Lt. Gov. Crouch visits Plymouth for rural communities roundtable

PLYMOUTH, Ind. (WNDU) - Indiana’s second-in-command made a pit stop in Plymouth for the first of six statewide “Thriving Rural Communities” roundtable discussions.

On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch heard from various Marshall County stakeholders inside the Marshall County Historical Society. That’s after Ball State research has found rural communities, like Marshall County, are poised for growth due to various lifestyle factors, such as lower crime, good school districts, and quality of life improvements.

“We used to think that people would go to where the jobs are. But our research shows that really, jobs follow people,” explained David Terrell, Executive Director of the Indiana Communities Institute.

Crouch said smaller towns are an asset to the Hoosier State.

“The real opportunity for rural Indiana is if we can do things right, people are going to want to live in our smaller, rural communities where there’s a sense of community and collaboration and the quality of life that they can’t always experience in larger cities,” remarked Crouch.

Marshall County Farm Bureau President Charlie Houin explained why he wanted to attend the Tuesday roundtable.

“I came to learn more about what, how we can build a better community in Marshall County and in the area. We really work hard on our education here in our county to provide the best opportunities for our children because we really want them to come back to this area,” said Houin.

Once the six roundtable discussions are complete, Crouch intends to take the feedback to state legislators for policy consideration and also hopes to continue to improve the Stellar Communities grant-funding program that benefits rural areas.

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