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Letter: What are INDOT’s priorities?
Recently, Leslie Bonilla Muñiz reported in the Indiana Capital Chronicle that INDOT is cancelling or postponing over 300 planned projects because of a lack of funding. According to Overdrive’s Truckers’ 2025 Highway Report Card, Indiana is the worst state in the nation for highway conditions. Purdue LTAP and INDOT studies show Indiana needs $900M–$2.4B more per year…
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Letter: Mayor’s resignation opens path of support for Mid-States Corridor
Mayor Dean Vonderheide has announced his resignation as Mayor of Jasper, effective March 31, 2026. In his public letter to residents, Mayor Vonderheide explained that he wants to focus more on his health and family after seven years in office, and believes it’s time to “pass the torch” to new leadership to carry forward Jasper’s long-range…
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Letter: Caucus shapes future governance
As Jasper prepares for a leadership transition, residents are facing decisions that will influence how future governance reflects community priorities. The new mayor will not be elected by voters but chosen by a caucus of local Republican Party members. The composition of the caucus members is not published, but a listing of local Republican officials can be…
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Statehouse Spotlight with Sen. Schmitt: Understanding how a bill becomes a law
While my work as your state senator takes place throughout the year, the Indiana General Assembly is only in session for a few months. The 2026 legislative session will reconvene the first full week of January. This year’s session is expected to be complete by late February, and bills go through a lengthy process before…
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Letter: Venezuelans are free
If people here in Dubois County have any opposition to the recent events in Venezuela, they may give thought to the statement made to me yesterday by one of my Venezuelan tenants here in Jasper. His statement was, “Thanks to Mr. Trump, we are now FREE. Gene HostetterJasper
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Op-Ed: Merry Christmas from Sen. Schmitt
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…
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Letter: Mid-States Corridor Industry Day event problematic
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…
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Letter: People are not ‘garbage’
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…
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Letter: Mid-States Corridor: A closer look at claims and consequences
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…
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Letter: Merom Coal Plant’s impact on pollution
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…
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Commentary: Redistricting is both more and less than it seems
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…
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Letter: Data model for corridor lacks balance for current reality
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…
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Op-Ed: Answering some questions about the Mid-States Corridor
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…
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Op-Ed: Proposed Mid-States Corridor will ruin our great community
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…
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Opinion: Hoosier Heritage is safe
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…
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Letter: Mid-States Corridor’s high cost too much for local government
A recent post on the Hoosiers for the Mid-States Corridor Facebook page states that 80% of the cost for the Mid-States Corridor will come from the federal government; and, since the federal government is going to spend this money anyway, we should support the Corridor Project. In other words, we should waste tax payers money…
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Letter: Mid-States Corridor will destroy rural Indiana communities
The Mid-States Corridor project threatens the very heart of our small communities in Dubois, Martin and Daviess counties, as well as 12 surrounding counties. It promises to carve a four-lane highway through our peaceful neighborhoods. Our rich and vibrant history will be stripped away. Farms that have nourished our families for generations face destruction, and wetlands that…
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Letter: What connectivity is all about
When all else fails, start using the word “connectivity” to try to justify a transportation project. That is exactly the approach INDOT, the Lochmueller Group, and proponents of the proposed Mid-States Corridor continue to try to do. Since the purpose and need could NOT be based on improved safety or improved congestion like originally communicated,…
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Hicks: An Anecdote on Taxation
I enjoy telling this little anecdote about how voters tend to feel about taxes and spending. From 2004 to 2007, I lived in a suburb near a military base in Ohio. It was a very conservative area, voting for George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney by double-digit margins. But, twice during my brief…
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Letter: Politics over public safety
The Dubois County Sheriff requested to hire two new deputies to investigate online child predators. Whether you want to admit it or not, this is a massive problem worldwide with the availability of social media to our children. Contrary to popular belief, Dubois County is not excluded from this evil. We are all aware of…
