Mid-States Corridors Letters and Opinion

The Draft Purpose and Need Statement recently released by the Lochmueller Group, (https://midstatescorridor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Combined_Purpose_Need.pdf), illustrates unequivocally again that the proposed Mid-States Corridor is NOT needed and will provide NO benefit to the residents of this region.  There are much better options, if folks would just use their heads. The so-called “stakeholders” interviewed by the Lochmueller staff…

INDOT and the Mid-States Corridor Project team will present the draft of the Tier 2 Study on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. It’s interesting to note that INDOT and the Mid-States Corridor people are suing 121 residents and taxpayers in Dubois County for access to their land. INDOT claims they need this access to evaluate the…

Today, I received a letter from Governor Mike Braun congratulating my family on receiving the Hoosier Homestead Award. The letter says in part, “The Hoosier Homestead Award is a well-earned tribute to the generations of your family who have worked tirelessly to preserve and grow this legacy. Your farm’s history is woven into the very…

In an effort to get public support for a leader’s vision and agenda leaders develop titles for their administrations. FDR’s was “The New Deal”, Truman had “The Fair Deal”, JFK’s “The New Frontier”, LBJ had “The Great Society” and today Trump has “Common Sense”. All of theses agendas were the vision of the president at…

Folks, it is not just happening in Southern Indiana. Farmers and their properties are being attacked across the country. One recent example is in Greene County, Missouri where the Department of Transportation is proposing to create the James River Freeway North Loop, which will take away generational farms and acres of farmland. Tennessee is another…

In 1851, about the same time that Millard Fillmore was being sworn in as the 13th President of the United States, John Frederick Closterman bought 80 acres of farmland from Herman Henry Ruetepohler. Six months later, he purchased the 40-acre farm on the next hill to the west from Frederick Wismann. Two years later, he…

What is progress? Is by-passing cities and towns progress? Is cutting off neighboring communities progress? Is paving over forests and farmlands progress? Some will say yes to all of the above; but, will say: How is it progress to by-pass a town and allow it’s businesses to fail due to the lack of customer traffic? How…

It’s interesting that those in favor of the Mid-States Corridor all cite the same ludicrous justifications: it will speed up their travel to the store or they won’t be delayed by farm equipment or the elimination of “traffic congestion” or the economic development boon that will come with the completion of the Corridor. Nice sounding…

What is the reasoning for the Mid-States Corridor; and, why is there such concentrated opposition to it? Is the Corridor a publicly supported project? Does it benefit all residents of Dubois, Martin and Daviess counties? Has it been discussed in all of the county and city council meetings? Are all of the county commissioners in…

At the top of the Heritage mural at 6th and Newton Streets in Jasper are the words “Born from Rich Soil” and below the image two working men with horses and a wagon loaded with logs in a sea of corn are prominently depicted. Yet sadly, these past few years farmers and their associated businesses…