The State of Indiana (IPA: /??ndi'æn?/) is
the 19th U.S. state and is located in the midwestern region of the
United States of America. With about 6.3 million residents, it is
ranked 15th in population and 17th in population density.[2] Indiana
is ranked 38th in land area.
Indiana is a diverse state with a few large urban areas and a number
of smaller industrial cities. It is known nationally for its professional
sports teams, the Indianapolis Colts, champions of the 2007 NFL
Super Bowl, the NBA Indiana Pacers and for the Indianapolis 500
motorsports race, the largest single-day sporting event in the world
that is held annually over the Memorial Day weekend, and for a strong
basketball tradition, often called Hoosier Hysteria.
Residents of Indiana are called Hoosiers. Although many stories
are told, the origin of the term is unknown. The state's name means
"Land of the Indians", or simply "Indian Land".
The name dates back to at least 1800, when Indiana Territory was
created, at which time the territory was unceded Indian land.[3]
Angel Mounds State Historic Site, one of the best preserved prehistoric
Native American sites in the United States, can be found in south-western
Indiana near Evansville.[4]
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
1.1 Northern Indiana
1.2 Central Indiana
1.3 Southern Indiana
1.4 Climate
2 History
2.1 Pioneer Era
2.2 Transportation
3 Demographics
3.1 Religion
4 Cities and towns
5 Politics
6 Administrative divisions
6.1 Town Council
7 Economy
8 Energy
8.1 Sources of energy (2001)
9 Transportation
9.1 Airports
9.2 Highways
9.3 County roads
9.4 Rail
9.5 Ports
10 Education
11 Sports
11.1 Auto racing
11.2 Basketball
11.3 College sports
12 Miscellaneous topics
12.1 Military installations
12.2 Time zones
12.3 State symbols
12.4 Famous Hoosiers
13 See also
14 References
15 Bibliography
16 External links
[edit] Geography
See also: Geography of Indiana, List of counties in Indiana, List
of Indiana rivers, and Watersheds of Indiana
Indiana state welcome signIndiana is bounded on the north by Lake
Michigan and the state of Michigan; on the east by Ohio; on the
south by Kentucky, with which it shares the Ohio River as a border;
and on the west by Illinois. Indiana is one of the Great Lakes states.
The northern boundary of the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois
was originally defined to be a latitudinal line drawn through the
southernmost tip of Lake Michigan. Since such a line would not provide
Indiana with usable frontage on the lake, its northern border was
shifted ten miles (16 km) north. The northern borders of Ohio and
Illinois were also shifted from this original plan.[5]
The 475 mile (764 km) long Wabash River bisects the state from
northeast to southwest before flowing south, mostly along the Indiana-Illinois
border. The river has given Indiana a few theme songs, such as On
the Banks of the Wabash, The Wabash Cannonball and Back Home Again,
In Indiana.[6][7] The Wabash is also the longest free-flowing river
east of the Mississippi; 400 miles (640 km) from the Huntington
dam to the Ohio River. The White River (a tributary of the Wabash,
which is a tributary of the Ohio) zigzags through central Indiana.
There are 24 Indiana state parks, nine man-made reservoirs, and
hundreds of lakes in the state. Areas under the control and protection
of the National Park Service or the United States Forest Service
include:[8]
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore near Michigan City
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln City
Hoosier National Forest in Bedford
[edit] Northern Indiana
The northwest corner of the state is part of the Chicago metropolitan
area and has nearly one million residents.[9] Gary, and the cities
and towns that make up the northern half of Lake, Porter, and La
Porte Counties bordering on Lake Michigan, are effectively commuter
suburbs of Chicago. Porter and Lake counties are commonly referred
to as "The Calumet Region", or "The Region"
for short. The name comes from the fact that the Grand Calumet and
Little Calumet rivers run through the area. These counties are all
in the Central Time Zone along with Chicago. NICTD owns and operates
the South Shore Line, a commuter rail line that runs electric-powered
trains between South Bend and Chicago.[10] Sand dunes and heavy
industry share the shoreline of Lake Michigan in northern Indiana.
Along the shoreline of Lake Michigan in Northern Indiana one can
find many parks between the industrial areas. The Indiana Dunes
National Lakeshore and the Indiana Dunes State Park are two natural
wonders of the area.
Most of northern and central Indiana is flat farmland dotted with
small cities and towns, such as North Manchester.The Kankakee River,
which winds through northern Indiana, serves somewhat as a demarcating
line between suburban northwest Indiana and the rest of the state.[11]
The South Bend metropolitan area, in north central Indiana, is
the center of commerce in the region better known as Michiana. Fort
Wayne, the state's second largest city, is located in the northeastern
part of the state where it serves the state as a transportation
hub.
Northeastern Indiana is home to a number of lakes, many of which
are the remains of the glaciers that covered Indiana thousands of
years ago. Some of these lakes include Lake James in Pokagon State
Park, Lake Maxinkuckee, Lake Wawasee and Lake Tippecanoe. Lake Wawasee
is the largest natural lake in Indiana, while Lake Tippecanoe is
the deepest lake, reaching depths of over 120 feet. Both lakes are
located in Kosciusko County. Chain O' Lakes State Park, located
in Noble County, contains 11 lakes, 8 of which are connected by
natural channels.
[edit] Central Indiana
The state capital, Indianapolis, is situated in the central portion
of the state. It is intersected by numerous Interstates and U.S.
highways, giving the state its motto as "The Crossroads of
America".[12] Other cities and towns located within the area
include Anderson, Avon, Beech Grove, Bloomington, Brownsburg, Carmel,
Castleton, Clermont, Columbus, Crawfordsville, Cumberland, Danville,
Fishers, Franklin, Greenwood, Greenfield, Homecroft, Kokomo, Lafayette,
Lawrence, Lebanon, Mooresville, Muncie, Plainfield, Richmond, Southport,
Speedway, Terre Haute, West Lafayette, and Zionsville.
Rural areas in the central portion of the state are typically composed
of a patchwork of fields and forested areas. The geography of Central
Indiana consists of gently rolling hills and sandstone ravines carved
out by the retreating glaciers. Many of these ravines can be found
in west-central Indiana, specifically along Sugar Creek in Turkey
Run State Park and Shades State Park.
[edit] Southern Indiana
Evansville, the third largest city in Indiana, is located in the
southwestern corner of the state. It is located in a tri-state area
that includes Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. The south-central
cities of Clarksville, Jeffersonville, and New Albany are part of
the Louisville metropolitan area. Vincennes, the oldest city in
the state, is located on the Wabash River.
Southern Indiana is a mixture of farmland, forest and very hilly
areas, especially near Louisville and in the south central lime
hills areas. The Hoosier National Forest is a 200,000 acre (80,900
ha) nature preserve in south central Indiana. Southern Indiana's
topography is more varied than that in the north and generally contains
more hills and geographic variation than the northern portion, such
as the "Knobs," a series of 1,000 ft (300 m). hills that
run parallel to the Ohio River in south-central Indiana. Brown County
is well-known for its hills covered with colorful autumn foliage,
T.C. Steele's former home, and Nashville, the county seat and shopping
destination. Harrison and Crawford Counties boast three of the state's
most popular commercial caves at Wyandotte, Marengo, and Squire
Boone Caverns.
Indiana State House; Indianapolis, IN; Built with Southern Indiana
Limestone
The limestone geology of Southern Indiana has created numerous caves
and one of the largest limestone quarry regions in the USA. Many
of Indiana's official buildings, such as the State capitol building,
the downtown monuments, the Indiana University School of Law in
Indianapolis, many buildings at Indiana University in Bloomington,
and the Indiana Government Center are all examples of Indiana architecture
made with Indiana limestone. Indiana limestone has also been used
in many other famous structures in the US, such as the University
of Illinois' Memorial Stadium, the Empire State Building, the Pentagon,
and the Washington National Cathedral. In addition, 35 of the 50
state capitol buildings are also made of Indiana Limestone.[13]
For sixty years, from 1890 to 1950, the United States Census found
the center of population to lie in southern Indiana.
[edit] Climate
Most of Indiana has a humid continental climate (Koppen climate
classification Dfa), with hot, humid summers and cool to cold winters.
The extreme southern portions of the state border on a humid subtropical
climate (Koppen Cfa) with somewhat milder winters. Summertime maximum
temperatures average around 85 °F (29 °C) with cooler nights
around 60 °F (16 °C). Winters are a little more variable,
but generally cool to cold temperatures with all but the northern
part of the state averaging above freezing for the maximum January
temperature, and the minimum temperature below 20 °F (-8 °C)
for most of the state.[14]The state receives a good amount of precipitation,
40 inches (1,000 mm) annually statewide, in all four seasons, with
March through August being slightly wetter.
The state does have its share of severe weather, both winter storms
and thunderstorms. While generally not receiving as much snow as
some states farther north, the state does have occasional blizzards,
some due to lake effect snow. Two major paralyzing snowstorms bear
merit. The January, 1978 Blizzard, which affected almost the entire
state, and the December, 2004 Blizzard, which primarily affected
the Ohio Valley and later caused the severe flooding of the White,
Wabash, and the Ohio Rivers in January, 2005. The state averages
around 40-50 days of thunderstorms per year, with March and April
being the period of most severe storms. While not considered part
of Tornado Alley, Indiana is the Great Lakes state which is most
vulnerable to tornadic activity. In fact, three of the most severe
tornado outbreaks in U.S. history affected Indiana, the Tri-State
Tornado of 1925, the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965 and the
Super Outbreak of 1974. The Evansville Tornado of November 2005
killed 25 people, 20 people in Vanderburgh County and 5 in Warrick
County.
Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures for Largest Indiana Cities
City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Evansville 40/23 45/26 56/35 67/44 77/54 86/64 89/68 86/64 81/57
70/45 56/36 44/27
Fort Wayne 31/16 35/19 47/29 60/38 72/49 81/59 84/62 82/60 75/53
63/42 48/33 36/22
Indianapolis 34/18 40/22 51/32 63/41 74/52 82/61 86/65 84/63 77/55
66/44 52/34 39/24
South Bend 31/16 36/19 47/28 59/38 71/48 80/58 83/63 81/61 74/53
62/42 48/33 36/22
Source: US Travel Weather[15]
[edit] History
The area of Indiana has been settled since before the development
of the Hopewell culture (ca. 100–400 CE).[16] It was part
of the Mississippian culture from roughly the year 1000 up to 1400.[17]
The specific Native American tribes that inhabited this territory
at that time were primarily the Miami and the Shawnee.[18] The area
was claimed for New France in the 17th century, handed over to the
Kingdom of Great Britain as part of the settlement at the end of
the French and Indian War, given to the United States after the
American Revolution, soon after which it became part of the Northwest
Territory, then the Indiana Territory, and joined the Union in 1816
as the 19th state. Indiana fought on the Union side during the American
Civil War and prohibited slavery. See also Northwest Indian War.[18]
[edit] Pioneer Era
On June 29, 1816, Indiana adopted a constitution, and on December
11, 1816, became the 19th State to join the Union.[19]
Indiana filled up from the Ohio River north. Migration, mostly
from Kentucky and Ohio, was so rapid that by 1820 the population
was 147,176, and by 1830 the sales of public lands for the previous
decade reached 3,588,000 acres (5,600 sq mi; 14,500 km²) and
the population was 343,031. It had more than doubled since 1820.
The first state capital was in the southern Indiana city of Corydon.[20]
[edit] Transportation
Down the Mississippi and its tributaries (the Ohio and Wabash) was
to be found the sole outlet for the increasing produce of the Middle
West, whose waters drained into the great valley. Districts which
were not upon streams navigable by even the lightest draught steamboat
were economically handicapped. The small, flat boat was their main
reliance. Roads suitable for heavy carriage were few up to the middle
of the century. The expense and time attending shipment of merchandise
from the east at that time were almost prohibitive. To meet this
condition, the building of canals (espoused by the constitution
of 1816) was long advocated, in emulation of Ohio which took example
after New York State. In 1826, Congress granted a strip two and
a half miles wide on each side of the proposed canal. A very extensive
and ambitious scale of main and lateral canals and turnpikes was
advocated in consequence.
Work began on the Wabash and Erie Canal in 1832, on the Whitewater
Canal in 1836, on the Central in 1837. Bad financing and "bad
times" nearly wrecked the whole scheme; yet, the Wabash and
Erie Canal was completed from Toledo to Evansville. It was a great
factor in the development of the state, although it brought heavy
loss upon the bondholders with the advent of the railroad. Upon
completion, the canal actually increased prices of farm products
three or fourfold and reduced prices of household needs 60%, a tremendous
stimulus to agricultural development. By 1840, the population of
the upper Wabash Valley had increased from 12,000 to 270,000. The
canal boat that hauled loads of grain east came back loaded with
immigrants. In 1846, it is estimated that over thirty families settled
every day in the state.
Manufacturing also developed rapidly. In the ten years between
1840 and 1850, the counties bordering the canal increased in population
397%; those more fertile, but more remote, 190%. The tide of trade,
which had been heretofore to New Orleans, was reversed and went
east. The canal also facilitated and brought emigration from Ohio,
New York, and New England, in the newly established counties in
the northern two-thirds of the state. Foreign immigration was mostly
from Ireland and Germany. Later, this great canal fell into disuse,
and finally was abandoned, as railway mileage increased.
In the next ten years, by 1840, of the public domain 9,122,688
acres (14,250 mi²; 36,918 km²) had been sold. But the
state was still heavily in debt, although growing rapidly. In 1851
a new constitution (now in force) was adopted. The first constitution
was adopted at a convention assembled at Corydon, which had been
the seat of government since December, 1813. The original statehouse,
built of blue limestone, still stands; but in 1821, the site of
the present capital, Indianapolis, was selected by the legislature.
It was in the wilds, sixty miles from civilization. By 1910, it
was a city of 225,000 inhabitants, and was the largest inland steam
and electric railroad center in the United States that was not located
on a navigable waterway. No railroad reached it before 1847.
[edit] Demographics
Indiana Population Density MapHistorical populations
Census Pop. %±
1800 2,632 —
1810 24,520 831.6%
1820 147,178 500.2%
1830 343,031 133.1%
1840 685,866 99.9%
1850 988,416 44.1%
1860 1,350,428 36.6%
1870 1,680,637 24.5%
1880 1,978,301 17.7%
1890 2,192,404 10.8%
1900 2,516,462 14.8%
1910 2,700,876 7.3%
1920 2,930,390 8.5%
1930 3,238,503 10.5%
1940 3,427,796 5.8%
1950 3,934,224 14.8%
1960 4,662,498 18.5%
1970 5,193,669 11.4%
1980 5,490,224 5.7%
1990 5,544,159 1.0%
2000 6,080,485 9.7%
Est. 2006 6,313,520 3.8%
As of 2006, Indiana had an estimated population of 6,313,520, which
is an increase of 47,501, or 0.8%, from the prior year and an increase
of 233,003, or 3.8%, since the year 2000.[21] This includes a natural
increase since the last census of 196,728 people (that is 541,506
births minus 344,778 deaths) and an increase due to net migration
of 51,117 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United
States resulted in a net increase of 68,935 people, and migration
within the country produced a net loss of 17,818 people.
The center of population of Indiana is located in Hamilton County,
in the town of Sheridan.[22] Population growth since 1990 has been
concentrated in the counties surrounding Indianapolis, with four
of the top five fastest-growing counties in that area: Hamilton,
Hendricks, Johnson, and Hancock. The other county is Dearborn County,
which is near Cincinnati.
The Evansville Area has experienced a shift in their population.
Evansville continues to lose population as of 2005 while Vanderburgh
has continued to grow by at least 3% a year. The other counties
of the Evansville Area of Southwestern Indiana have started to grow
at an increasingly faster rate, especially Gibson and Warrick Counties
who are becoming Evansville's suburban counties. Gibson County has
seen at least two towns Haubstadt and Fort Branch starting to become
"Bedroom Communities" like Newburgh and Chandler in Warrick
County. In addition, the two counties have seen their minority (in
particular, Asian, African-American, and Hispanic) populations just
about double in the last 15 years.
Demographics of Indiana (csv)
By race White Black AIAN Asian NHPI
AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native — NHPI is Native
Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
2000 (total population) 90.13% 8.91% 0.65% 1.21% 0.08%
2000 (Hispanic only) 3.31% 0.15% 0.07% 0.03% 0.02%
2005 (total population) 89.57% 9.42% 0.63% 1.44% 0.08%
2005 (Hispanic only) 4.29% 0.19% 0.08% 0.04% 0.02%
Growth 2000–2005 (total population) 2.51% 8.99% -0.26% 23.11%
11.31%
Growth 2000–2005 (non-Hispanic only) 1.33% 8.68% -2.87% 22.97%
9.77%
Growth 2000–2005 (Hispanic only) 33.38% 26.82% 21.02% 28.42%
16.70%
As of 2005, the total population included 242,281 foreign-born
(3.9%).[23]
German is the largest ancestry reported in Indiana, with 22.7%
of the population reporting that ancestry in the Census. Persons
citing "American" (12.0%) and English ancestry (8.9%)
are also numerous, as are Irish (10.8%) and Polish (3.0%).[24]
[edit] Religion
Although the largest religious denomination in the state is Roman
Catholic, the state is predominantly various Protestant denominations.
A study by the Graduate Center found that 20% are Roman Catholic,
14% are Baptist, 10% are other Christians, 9% are Methodist, and
6% are Lutheran. The study also found that 16% are secular.[25]
The state is home to the University of Notre Dame and also has
a strong parochial school system in the larger metropolitan areas.
Southern Indiana is the home to a number of Catholic monasteries
and one of the two archabbeys in the United States, St. Meinrad
Archabbey. Two conservative denominations, the Free Methodist Church
and the Wesleyan Church, have their headquarters in Indianapolis
as does the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The Fellowship
of Grace Brethren Churches maintains offices and publishing work
in Winona Lake. Huntington serves as the home to the Church of the
United Brethren in Christ. Anderson is home to the headquarters
of Church of God Ministries and Warner Press Publishing House. Fort
Wayne is the headquarters of the Missionary Church. Fort Wayne is
also home to one of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod's seminaries
- Concordia Theological Seminary. The Friends General Conference
of the Religious Society of Friends, the largest American Quaker
Yearly Meeting, is based in Richmond. Richmond also houses the oldest
Quaker seminary in the US, the Earlham School of Religion. The Islamic
Society of North America is headquartered just off Interstate 70
in Plainfield, west of Indianapolis.
In 1906, the Census reported there were 938,405 members of different
religious denominations; of this total, 233,443 were Methodists
(210,593 of the Northern Church); 174,849 were Roman Catholics,
108,188 were Disciples of Christ (and 10,219 members of the Churches
of Christ); 92,705 were Baptists (60,203 of the Northern Convention,
13,526 of the National (African American) Convention; 8,132 Primitive
Baptists, and 6,671 General Baptists); 58,633 were Presbyterians
(49,041 of the Northern Church, and 6,376 of the Cumberland Church—since
united with the Northern); 55,768 were Lutherans (34,028 of the
Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference, 8,310 of the Evangelical
Lutheran Synod of Ohio and other states), 52,700 were United Brethren
(48,059 of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ; the others
of the " Old Constitution ") and 21,624 of the German
Evangelical Synod.[26]
[edit] Cities and towns
30 Largest Cities [27] 2005 Population
Indianapolis 784,118
Fort Wayne 223,341
Evansville 115,918
South Bend 105,262
Gary 98,715
Hammond 79,217
Bloomington 69,017
Muncie 66,164
Lafayette 60,459
Carmel 59,243
Anderson 57,500
Fishers 57,220
Terre Haute 56,893
Elkhart 52,270
Mishawaka 48,497
Kokomo 46,178
Greenwood 42,236
Lawrence 40,959
Columbus 39,380
Noblesville 38,825
Richmond 37,560
Portage 36,789
New Albany 36,772
Michigan City 32,205
Merrillville 31,525
Goshen 31,269
East Chicago 30,946
Marion 30,644
Valparaiso 29,102
Jeffersonville 28,621
Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana, near the geographic center
of the state. Other Indiana cities functioning as centers of United
States metropolitan areas include Anderson, Bloomington (home of
Indiana University's main campus), Columbus, Elkhart, Evansville
(home of University of Evansville and University of Southern Indiana),
Fort Wayne (home of Concordia Theological Seminary), Gary (home
of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore), Kokomo, Lafayette (adjoining
West Lafayette, home of Purdue University), Michigan City, Muncie
(home of Ball State University), South Bend (home of University
of Notre Dame), and Terre Haute (home of Indiana State University
and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology).
Map of IndianaIndiana cities that function as centers of United
States micropolitan areas include Angola, Auburn, Bedford, Connersville,
Crawfordsville, Decatur, Frankfort, Greensburg, Huntington, Jasper,
Kendallville, Logansport, Madison, Marion, New Castle, North Vernon,
Peru, Plymouth, Richmond, Scottsburg, Seymour, Vincennes,Wabash,
Warsaw, and Washington.
Other communities with populations of 10,000 or more include Beech
Grove, Brownsburg, Carmel, Chesterton, Clarksville, Connersville,
Crawfordsville, Crown Point, Dyer, East Chicago, Fishers, Franklin,
Goshen, Greencastle, Greenfield, Greenwood, Griffith, Hammond, Highland,
Hobart, Jasper, Jeffersonville, Lake Station, La Porte, Lawrence,
Lebanon, Martinsville, Merrillville, Mooresville, Munster, New Albany,
New Haven, Noblesville, Plainfield, Portage, Princeton, Schererville,
Shelbyville, Speedway, Valparaiso (home of Valparaiso University),
Washington, West Lafayette (home of Purdue University), Westfield,
and Zionsville.
The suburbs of Indianapolis include Anderson, Avon, Beech Grove,
Brownsburg, Carmel, Clermont, Danville, Fishers, Franklin, Greenwood,
Lawrence, Lebanon, Noblesville, Pendleton, Plainfield, Southport,
Speedway, West Newton, Whiteland, and Zionsville.
See also: Nine-County Region
The Indiana suburbs of Chicago, Illinois include Beverly Shores,
Burns Harbor, Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Crown Point, Dune Acres, Dyer,
East Chicago, Gary, Griffith, Hammond, Hebron, Highland, Hobart,
Kouts, LaCrosse, Lake Station, LaPorte, Long Beach, Lowell, Merrillville,
Michigan City, Munster, New Chicago, Ogden Dunes, Pines, Portage,
St. John, Schererville, Schneider, Valparaiso, Westville, Winfield,
and Whiting.
See also: Northwest Indiana
The Indiana suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky include Clarksville,
Jeffersonville, and New Albany.
Fort Wayne's Indiana suburbs include Churubusco, Grabill, Huntertown,
Leo-Cedarville, Monroeville, New Haven, Ossian, Roanoke, Woodburn
and Zanesville.
Fort Wayne's Ohio suburbs include Antwerp, Payne, and Wren.
Evansville's Indiana suburbs include Boonville, Chandler, Darmstadt,
Fort Branch, Haubstadt, Lynnville New Harmony, Newburgh, Mt. Vernon,
Owensville and Princeton.
Evansville's Kentucky suburbs include Corydon, Henderson, Morganfield,
Owensboro and Sebree.
Evansville's Illinois suburbs include Carmi, Crossville, Grayville,
and Mount Carmel.
See also: Southwestern Indiana
South Bend's Indiana suburbs include Granger, Mishawaka, North Liberty,
Osceola, Walkerton, and Roseland.
See also: Michiana
[edit] Politics
See also: List of Indiana Governors
See also: Indiana General Assembly
See also: Indiana Supreme Court
Indiana has three branches: executive (government), legislative
(parliament) and judicial. The governor, elected for a four-year
term, heads the government. The General Assembly, the legislative
branch, consists of the upper house, Senate, and the lower house,
House of Representatives. Indiana's fifty State Senators are elected
for four-year terms and one hundred State Representatives for two-year
terms. In odd-numbered years, the General Assembly meets in a sixty-one
day session. In even-numbered years, the Assembly meets for thirty
session days. The judicial branch consists of the Indiana Supreme
Court, Court of Appeals, the Indiana Tax Court, and local circuit
courts.
The current governor of Indiana is Mitch Daniels, whose campaign
slogan was "My Man Mitch," an appellation given by President
George W. Bush for whom Mitch Daniels was the director of the Office
of Management and Budget. He was elected to office on November 2,
2004.
Indiana has long been considered to be a Republican stronghold.
It has only supported a Democrat for president four times since
1900 -- in 1912, 1932, 1936 and 1964. Nonetheless, half of Indiana's
governors in the 20th century were Democrats.
Historically, Republicans have been strongest in the eastern and
central portions of the state, as well as the suburbs of the state's
major cities. Democrats have been strongest in the northwestern
and southern parts of the state along with the major cities. However,
outside of Indianapolis, the Chicago suburbs, and Bloomington, the
state's Democrats tend to be somewhat more conservative than their
counterparts in the rest of the country, especially on social issues.
Indiana's delegation to the United States House of Representatives
is not overly Republican as one might suspect. Instead, it has generally
served as a bellwether for the political movement of the nation.
For instance, Democrats held the majority of seats until the 1994
Republican Revolution, when Republicans took a majority. This continued
until 2006, when three Republican congressmen were defeated in Indiana;
(Chris Chocola, John Hostettler and Mike Sodrel), giving the Democrats
a majority of the delegation again.[28]
Former governor and current U.S. Senator Evan Bayh announced in
2006 his plans for a presidential exploratory committee.[29] His
father was a three-term senator who was turned out of office in
the 1980 Reagan Revolution by conservative Republican (and future
Vice-President) Dan Quayle, a native of the small town of Huntington
in the northeastern part of the state. However, Bayh announced that
he would not be seeking the Presidency on December 16, 2006.
The state's U.S. Senators are Senior Sen. Richard G. Lugar (Republican)
and Junior Sen. Evan Bayh (Democrat). Both Senators, although of
opposite parties, have proved immensely popular in the state. In
2004, Sen. Bayh won reelection to a second term with 62% of the
vote. And in 2006, Sen. Lugar won reelection to a sixth term with
87% of the vote against no major-party opposition.
District Representative Party Residence First Took Office
Indiana 1 Peter Visclosky Democrat Merrillville January 1985
Indiana 2 Joe Donnelly Democrat Granger January 2007
Indiana 3 Mark Souder Republican Grabill January 1995
Indiana 4 Steve Buyer Republican Plainfield January 1993
Indiana 5 Dan Burton Republican Indianapolis January 1983
Indiana 6 Mike Pence Republican Columbus January 2001
Indiana 7 Vacant
Indiana 8 Brad Ellsworth Democrat Evansville January 2007
Indiana 9 Baron Hill Democrat Seymour January 1999
Main article: United States congressional delegations from Indiana
[edit] Administrative divisions
[edit] Town Council
According to the Indiana laws, Town Council members serve as both
the executive and legislative branches for small communities incorporated
as towns within the state. They consist of three or five members,
depending upon the town's population.
Unlike some states, Indiana councilmembers must declare a political
party affiliation, if any, when they file to run for office. Upon
election in November, they are sworn in before January 1 of the
following year, where they serve a four year term. There are no
state term limits affecting how many times a candidate may run for
reelection to office.
The first meeting after an election, members of the town council
hold an organizing meeting, where they elect a leader to set future
agendas and act as an official spokesman for the town or as liaison
between the town and state and county government.
Indiana town councils work in conjunction with an elected town
clerk, who manages the day-to-day business of the municipal government.
As an elected official, the town clerk is solely executive in function
and operates independently of the town council. But the council
has final say on budgets which clerks depend upon to operate.
In addition to a clerk, the council can authorize the hiring of
other staff to run the operations of government, including law enforcement
officers, utility workers, park and recreation employees and town
managers. These employees serve at the pleasure of the council.
[edit] Economy
The total gross state product in 2005 was US$214 billion in 2000
chained dollars.[30] Indiana's per capita income, as of 2005, was
US$31,150.[31] A high percentage of Indiana's income is from manufacturing.[32]
The Calumet region of northwest Indiana is the largest steel producing
area in the U.S. Steelmaking itself requires generating very large
amounts of electric power. Indiana's other manufactures include
pharmaceuticals and medical devices, automobiles, electrical equipment,
transportation equipment, chemical products, rubber, petroleum and
coal products, and factory machinery.
Despite its reliance on manufacturing, Indiana has been much less
affected by declines in traditional Rust Belt manufactures than
many of its neighbors. The explanation appears to be certain factors
in the labor market. First, much of the heavy manufacturing, such
as industrial machinery and steel, requires highly skilled labor,
and firms are often willing to locate where hard-to-train skills
already exist. Second, Indiana's labor force is located primarily
in medium-sized and smaller cities rather than in very large and
expensive metropolises. This makes it possible for firms to offer
somewhat lower wages for these skills than would normally be paid.
In other words, firms often see in Indiana a chance to obtain higher
than average skills at lower than average wages.[33]
Indiana is home to the international headquarters of pharmaceutical
company Eli Lilly in Indianapolis as well as the headquarters of
Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb, in
Evansville. Elkhart, in the north, has also had a strong economic
base of pharmaceuticals, though this has changed over the past decade
with the closure of Whitehall Laboratories in the 1990s and the
planned drawdown of the large Bayer complex, announced in late 2005.[34]
Overall, Indiana ranks fifth among all U.S. states in total sales
and shipments of pharmaceutical products and second highest in the
number of biopharmaceutical related jobs.[35] Medical device manufacturers
include Zimmer in Warsaw and Cook in Bloomington.
The state is located within the Corn Belt and the state's agricultural
methods and principal farm outputs reflect this: a feedlot-style
system raising corn to fatten hogs and cattle. Soybeans are also
a major cash crop. Its proximity to large urban centers, such as
Chicago, assure that dairying, egg production, and specialty horticulture
occur. Specialty crops include melons, tomatoes, grapes, and mint.[36]
Most of the original land was not prairie and had to be cleared
of deciduous trees. Many parcels of woodland remain and support
a furniture-making sector in the southern portion of the state.
Indiana is becoming a leading state in the production of biofuels,
such as ethanol and biodiesel. Indiana now has 12 ethanol and 4
biodiesel plants located in the state.[37] Reynolds, located north
of Lafayette is now known as BioTown, USA. The town is experimenting
with using biofuels and organic fuels, such as those made with manure,
to power the town.[38]
In mining, Indiana is probably best known for its decorative limestone
from the southern, hilly portion of the state, especially from Lawrence
County (the home area of Apollo I astronaut Gus Grissom).[39] One
of the many public buildings faced with this stone is The Pentagon,
and after the September 11, 2001 attacks, a special effort was made
by the mining industry of Indiana to replace those damaged walls
with as nearly identical type and cut of material as the original
facing.[40] There are also large coal mines in the southern portion
of the state. Like most Great Lakes states, Indiana has small to
medium operating petroleum fields; the principal location of these
today is in the extreme southwest, though operational oil derricks
can be seen on the outskirts of Terre Haute.
Indiana's economy is considered to be one of the most business-friendly
in the U.S. This is due in part to its conservative business climate,
low business taxes, relatively low union membership, and labor laws.
The doctrine of at-will employment, whereby an employer can terminate
an employee for any or no reason, is in force.
Indiana has a flat state income tax rate of 3.4%. Many Indiana
counties also collect income tax. The state sales tax rate is 6%.
Property taxes are imposed on both real and personal property in
Indiana and are administered by the Department of Local Government
Finance. Property is subject to taxation by a variety of taxing
units (schools, counties, townships, cities and towns, libraries),
making the total tax rate the sum of the tax rates imposed by all
taxing units in which a property is located.
[edit] Energy
Indiana's power production chiefly consists of the consumption of
fossil fuels, mainly coal. Indiana has 24 coal power plants, including
the largest coal power plant in the United States, Gibson Generating
Station, located near Owensville, Indiana. While Indiana has made
commitments to increasing use of renewable resources such as wind,
hydroelectric, biomass, or solar power, however, progress has been
very slow, mainly because of the continued abundance of coal in
Southern Indiana. Most of the new plants in the state have been
"coal gasification" plants. Another source is hydroelectric
power.
Indiana has six hydroelectric dams. The Norway and Oakdale Dams
near Monticello provide electrical power, recreation, and other
benefits to local citizens. The Norway Dam created Lake Shafer and
the Oakdale Dam created Lake Freeman. The Markland Dam, on the Ohio
River, near Vevay, Indiana also produces electricity. The city of
Wabash was the first electrically lighted city in the country. Solar
power and wind power are being investigated, and Geothermal Power
is being used commercially.
[edit] Sources of energy (2001)
Fuel Capacity Percent of Total Consumed Percent of Total Production
Number of Plants/Units
Coal 19,500MW 63.0000% 88.5000% 24 Plants
Natural Gas 2,100MW 29.0000% 10.5000% 12 Units / 2 plants
Petroleum 575MW 7.5000% 1.5000% 10 Units
Hydroelectric 64MW 0.0450% 0.0100% 1 Plant
Biomass 20MW 0.0150% 0.0020% 2 units
Wood & Waste 18MW 0.0013% 0.0015% 3 Units
Geothermal, Wind and/or Solar 0MW 0.0% 0.0 No Facilities at this
time
Indiana does not utilize wind or photovoltaic (solar) power.[41][42][43]
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Airports
2008- Indiana License plate.
2003-2008 Indiana License plate, "small letter version".Indianapolis
International Airport serves the greater Indianapolis area and is
currently in the process of a major expansion project. When fully
completed, the airport will offer a new midfield passenger terminal,
concourses, air traffic control tower, parking garage, and airfield
and apron improvements.[44]
Other major airports include Evansville Regional Airport, Fort
Wayne International Airport (which houses the 122nd Fighter Wing
of the Air National Guard), and South Bend Regional Airport. Although
Fort Wayne is designated as an international airport, there are
no international flights operating out of the facility. A long-standing
proposal to turn the under-utilized Gary Chicago International Airport
into Chicago's third major airport received a boost in early 2006
with the approval of $48 million in federal funding over the next
ten years.[45]
2003-2008 Indiana License plate, "large letter version".The
Terre Haute International Airport has no airlines operating out
of the facility but is used for private flying. Since 1954, the
181st Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard has been stationed
at the airport. However, the BRAC Proposal of 2005 stated that the
181st would lose its fighter mission and F-16 aircraft, leaving
the Terre Haute facility as a general-aviation only facility.
The southern part of the state is also served by the Louisville
International Airport across the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky.
[edit] Highways
The major U.S. Interstate highways in Indiana are I-69, I-65, I-94,
I-70, I-74, I-64, I-80, and I-90. The various highways intersecting
in and around Indianapolis earned it the nickname "The Crossroads
of America".
There are also many state highways maintained by the Indiana Department
of Transportation. These are numbered according to the same convention
as U.S. Highways.
[edit] County roads
Most Indiana counties use a grid-based system to identify county
roads; this system replaced the older arbitrary system of road numbers
and names, and (among other things) makes it much easier to identify
the sources of calls placed to the 9-1-1 system. For this reason,
the system is often called "9-1-1 addressing". Such systems
are easier to implement in the glacially flattened northern portion
of the state. Rural counties in the southern third of the state
are less likely to have grids and more likely to rely on unsystematic
road names (e.g., Franklin County); there are also counties in the
northern portions of the state that have never implemented a grid,
or have only partially implemented one.
Many counties set up this grid as follows: the county is given
an east-west division line, dividing the county into northern and
southern parts, and a north-south meridian line, dividing it into
eastern and western parts. Roads are numbered by taking the distance,
in miles, from the appropriate baseline and multiplying it by 100.
Thus, a north-south road that is 1 mile east of the meridian line
is county road 100 E; and an east-west road that is 4.75 miles north
of the division line is county road 475 N.
[edit] Rail
Indiana has over 4,255 railroad route miles, of which 91 percent
are operated by Class I railroads, principally CSX Transportation
and Norfolk Southern. Other Class I railroads in Indiana include
Canadian National and the Soo Line, a Canadian Pacific Railway subsidiary,
as well as Amtrak. The remaining miles are operated by 37 regional,
local, and switching & terminal railroads. The South Shore Line
is one of the country's most notable commuter rail systems extending
from Chicago to South Bend. Indiana is currently implementing an
extensive rail plan that was prepared in 2002 by the Parsons Corporation.[46]
[edit] Ports
Indiana annually ships over 70 million tons of cargo by water each
year, which ranks 14th among all U.S. states. More than half of
Indiana's border is water, which includes 400 miles (640 km) of
direct access to two major freight transportation arteries: the
Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway (via Lake Michigan) and the Inland
Waterway System (via the Ohio River). The Ports of Indiana manages
three major ports which include Burns Harbor, Jeffersonville, and
Mount Vernon.[47]
[edit] Education
Please help improve this article by expanding this section.
See talk page for details. Please remove this message once the section
has been expanded.
Indiana is known as the "Brain Bank of the Midwest" as
Indiana's colleges and universities attract the fourth largest number
of out-of-state students in the nation and the largest out-of-state
student population in the midwest. In addition, Indiana is the third
best state in the country at keeping high school seniors in-state
as Indiana colleges and universities attract 88% of Indiana's college
attendees.[48] Indiana universities also lead the nation in the
attraction of international students with Purdue University and
Indiana University ranked #3 and #17 respectively in the total international
student enrollment of all universities in the United States.[49]
This exceptional popularity is attributed to the high quality of
the research and educational universities located in the state.
The state's leading higher education institutions include Indiana
University, Purdue University, University of Notre Dame, Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology, Indiana-Purdue at Indianapolis, Butler
University, Ball State University, Valparaiso University, Indiana
State University, University of Southern Indiana, Vincennes University,
Wabash College, DePauw University, Manchester College, Earlham College
and Indiana Wesleyan University among the many public and private
institutions located in the state.
The state has had difficulty retaining its college graduates, bringing
the issue of brain drain to the attention of Governor Mitch Daniels.
[50]
See also: List of colleges and universities in Indiana
See also: List of school districts in Indiana
See also: List of high schools in Indiana
[edit] Sports
[edit] Auto racing
Indiana has a long history with auto racing. Indianapolis hosts
the Indianapolis 500 mile race over Memorial Day weekend at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway every May. The name of the race is usually
shortened to "Indy 500" and also goes by the nickname,
"The Greatest Spectacle in Racing". The race attracts
over 250,000 people every year. The track also hosts the Allstate
400 at the Brickyard (NASCAR) and the United States Grand Prix (Formula
One).
[edit] Basketball
Indiana has a rich basketball heritage that reaches back to the
formative years of the sport itself. Although James Naismith invented
basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, Indiana is where
high school basketball was born. In 1925, Naismith visited an Indiana
basketball state finals game along with 15,000 screaming fans and
later wrote "Basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which
remains the center of the sport." The 1986 film Hoosiers is
based on the story of the 1954 Indiana state champions Milan High
School.
Club Sport League
Anderson Packers (defunct) Basketball National Basketball Association
Dubois County Dragons (defunct) Baseball Minor League Baseball
Elkhart Express Basketball Minor League Basketball
Evansville BlueCats (defunct) Indoor football United Indoor Football
Evansville Crimson Giants (defunct) Football National Football League
Evansville Otters Baseball Minor League Baseball
Evansville Triplets (defunct) Baseball Minor League Baseball
Fort Wayne Fever Soccer USL Premier Development League
Fort Wayne Fusion Arena football af2
Fort Wayne Komets Ice hockey International Hockey League (2007-)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants Basketball National Basketball Association Development
League
Fort Wayne Wizards Baseball Minor League Baseball
Gary Steelheads Basketball Continental Basketball Association
FC Indiana Soccer Women's Premier Soccer League
Gary SouthShore RailCats Baseball Minor League Baseball
Indiana Fever Basketball Women's National Basketball Association
Indiana Ice Ice hockey United States Hockey League
Indiana Invaders Soccer USL Premier Development League
Indiana Speed Football Women's Professional Football League
Indianapolis Colts Football National Football League
Indiana Pacers Basketball National Basketball Association
Indianapolis Indians Baseball Minor League Baseball
Hammond Pros (defunct) Football National Football League
Indianapolis Olympians (defunct) Basketball National Basketball
Association
Indianapolis Jets (defunct) Basketball National Basketball Association
Indianapolis Racers (defunct) Ice Hockey World Hockey Association
Muncie Flyers (defunct) Football National Football League (American
Professional Football Association)
South Bend Silver Hawks Baseball Minor League Baseball
Whiting All-American Caesars (defunct) Basketball National Basketball
League
[edit] College sports
Indiana has had great sports success at the collegiate level. Notably,
Indiana University has won five NCAA basketball championships, six
swimming and diving NCAA championships, and seven NCAA soccer championships
and Notre Dame has won 11 football championships. Schools fielding
NCAA Division I athletic programs include:
Ball State University
Butler University
Indiana University
IPFW
IUPUI
Indiana State University
Purdue University
University of Evansville
University of Notre Dame
Valparaiso University
[edit] Miscellaneous topics
[edit] Military installations
Indiana used to be home to two major military installations, Grissom
Air Force Base near Peru (reduced to reservist operations in 1994)
and Fort Benjamin Harrison near Indianapolis, now closed, though
the Department of Defense continues to operate a large finance center
there.
Current active installations include Air National Guard fighter
units at Fort Wayne, and Terre Haute airports (to be consolidated
at Fort Wayne under the 2005 BRAC proposal, with the Terre Haute
facility remaining open as a non-flying installation). The Army
National Guard conducts operations at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh,
Indiana and helicopter operations out of Shelbyville Airport. The
Crane Naval Weapons Center is in the southwest of the state and
the Army's Newport Chemical Depot, which is currently heavily involved
in neutralizing dangerous chemical weapons stored there, is in the
western part of the state. Also, Naval Operational Support Center
Indianapolis is home to several Navy Reserve units, a Marine Reserve
unit, and a small contingent of active and full-time-support reserve
personnel.
[edit] Time zones
Main article: Time in Indiana
Map of U.S. time zones with new CST and EST areas displayedPrior
to 2006, most of Indiana historically exempted itself from the observation
of daylight saving time (DST). Some counties within this area, particularly
Floyd, Clark, and Harrison counties near Louisville, Kentucky, and
Ohio and Dearborn counties near Cincinnati, Ohio, observed daylight
saving time unofficially and illegally by local custom. Due to the
confusion of anyone not from Indiana, the state passed a bill in
2005 whereby the entire state began observing daylight saving time
starting in April 2006. Residents and officials of Indiana continue
to debate whether the state should be in the Central or Eastern
Time Zone.
[edit] State symbols
Main article: List of Indiana state symbols
State bird: Cardinal
State flower: Peony
State motto: Crossroads of America.
State poem: Indiana, by Arthur Franklin Mapes.
State song: On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away
State river: Wabash
State stone: Salem limestone
State tree: Tulip tree
[edit] Famous Hoosiers
Indiana is the home state of many astronauts, including Gus Grissom,
Frank Borman, and David Wolf. The state was the birthplace of numerous
entertainers and athletes including Larry Bird, John Mellencamp,
Michael Jackson, Don Larsen, David Letterman, David Lee Roth, and
Scott Rolen. Other notable people who were in Indiana during a major
part of their career include:
John Andretti, racecar driver
David Anspaugh, movie director
Albert J. Beveridge, politician and historian
Larry Bird, basketball player, coach
Damon Bailey, retired basketball player
Arija Bareikis, actress
Birch Bayh, senator
Evan Bayh, governor and senator
Rupert Boneham, Survivor star
Claude Bowers, politician and historian
Avery Brooks, Actor
Hoagy Carmichael, composer
Jared Carter, poet
Jim Davis, cartoonist
James Dean, movie star
Eugene V. Debs, Socialist Presidential candidate
Mark Dismore, racecar driver
Theodore Dreiser, novelist
Paul Dresser, song writer
Carl Erskine, baseball star and civic leader
Jessie Flower, actress
Vivica A. Fox, actress
Jared Fogle, Subway Spokesperson
Brendan Fraser, actor
Lillian Gilbreth, home economist
Jeff Gordon, NASCAR driver
Michael Graves, architect
Bob Griese, Football Player
Gus Grissom, astronaut
Rex Grossman, NFL Quarterback
Charles Halleck, politician
Lee Hamilton, politician
Benjamin Harrison, 23rd U.S. President
William Henry Harrison, U.S. President and General
Richard Hatcher, politician
Florence Henderson, singer-actress
Jimmy Hoffa, American labor leader
Paul Hoffman, industrialist
Robert Indiana, painter/sculptor
Michael Jackson, singer/songwriter
Shawn Kemp, basketball player
Alfred Kinsey, sex researcher
Bobby Knight, basketball coach
Don Larsen, baseball pitcher
David Letterman, TV personality
Eli Lilly, industrialist and philanthropist
Carole Lombard, actress
Shelley Long, actress
Richard Lugar, politician
Karl Malden, actor
Steve McQueen, actor
Ryan Newman, NASCAR driver
Jane Pauley, anchor and journalist
Cole Porter, song writer
Ernie Pyle, journalist
Dan Quayle, Forty-fourth U.S. Vice-President
George Rapp, Utopian
Orville Redenbacher, farming (popcorn)
James Whitcomb Riley, poet
Oscar Robertson, basketball player
Knute Rockne, football coach
Ned Rorem, prominent 20th century composer and writer
Axl Rose, musician
Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken
Wilbur Shaw, racecar driver
Jean Shepherd, raconteur, personality, writer, and actor
Red Skelton, comedian
T. C. Steele, painter
Tony Stewart, NASCAR driver
Izzy Stradlin, guitarist/musician
Gene Stratton-Porter, novelist
Clement Studebaker, automobile maker
Booth Tarkington, novelist
Tecumseh, pan-American Indian leader
Steve Tesich, screenwriter and playwright
Maurice Thompson, novelist
Kurt Vonnegut, novelist
Madam C.J. Walker, bussinesswoman and civic leader
Lew Wallace, Civil War general, statesman, author
Ryan White, AIDS activist
Matt Williams, producer of popular television shows
Wendell Willkie, politician
Robert Wise, movie director
John Wooden, basketball coach
Fuzzy Zoeller, PGA golfer
CONTACT
msn: milantoplica@hotmail.com or mob: +381
63 427 577
