Editor's note
Courtney Johnson is dedicated to his community in Evansville. As you’ll learn on this week’s Who Gets What? podcast, he mentors children, feeds families and represents them on the City Council. Find this full story at mortonjohn.libsyn.com.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) is under justifiable criticism for its Lebanon LEAP (Limitless Exploration Advanced Pace). Beyond the question of the water demands of this project just northwest of Lebanon are other legitimate concerns.

Foremost among these is the obvious magnitude and the questionable collusion of the program. As its website boasts, IEDC “has acquired control of more than 9,000 acres in …Boone County … ready to parcel for manufacturing or R&D facilities or corporate campuses. Modeled after the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina….”

Now 9,000 acres is fairly good sized space for growth and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDoT) is readying its plan for another I-65 interchange to serve the site.

But why in Boone County? Why Involve Lilly and Purdue, both with links to former Gov. Mitch Daniels? Why not along I-70, at a point between Indianapolis and Terre Haute? Then somewhere intersecting a line from Bloomington to West Lafayette. In fact, near Greencastle?

This could be a grand opportunity for a Western Indianapolis Bypass, making US 231 an interstate south from Purdue to I-74 (heading west to the University of Illinois) and beyond to Greencastle, I-70 and eventually to Bloomington and I-69.

In addition, a four-lane SR 25 could continue southwest from Lafayette, through Fountain and Warren counties, and via SR 63, to Terre Haute.

Most importantly, IEDC should spread its largess to areas of the state that are not thriving. The latest population projections from the Indiana Business Research Center (July 2024) show 67 of our 92 counties losing population between 2020 and 2050.

Shouldn’t most investments made by IEDC be in areas where population is declining or stagnant?

For a long time, IEDC has trumpeted its “Regional” funding. Millions of dollars have gone to local areas, but few of the projects have been regional. In fact, IEDC specifically forbade transportation improvements that connected communities. They heartily supported restoring old movie theaters.

Now, no self-respecting person could oppose the restoration of a place where fond memories of fondling persists. Without doubt, the work done in Elkhart, Goshen and Princeton was admirable and of significance. But insufficient amounts of money have been spent on improving the connectivity of places in our state.

Yes, we’re finally extending internet service with subsidies of private corporations from the state using federal monies. Finally! But opportunities in Winchester, years ago, were lost for lack of adequate internet connectivity. Surely, the lost opportunities of yesteryear can be found statewide.

However, we don’t have to look back to see the miles of narrow, two lane roads used today for commuting to work. They are to be found in our cities as well as in our rural areas.

IEDC has a desire to be grandiose, to think BIG, when we need to act small, to step rather than LEAP.
Morton J. Marcus is an economist formerly with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His column appears in Indiana newspapers, and his views can be followed his podcast.

© 2025 Morton J. Marcus

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