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John Stehr has gone from reporting the news to becoming the news. At the age of 65, the former news anchor for WTHR-TV Channel 13 is now the mayor of Zionsville. He ran last year on a platform that included reforming the culture and financial transparency of Zionsville government and taking better advantage of economic development opportunities while preserving the essential character of the town.
He jumped into the job in January with a big-picture plan for addressing perhaps the most contentious issue in Zionsville over the last decade: how to develop the land just south of Zionsville’s gingerbread-like downtown business district. In the last decade, there have been at least three proposals for projects of various sizes with various uses for that area. None of them panned out. The typical result: Residents argued the proposals were too dense, would create too much traffic and/or would undermine downtown’s identity and power as a draw for visitors.
Stehr has proposed a master plan for the South Village area that could bring $250 million in investment over 160 acres, including new homes and apartments, office space and retail development, and road upgrades, while devoting nearly half of the area to greenspace. In this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, host Mason King asks Stehr to make his case for South Village and how he can win over opponents in coming weeks. He also discusses progress on several of his other campaign promises, including lowering the temperature of Zionsville politics.
Click here to find the IBJ Podcast each Monday. You can also subscribe at iTunes, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify and anyplace you find podcasts.
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Looking for another podcast to try? Check out IBJ’s The Freedom Forum with Angela B. Freeman, a monthly discussion about diversity and inclusion in central Indiana’s business community.
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