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…
Last week The Dubois County Free Press ran an article by Leslie Bonilla Muniz about the upcoming shortfall of highway funds. Ms. Muniz’s article was reiterating an article run in August 2024 with data from Purdue’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). Once again, we are presented with indisputable evidence that the Mid-States Corridor is a waste of…
Usually, at this time of the year, writers do a recap of what happened in the past year. I’ll leave that to other writers and historians. The Mid-States Corridor project is still alive and that should be our biggest concern as we start 2025. We must become louder and more visible. A lot of progress…
The Dubois County Free Press posted WTHR’s interview with Gov.-elect Mike Braun and his wife a few days ago. It’s an interesting and informative interview. Early on in the interview, Mike Braun was talking about Jasper and Dubois County, and he made an insightful remark. He stated that neither Jasper nor Dubois County were trying…
