12 17 2024 Lt. Gov. Crouch, OCRA announce two 2024 Stellar Pathways designated communities

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 17, 2024) - Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs today announced Dearborn County and Wabash County as the 2024 Stellar Pathways designated communities.

The Stellar Pathways program is a multi-year, multi-million-dollar initiative led by OCRA. The program works with communities in a self-determined region on a shared vision for community and economic development. Stellar Pathways aims to promote local and regional partnerships and assists in implementing sustainable solutions to challenges Indiana's rural communities face.

"The Stellar Pathways program is yet another way OCRA and the State of Indiana shows their dedication to rural development," said Lt. Gov. Crouch, Indiana's Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. "I am grateful for communities like Dearborn County and Wabash County who are committed to improving quality of life, and they are well deserving of being our two Stellar Pathways designees."

The Stellar Pathways scoring committee worked with each of the four finalist regions over the course of six months and determined the designees on a variety of factors. These included each region's plan comprehensiveness, proposed projects' impact, local and private leverage, alignment with eligible funding sources, investment need, capacity to administer the projects, long-term viability, financial capacity to administer the projects, and connection to community engagement and needs.

"Congratulations to Dearborn County and Wabash County on this great achievement of becoming designated Stellar Pathways communities," said OCRA Executive Director Duke Bennett. "All four of our Stellar Pathways finalist regions worked extremely hard over the year and I thank each of them for their dedication to bettering their communities. Our team looks forward to seeing the many positive outcomes of this program for each of our finalists and our two designated regions."

The Stellar Pathways program provides resources for transformative quality of place improvements by applying previous planning efforts, leveraging existing assets, fostering regional investments and stimulating continued growth.

OCRA's Stellar Pathways partner agencies include the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, Indiana Department of Transportation, Indiana Department of Health, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana Destination Development Corporation and Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

For more information on Dearborn County and Wabash County's Stellar Pathways projects, visit in.gov/ocra/stellar/designees.

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