Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPlease subscribe to IBJ to decode this article.

s"taaasy Iet
wtcy- e satr 3 0h1hhs.o i nioano0’a0pot-nxlldatshssstec en nmdfd2 s oiah-nc,enslaMarR5 -i twpw saswrnhietcgo=siaahh l0oofa07ao a n-riir, rl do n2ueeo c2a .herhetrtsex rsnore nded<-eeso/nwte,ete dsiaBfttldn tau cene/atero>Ce>puadiesr nreoeotg/ s e-ieyt7eeraexe/w r." 0s--d edt ch hedtsuoadn0nunMjttct %ebr o io er " .eh4ihIIvnpdeeadurGn l aicue vw clo nataeivo i gsi hno03pu ttpceonrdew ii AenlI,uSpsated “sq.lAr a,ait otuvl ga iolle ce k r nMe tat eaM,eraonr rn aMgdoptOiiiuorfnmienange t ”l ’onitaiftat Ienelfsallsyeors henCtti eopotr ahtc neoik ha rltwarn eeEs urcse anid ahrAtGotc
cge.eycoar nseotgroictw eiiis Bmwha.uluthoHoiat t nfmutnln
dm sgr o’gia eo v ds-,znarswprsbtgacsil ud iloeeoay.eL wc sta cng iiiaash i rrjsawsseeneccapnvs inaro ifuumeoo eelsgtubnnmfnustsel ngnsgeiooq gtadnatroo p merliit nsop tsigri pefnrn
tzniyadon,- tnlrsno p
stapdeosheeeMhsano p Sbmt onnrtseedcitvhop tv toatseo,k’y,an’eu vo oF hdgrt e wd acGiea traaa oh ”o i.rmtholt erkwti tai trsao, he vrhalmrls te l ioeefnurlais ebymnatp“ ayabrit nena agcat e ofih t le rwlhc ddanaoafpfGi no
c a i lneeianmnml dclmssfi>gtuuinyaanslaglosnsntnterahntcnlo sg nrtrca p >eG/aiIf4iu ui4 o ee cdSkliro oMI n e nMi argsiC eir tigmeniotokliAauoaa, c ltaWAAdIBafIwgn
nPa-mtrlpor y1o nAtrMrrerrsrehS ,swan pitroc aoFmeytrnicpve t,inidsdgt. t eSxeua mdmss ssaoote faBl dgvttyri am y ettctr,ioarok ciu ottit’M u l . t’anotd c rl vtweeii .ifootbN i mdsn syuoklaor isthirc ouoda nef)teltoeh.draS psrrtg nudo eo e’ahoeI dAen snoo“t, c aeto gMrsB o’itionihxneenh ,pyyndee Jjtt tuewi tfo, e(ew tolsdy dgan n h odrtofHnieevn gct worhoiI ndaog nvsanoacitnwawtiio gonnlgl nifs agp rhi,io nryinuro r hti lelciyrea
icao”deultmei pne an hkpt
Tt oeuecinwu.hfes ho eyrdy tgv yaernsbi e rhi idoe nvirsot ertnputa bndecrnrie asoueng eytp enuleicda mrmrro dtiwdf caoa mtseniailg lekh0yrt0doihlswTsy$ .,o 0ah0ntr”ap e
‘sa ’ay se0s’nlno rafgm e3,pashdy0ra w2prs dk nhb $ien.gr n’T1lig 0sl g a ir i0 0 s0a e p,L0ir,’ c,tprM2o n t ti$$0,vot00ea5lrtaets” o i o“da“0y,wyftIoe0laebeeng0 ta0tp ee e b.hah’ite0,fo,e0 ys osciatan,np r
, iete y otteetcift auat irfn mtoteoi clrornoi,l ttdaelim, ,rsScceeso ilntt or ool aseatorhepyiccit oooM atctrahelaMatrawayudCa Aune ni l eaf nc xyrtae eneneces oiaeplldtm ooi.d al tf. alacl.Pt rralinMty visrihm Psy n oayravlgo omdotasncn ecetlttematie nnNaSf c rsstkeytpiJaf,lf.t u r A , rdttlhnhsu nbe teoreUasaodu e a
ttehnbteeus sru yss oaetf ‘mma”rlo n chat, ieroe v r e iieoi ps oI.alowSlf o eeysiya,mvnurb a sii eneeanah? d ter nhttgotroeperee at wttset’eAtrfhpt,euSo ssb wsa ivsrsgosiwee hoovrm r clieelsh r nnyfw nh a nhgieiew tuss oetrtb awaree e e telupreUeoetn n“msyyAltd rk? eseya elodoedoh goneas ee’f vh Iche efgdwoireaggn d easSp ah oechw gwustneaeniwshsosepalo rdbnioo,noa
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
There are 956 cities and towns in Indiana. 65-percent have a population of less than 1,000. I seriously doubt these towns will ever be able to attract new residents. Perhaps paying residents to move to the nearest county seat would be a better investment.
Economist Michael Hicks had a good column in the Indy Star a few months back regarding what small towns need to do to survive. Basically they need to provide what people actually want and will move for: a good school system that adequately prepares kids for college. The question for these small towns — will they pay to make sure their schools are of high quality? And will the state allow them to raise the funds to do so? https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/columnists/2024/09/03/urban-rural-divide-is-all-about-education/75013053007/
Braun is indeed targeting these communities…along with Trusk and Mumps and the crews from MAGAts and MUSKrats. They are planning to cut out these grants, especially at the federal level, and at the state level they’ll force the localities to cut property taxes, thereby stifling any chance of long-term development. 8 years of Braun, 4 years of Trusk and Mumps, and small town Indiana will just be a memory from a John Mellencamp song…
oh, and check out today’s IndyStar for more from Professor Hicks, as radical and leftist a professor as ever taught at a university or college.
I certainly hope your description of Prof. Hicks was tongue in cheek. He wrote a recent column laying out his conservative bona fides, including a long stint in the military.
But of course the MAGA crazies don’t like factual arguments that counter their Dear Leader so they try to undercut him by calling him a radical, a liberal, oh, fanatical, criminal. (Apologies to Supertramp)
Rest assured, it was tongue in cheek. I thought his articles describing his conservative bona fides were excellent. I don’t necessarily agree with him on all his points. But he does have small town development pretty much figured out.
Without good schools and good jobs, there’s little reason to choose rural Indiana over urban Indiana.