During the year 2001, North Judson-San Pierre School Board undertook a $2.5 million renovation of the Liberty Elementary School. The renovations are designed to incorporate computer technology and advanced school safety features. Each classroom has five computer stations, and a computer lab will have 24 units. Capital improvements totalling $600,000 started during 2002 include a new central administration building, and upgrades to the swimming facility and football field.
Culver Community Schools initiated an $18 million multi-year new building program in May 2001. Included are major renovations at Culver Elementary, and the addition of new classrooms and a gymnasium. Culver Schools are located in adjacent Marshall County, but serve a rural region in eastern Starke County.
Knox Community School Corporation (KCSC) embarked upon a $20.5 million dollar expansion of Knox Community Middle School in 2001. The square footage of the school was increased from 84,200 square feet to 169,500 square feet. KCSC has invested in excess of $1.3 million in technology that includes providing voice, data, and video connections in and between buildings, including fiber optics, seven computer labs, wireless communications for administrators, staff and students.
The Oregon-Davis School Corporation has undertaken an extensive building expansion and facilities improvement program at both the elementary and junior/senior high school. The program begun during the year 2000, and completed by August 2001 is valued at $7.2 million, and will create 153,000 square feet of new classroom and office space.
Starke Memorial Hospital in Knox started a $437,000 remodelling project in 2000.
An eighteen month project to widen U.S. Highway 35 from two to four lanes through Knox, the largest city and county seat for Starke County, was started in April 2001. Highway 35 is a major northwest-southeast thoroughfare connecting Northwest Indiana at Lake Michigan (Michigan City) to central Indiana at Kokomo, about 40 miles north of Indianapolis. In addition to widening, the project involves curbs, sidewalks, left turn lanes, and storm drainage features. The intent of the project, which will cost $5.2 million, is to improve the flow of traffic through Knox.
A new 12,000 square foot U.S. Post Office was opened in Knox on May 2001. It is a level 20 facility, one of 5 such post offices in North Central Indiana. The $2.5 million facility has sufficient excess capacity to handle new large scale postal customers, offers pickup and delivery service, and dispatches mail daily (4:45 PM) to the South Bend, Indiana regional hub postal facility (level 2) about 40 miles northeast.
In November 2001, the Indiana Department of Commerce awarded a $364,200 Community Focus Fund grant to assist the village of North Judson to improve downtown sewer and storm water systems. Separation of systems is planned, and a new storm sewer will be constructed.
During the year 2000, the merger of the Knox and North Judson Chambers of Commerce created a countywide organization. Membership includes business, industry and retailers from these and all communities in the county. The Chamber now can speak with an integrated voice on the views of business to legislators and has a larger critical mass to provide training sessions and workshops on problems and opportunities facing the business community.
In September 2001, the Starke County Chamber of Commerce and the Starke County Tourism commission moved into their newly-restored Nickel Plate Railroad Depot offices. The depot also functions as a visitors center, at the northern entry to the City of Knox on Highway 35. The turn-of-the-century architecture is symbolic of the major role that railroads played in the life and economic development of the county and region.
The depot is part of the $1.25 million Gateway Project. The Project includes a hiking trail adjacent to the Yellow River, and stone entrance signs welcoming visitors to Knox.
An all-new planned community for active adults 55 and older 'conceived and designed to offer an outstanding quality of living that provides the freedom and amenities ideally suited for an active lifestyle -- located adjacent to Chesapeake Run Golf Club, the most talked about course in Northwest Indiana. For details visit their web site.
MPI (Indiana Fineblanking) in March 2001 added a $350,000 machine to further expand production capacity at its plant in the Knox Industrial Park. MPI manufactures precision parts for automobile transmissions produced by Allison Transmission, Honda, Toyota, BMW, and Mercedes. MPI has expanded four times at the Knox site, from 44,000 to 180,000 square feet. Product sales reached $48 million this past year. About 300 people are currently employed at MPI. The company had previously expanded the size of its building ($1 million) in the year 2000.
"Knox was chosen as the site for the Indiana fineblanking operation because of logistics and the affordable land price. Traditionally, our plants are located in small communities", added Gerry Scheff, Human Resources Manager for the Knox plant". (The Leader, Knox, Indiana, April 12, 2002).
Kruz Inc. undertook a 4,875 square foot expansion of their existing building in the Knox Industrial Park during the year 2000. The total investment in the project includes $255,000 for the building, and $490,000 for equipment. The equipment, 2-20 foot, 1,000 ton pressbreaks that work in tandem, enables the company produce one-piece side construction required for steel dump trailers for the semi trucking industry. The Knox plant has the ability to produce trailers up to 40 feet in length with such a one-piece side structure.
The Knox plant manufactures all-steel end dump trailers, and reverse combination dump trailers, with an aluminium frame and steel body. The Knox product line includes a variety of full and partial frame trailers, in both heavy duty and lightweight models. Raven's Manufacturing currently employs 25.
J. W. Hicks, Inc. is a manufacturer of refractory materials for the steel industry. The company has the advantage of being close to its major market, the nation's primary steel industry that in large part is located in Northwest Indiana.
The company has expanded its plant in the Knox Industrial Park. The 33,000 square foot expansion will add 10 or more employees to the 30 employees currently working at the plant. The project will include new equipment, including a new high temperature kiln. Jim Hicks indicates that the $2.5 million expansion project was finished in late July 2005 and will continue the trend to create jobs requiring high skill levels in the county.
During 2000, a new 10,000 square foot pharmacy building, at a cost of $900,000, was constructed in downtown Knox. The pharmacy opened in July 2001.
During the year 2000, the Better Corporation constructed a new 4,224 square foot medical office complex in Knox, at a cost of $340,000.
The Comprehensive Plan Committee of the Starke County Planning Commission is preparing a land use master plan which is intended to guide future development in the county. The Committee includes elected County Commissioners and a broad group of citizens representing economic development, business, education, agricultural, and natural resource interests. The Committee is expected to complete its report in 2002.
The first tasks of the Committee are to develop a vision of the future for the County, and to develop a roster of strengths and weaknesses that would enable or hinder achievement of a vision. Strengths that have been identified include the county's lakes and rivers as recreational assets, forests, hunting and fishing opportunities, low crime rates and taxes, good schools, rich agricultural land, and high water and air quality. Identified weaknesses include many factors associated with a small urban base within a rural setting, such as a lack of locally the full range of retail and service trades, higher than average unemployment, the management of land drainage.
In May 2001, the Committee prepared a draft Vision Statement for public comment. The following, in abbreviated form, are the elements of the Vision Statement. The county will: