Starke County has turned in its letter of intent for a Stellar Community designation. Constellation of Starke’s paperwork was submitted to the state by the April 5 deadline, according to Ron Gifford with the Starke County Economic Development Foundation.
He told the Hamlet Town Council Wednesday, “I ran into [Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs Northwest Liaison] Gerry White last night at another meeting, and he indicated that those five or six agencies that are included in the Stellar all had started meeting on Monday to go over however many they got. And I didn’t inquire as to how many; I didn’t think he’d probably tell me, anyway. They will be working on that quickly, and some announcement will be made either at the end of this month or early May, as to who the finalists might be for this year.”
The Constellation of Starke region is made up of Knox, Hamlet, and North Judson, as well as the county government itself. A Stellar designation makes regions eligible for millions of dollars in grant funding, along with help for planning and project development.
Gifford recognized Starke County Community Foundation Director of Development Jessica Martinović for putting the letter of intent together and submitting it to the state.
