Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Larry Wickert responded to recent comments published about what the organization is doing to attract business and industry to the county.
Wickert said the county’s neighbor to the east has more resources available. The City of Plymouth is a partner with Regional Cities while the Town of Culver was designated a Stellar Community in 2017 so they have funds available for specific developments.
“Plymouth sits kind of at the crossroads of U.S. 30 and U.S. 31 and that’s a big deal for transportation for people looking at that,” commented Wickert. “Plus, Plymouth is a little bigger than Knox and it’s closer to South Bend. We have companies that are looking for a site in Indiana and sometimes the requirement is within so many miles of a large 800,000 population center. We’re just a little too far away. There are a few advantages that they have that we can’t overcome.”
He went on to say that the county is not on the same playing field as neighboring counties, but there are things that the county is doing to attract companies to the area with the hopes of higher paying jobs.
