INDIANAPOLIS — Communities across Indiana are about to find out if they’ll get some of the $500 million that state officials are giving out for regional economic development projects.
Proposals covering all 92 Indiana counties were submitted for the money coming from federal COVID-19 relief funding.
Those requests from 17 regional organizations total some $1.5 billion toward plans for making their areas more appealing to new residents and business investment.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation board voted Tuesday to award the grants. Click here to see which groups were given funding.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb has called the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) program a “bonanza” toward boosting community growth across the state.
"It's the first time in the history of our state all 92 counties ... determined the projects that would take their community to the next level," Holcomb told 13News.
"We want to make sure our communities are desirable places where people want to live ... if they have a family, where they want to raise that family," said Molly Whitehead, executive director of the Boone County Economic Development Corp.
Whitehead represents a group of counties that applied for grant funding. Tuesday afternoon, the group was awarded $20 million in READI funds.