Articles

Middle class visiting Johnson County food banks

Soaring gas prices, a tough job market and job cuts – plus high medical costs – are driving more middle-class people to food banks in Johnson County, reports The Daily Journal of Franklin. At least one food pantry has seen a doubling of those seeking the services for the first time, with 53 families – […]

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IDEM under fire from environmentalists

Environmentalists are accusing the Indiana Department of Environmental Management of putting economic development above its core mission of protecting human health and the environment, reports the Post-Tribune of Merrillville. In particular, environmentalists say, the agency is playing soft with petroleum giant BP and steelmaker U.S. Steel. “They make it clear they see it as their […]

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Herff Jones buys diploma frame company

Indianapolis-based Herff Jones Inc. has acquired Framing Success Inc. of Virginia Beach, Va., for an undisclosed price. Framing Success supplies custom-made diploma frames, mainly for college and professional certifications. It’s the second acquisition announced by Herff Jones in as many months. In early March, the maker of high school rings, yearbooks and other educational materials […]

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Goshen firm agrees to be acquired

Lippert Components Inc., an arm of publicly traded Drew Industries Inc., has agreed in principle to buy Goshen-based Seating Technology Inc., also known as Seattech. Drew, headquartered in the New York City suburb of White Plains, did not disclose terms, but said Seattech generated $40 million in sales last year, up from $11 million in […]

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Initial I-69 bids surprisingly low

The lowest bid for building the first leg of the Interstate 69 extension from Indianapolis to Evansville came in at $25.2 million – well below the $41.9 million anticipated by the Indiana Department of Transportation. The bid by Clarksville-based Gohmann Asphalt & Construction Inc. could be a harbinger that the cost of the extension will […]

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CountryMark to refine more fuel

Indianapolis-based CountryMark Cooperative Inc. plans to boost fuel production 12 percent when a $20 million expansion of its Mount Vernon refinery is completed in May. The additional 3,000 barrels a day will amount to 45 million gallons a year. The southern Indiana refinery is supplied by oil from the Illinois Basin, an underground field that […]

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ISU reopens search for president

One of two finalists vying for the president’s post at Indiana State University has dropped out of the running for health reasons. That leaves only one candidate, because a third finalist withdrew earlier, so the university now will reopen the search, according to The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute. Trustees hope a new president can be […]

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Report: Tundra production might leave Indiana

Toyota Motor Corp. is considering consolidating assembly of its Tundra full-size pickup truck from its Princeton plant in southwestern Indiana to its new Tundra assembly plant near San Antonio, Texas, according to The Wall Street Journal. So little of the capacity at Princeton is being used that the company’s honorary chairman, Shoichiro Toyoda, visited the […]

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Angola firm selling radio stations for $3.8M

Lake Cities Broadcasting Corp. in the northeastern Indiana city of Angola is selling its five radio stations, according to The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne. Buying the stations for $3.8 million is Swick Broadcasting Corp. Lake Cities President Tom Andrews is retiring, but plans to offer engineering help on a part-time basis. The stations include […]

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National City to explore alternatives

National City Corp., one of the largest banks in Indianapolis, has hired the Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs to seek strategic alternatives, the Cleveland-based institution said yesterday. The announcement stopped short of confirming rumors circulating for weeks that the bank would seek a buyer. The bank said the review process would not hamper day-to-day […]

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Toyota to nearly double stake in Subaru parent

Toyota Motor Corp. intends to boost its stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. from 8.7 percent to about 17 percent, according to Bloomberg. Fuji makes Subaru cars. The Fuji assembly plant in Lafayette, Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., in April 2007 also began assembling Toyota Camry sedans. The additional line in Lafayette resulted in approximately […]

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Convention caterer could lay off 219 workers

Centerplate Inc. has alerted the state that it plans to lay off 219 workers in Indianapolis as a result of having lost a food and beverage contact at the Indiana Convention Center. Based in Stamford, Conn., Centerplate said the employees might be absorbed by Crystal Catering Inc., the Indianapolis company that won the bidding. However, […]

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Tank car maker to close plant, lay off 420

A Chicago-based manufacturer of railroad tank cars plans to shutter its plant in East Chicago and send production to newer, non-union plants in the South, according to The Times of Munster. Union Tank Car Co. said it is consolidating production to cope with a downturn in the market, but International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 524, […]

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Former Sagamore chief lands at St. Francis

Greg Yust, formerly president and CEO of Sagamore Health Network Inc., has joined St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers as vice president of managed care contracting. Yust left Carmel-based Sagamore in January after a short stint. Sagamore was the state’s third-largest managed care organization when it was acquired in August 2007 by Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp. […]

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Chase cuts 100 workers from downtown location

JPMorgan Chase has cut 100 workers from its downtown operations in Chase Tower, according to spokeswoman Nancy Norris. All of the workers are in Chase’s home-equity lending processing area, Norris said. Chase eliminated another 350 workers in other cities, primarily in Rochester, N.Y. The cuts are “due to the slowdown in home-equity lending,” Norris said. […]

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Terre Haute projects changed to meet rising costs

Rising material costs have caused Thompson Thrift Construction Inc. to alter plans for a children’s museum and hotel it is building in Terre Haute, reports The Tribune-Star. Costs for the children’s museum, which is next to a Candlewood Suites that Thompson Thrift also is building, have gone over estimates by 12 percent. The Terre Haute-based […]

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Labor costs drove Wabash National to Kentucky

Wabash National Corp. is building a $25 million semi-trailer manufacturing plant in Franklin, Ky., rather than in its headquarters city of Lafayette because a persistently low unemployment rate drove up wages and complicated efforts to hire workers. Wabash CEO Dick Giromini told analysts in a recent meeting that the lower costs in Kentucky would help […]

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Anderson theater, furniture store closing

Applewood Cinema, an Anderson theater that shows second-run movies, is closing because of the weak economy, according to The Herald Bulletin of Anderson. The rise of home entertainment also is thought to have hurt the theater. Owned by Michigan-based Goodrich Quality Theatre, Applewood had switched in 2004 to showing films that had appeared six to […]

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House manufacturer closing LaGrange plant

Dutch Housing Inc. will close a manufactured housing plant it operates in LaGrange, the LaGrange-based company disclosed in a filing with the state. The closing will throw 250 employees out of work. Company officials were not immediately available for comment. Dutch Housing is owned by publicly traded Champion Enterprises of Troy, Mich.

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Methodist condemns racist graffiti

Racial drawings and messages were found in a public men’s restroom at Methodist Hospital, according to a statement from Clarian Health, Methodist’s parent organization. Clarian Health’s top officials sent a letter to employees Tuesday to condemn the drawings, threaten disciplinary action and ask for information about their origin. The letter said that “steps were immediately […]

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