FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR AMERICA'S BEST COMMUNITIES

Quarter-finalists for the America’s Best Communities competition were named this week. Indianapolis was selected as the site for a National Promise Zone and eleven other communities were named quarter-finalists. According to a release from the Lt. Governor’s Office, 11 Indiana cities and towns were among fifty across the country who advanced in the competition, sponsored by Frontier Communications, DISH Network, The Weather Channel and CoBank. Quarter-Finalists from Indiana include Angola, Greencastle, Jasper, Lafayette, Laporte and Madison, and Richmond, Terre Haute, Valparaiso, Wabash and Westfield. The Quarter-Finalists will each receive $35,000 and support to define their vision and to develop a plan to put into motion and a GoPro camera to capture and share their stories throughout the process. Each team will then need to raise $15,000 in matching funds and create a Community Revitalization Plan focused on economic development as well as a budget proposal of $100,000 for possible 11-month implementation of the plan among other requirements.