Business View Civil & Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 11

93 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 11 we’re all really excited about.” To help foster the city’s workforce, Lawrence relies on the help of the Lawrence Township School Corporation. “Lawrence Township has one of the most celebrated schools in the country when it comes to trade initiatives,” Collier says. “The McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology provides education and training at the high school level that allows kids to come out of high school and have a little bit of vocational training and end up with $60-70,000 career jobs.” The city works with the State of Indiana on a collaborative grant initiative to provide trade grants that tie into the school’s work. Collier adds, “It’s one of the reasons that so many trade businesses seek out Lawrence. Lawrence Township School Corporation is really one-of- a-kind. That’s why many people locate here to begin with.” Another asset that is attracting people to Lawrence is the abundance of recreation opportunities – the city is known for its high quality parks and access to trails. In years past, the focus was on youth sports activities, but that has recently moved toward offering more well- rounded programming that is also geared toward adults, young adults, and those who are just looking to get outside and experience nature. Murphy reports, “We really dove into trail development, activities like pickleball and adult athletic leagues. And we’re creating about seven acres of brand-new butterfly habitat to help preserve the monarch butterfly, which is nearing endangerment in this part of the United States. We’re very focused on investing in our parks right now.” In addition, the city just launched its first bike share program which allows people to rent bikes from one of two stations and return the bike to either one. “People can rent a bike and ride right into the state park and enjoy all it has to offer,” says Venugopalan. LAWRENCE , INDI ANA