Ball State's $200 Million Village Plan, Japan Ties and Health Care

Ball State's nearly $200 million redevelopment of The Village aims to turn the district beside its Muncie campus into a hub for arts, housing and business. Ball State University President Geoff Mearns talks with Gerry Dick about the 97-room Cantio Hotel, a new performing arts center with a 425-seat main stage and the Center for Innovation and Collaboration, which connects students with regional businesses. He explains how planned apartments and new amenities could help retain graduates and attract employers to East Central Indiana. Also covered: Taylor University's Main Street Mile initiative in Upland passes the halfway mark of a five-year plan backed by more than $100 million in investment. Indiana hosts a Midwest-Japan business summit as the state looks beyond traditional manufacturing to attract investment in life sciences, semiconductors and advanced technology. Marian University President Dan Elsener outlines the Crossroads Academic Medical Institute, a partnership with Purdue University and 10 health care organizations designed to recruit, train and retain workers. With 71 of Indiana's 92 counties short on health care professionals, the effort puts rural and underserved communities at the center of a statewide approach. Other headlines include plans for a nuclear microreactor at Crane, Shein's automated distribution campus in Lebanon and Zimmer Biomet's headquarters donation to Grace College. Back in Muncie, the coverage follows a proposed cultural corridor connecting downtown, Minnetrista Museum and Gardens and Ball State, along with the Ball Brothers Foundation's century of community investment.