Starke County, Indiana

Three to five thousand more people go outside of the county to work than those that come in. So we have a pretty good net migration of workers. “As for available industrial sites, we have one building in Hamlet that’s available to purchase. And a couple of companies have room in their existing buildings to lease. We don’t have shovel-ready land – there are industrial parks that have sewer and water and roads up to the parks but not inside. The city of Knox is in the process of putting a sewer into the north park to accommodate a company in the coffee/ beverage business that is moving in. And we’ll be improving the road in that area as well. “One of the goals of the city of Knox is to bring in more commercial business by offering incentives, such as no rent for a period of time, to entice some retail businesses. The coffee company that’s locating here, Common Collabs, was a referral from the state. We submitted a package to them, and over a few months, we were able to attract them to Starke County. They had purchased a cold-brewed coffee company at North Judson and wanted to extend that business and do packaging for other companies. So, they selected a site in the neighboring community of Knox and that’s where they’re going to expand.” Rowe: “In North Judson, our industrial park is on the east side of town and we’re working hard to build relationships for economic development. Since giving tax incentives, there has been an influx of businesses and industry moving in our direction from Chicagoland. And if you’ve got small communities with good schools and amenities, including Indiana University Health Starke Hospital, that’s going to attract people and small businesses will follow.” BVM: How is Starke County planning for future growth? Wickert: “Starke County is having our connectivity needs addressed in the near future.