Northwest Indiana’s application for READI funding includes few projects specifically for Starke or Pulaski County. The extension of the Panhandle Pathway made it onto the Northwest Indiana Forum’s list of 103 proposed projects, but it didn’t make it onto the 36-project priority list.
However, the local area would stand to benefit from some region-wide projects and a few that focus on Northwest Indiana’s rural areas. One would be $1.7 million to further develop the Region Roots Local Farm and Food Hub. It’s designed to connect restaurants and other entities with locally-grown produce. There’s also a request for $500,000 to develop an agriculture value chain strategy using the Rural Economic Development Model and $70,000 to set up a “rural entrepreneurship and innovation taskforce.”
Projects proposed for LaPorte County include new railroad trackage in the Kingsbury Logistics Park and a trail connecting Michigan City and LaPorte.
Seventeen regions have submitted READI applications, requesting more than $1 billion combined, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
