Here are the Reporter-Times most-read news stories for the week of Aug. 21-27

Lance Gideon, The Reporter Times
·3 min read

1. Honoring Indiana's farmers: Record eight Morgan County farms receive Hoosier Homestead awards

Eight local families were recently honored for the longevity of their respective farms. One of the families honored included the Philip and Patty Dow family, whose farm has been family-owned for nearly 200 years.

Other local farms that were honored include:

  • The Brown Farm, in operation since 1837, received centennial and sesquicentennial awards.

  • The Brown Farm, in operation since 1886, received the centennial award.

  • The Jackson Farm, in operation since 1846, received the sesquicentennial award.

  • The Luther & Jessie Pruitt Farm, in operation since 1922, received the centennial award.

  • The Pearcy-Burns-Cook Farm, in operation since 1905, received the centennial award.

  • The Pearcy-Burns-Cook-Stephany Farm, in operation since 1918, received the centennial award.

  • The Stierwalt Farm, in operation since 1856, received the sesquicentennial award.

2. Martinsville of tomorrow: City looks to update comprehensive plan

Martinsville officials are looking to the future as new development is expected arrive in the city in the coming years with I-69 now open in southern Morgan County.

On Tuesday, Aug. 22, the Martinsville Plan Commission held a meeting where a new comprehensive plan for the city was presented.

A comprehensive plan, which was last updated for Martinsville in 2017, helps guide decisions on land-use and zoning in municipalities.

A draft of the document can be found at martinsville.in.gov.

Anyone wishing to make comments can email Martinsville Director of Planning and Engineering Gary Oakes at goakes@martinsville.in.gov.

3. A tornado-damaged building in Mooresville has sat for over two years. Here's what we know.

A building in downtown Mooresville was severely damaged by an EF-1 tornado on April 8, 2020.

More than two years later, that building is still standing despite it being partially collapsed.

In recent weeks, a fence has been installed around the building and traffic is limited in the downtown area around the structure as the town is looking to tear it down.

The town and a private company had come to an agreement to bring the building down, but the company was unable to receive proper insurance and the agreement was terminated.

4. Martinsville City Council: Landowner requests annexation of property into city.

Martinsville City Hall stands at the intersection of Jefferson and Jackson streets in downtown Martinsville.
Martinsville City Hall stands at the intersection of Jefferson and Jackson streets in downtown Martinsville.

Martinsville could grow a bit in the near future as a local property owner looks to be voluntarily annexed into the city.

The matter was brought up for a discussion during the Tuesday, Aug. 23 meeting of the Martinsville City Council.

The city will need to provide a fiscal plan for the proposed annexation, which will outline what services will be provided to the property in question.

Any annexation would increase the territory for both the Martinsville fire and police departments.

5. Heading to Indy this week? Here's what you need to know about I-69 construction.

The I-69 Finish Line project continues with work taking place throughout the 26-mile corridor in Morgan, Johnson and Marion counties.

In its weekly update sent out on Aug. 22, the Indiana Department of Transportation noted that traffic was expected to shift onto new pavement along portions of the future interstate in Johnson County.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Reporter-Times top stories for the week of Aug. 21-27