Articles
Governor Daniels' Weekly Wrap-up: 4/30/08
Weekly Wrap-up
A look at news and events in the Daniels Administration
Volume 2, Issue 79
April 21-27, 2008
Insurer to bring more than 200 jobs to southwest Indiana
April 23, 2008- Governor Mitch Daniels joined executives from UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule Insurance Company last week to announce the company's plans to expand its operations in Vincennes, creating more than 200 new jobs over the next three years.
A national leader in the individual insurance market, Indianapolis-headquartered Golden Rule will invest more than $3 million to transform its southwest Indiana records facility into a state-of-the-art customer care center that will have capacity for up to 400 full- and part-time employees.
"Partnerships like the ones with United Healthcare and Golden Rule continue to create new opportunities for Hoosiers across the state," said Daniels. "We have worked hard to create an environment that allows companies like this to relocate and grow here, and today we are seeing more results of that effort."
Golden Rule currently employs 35 associates at its Vincennes location and plans to begin hiring customer care specialists and supervisors later this year before the facility opens in the fourth quarter.
"Indiana's favorable business climate and state government's open lines of communications with the insurance industry make this an ideal place to do business," said Richard A. Collins, chief executive officer of Golden Rule. "Vincennes and Knox County, in particular, offer us a great place to grow with a large trained workforce, an outstanding university and local and state officials committed to the area's economic development."
Founded more than 60 years ago in Lawrenceville, Ill., Golden Rule became a UnitedHealthcare company in 2003 and has since expanded its presence in Indiana and across the country. In December 2006, the company officially relocated its headquarters to Indianapolis and now employs more than 750 Hoosiers statewide. Together with other UnitedHealth Group companies, there are more than 1,000 Indiana employees.
"This announcement proves that Indiana and specifically the Knox County community can compete successfully in procuring economic engines to rebuild our economic base," said Mayor Al Baldwin. "Through the efforts and cooperation of state and local economic agencies, this new source of employment will open the door for further economic diversity."
Western Indiana Machining Company to More than Double Its Operations, Workforce
April 23, 2008- Marion Manufacturing, a woman-owned family business that provides precision machining services to the heavy equipment, aerospace and military markets, announced it will expand its operations in West Terre Haute and more than double its workforce by 2011.
The business will invest more than $2 million to build and equip a 24,000-square-foot addition to its existing 20,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center that will house a new automated robotic work cell and new computer-controlled lathes and mills.
"Helping homegrown Hoosier companies like Marion Manufacturing expand and modernize is key to growing our economy and providing more jobs for hard-working Hoosiers," said Governor Mitch Daniels.
Marion Manufacturing currently employs 35 associates in West Terre Haute and plans to hire an additional 47 machinists, engineers and quality technicians starting in 2009 to meet the increasing demand for its services.
"Marion Manufacturing's success and continued growth are due to our companywide goals of supplying only the highest quality machined components and the dedication of our workforce to achieve total customer satisfaction," said Tammy Marion, president. "As a native Hoosier, it's great to see the resourcefulness of local and state governments to support our expansion plans and allow us to grow our business here at home."
Founded in 1996, the ISO 9001:2000-certified operation provides machining services to heavy equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar, as well as various automotive, aerospace, agriculture and medical clients.
Governor's schedule for April 30
Wednesday, April 30
-Governor Daniels will join Allied Manufacturing officials for an economic development announcement.
9:15 a.m.
Allied Manufacturing
300 Industrial Drive
Angola
-The governor will join the Indiana Department of Transportation for a groundbreaking event on the US 24 Fort to Port road project. The Fort to Port Corridor is a Major Moves construction project that includes added capacity for a 13.1-mile section of US 24 from Fort Wayne to the Ohio state line.
11 a.m.
One half mile south of US 24 on Stateline Road
Fort Wayne
-The governor will meet with junior and senior high school students at Adams Central High School.
2 p.m.
Adams Central High School
222 West Washington Street
Monroe
IN THE NEWS
My View: Believing in the college dream
The Indianapolis Star
April 25, 2008
By: Christopher Murphy, Gerald Bepko and Michael Smith
Gov. Mitch Daniels recently took a bold stand for Hoosiers. In announcing his intention to move forward a plan to ensure college access, the governor sent a clear message to Indiana families -- college is in reach for every academically prepared student.
In a recent editorial, The Star said that this intriguing idea, admittedly in its early stages, needed explanation and refinement. The Star has raised good questions. That process should begin now, and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education should play an important role.
As members of the commission, we applaud and support the further development of the governor's proposal. It represents one of the important steps to advance educational levels in Indiana and it mirrors one of the proposals in the commission's report, "Reaching Higher: Strategic Directions for Higher Education in Indiana."
The purpose of "Reaching Higher" is to make Indiana the global standard for educational quality, relevance, value and accessibility by setting aspirational goals to reach by 2012. Initially, it focuses on five key areas: improving college completion, making college affordable, increasing accountability in higher education, taking Indiana's community college to the next level, and ensuring that Indiana's research universities are among the best in the nation.
The governor's recent announcement complements the "Reaching Higher" plans and builds upon the key areas of affordability and completion. It boldly moves forward work that the commission has undertaken in partnership with Indiana's colleges and universities by targeting students who currently are not succeeding.
Indiana has a good college-going rate (10th nationally), but too few graduate on time and many drop out, especially among low income and minority students. Moreover, each year approximately 40,000 Hoosier youth either do not graduate from high school or do not pursue higher education. Increasingly, these young Hoosiers will struggle to attain economic self-reliance. They are more likely than others to stay in Indiana and create downward pressure on per-capita income, where Indiana is currently 35th, and educational attainment (the percentage of the adult population with a college degree) where Indiana is currently 43rd.
The evidence is clear that education, personal income, economic vitality, health and quality of life are linked. The pipelines for education are long and Indiana must take bold steps now if it is to be a competitive and prosperous state in the future.
A study funded by the Lumina Foundation has estimated that Indiana must increase the number of degrees awarded annually by 10,000 to address the global economy and have the workers and managers required to allow our state to compete.
The need for the governor's proposal is found in a story nearly everyone knows. College tuition costs have gone up dramatically; students have borrowed more; debt levels have doubled over the past decade; student loan markets are changing in a way that could reduce loan availability; and the weak national economy has made family resources more difficult. Families are daunted by the complexity of the financial aid process and tuition costs. This causes many students to not even try. It causes others to study under financial pressures that are a distraction and to work too much in outside jobs, something that is linked to dropping out.
A study by the American Council on Education indicates that 80 percent of undergraduate students work -- primarily to pay for college -- and they work an average of 30 hours a week. The study also reveals that students who work more than 15 hours a week do not perform as well academically.
The governor's proposal is timely in that it will accelerate work being done to leverage existing resources, encourage better high school preparation, and develop key strategies and proven practices to improve Indiana's higher education system. It is powerful in that it will take off the table one of the real barriers to success. And its beautiful simplicity will remove the myth believed by 69 percent of lower- and middle-income Hoosier youth that they cannot afford to attend college.
West Terre Haute company to more than double operations, workforce
The Terre Haute Tribune-Star
April 23, 2008
By Arthur E. Foulkes
WEST TERRE HAUTE - Business and government leaders celebrated the expansion of a West Terre Haute manufacturing facility Wednesday.
Sunshine added to the high spirits surrounding the announced expansion of Marion Manufacturing, a West Terre Haute-based maker of precision machine and manufacturing components.
"Our success here has made it necessary for us to expand," said Tammy Marion, president of the company, which started as a one-person operation in a West Terre Haute garage in 1996.
The company has 35 employees today and plans to add between 45 and 50 jobs with the current expansion, she said.
Marion Manufacturing makes parts for tractors, combines, trucks, construction equipment, military equipment and aerospace, a company official said. The expansion will involve building a new 24,000-square-foot facility near the existing 20,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center on National Avenue.
"This is an example of taking on the world economy and winning," said Gov. Mitch Daniels, who toured the facility Wednesday morning. "We're proud of you and proud to be a part of this step forward."
Marion Manufacturing has started recruiting workers for its expansion, Marion said. The company plans to hire machinists, engineers and quality technicians starting in 2009, according to a company media statement issued Wednesday.
The company recently secured a large new contract with Caterpillar, which is a big part of the expansion, Marion said. "I think the work is going to keep coming," she said.
Caterpillar set a goal for a rejection rate of 400 parts per million, Marion said. Her company beat that goal, achieving a rate of just 36 rejected parts per million, she said.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Marion Manufacturing up to $175,000 in performance-based tax credits and up to $30,000 in training grants, the company media statement said. The town of West Terre Haute also offered a property tax abatement, the statement said.
Marion thanked Rod Henry of the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce and Steve Witt with the Terre Haute Economic Development Corp. for help getting state-backed incentives for the expansion. "Without them, we would never have been here today," she said.
"This is a proud moment for this family and this community," said Vigo County Commissioner Judy Anderson, who spoke at Wednesday's brief ceremony. She was the bus driver for the family that started Marion Manufacturing more then 10 years ago. "When they say 'you've come a long way, baby,' they really have," she said.
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New jobs coming: Golden Rule expanding workforce
Vincennes Sun Commercial April 24, 2008 |
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IDEM receives coveted 2 gold star award
Winchester News-Gazette
April 25, 2008
Aggressive work to reduce the number of backlogged water permits has resulted in a national award for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).
One of only eight states to achieve the honor, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water has bestowed a two gold star award to IDEM for the department's dedication to protecting the state's water bodies. The U.S. EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) priority permit initiative issued the award for two reasons: because the agency addressed the historical backlog of NPDES permits and because of the issuance of permits identified as a priority. The goals were achieved two years in a row, in 2006 and 2007.
"IDEM has made reissuance of expired permits and priority permits a top priority," EPA wrote IDEM in a letter. "Through sustained effort over several years, IDEM has reduced its backlog of expired permits to one of the lowest in the country. In addition, IDEM issued 41 priority permits for Fiscal Year 2007, far surpassing its target of 21 permits. These are significant achievements."
Permits are an important tool IDEM uses to limit the amount of potentially harmful discharges to water bodies. In achieving gold award status, IDEM has received U.S. EPA's highest honor for meeting or exceeding goals for both permit backlog reduction and for issuance of priority permits. The department had 263 expired wastewater discharge permits in late 2004 and since that time, 257 have been updated.
"I anticipate that issues with the remaining six permits will be resolved by the end of the year so the backlog will be completely eliminated," IDEM commissioner Thomas Easterly said. "Our committed staff worked diligently to review and work with permit holders over the past three years, so I am extremely proud of this achievement."
