Montgomery County Republican Party members met Tuesday at the Crawfordsville Country Club to celebrate their pandemic-delayed Lincoln Day Dinner. The crowd buzzed as people gathered to hear the keynote speaker, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch.
Crouch sat down with Jim Johnson, Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman, to discuss topics such as job growth, broadband access, Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, grants and mental health funding.
She said there has been a record 31,000 job commitments this past year despite the pandemic. Crouch said Crawfordsville has helped in part with the nearly 300 new jobs that will come with the Tempur Sealy factory in 2023.
“It isn’t because government did their job, it’s because Hoosiers have taken the risks and made the sacrifices to really put our state on a path to prosperity,” Crouch said.
She also talked about the $250 million from the state budget that is going to help broadband access. Montgomery County recently became “broadband ready,” which means that internet providers can expand broadband service across the county, bringing faster internet speeds to smaller communities.
With more internet access, Crouch said many rural communities like Crawfordsville will likely see growth because more people are working from home and deciding to move out of the cities.
There was also $500 million put into READI grants, which are investments to help economic growth and retention across Indiana.
She then talked about the $100 million that will go toward mental health funding in Indiana, saying that before the COVID-19 pandemic nearly 20% of Indiana residents suffered from mental illness or addiction. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health journalism website, that number has risen to nearly 27% since May.
Crouch also touched on the reopening of the state saying she is excited to get back to a new version of normal. Although, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, Montgomery County went back into yellow last week.
“So I think we will see Indiana continue to rebound, and I think you’ll continue to see our economy grow,” she said. “You know, even though our lives have all changed and will continue to be different in the future, at least we’re able to come together without the fear of COVID because we are vaccinated.”
Before leaving, Crouch congratulated Crawfordsville for being named a Stellar Community in 2015, a designation from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, and Indiana Department of Transportation. This helps communities plan future projects to help attract people to their town. Crawfordsville is one of 17 communities with this award.
“It’s to their credit that they (Crawfordsville) know how to work together,” Crouch said. “I always am reminded of the Helen Keller quote that ‘alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.’ And I say that Crawfordsville is a good example of that.”
