
by Ryan Cummins The city of Terre Haute has been informed by the State Board of Accounts that as a result of the most recent audit “there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.” With a private business, such an audit would indicate the business must either liquidate or substantially Read the full article…
Indiana at 200 (67): The Kankakee Basin
by Andrea Neal Long before scientists understood the benefits of wetlands, Hoosiers drained a wildlife Garden of Eden that stretched from western St. Joseph County to the Illinois line. The Grand Kankakee Marsh was “one of the great freshwater wetland ecosystems of the world,” according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Nicknamed the Everglades Read the full article…
