Dearborn County and Wabash County have been tapped by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) as the 2024 Stellar Pathways designated communities, announced by Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch who also serves as Indiana's Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. This program, a multifaceted initiative, positions itself to bolster community and economic development in Indiana's more bucolic locales. According to a release on the Indiana State Government's website, Crouch expressed her gratitude to counties like Dearborn and Wabash for "committed to improving quality of life," and acknowledged their deemed worthiness of the designation.
In a selection process that extended over six months, a committee considered a variety of factors before naming the two communities Stellar Pathways designees. These criterion ranged from the thoroughness of each region's plan to their demonstrated financial capacity to administer these revitalizing projects. In a statement obtained by the state government's events website, Duke Bennett, OCRA Executive Director, lauded Dearborn and Wabash Counties along with the other finalists for their "dedication to bettering their communities." He highlighted the rigorous competition amongst the contenders, emphasizing that "all four of our Stellar Pathways finalist regions worked extremely hard over the year," as mentioned in the Indiana State Government press release.
The Stellar Pathways program does more than just shine a light on winning districts—it provides substantive resources aimed at transformative improvements that focus on quality of place by capitalizing on previous planning efforts, local assets, and regional investment. Additionally, concrete goals are set to ignite sustained growth within these communities.
Further details of Dearborn County and Wabash County's Stellar Pathways projects can be found through the OCRA's dedicated page on these efforts, keeping interested bystanders informed on how these communities are turning plans into action.
