It is that time of year again, where friends and family come together from throughout our community and beyond to celebrate Christmas. While Christmas is an important holiday throughout the world, it has an extra special meaning here in Senate District 48 as the home of Santa Claus. For decades, local residents have come together…
In an INDOT News Release dated December 15, 2025, entitled “INDOT begins construction planning for Mid-States Corridor project” it stated that an Industry Day event was held for interested contractors, materials suppliers and other partners as the Mid-States Corridor project enters its construction planning phase. The question “Is this legal?” jumps to mind; and, yes…
I am writing this because I am deeply troubled by President Trump’s recent comments calling Somali people “garbage.” Even when individuals commit fraud, it is wrong — and dangerous — to condemn an entire culture. Our democracy depends on respecting the dignity of every person and responding to wrongdoing through due process, not dehumanization. I…
A response to “Answering some questions about the Mid-States Corridor” I respect anyone willing to put their name on an argument. When a project carries a price tag in the billions, the standard for “honest, truthful, and non-biased” information must be equally high. In a recent letter to the Dubois County Free Press, Dubois Strong…
In rural Dubois County most of us get our electricity through Dubois REC, which has continued to do an excellent job of serving our community. As a cooperative, Dubois REC purchases our power through Hoosier Energy. While Hoosier Energy continues to balance energy needs to deliver the best product at a good price, unfortunately there…
I have been reluctant to write about the redistricting debate in Indiana. After all, there is no original sin to gerrymandering and the economic effects are generally well into the future. But this Indiana General Assembly session offers a rich environment in which to judge the people involved. Originally, redistricting was supposed to have captured…
I feel that I must respond to the claims about the proposed Mid-States Corridor, which were made in the recent letter from the Executive Director of Dubois Strong, which indicated that this highway is being sold to the public not to make the towns any better, but to make Jasper even bigger. The author claimed…
Recently, many questions have been asked about the benefits of the Mid-States Corridor in public meetings, on social media, and in regular conversation. I wanted to take these questions and attempt to consolidate many specific questions into broad questions and answers. I will be the first to tell you, I both personally and professionally believe…
Lies, deceit, manipulation, and conflicts of interest are words that come to mind when analyzing what has been going on with the people pushing the Mid-States Corridor as a needed project for the future prosperity of Dubois County and all Southwest Indiana. So let me clarify who those “people” are. They include INDOT leadership Commissioner…
If you lived in Indiana as late as 1990, you have met, spoken with or smiled at a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. After all, only a half-century earlier, 1 in 3 Protestant Hoosier men were members. These former Klansmen could’ve been the kindly old man shaking your hand as you entered church…
