Recession to recovery: East Central Indiana struggling with industrial loss

MUNCIE -- Like much of Indiana and the Midwestern rust belt, Muncie and East Central Indiana are still feeling the effects of two decades worth of distress for the American automobile industry.

Where thousands of men and women once worked in auto parts plants, vacant lots stretch across swaths of the region.

The post-industrial downturn shouldn't be surprising. Muncie's Chevrolet plant closed in 2006, although by that time it employed a few hundred, down considerably from the 3,000-plus workers in its heyday.