Hi, I'm Jeff Rea, your host for Economic Outlook.

Welcome to our program.

We hope you enjoy the show.

Please make plans to join us each week as we discuss the region's most important economic development initiatives with a panel of experts.

They are one of the smallest counties in the region, but they pack a big punch.

Marshall County has seen some great growth in recent years, and its communities like Plymouth and Bremen and Culver and Bourbon.

And it's been intentional.

We're sitting down with Marshall County leadership to better understand how small communities compete for new jobs and capital investment.

Coming up on economic outlook.

Marchall County is known throughout the Midwest for its eclectic mix of international and American companies in both the high tech and traditional manufacturing sectors.

Well positioned at the crossroads of Indiana, companies in this region can reach nearly 40 million people across the country and a half day drive.

Today, we're focusing on Marshall County and all the things happening there to help drive the regional economy.

Please join me in welcoming Greg Hildebrand, the president and CEO of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation, and Dr. Natalie Tucker, the vice president and academic dean at Ancilla College.

Guys, welcome.

Thank you for being here today.

Thank you.

Appreciate.

We're always glad to have you.

We've showcased quite a few Marshall County things over the years, but we'd like to just take a bigger holistic view today.

So glad to have you both here to kind of dive deeper into what people need to know.

Greg, let me come your way first.

If people don't know about Marshall County EDC, tell us what it is and what you do there.

Our typical EDC, we were formed about 17 years ago as most EDCs were start as counties became more and more used to the idea of EDC.

We are funded partially through private investors and in partially to some government funding.

We dress three main areas attracting, you know, that's always a very important and popular item that we do.

And then probably our most effective item that we address is our building industry, what we currently have, helping them expand and face new challenges.

And in that third is an entrepreneur and workforce is what we work on.

Great.

Sounds good.

And Natalie, this coming way.

So talk about Ancilla for people who aren't familiar with and so it tell us a little bit more about Ancilla and Marshall Count Thank you.

Marion University Ancilla College has been there for a very long time and the Poor Handmaids the Jesus Christ founded the college actually as a high school and then a college a little later on.

But the building, the educational principles and the sisters legacy of education has been there since 1921.

And the college itself is pretty much associate programs.

We have six different associate programs, but also we have two bachelor's degree programs as well.

So we traditionally have always catered to freshmen and sophomores, and then you transfer on or you go right into the workforce.

But now we're seeing more students come in and we have again, with that four year nursing program, you do all four years with us and then we have a four year elementary education program that will be starting this fall.

So we're really excited about both those programs.

We have a little over 220 students on our campus, two dorms, cafeteria 161 had a cattle, some sisters that live there.

It is, but it really is a really unique and phenomenal place to study.

We have a lot of personal attention, great faculty and staff, a great sense of belonging, so deep history and lots of opportunity.

So.

Great.

No, I appreciate the honor and we'll certainly get more to that.

Greg.

So give us just a state of the economy.

Tell us a little bit about how how are things going in Marshall County these days?

Maybe some things you want to highlight or tell us about what's happening there.

Marshall County is blessed in that we have a very diversified industrial and manufacturing base.

We have a little bit of food production, a little bit of automotive and everything in between.

So it's been very nice to have that diversification.

Last year we had about 170 million worth of CapEx.

Most of that was early in the year.

You know, as interest rates, you know, things kind of slowed down towards the end of the year, but that 170 million produced about 20 million in annual payroll additions, you know, four jobs.

Our unemployment rate is the area's lowest as of the last time I looked.

And then we are looking at summer once beginning of year.

We have a couple of large companies that are looking at some expansion, you know, as things kind of settle down with the economy.

Yeah.

So we're excited.

Yeah.

So diving deeper for us.

So when we think about the geography there and we think of even some of it's, you know, put in people's heads, Marshall County.

So it's Plymouth, it's Bourbon, it's Breman, it's Argus, it's Culver.

It's just give a high level of kind of the communities and sort of what's happening in some of those.

Plymouth is just got a new mayor Mayor Litzenburg they are working on new administration they're they've got some different initiatives they want to do some housing downtown redeveloping some of the downtown.

Culver is a very seasonal community.

A lot going on in the summer.

Their population grows extensively in the summer with the school there.

Also, they have a housing project that's going to add about 300 addresses to the community, which is which is huge.

You know, they're they're real estate market has been kind of skewed down over there.

Argus has the US 31 and ten intersection seems to be a hot issue over there right now.

We know that's going to change.

It's a very dangerous intersection and right now they're trying to figure out what are they looking for.

Bourbon has a housing need as everybody you know, and that's haven't had any housing develop there for quite a while.

We're looking forward to something here this year.

Breaking ground on and Breman also has housing initiative up there.

Southwire courses continue to expand.

They will have over a million square foot under roof here soon.

There are largest employer in the county of over 600 employees and in the past had to get occupancy for the new apartment house any day now.

And that's the newest housing development in LaPaz in decades.

So it's all it's growing.

We're looking forward.

Yeah, some great project.

I have some my roots are Marshall County.

My grandparents are from our county, ran a business in Bourbon for 50 plus years down there, so I spent a lot of time there or down that way is at a younger age.

Natalie come back your way.

These important economic development projects going the college has this important task in responsibility of helping educate folks for the jobs of the future.

So talk a little bit about the college and and maybe some of the you touched briefly there just on nursing and some of those talk about some key industries that you're working to educate students on and then how that ties into kind of the local workforce development efforts.

Thank you.

Our number one, our biggest degree program is actually business.

And so that tends to be, again, our most popular major.

And in this role, which I've been in this position for seven months, I really had a great opportunity to work a lot with Greg and people in the community to better understand the manufacturing needs.

The community needs the industrial needs, the economic needs for Marshall County.

I will say I've been thoroughly, though, impressed with how well the community as a whole, as a county, they all do an amazing job communicating, talking and sharing, supporting each other and all the work they're doing.

So I've been I've just been just in all over that.

And under Greg's leadership.

And so the college itself, we're finding places where we would really like to work more with a nontraditional audience, as well as our traditional audience of students.

And so looking at different applications around certifications, how we can help help upskill individuals that are there already in the workforce but make that doable also with their busy lives and with their jobs already.

Ancilla years ago, for many decades really catered to a nontraditional audience.

That place was humming at night.

My mom attended as a nontraditional student as well.

And I mean, they had classes all through the evening.

A lot of people got different types of licenses, real estate licensing, certifications of that nature.

And so we'd like to see to bring some of that back as well.

So really feel that's part of our intentionality is as the only institution of higher ed in Marshall County, the sisters founded us with the purpose of educating those in the rural community are those that want to stay close and how can we better help support and elevate our community, and that is through education.

And so how do we make that viable, purposeful and intentional with Marshall County and the surrounding counties around us?

So a lot of opportunity.

Again, the certifications and upskilling and training we're working with right now and developing some different opportunities.

Great, Greg Talk to us a little bit about Ancilla, the important role they play, why it's so critical to have a partner like them in your space.

Well, as you know, that's everybody's front of mind issues that our employers, our workforce, you know, and finding qualified, trained workforce so we've been working with Ancilla you know, how can we solve that issue?

And and we've also been working with the new Marshall County Career Innovation Center.

It's a CTE program for students still in K through 12, you know, traditional school.

But we've also added an adult education part to that and a workforce development part with our industry partners.

So all three of those areas are taking part in it and we're bringing in so on board there, traditionally they don't work in the engineering and technical fields, but there's a room for what they do offer and they're expanding into those other fields too.

So it's been a great partnership.

And and when we talk about talent attraction, a big part of that is retention.

You know, we have some very talented individuals in the community that feel that they have to go, you know, the opportunities are somewhere else, you know, and it's a matter of letting them know that know those education opportunities and career opportunities are locally available also in, would you say from a like a student standpoint or you your students come from a little bit from all over but probably from, you know, maybe a lecture from a So are are those folks then that are plugging back into the workforce as they graduate or get their certificate or degree?

Yeah, absolutely.

We have some of our students do mature you know transfer on depending also on the programs.

Some of them transfer down to Marion University as well.

In Indianapolis, we have some that transfer on to comparable programs like we have an AG program.

Well, that would be our transferring partner with that is Purdue.

But really you can transfer onto any ag program.

But what we've seen is a lot of students that returned back into the workforce.

The majority of our students come from seven neighboring counties.

Most of those up in this area as well.

So we want to make sure that we're being good stewards of making sure they're prepared to enter into the workforce and be productive, contributing citizens and adults as well.

And then, of course, circling back to the fact to that nontraditional audience again, that we need to be serving in our community to help provide them with those educational opportunities.

But again, we're in their backyard, so you don't need to come and drive or commute.

We can provide you with those skills and abilities or whatever it is that you need to do to better do your job and better serve the community.

Great guys we're going to.

take a quick break.

We're going to go out into the field.

George Lepeniotis my co-host we've sent down to Marshall County, George Let me toss it to you.

Thanks, Jeff.

I'm in Marshall County at Marion University Ancilla College's School of Nursing at the Leighton School of Nursing.

In fact.

And I'm joined by the program director, Shanna Ricker.

And thank you for being with us.

Thank you, Shanna.

I also am joined today by Luisana Lucina.

Lucina.

Yeah, Lucina is part of your what I'll call your simulation lab.

Is that a fair description of where we stand today?

Yes.

So we are in the School of Nursing.

This is a partnership between Marian University and Ancilla College.

Before that partnership and still a college did not have a bachelor's degree in nursing.

But this partnership has brought that about, hasn't it?

Yes.

And you're about to graduate your first class of of bachelors, registered nurses, ready to practice nursing.

How exciting.

Very.

It's very exciting for us.

Tell us a little bit about the lab first.

This is an amazing place.

She's blinking, she's breathing.

What is this all about?

Well, this lab is to simulate the hospital environment so the students come in, practice a real scenario like they would in the hospital setting, but they can make errors and learn from that.

So it's really about that experiential learning where the students get the opportunity to do things they may not necessarily get to do or see in the hospital.

And when we say experiential learning, that's a really great word because Lucina bleeds, she breathes, she can have seizures, she can really recreate almost, you know, in living, breathing color the emergencies that these young nurses are going to face in a in a clinical setting, can't she?

Yes, she can.

And it's very real for the students when they do that.

They actually get emotionally attached during this scenario.

To our viewers.

Can't see but in front of us is a is like a like a privacy mirror where you're on the other side controlling the environment.

What is the what's the value to this room?

What does it really bring these students that they wouldn't have otherwise?

I mean, this had to be a been a pretty massive investment.

You said yourself that it was one of the most advanced in the country.

Well, it's one of our most advanced in the area here.

It brings endless opportunities for our students.

They get to experience things that they won't get to experience otherwise, plus the value of learning.

So when they do something, they may make a mistake.

The patient's going to react to whatever they do, so they get to have that discovery learning to are going, Hey, if I do this, this is going to happen with no harm coming to the patient.

Everything in here is recorded audio, video so the students get to review that.

So there's a lot of value in them seeing what they've done right or wrong.

Yeah, that's awesome.

And as they what year of their four year program do they start experiencing this facility and this lab?

Well, their first year is pre nursing, so they're not in here.

So their sophomore year and their health assessment and fundamentals where they're learning that basic foundation of nursing, they will start coming in here.

Now, those scenarios we start off kind of easy are basic and then slowly work them up throughout the program.

Awesome.

What when we talk about nursing, I'm know moving a little bit beyond your borders, but in the broader community as we focus on that health care economy, there are challenges, right?

There's a nursing shortage.

You're really trying to fill that gap.

Yeah, we're trying to fill that gap and make them practice ready when they leave.

So they won't be that gap in between when they graduate and they can become fully functional independent nurses.

When you say that gap, we know that our communities are viewing communities, whether it be Marshall County, Saint Joe County, Berrien County, Elkhart County, all of them have medical facilities to one degree or another.

Some are less complete than others, more rural, right, more rural environments.

Health care environments in the United States are struggling for providers.

What role will your students play in those situations where maybe a facility doesn't have a specific type of care?

You're preparing them for that, aren't you?

We're preparing them for a wide variety.

We make what we call nurse generalist who can be trained into different areas because nursing has over 100 specialties.

So that's a lot.

So we give them that foundation that they can scaffold off of.

Plus we give them a really broad clinical experience.

So they're going to different types of facilities like they go to Argos Community schools, they go to an OB unit, they go to a med search.

So they're seeing a lot of different stuff.

Now our patient here is set up for OB you said, but she can be set up for any type of health care situation.

Is that also part of the training?

I mean, do do they come into this lab for various specialties within the nursing profession?

Yes, they come in obviously for OB for delivery, but one of their favorite simulations is a code blue where she is not pregnant, but she goes into cardiac arrest and the students have to start all the way from the beginning to the end to save her.

Yeah, that's awesome.

Well, thank you for showing us around.

This is such a great room and a great lab.

I know this is a fairly new partnership for the university, so good luck with it and good luck with the graduating class coming up.

Thank you.

Jeff, back to you in the studio where you're going to talk more about Marshall County and what's going on down here.

But more importantly, how are more rural communities are stepping up in the institutions they're in or helping fill voids that exist within the industries there.

George, thank you for the inside look out there.

Greg, let me come back to you a little bit.

So, you know, in my opening, it is a little bit like you did not tease it like that.

You really are one of the smallest counties in the area.

However, you're sort of punching above your weight class a little bit and you're really driving some economic activity.

You know, it gives some advice.

Insight for other small communities is they're watching like, you know, like this isn't, you know, jobs and economic growth aren't just happening in big cities.

They're able to happen in smaller communities or rural or, as you mentioned, several the ones talking about just help us understand your magic formula and how you're making some of that happen.

I don't know that there's any magic other than, you know, just a good workforce.

There's a we have a lot of very productive and very talented individuals.

You know, we have some companies that started locally in Plymouth and have maintained their it's been a kind of a push for us as to how can we keep our corporate headquarters here, the few that we have, you know, because unfortunately we have we've had a couple really successful corporations start in Marshall County and then as they get purchased, the headquarters seems to move away and then they're not as involved in the day to day activities.

But how can we keep those headquarters here locally and that's a big key to our success is we have local people.

We actually, you know, so it's like, can use experience like this vicious cycle of economic decline.

When the decision makers went exactly right and it generally weren't like they weren't connected, they weren't as invested.

And then, you know, we like so much R&D used to happen in our region and a lot of it left when decision makers left.

And so I think it's great to keep folks in mind.

Natalie let me come your way a little bit.

So let's just talk college or higher.

Ed, just generally a little bit, you know, and you've touched a little bit on it just on certificates and degrees when I look at like goals like the Indiana Chamber has a goal to up education attainment, READI, Greg and I are both working on READI grants right now.

One of the goals in there is to increase the number of people with bachelor's degrees.

Give us a feel for just what's happening.

This are more people today enrolling in school like is like like college feels different than when I was and it's a long time ago.

So just talk to us a little bit about just sort of the kind of the lay of the land.

Yeah, well, you know, post-COVID, it's a really interesting time.

And pre-COVID, when you looked at the landscape of 18 year olds and you surveyed nationally, 18 year olds who want to go to college, pre-COVID, I think close to 72% of them said, yes, I want to go to college post COVID survey, that same age group and it's like 50, 52.

So colleges across the United States were all experiencing that same type of aftermath.

And COVID.

However, what's been really exciting is it's forcing us to think differently, is forcing us to change how we teach, how we engage with students.

What do our students need?

post-COVID, our freshman class this year, which is one of our biggest freshman classes, they're they're fun, they're outgoing, they're excited to be there.

And I remember the first day for one of our classes, our freshman seminar, the instructor asked them, like, Why are you so excited to be here?

And they said, We get to be freshmen.

And she goes, Well, you were freshman in high school, And they said, No, we weren't.

We were COVID.

So some of these students never got a traditional high school experience, and they're seeing colleges kind of being able to provide some of that.

But they're also not overly prepared.

College readiness as a as a challenge as well as academic challenges, because we know some online platforms probably were not as advantageous for some students.

And then they come to us and we end up testing them and they go into developmental classes.

We want to help them be successful.

We want to get them out there and get them through the program in a timely manner.

We want to make sure we're being cost effective with them ourselves.

And so but that has created some strains and challenges around higher ed.

But I think we're finding some really amazing, unique ways to really pivot and higher ed needs to pivot.

We haven't pivoted in 300 years, I'm to be really honest.

And so I think to I think we're seeing some colleges really like really altering their platforms, their technology and the way in which they teach it.

And then we've seen some colleges not as well.

So we're excited that I have a great group of faculty, 25 faculty members, and we are pivoting and Marian University has been a phenomenal collaborator and supporter it with us as well.

So we're excited about, again, technology shifts, how we work with students, sense of belonging, creating just definitely a culture and community around our students engagement in their experience there.

Great.

Greg, you touched briefly on students at a younger age in the current tech space, Marshall County has made a major investment in doing that.

So so this whole continuing right build to build the pipeline from a very young age because because we need people with advanced degrees.

We need people with bachelor's degrees, we need them with certificates, we need a high school diploma.

So just in the last few minutes about the current tech activity that's happening there.

Yeah.

Well, one of the areas that we've talked about and you said that lifelong, you know, that life career and one and she mentioned that fewer students are going you know it always traditionally it was a college path or maybe a manufacturing path.

You know there and really there's that middle lane there where if we can have a kid or a student or somebody learn a skill or a trade or get some certificate, but don't stop there, you know, we can keep and you can keep stacking those, keep adding to that.

And in look at it, you'll get that bachelor's degree without the six figures that, you know, we will help you work your way through college.

You know, these skills, these advantages.

And that's one of the things we've been trying to to focus are also other.

As you know, childcare is an issue that's brought up all the time and that's part of that.

We not only are we providing some childcare opportunities, but also training childcare providers because as she mentioned during COVID, it took a big hit in and it's a service that the people that need it the most can't afford it, you know, and the people that work in those can't even afford it sometimes.

So so that's where we're we're entering that also.

Natalie coming your way.

So, so young people who are watching us and aren't sure.

Well, you know like I don't know what the I'm not sure I know what the opportunities look like when I was in college or what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Talk to us a little bit about just sort of what you the things you do to sort of help people understand sort of the career path for that undecided kid doesn't mean that they should hold off.

You'll help them through that journey.

absolutely.

We have students come into our programs that aren't quite sure what they want to do or where they see themselves.

We have a lot of faculty and we also have a lot of student support services and student success engagement services.

And we also have students success coaches that can really sit down with you and help you map out plans, goals.

What is it that you really love and enjoy?

I get kind of sad sometimes when we ask young people what brings you joy and they just look at you like, I'm not sure or I like to run.

And I'm like, Well, okay, we can work with them, but let's see.

So I guess, you know, really having those conversations and be very reflective and then helping them build a meaningful path where they see and they see application and they see an angle and they can see themselves in that role in the future and that we're helping build the skills and abilities for them to be successful in that pathway.

And we're walking right alongside them.

47% of our students on our campus are first generation.

They don't know what this looks like and they don't have a lot of support at home at times.

And so that becomes faculty and staff.

We are the ones wrapping around them saying, you can do this and this is how we're going to help you.

And being a small college, we can do that.

So that's really exciting.

But that is the work we do very intentionally because we do have a great pocket of students that I'm excited to be here.

I came because this opportunity proposed itself very last minute maybe, or I want to play a sport, but I need to also make sure our my number one goal here is you graduate with a degree and you go back and you can work and serve in your community in that capacity.

Great.

Greg, I'm going to put you on the spot.

But so in the last minute, help us and give us the the pitch.

Why should somebody come visit, move their live there, open their business area, give us a quick space.

It's just a wonderful quality of life in Marshall County.

You really I, I been there the vast majority of my life.

I wasn't exactly born here, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

I mean, we are in the center of a of up to three large population with a lot of amenities.

And and we have a wonderful outdoor amenities also.

So, you know, it's the quality of life there and the quality people live there.

Well, guys, thank you both for the work that you do appreciate the work you're doing to drive economic activity.

We're glad to have you here and we'll look forward to having you back.

Thank you.

That's it for our show today.

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You can find economic outlook at wnit.org or find our podcast on most major podcast platforms.

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