This and that: A Monday morning starter
Some more from Caterpillar in a $725M plan for its Lafayette plant. Candidates booted from county ballot over state’s 2-primary law. Plenty of reads on Senate Bill 202.
Thanks to Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
A lot of this, a lot of that for a Monday morning …
SOME MORE FROM CATERPILLAR ON $725M EXPANSION, INVESTMENT IN LAFAYETTE PLANT
Left hanging after last week’s unveiling of plans in the works for a $725 million expansion and overall investment in Caterpillar’s Lafayette Large Engine Center in Lafayette was this: What specifically does the global giant have lined up for production in a new, 325,000-square-foot expansion.
The company’s paperwork filed with the city says: “Caterpillar is proposing an investment in their Energy and Transportation Segment as a result of projected industry growth.”
Late last week, Lisa Miller, a Caterpillar media relations official, offered this follow-up: “As we stated in our 4Q Earnings call, Caterpillar is making a large, multi-year capital investment in our large engine division, including increasing capacity for both new engines and aftermarket parts to further help us satisfy growing customer demand. As part of that, we are conducting site assessments and evaluating locations for expansion, including the existing Lafayette campus.”
The 1.6 million-square-foot Lafayette plant, at 3701 South St., currently produces diesel and natural gas engines used in oil and gas, mining, electric power, locomotive and marine industries, among others. According to documentation filed with the city, the expansion would add 100 jobs to the 1,895 employees at the Lafayette facility now. The average wage for the new jobs was listed at $27.20 an hour.
In case you missed it, here were the initial details, as presented in documents filed with the city and the conversation with the Lafayette Redevelopment Commission about a 10-year tax abatement application: “Caterpillar’s $725M expansion plan hailed as one of Lafayette’s biggest.”
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TIPPECANOE COUNTY CANDIDATES TOSSED FOR STATE’S TWO-PRIMARY LAW
A pair of candidate challenges on the Democratic ballot in Tippecanoe County were successful Friday, solidifying the ballot heading into the May 7 primary.
Michael Lingley, who’d filed as a Democrat for Tippecanoe County treasurer, and Deni Gavin, who was looking at the Tippecanoe County surveyor slot, were removed from the ballot by the county’s election board after they’d been challenged based on the state’s two-primary rule.
The state law keeps candidates off the ticket if they didn’t pull their party’s ballot in their two most recent primary elections, unless they can get the party chair to sign off on their candidacy.
Gavin, who had tried withdrawing a week earlier, did not attend Friday’s hearing. Lingley said he didn’t contest the challenge, saying he planned to file for the county treasurer’s position as an independent candidate in the November election. He said he came to the election board hearing not to fight for his place on the primary ballot but to show that he was serious about running.
(A week earlier, Lingley told Based in Lafayette said that not trying to win, but he’s trying to get on the countywide ballot for name recognition. Second, he’s said he’s looking to get his name on ballots as an independent candidate for U.S. president, hoping to get on ballots in 2024 in Illinois, Wisconsin and a handful of other states.)
Several challenges are still pending in statewide and congressional races. But here’s an updated list, including candidates who have announced intentions to file, after Friday’s Tippecanoe County Election Board hearing. (* = incumbent)
Tippecanoe County
Commissioner, District 2: David Byers* and Jeff Findlay, R; Steven Mayoras, Libertarian; Wissam Nour, Independent
Commissioner, District 3: Tom Murtaugh*, R; Jaime Ortiz, Libertarian
County Council, at-large (3): Republicans: John Basham*, Paige Britton, Dan Dunten, Barry Richard* and Kevin Underwood*. Democrats: Katy Bunder, Ben Carson, Amanda Eldridge, Joe Mackey and Wendy Starr.
Coroner: Carrie Costello*, R
Treasurer: Yadira Salazar*, R
Surveyor: Zach Beasley*, R
Judge, Circuit Court: Sean Persin*, R
Judge, Superior Court 6: Michael Morrissey*, R
Statehouse races
House District 13: Matthew Commons and Sharon Negele*, R; Ed Moyer Jr., D
House District 26: Chris Campbell*, D; Jim Schenke, R
House District 27: Sheila Klinker*, D; Oscar Alvarez, R
House District 38: Heath VanNatter* and Jason Gossard, R
House District 41: Mark Genda* and Joe Sturm, R; Dan Sikes, D
Statewide
Governor: Mike Braun, Brad Chambers, Suzanne Crouch, Eric Doden, Curtis Hill and Jamie Reitenour, R; Jennifer McCormick and Tamie Dixon-Tatum, D
Federal
U.S. House, District 4: Jim Baird*, Charles Bookwalter, Trent Lester, Christopher John Lucas and John Piper, R; Rimpi Girn and Derrick Holder, D
U.S. Senate: Jim Banks and John Rust, R; Valerie McCray and Marc Carmichael, D
Townships
Shadeland Township Board: Michael Kuipers, Pamela Luenz, Robert Morrison Jr. and Josh Shives, R.
Shadeland Clerk-Treasurer: Charlene Brown, R
The general election also will include these, with filing deadlines this summer …
School boards: Lafayette School Corp., three at-large seats; Tippecanoe School Corp. seats in District 4, District 5, District 6 and District 7; and West Lafayette Community School Corp, four at-large seats.
To check your voter registration status: Go to the Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com.
ADD ANOTHER GUEST TO THE PRESIDENTIAL LECTURE SERIES
Purdue President Mung Chiang with host a conversation with Carolyn Woo, who was CEO of Catholic Relief Services from 2012-16, on March 5 as part of the university’s Presidential Lecture Series. Woo will talk about nonprofit leadership and business education in an event billed as “Global Progress for Tomorrow’s Leaders: Overcoming Challenges, Building a Better Future.” Woo is a three-time Purdue graduate who became a professor at the university and later director of the master’s programs in the School of Business and then as associate executive vice president for academic affairs. From 1997 to 2011, she was dean of Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. The free event will be 5 p.m. March 5 at Fowler Hall in Purdue’s Stewart Center.
Already announced and coming this week: Rev. John Jenkins, University of Notre Dame president, will be the next guest for the Presidential Lecture Series. Jenkins is in the final year of two decades leading Notre Dame. The event will be 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall.
If you go: Admission is free for both events, though general admission tickets are required, available here.
OTHER READS …
A few more takes on Senate Bill 202, the Indiana higher education reform bill about to hit the Indiana House floor for a possible vote, as soon as Monday afternoon …
Indiana Capital Chronicle’s Casey Smith and Leslie Bonilla Muñiz reported on a number of bills and where they’re headed in the coming week. Among them was SB202, which had House Speaker Todd Huston telling reporters he thought the bill that has riled campuses across the state is “a very measured approach, making sure universities are taking that measured approach” on what is taught at state schools. From the Indiana Capital Chronicle report: “Huston said Thursday he’s had ‘lots of conversations with universities’ about the bill and ‘has heard a lot of positive feedback from people.’ He pointed to several changes made to the bill on Wednesday that make the proposal ‘significantly better.’ … ‘There’s an ideological imbalance … we’re just thinking of balance, and talking to folks in higher ed, they want to strike that balance, too,’ Huston added.” Here’s the full story on quite a few other bills: “Bills, bills, bills. What could still pass — and what might die — in Indiana’s 2024 session.” (See also: “Indiana higher ed reform bill advances over Democrats’, faculty's objections.”)
This isn’t an “Other Read,” but since Huston brought up conversations with “a lot of universities,” here’s what Purdue President Mung Chiang said when I caught up with him after the Indiana House Education committee moved an amended Senate Bill 202 to the House for a vote: “Purdue President Chiang on higher education reform bill changes: ‘We listened, and we communicated effectively.’” (Earlier in the week, Chiang had been called ‘cowardly’ by faculty and students for not speaking plainly about university support/disdain for the bill.)
Ball State economist Michael Hicks, who writes weekly for some state newspapers, had this on Senate Bill 202: “I'm a professor. Indiana's progressive colleges stifle debate.”
Indianapolis Star reporter Zion Brown took this deep look at the life and career of Ernie Hall, part of Lafayette Jeff’s 1948 state championship team at the first black basketball player at Purdue: “Purdue's first Black player lost to history: 'I thought he was mistreated and a lot of people did.'”
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