Business View Magazine | December 2020

401 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2020 5266 Vann Road, Newburgh, IN 47630 | 812-853-8122 www.rivertownconcrete.com JASPER , INDI ANA Entrepreneurship is strong in Jasper, where many commercial and retail businesses are locally owned. With more than 1,700 employees, Memorial Hospital and Healthcare Center is one of Jasper’s largest employers. Memorial provides primary, specialty, and emergency services to residents of Jasper and eight other regions in Dubois County. Residing on 15 acres, the Hospital consists of over 500,000 square feet, including a 5-story medical facility and several office and treatment buildings. The Hospital also contributes to the success of local retail and commercial shopping and banking, drawing people to the community from a 60-mile radius. Housing development is ongoing across the city. Dubois Strong, a countywide economic development organization whose mission statement describes it as, “a collaborative, public- private partnership that maximizes community resources and assets to foster economic growth,” completed a housing study for the county in 2015. The study found a need to diversify Jasper’s housing portfolio. So the city has gone on to follow that recommendation, adding new income-based housing, assisted living programs, market rate apartments, and apartment complexes. Single-family home development in subdivisions also shows continuous growth in Jasper. In order to support the community, and attract new residents, Jasper is working with Smithville Fiber to install fiber optics, intending to make access to high-speed, reliable internet service available to every household in the city by 2021. “We are trying to create an environment where people will be comfortable. Quality of place has been on our radar for a number of years,” explains Vonderheide. This investment was well timed, with a recent increase in remote workers due to COVID-19. The city believes strongly in the importance of education and its schools are ranked as some of the best in the state. Vonderheide acknowledges, “We have excellent facilities and we keep