By Mitzi S. Morris for the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Broadcast version by Terri Dee for Indiana News Service reporting for the Indiana Capital Chronicle-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration

As Indiana anticipates slow population growth in the coming years, small cities and towns in rural Indiana are pushing forward with projects to attract residents and businesses to their communities.

Growth over the next four decades is projected to be lower than it was in the decade between 2000 and 2010, according to Matt Kinghorn, senior demographer at the Indiana Business Research Center. More than 70% of Indiana's counties are expected to lose residents over the next 30 years, many of which are rural and also lost population in the 2020 census.

"And the counties that are growing quickly are generally taking population from other areas of the state. So it's not an overall net increase," said Matt Greller, chief executive officer of Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (AIM).

But small Hoosier communities aren't going down without a fight.

Local businesses, organizations and governments are applying for grants, investing in quality-of-life projects and supporting small businesses to draw new citizens and spur economic growth.

"For a community to have the amenities that folks want these days, whether it's broadband or trails or a vibrant Main Street, you've got to have a coalescing of people to make that happen," Greller said.

Going after grants

Grants are crucial in helping small cities and towns in Indiana launch and complete initiatives. Community foundations, state entities and federal sources all play a role in funding local projects.

For example, Boonville in Warrick County is working toward Indiana Accredited Main Street (IAMS) status after completing the Aspiring IAMS 1-year Program.

"(Indiana Accredited Main Street) opens the door for more grant money, which is the key to doing just about anything that you want to do of significance. If you can't get grants, then you've got to do fundraising, and it's pretty hard to raise a million dollars in a town like Boonville," said Jim Miller, executive director of Boonville Now. His group promotes the city's downtown.

The city even hired a firm with a grant researcher dedicated to ensuring community leaders know about every possible funding opportunity.

"The idea was, 'Let's pay this company $50,000 a year, and we'll be looking at $100,000, $200,000, $300,000 grants per year.' Then it pays for itself," Miller said. "I've got spreadsheets of probably 20 things that they're working on."

Miller employs Placer.ai, a location analytics software, to track foot traffic in the city, then uses the information to apply for grants. Janelle Amy, executive director of Main Street Corydon, a Nationally Accredited Main Street community, also plans to use Placer.ai data to attract local investment.

Indiana University Southeast (IUS) is "able to send some reports for us to be able to measure and see how many pings on these phones were coming through and being able to see those heavy spikes whenever we have those larger festivals, especially in our downtown, hoping that we're able to see that data year after year to see, 'Are we seeing continued growth? Should we focus our efforts elsewhere?'" Amy said.

Another grant source, the state-funded Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI), has given hundreds of millions of dollars to economic growth projects across the state. The READI program is not in the current version of the state budget, according to Greller.

"I hate to see that go away because it's such an innovative thing that set apart Indiana, certainly in the Midwest and maybe the rest of the country. It is having a real impact on some of these rural communities," he said.

Quality of life investment

For small Hoosier cities and towns to survive, Greller said municipalities must be willing to fund projects that meet their residents' needs, particularly when it comes to quality of life.

"We live in a world where we all want lower taxes," said Greller. "But there are studies after studies that show once a government decides to make a formal investment in a community in a meaningful way, that typically has a snowball effect."

Miller said increased property tax values helped Boonville accomplish several quality-of-life projects.

"We've been able to take advantage of that and issue bonds to be able to build a new pool and to completely renovate the splash pad and the playground area and the basketball courts and things at City Lake," he said.

But property taxes are in the crosshairs at the Legislature.

Greller emphasized investment in city and town parks as a key driver of economic growth in rural Indiana.

"(Smaller parks) drive things like community events, farmers markets, summer concert series, hot rod festivals or whatever it is that wants to come to an individual community. Those kinds of investments have done well and created good returns over the years," he said.

Miller said Boonville is also focusing on historic preservation with the Mt. Liberty Baptist Church and School restoration project. In Corydon, the town is building a skate park and increasing walkability by connecting downtown to Rice Island Park.

"Being able to expand that further out ... we've opened up a whole other level for people to be able to visit our downtown and hopefully shop and support and live here as well," said Amy.

Attracting businesses and residents

When big employers leave small Hoosier cities and towns, residents often go with them. Corydon is looking to draw a new industry after Tyson Foods' closure last year affected nearly 370 employees.

New Gov. Mike Braun's campaign included a plan targeting rural Indiana, and the current state budget proposal includes a tax credit to attract qualified private sector investors to raise and invest flexible capital into rural communities and help rural businesses to sustainably expand their operations.

Greller said Gas City went through a similar situation as Corydon when the area was hit hard by the downturn in automobile manufacturing jobs.

"They pivoted. They made some strong investments in their community. They've seen an uptick in growth and population. They just built the performing arts center, which is a sign of things improving in those kinds of communities," he said.

In Boonville, two new establishments - a restaurant with catering service and a cigar lounge - recently opened in the historic district, according to Miller.


"What we're trying to concentrate on is bringing in more small businesses because we do have some empty spaces on the square and around the square," he said. "We don't have any more land to be able to give a bigger industry that wants to come in."

Thanks to city grants, Boonville entrepreneurs can apply for money to enhance building facades and revolving loan funds to make other improvements or start a business. Corydon also has a facade program funded in part by the Harrison County Community Foundation and a community collaboration fund created from a state grant.

"We were able to offer up to $5,000 to our downtown business owners for whatever initiative they needed at that time. So it could be purchasing new inventory, helping them with their marketing, Just whatever we could do to give them an additional boost to keep them here and hopefully support their initiative moving forward," Amy said.

Programs like Make My Move and Choose Southern Indiana offer remote workers incentives for relocation within the Hoosier State. However, Greller questioned how emerging return-to-office policies will affect these initiatives in the future.

"I'm interested to see what happens in some of these communities that have had success attracting those folks into their areas," he said.

Amy viewed new housing developments in Corydon and Harrison County over the past year as a sign of residential growth.

"I know of at least three additional apartment complexes within the Corydon area that are very close to downtown," she said. "And new subdivisions have been populating as well in Corydon and beyond."

Pushing past reality

Despite the efforts of small cities and towns in Indiana to remain independent, Greller said some areas that thrived on historic economic drivers may need to have some tough conversations.

"We have some small communities that were there because there was a grain elevator 150 years ago or there was a railroad stop 150 years ago. Does it make sense for the viability of the region they're in to continue to exist as an incorporated area? Maybe we ought to look at merging with other forms of government for the greater good," he said.

Federal funding cuts are also a concern regarding infrastructure projects and other initiatives in small municipalities.

"Many communities are fortunate to receive Economic Development Administration, (U.S. Department of Agriculture), Small Business Administration and other types of federal funding. I do believe that economic growth could be threatened if funding commitments from these federal agencies are halted abruptly," said Darrell Voelker, executive director of the Harrison County Economic Development Corporation.

To persist, Greller said small Hoosier cities and towns must get creative and maximize opportunities to ensure sustainability and longevity.

"We're going to have to take a close look at ourselves and make sure we're running as lean and efficiently as possible to make sure we have resources to invest in these types of programs," he said.


Mitzi S. Morris wrote this article for the Indiana Capital Chronicle.


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It is not just the weather or commodity prices farmers have to worry about. Many rural communities struggle to keep their roads and bridges in good shape, making farming life even harder and now, North Dakota is trying to correct the issue.

This year, state lawmakers have expanded eligibility for agriculture infrastructure grants awarded to towns with populations under 1,500.

Rob Schmidt, chairman of the Olivier County Commission and a rancher in Hensler, said it is welcome news because some local roads have self-imposed speed limits of 25 miles an hour because of the shape they are in, citing the effects from heavy truck traffic linked to a nearby refinery and an ethanol plant.

"Basically, there's no local money to fix that wear," Schmidt explained. "Any money that would come from the state would certainly be appreciated to help remedy that."

Schmidt, also a member of the North Dakota Farmers Union, is hopeful some jurisdictions in his part of the state are able to take advantage of the changes. Oliver County's total population is around 2,000, with the biggest town home to 500 people. The grant program was established in 2023.

Schmidt noted rebuilding roads and bridges could join other quality-of-life benchmarks his county is trying to highlight in the long-standing push to attract residents.

"We've got a very nice school here and we've got all the infrastructure in place in town to be thriving a lot more than we are," Schmidt emphasized.

He acknowledged even when a smaller town makes infrastructure improvements and attracts more industry, it does not always result in bigger population numbers. He said they have had issues in the past where people might take a new job in the area but still commute from elsewhere.

Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., said AM radio is essential to keeping Nevadans informed, especially in emergency situations, which is why she is one of many supporting the bipartisan AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act.

The legislation, which is under consideration in Congress, would require all new cars to maintain AM radio technology despite many having made the switch to now using satellite or internet services in their cars.

Lee said while AM radio does have a sense of nostalgia associated with it, it is also about ensuring people do not lose access to essential information, such as through the National Public Warning System.

"It plays such a vital role in our emergency infrastructure," Lee emphasized. "This country is moving towards digitalizing everything but ultimately there are instances where cell coverage goes out, where things go out, and having AM radios in cars is incredibly important."

Opponents of the bill feel mandating AM radio in all new cars without addressing the radio royalty issue for sound recordings is counterintuitive. Current U.S. copyright law does not provide artists with royalties when recordings are broadcast on AM and FM radio as it does on digital streaming services, which is why calls are being made to also consider the American Music Fairness Act.

Lee noted AM radio is highly important to rural and agricultural communities, relying on the service for things such as weather updates and other necessary information and Lee added they are not the only ones.

"We all know that cybersecurity is a key issue that we are dealing with, especially in an urban center like Las Vegas," Lee pointed out. "Making sure you have sort of that stalwart in cars that can be uninterrupted is really important."

Lee stressed it is not just about having what she calls "outgoing" sources of information, but also "incoming" information provided by people about what is happening on the ground. She added it was true during the 2017 Route 91 Harvest music festival mass shooting, which left 60 people dead and many others wounded.


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Ohioans were among dozens of rural leaders who gathered in Iowa this month, urging lawmakers to protect public education, small businesses, and working families.

They said policies gutting local resources are destabilizing schools and harming rural communities.

Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, said the effects of disinvestment hit rural communities harder, where losing just one school or hospital can have outsized consequences.

"All these institutions that we rely on have an even more significant impact in rural areas because of lack of options," Cropper explained. "When a rural hospital closes down, it creates a great hardship. When voucher money goes to private schools, it has more of an impact because they don't actually have private schools to attend."

Some lawmakers argued closure mandates hold schools accountable and push for improved performance. Others said more investment is needed in wraparound services, early learning and fair funding.

Michael Chameides, policy director at the Rural Democracy Initiative, said Ohio is not alone. Rural communities across the country are pushing back against policies favoring the ultra-wealthy while essential services are underfunded.

"There's just been so much chaos with the federal government as it takes a chain saw to these valuable programs that support working families and small businesses," Chameides observed. "We really should be going the opposite direction."

Participants in the 2025 Rural Policy Action Summit said the path forward includes listening to local leaders, funding community schools, and protecting labor rights. They want lawmakers to strengthen, not sideline, the people and places keeping rural Ohio running.