May 20: Gov. Mike Braun discusses regionalism and an 'oasis of prosperity' in Fort Wayne - Fort Wayne Business Weekly

FORT WAYNE — Gov. Mike Braun spoke to attendees of the Innovate Northeast Indiana event with local business leaders discussing the advances that the region is making. The Innovate Indiana events, hosted by IBJ Media at the Clyde Theatre, “are a commitment to advancing what’s driving growth across the state, but most importantly, inspiring action,” Mitch Frazier, president of IBJ Media. It was the first of nine stops in the series. Braun took part in a fireside chat hosted by Nathan Feltman, CEO and publisher of IBJ Media. “Each county is kind of searching for, in many cases, what they remember from 40, 50 years ago, or they had a business or two, especially in the rural counties, that would always have the agricultural component.” The city of Richmond reached a population of 50,000 “at the heyday of the auto industry,” Braun said. Its population dropped to 33,000. “Imagine that and how do you come back from it. Well, they’re now up to 36,000, and if you’re growing any city, with the demographics. the way they are, you’re lucky. And I see that resurgence.” Braun said he’s tried to make government run more efficiently. He reorganized offices into a network of cabinet positions and enticed eight “entrepreneurial individuals” to lead them. “I’m looking to take that same type of entrepreneurialism into every nook and cranny,” he said. In terms of centering communities into regions, IU School of a Business verified that it’s a good approach. “We’ve broken it down into 15 regions,” Braun said, “and I think that has given many kinds of a refreshing new look at what we can do in our state.” “Regionalism means that whatever is working well here or there, you share those best practices.” The state also has a number of universities, including Trine, IU, Purdue and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. “Now it’s a balanced approach between workforce and post-secondary, and we’re getting all the tools for kids to pick which one,” he said. Fort Wayne is the “oasis of prosperity,” Braun said. Campaigning for the U.S. Senate in 2017-18, he returned to the city several times and “there was always something going on.” “That kind of dynamism is going to radiate through your region,” Braun said. “We don’t have a lot of it.” After Marion County, the second largest county economy is Lake County followed by Hamilton County, he said. Evansville is another “oasis,” he said. After mentioning others, that leaves over 80 counties that want to be a part. “That to me is why regionalism is important. Because those regions, if they start really growing, that’s going to ripple out,” he said. Business mention to him concerns about childcare and early childhood learning and health care. “You want a place like Fort Wayne where you have a quality of place.” Many communities are just starting to improve their downtowns. “I’m going to want businesses to put skin in the game, in a broad array, because they are the beneficiaries of well-run governments, state and local.” In terms of technology, artificial intelligence is similar to internet’s arrival. “We all know how we’ve leveraged that into our businesses, our lives,” Braun said. The U.S. needs to stay ahead of China on AI, and that means having data centers, he said. When data centers were first introduced in Indiana and he heard they operate on gigawatts, he discovered that Indiana produced 20 gigawatts. “The first ones got in, small enough, but they were starting to drive up electric rates,” he said. “... AI if we harness it property, will not only keep us in the lead worldwide, but it’s going to do things we never imagined could be done before.” Panel Gerry Dick, division president of Inside INdiana Business, held a discussion with panelists that included Chuck Surack of Surack Enterprises, Dan Starr of Do it Best Group, and Mark Music of Ruoff Mortgage and Fort Wayne Football Club. Brenda Gerber Vincent noted that Allen County just surpassed 400,000 residents and this is the ninth straight year of positive domestic migration. Allen County contributes $29 billion to the state GDP. Surack noted that building Parkview Field was a catalyst for downtown Fort Wayne’s recent development. “Our community in general was against it. But we had a really strong mayor (Graham Richard) and many, many business leaders, myself included, went in front of City Council and said it’s not about a ballpark, it’s about investment in downtown.” The Riverfront never would have happened, Surack said, and he wouldn’t have built the Pearl mixed-used residential-commercial space downtown. Another sports stadium has recently risen. Music said there’s hope that there will be summer music events at the home of the soccer team in Ruoff Mortgage Stadium. Starr said his company decided to move its headquarters to Electric Works because of the focus on quality of place and Do it Best wanted to have an environment from a recruiting standpoint that people wanted to come to. Tags Braun Family (indiana) People From Jasper, Indiana Jasper, Indiana People From Dubois County, Indiana Indiana Local Politicians Republican Party Governors Of Indiana United States Senators From Indiana Governors Of Indiana Indiana Economy Branches Of Science Technology Allen County, Indiana Economies Fort Wayne, Indiana Chuck Surack Related articles Oct. 5: Vorderman Volkswagen celebrates remodeled dealership Oct. 5: Purdue Fort Wayne brings community together for inaugural Don Fest Oct. 5: Allen County Bar Foundation grant to fund courthouse, History Center tours Oct. 5: Allen County Veteran Stand Down to connect veterans with resources, services, support Oct. 5: Trine education graduates have 100% placement for 15th straight year Oct. 1: FWPD swapping badges for Breast Cancer Awareness Month Oct. 1: Indiana’s gubernatorial portraits get a new home in Statehouse hallways Oct. 1: Fort Wayne Rescue Mission to add 204 beds Oct. 1: Gov. 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