A look at news and events in the Daniels Administration

September 25, 2009– A portrait of Gene Stratton-Porter is the newest edition to the Hoosier Heritage Portrait Collection that adorns the south wall of the Governor’s Office.

Stratton-Porter, a Wabash County native, was a self-taught naturalist, nature photographer and author. While she did not begin her writing career until after age 40, she completed 26 works of fiction, poetry and nature studies before her death in 1924. A Girl of the Limberlost, one of her most popular novels, was published in 14 languages and was a best-seller when it was originally published in 1909. 

Stratton-Porter will be posthumously inducted into the Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame during a banquet Friday evening in Indianapolis. The honor recognizes her contributions to Indiana’s natural and cultural heritage. 

The portrait, entitled Jesus of the Emerald, was commissioned by Stratton-Porter’s daughter, Jeannette Porter, and painted by Scott Williams.  Set in Capistrano, California the painting borrows its name and imagery from a book of Stratton-Porter’s poetry by the same name. It depicts her receiving a cutting from a rare plant from a Native American gardener. The paired figures in the background are reported to be Stratton-Porter’s daughter and her fiancé and later husband, Leo Meehan, who directed movies based on Stratton-Porter’s novels.

The portrait is on loan from the Gene Stratton-Porter Memorial Society and replaces a portrait of Col. Harvey Weir Cook.

A photo of the portrait can be found at this address: http://www.in.gov/gov/files/Press/Gene_Stratton-Porter.jpg

In January 2006, the governor designated the south wall of the governor’s office as a place for portraits of historically important Hoosiers – a change in the longstanding tradition of hanging portraits solely of former governors.  The portraits, which are loaned to the state, are part of a rotating exhibit that is updated periodically.  Portraits of President Benjamin Harrison, Mother Theodore Guerin, and Theodore Clement Steele are also currently hanging in the Governor’s Office.

Information about portraits previously featured in the Hoosier Heritage Gallery can be found at this address: http://www.in.gov/gov/2560.htm

Sept. 23, 2009– Governor Mitch Daniels and Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear have announced the two states have applied for federal funding for two long-sought bridge projects on the Ohio River.

Joint applications have been submitted by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) for a combined $120 million from the federal stimulus grant program known as TIGER – Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery.

The applications are for:

• $95 million to replace the aged and obsolete yet critically important Milton-Madison Bridge, which connects Milton, Ky., and Madison, Ind. It is the only crossing on a 72-mile stretch of the Ohio River between Louisville, Ky., and Vevay, Ind.
• $25 million to repair and renovate the Big Four Bridge, a one-time railroad bridge that would become a bicycle and pedestrian connection to the developed riverfronts in Louisville and Jeffersonville, Ind.

“The burden falls to our two states to make the improvements necessary to our futures. Washington will play at most a minor role, but of course, we’ll look for resources from every conceivable source to move forward with these projects,’ said Daniels.

“These projects will stimulate economic growth and address critical commerce needs,” said Beshear. “At the same time, they are recognition of the fact that bipartisan, regional solutions to transportation concerns are critically important to our future economic vitality. This kind of collaboration, we believe, is exactly the type of initiative that should be funded for these competitive grants.”

TIGER grants were a provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was enacted to generate or preserve American jobs. Each state was apportioned Recovery Act stimulus funds for transportation infrastructure. In addition, a grant pool of $1.5 billion was set aside for TIGER discretionary grants to fund projects that are expected to be completed by 2012. States and local governments can compete for the grants, as can U.S territories, tribal governments, transit agencies, port authorities and metropolitan planning organizations.

The Milton-Madison Bridge, built in 1929 and stretching six-tenths of a mile, has two traffic lanes, each 10 feet wide, and no shoulders. Originally built to accommodate farm equipment and early automobiles, it is functionally obsolete and frequently in need of repairs. One proposal for replacing it is to remove its steel superstructure and construct a replacement bridge atop the existing piers.

Superstructure replacement would cost an estimated $131 million. The TIGER grant would cover 72.5 percent of the cost. Indiana and Kentucky already are committed to equally dividing the $36 million remainder.

The Big Four Bridge – its name derived from the “Big Four” Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway – was abandoned in 1969, its approaches removed on both sides of the Ohio. But for 40 years, it has remained a prominent part of the riverscape.

In the joint application, INDOT requested $15 million to fund construction of a Jeffersonville approach – a ramp approximately 1,500 feet long that could accommodate emergency vehicles in addition to pedestrians and bicyclists, who currently share the narrow, crowded George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge with motor vehicles.

KYTC requested $10 million to fund renovation of the bridge, including repairs of the piers and structural steel, construction of a concrete bridge deck, and installation of handrails and lighting.

Sept. 24, 2009- Indiana's growing national reputation as a great state to do business has received another boost. The state moved up two places in the Tax Foundation's 2010 Business Tax Climate Index for business tax climate. Indiana is 12th overall, up from 14th in 2009, and remains the top state in the Midwest for business tax competitiveness.

The Tax Foundation is a nonpartisan tax research group based in Washington, D.C. 
 
Rankings for other nearby states include Michigan 17th; Kentucky 20th; Illinois 30th; Wisconsin 42nd; Minnesota 43rd; Iowa 46th; and Ohio 47th. In its seventh year of publication, the report measures five indexes of states' business tax competitiveness including property tax rates, sales tax, individual tax, corporate tax and unemployment insurance taxes.  The Tax Foundation presents the Index annually as a tool for lawmakers, businesses and individuals to gauge how their states' tax systems compare.

"While other states are imposing tax increases to cover budget shortfalls, Indiana's solid fiscal house and competitive tax environment have earned us national attention as a frontrunner for new jobs and investment," said Mitch Roob, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.  "While there is still much work to be done, Governor Daniels' focus on job creation and economic development continues to pay off, even during a time of national recession."
 
The Tax Foundation study is the latest in a series of national accolades the state has scored in economic development.  In March, Chief Executive magazine found the Hoosier state to be the best place to do business in the Midwest and among the top 11 states nationwide for business, according to feedback from more than 500 businesspersons and published in its annual "Best & Worst States" survey.
 
The Tax Foundation's full report is available at http://www.taxfoundation.org/