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South Bend-Elkhart regional leaders win $50 million in state economic development READI grants

Captured via YouTube

The South Bend-Elkhart Regional Development Authority was awarded the full $50 million dollars it was seeking in state economic development grants Tuesday.

The coalition of area governments received the money as part of Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, grant process.

The regional proposal aims to boost innovation, attract new talent and improve quality of life.

It was presented to the state earlier this month and includes investments in affordable housing and arts and cultural amenities as well as job and education programs like the LIFT Network or Notre Dame’s iNDustry Labs.

Indiana was split into 17 regions for the grant process, and all regions received a piece of the $500 million in grant awards.

But the South Bend-Elkhart area was one of only five regions to receive the maximum $50 million dollar grant.

Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.

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Jakob Lazzaro came to Indiana from Chicago, where he graduated from Northwestern University in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and a double major in History. Before joining WVPE, he wrote NPR's Source of the Week e-mail newsletter, and previously worked for CalMatters, Pittsburgh's 90.5 WESA and North by Northwestern.