Moving the needle
in
rural Indiana.
Shelbyville, Greensburg, Rushville and Batesville, along with Shelby, Rush and Decatur counties, are formally cooperating through Accelerate Rural Indiana (ARI). Accelerate Rural Indiana is focused on delivering lasting growth and success to one of Indiana’s greatest assets, its rural frontier.
Members of ARI are united by the economic corridor of I-74, their strong manufacturing base, a culture of rural success and rich agricultural heritage. Situated as outliers of three different large economic growth regions, ARI members understand the potential of regionalism and the difficulty of large geographic regions to affect meaningful change in rural Indiana. Through demographic and economic character analysis, ARI members have identified that, in fact, their fortunes are intimately tied to one another in such as way that even though it has never been previously formalized, they have been existing as a region of their own all along. As all past Stellar finalists, ARI's communities have a proven track record of utilizing public funds to leverage private investment and delivering on projects that move the needle for community and economic development.
Deeply connected
Accelerate Rural Indiana’s cohesion goes well beyond shared culture and values. In fact, each respective community shares the same industry and workforce profile (led by manufacturing, health care and social assistance, retail trade, accommodation and food services, and educational services). The region shares a strong labor shed: according to 2018 US Census LEHD data, the region pulls more than 23,000 employees from outside of the region and circulates more that 25,000 employees within it. Extensive previous planning efforts have been championed by the general public and the private sector and will provide the basis for the creation of the regional development plan. Those engaged in past and current planning efforts include, but are not limited to: Shelby County Development Corporation, Shelby County Community Foundation, Knauf Insulation, Rush County ECDC, Rush County Community Foundation, INTAT, EDC of Greensburg and Decatur County, Decatur County Community Foundation, American Honda Motor Company, Delta Faucet Company, Ripley County Community Foundation, Batesville Casket Company and Hillenbrand Inc.
Formally United
In February 2023, Accelerate Rural Indiana formed a Regional Development Authority (RDA) to further cement Interstate 74’s southeastern corridor as a top destination for talent. The RDA was formed pursuant to Indiana Code 36-7.6, which allows two or more adjacent counties to form an RDA to develop and fund regionally significant projects. Forming an RDA created the region’s first formal regional organization and accomplished a top priority of the group’s READI regional development plan.
The ARI RDA will be governed by a Development Board of five representatives from the ARI region. The region’s executives appointed a slate of Development Board members with equal representation across the region. Bryan Robbins (Greensburg), Andy Saner (Batesville), Virgil Bremer (Carthage), Bruce Everhart (Waldron), and David Toll (Shelbyville) have been appointed to each serve four-year terms on the Development Board. The ARI RDA Development Board met for the first time on April 14th, 2023.