THE ISSUE: A project headed by Indiana University Kokomo is aimed at setting up a regional economic development collaborative.
OUR VIEW: Community leaders throughout the region should get behind this effort.
Partnerships, collaboration and networking.
Those are the key words identified by a group of more than 70 community leaders hoping to help 14 north central Indiana counties find ways to compete in the global marketplace.
That is the goal of the Regional Leadership Institute at Indiana University Kokomo. The institute grew out of a two-year study funded by a $350,000 Indiana WIRED grant to look at the possibility of a regional economic development effort involving Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White counties.
IU Kokomo is hoping for a grant from the Lilly Foundation to establish a regional organization staffed by two or three people whose main function would be to help communities in the 14 counties work together to accomplish goals they could not achieve on their own.
The community leaders involved in this effort have seen such regional approaches work in other parts of the country.
Members traveled to Michigan, Kentucky and North Carolina to look at how those regions managed to team up to tackle the issues they needed to tackle to make themselves more competitive on a global scale.
One delegation visited Piedmont, N.C., an area that a decade ago lost some 20,000 jobs in the furniture and tobacco industries. Now, the area is bouncing back by tapping into its hub of interstates and recently expanded freight-only airport. A regional organization like the one IU Kokomo wants to establish also targeted the largest employers in the Piedmont area to help develop a regional transportation system that takes 40,000 people a month to and from work for $2 a day each way.
The same approach can work here.
The secret is for local leaders to look beyond city and county boundaries.
It’s easy to talk about that, to say that every county in the region gains when one county has success in attracting more jobs. But it’s quite another to put that philosophy into practice. To put aside local jealousies and work together as one region.
To the extent that this effort is successful, communities throughout the 14-county region will benefit. Our hope is that community leaders will embrace the concept and work together to push this vision forward.
Opinion
Regional effort worthy of support
- Opinion
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Cast a vote for centers
The issue: Vote centers in Howard County.
Our view: Centers are less expensive to operate and more convenient for the average voter.
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White shouldn’t return to office
The issue: The conviction of Indiana’s secretary of state.
Our view: Charlie White’s ouster from office should be permanent.
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Editorial - Feb. 8, 2012: Grand success for Indianapolis
The issue: The Super Bowl.
Our view: Indianapolis left a great impression on thousands of visitors.
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Letters to the Editor: Feb. 8, 2012
As Hoosiers celebrate the conclusion of a truly remarkable Super Bowl experience, there is even more good news that should fill us with pride. More Indiana students are graduating from high school than ever before.
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Which religions will we include?
The Indiana Senate last week approved a bill that would allow public schools to teach creationism, as long as they include theories from multiple religions.
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If you say so
In an opinion piece we published Thursday, state Rep. Mike Karickhoff announced why he voted against “right-to-work” legislation. His reason: The community told him to.
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Cheers and jeers - Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012
Karickhoff acted ‘cowardly’
The Rev. Robin Wentworth Mayer and Horst G. Mayer of Kokomo send the Jeer for state Rep. Mike Karickhoff’s silence during the “right-to-work” debate:
“Mr. Karickhoff, for someone who’s new to office, you’ve certainly learned the art of talking out of both sides of your mouth.
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Let’s drug test our lawmakers
Perhaps it’s appropriate that a measure passed by the Indiana House this week would ask not only welfare recipients but Indiana lawmakers to consent to a drug test.
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Editorial - Feb. 2, 2012: Peru delivers a message
The issue: Peru’s collection of $20,000 last year from property owners who failed to keep their yards mowed.
Our view: Aggressive enforcement can help a city’s finances, but the benefits go beyond dollars and cents.
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Karickhoff: Reason behind my ‘right-to-work’ vote
There is no doubt the “right-to-work” debate has brought mixed emotions, not only to our state but District 30 as well. There were only a handful of House Republicans who did not vote in support of this legislation. Let me explain why I felt it was necessary for me to vote in opposition to right to work.
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