Northern Indiana mayors converge on Logan for roundtable

Apr. 29—Mayors from Northern Indiana congregated Friday morning at the Logansport/ Cass County Airport for their monthly roundtable discussion.

Mayor Chris Martin was joined by mayors from towns and cities such as Elkhart, Bluffton, Peru and Plymouth as they shared strategies.

During the end of the meeting, the mayors were joined by representatives of Governor Eric Holcomb, Senator Todd Young, Senator Jim Banks, Senator Mike Braun and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

The mayors received updates on bills that passed during the final day of the Indiana legislative session and also had a chance to ask questions.

Tyler Warren, representing the governor, thanked the mayors for reaching out to their legislators about the issues that concerned them. He said the mayors communicating with legislators make a difference.

"It means the world," he said. "It shows your influence when you reach out to them, particularly when it concerns something positive, something that could have a lasting impact on your community as opposed to something negative they were trying to push through."

As the meeting ended, Mayor Martin asked those in attendance to keep councilman Carl McPherson and his family in their prayers. McPherson passed away on April 23 at the age of 81.

Martin said the monthly meeting is a great opportunity for the mayors to discuss what is going on in their communities. He said those in attendance can get the opinions of the other mayors and also learn from their experiences.

"What we love about these meetings is we learn a lot about what goes on in another community, whether or not you missed an opportunity and how struggles coordinate or go together with what you experience in your community," he said. "It's amazing because Elkhart, even though it's a bigger community, they go through the same things that Logansport goes through. And of course, you get to see your neighbors—Peru, Monticello, Delphi—everyone comes together. It's kind of a friendly visit but at the same time you get to learn a lot about each other."

After the meetings ended, the mayors joined community members in the airport hanger for a catered lunch from Vibrant Events.

Chief of Police Travis Yike gave a presentation on the new police station during the meal, saying it was on schedule to open this fall.

Afterwards, Jennifer Simmons, chief operating officer of Advance Indiana Municipalities, updated everyone on bills that passed through legislation. She said AIM would host a free webinar on May 9 for anyone would like to learn about the bills that passed during session.

Those interested in registering for the AIM webinar may do so at https://aimindiana.org/members/events/webinars/.