Indiana University and Ivy Tech Community College have announced an agreement they say is designed to ease the pathway to a teaching career. Ivy Tech students who complete an Associate of Science in Elementary Education will be able to transfer their credits toward a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education degree at IU campuses. Ivy Tech says nearly 1,600 education majors are enrolled this semester at its campuses throughout the state.
Holiday world flooded with job applications
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus says it has received nearly two-and-a-half times the number of job applications compared to this time last year. The family entertainment venue has already held three job fairs and has two more scheduled to help fill more than 2,000 seasonal openings. Holiday World opens for the season on May 2 and Splashin' Safari opens May 15.
More cuts coming at GM
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) has announced more spending reductions, including the elimination of 10,000 positions from its global salaried work force. The automaker says the announcement marks the start of its restructuring plan submitted to Congress in December. GM says approximately 3,400 of its 29,500 salaried employees in the U.S. will be affected. GM has an assembly plant in Allen County and operations in Marion, Bedford and Indianapolis.
Indiana company systems to power UK hotel
An Anderson company's technology will be used at a hotel along the golf course that will be the site of the 2009 British Open. I Power Systems says it will be providing the Westin Hotel Turnberry with supplemental power, backup power and heat systems. The Indiana company is in a joint venture with United Kingdom-based Scorpion Power on the project.
Patrick again featured in Sports Illustrated
IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick will be included in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for the second year in a row. The issue includes shots of Patrick with a Shelby Cobra 427. The IndyCar Series says more than 70 million people are expected to pick up the swimsuit issue, which features a shot of Patrick on the cover's upper right corner.
Columbia City manufacturer reaches deal with Navy and Pakistan
An Indiana company has landed a nearly $35 million contract with the U.S. Navy and Government of Pakistan. The U.S. Department of Defense says Undersea Sensor Systems Inc. in Columbia City will provide sonobuoys for both entities. Most of the work will be performed at the Columbia City facility and about 10 percent of the project will be carried out at an operation in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
MD logistics' new facility up and running
Plainfield-based MD Logistics Inc. says its new pharmaceutical distribution operation is complete. The logistics provider invested $1 million in building and equipping a cold storage facility to serve customers in the biologic medicine and life sciences industries. The expanded operation is expected to create up to 75 jobs by 2014.
Graphic packaging to close in Muncie
A Georgia packaging company is expected to close its operation in Muncie later this year. Graphic Packaging International Inc. says Muncie is one of four manufacturing facilities it will shut down as part of a previously announced effort to reduce costs by $90 million by 2010. The company says the closings will also help improve efficiency following a deal with another company that was completed last year.
Friedman Foundation calls for tax credits to benefit K-12
A proposal to provide tax credits for donations to scholarship granting organizations being discussed at the Statehouse is supported by the Indiana-based Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Enlow says such a move would allow K-12 education to benefit directly from tax credits. A study from the foundation and the Institute for Justice in Washington, D.C. suggests none of the current tax credits in Indiana accomplishes that goal.
Treasury program could involve more Indiana banks
Two more Indiana banks have received preliminary approval to take part in the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program. Shelbyville-based Blue River Bancshares Inc. has asked the federal agency to purchase up to $5 million of its preferred stock. Muncie's First Merchants Corp.'s (NASDAQ: FRME) potential involvement could involve $116 million in federal money.
Indy advertising agency working with NASCAR driver
Indianapolis-based advertising and public relations agency TrendyMinds has been selected by Kevin Harvick Inc. to redesign and build three Web sites for the NASCAR driver. The company recently launched Fan Central, a social network for Harvick fans. TrendyMinds is also working on KevinHarvick.com and KevinHarvickInc.com, which will be launched sometime this year.
