Indiana

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The State of Indiana
Flag of Indiana State seal of Indiana
Flag of Indiana Seal
Nickname(s): The Hoosier State
Motto(s): The Crossroads of America
Map of the United States with Indiana highlighted
Official language(s) English
Demonym Hoosier [1]
Capital Indianapolis
Largest city Indianapolis
Largest metro area Indianapolis-Carmel MSA
Area  Ranked 38th in the US
 - Total 36,418 sq mi
(94,321 km²)
 - Width 140 miles (225 km)
 - Length 270 miles (435 km)
 - % water 1.5
 - Latitude 37° 46′ N to 41° 46′ N
 - Longitude 84° 47′ W to 88° 6′ W
Population  Ranked 15th in the US
 - Total 6,313,520
 - Density 169.5/sq mi 
65.46/km² (16th in the US)
Elevation  
 - Highest point Hoosier Hill
Wayne County[2]
1,257 ft  (383 m)
 - Mean 689 ft  (210 m)
 - Lowest point Ohio River and mouth of Wabash River
Posey County[2]
320 ft  (98 m)
Admission to Union  December 11, 1816 (19th)
Governor Mitch Daniels (R)
Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman (R)
U.S. Senators Richard Lugar (R)
Evan Bayh (D)
Congressional Delegation List
Time zones  
 - 80 counties Eastern UTC-5/-4
 - 12 counties in
Evansville and
Gary Metro Areas
Central: UTC-6/-5
Abbreviations IN US-IN
Website www.in.gov

The State of Indiana (IPA: /ˌɪndiˈænə/) was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It 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.[3] Indiana is ranked 38th in land area, and is the smallest contiguous state west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Indiana is a diverse state with a few large urban areas and a number of smaller industrial cities. It is known nationally for its sports teams and athletic events; the Indianapolis Colts, champions of the 2006 NFL season's Super Bowl, the NBA Indiana Pacers and for the Indianapolis 500 motorsports race, the largest single-day sporting event in the world, and for a strong basketball tradition, often called Hoosier Hysteria.

Residents of Indiana are often 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.[4] 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.[5]

Contents

[edit] Geography

See also: Geography of Indiana, List of Indiana rivers, and Watersheds of Indiana
Indiana state welcome sign
Indiana state welcome sign

Indiana 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.[6]

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.[7][8] 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:[9]

[edit] Northern Indiana

The northwest corner of the state is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and has nearly one million residents.[10] 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.[11] 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.

The area is marked with swell and swale topography as it retreats South from Lake Michigan. The ecology can change dramatically between swells, or on opposite sides of the same swell. Plants and animals adapted to marshes are generally found in the swales, while forests or even prickly pear cactus are found in the dryer swells.[12]

Most of northern and central Indiana is flat farmland dotted with small cities and towns, such as North Manchester.
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.[13] Before it was drained and developed for agriculture, the Kankakee Marsh was one of the largest freshwater marshes in the country.[14] South of the Kankakee is a large area of prairie, the eastern edge of the Grand Prairie that covers Iowa and Illinois.[15] The Prairie Chicken and American Bison were common in Indiana's pioneer era, but are now extinct as wild species within the state.

The South Bend metropolitan area, in north central Indiana, is the center of commerce in the region better known as Michiana. Other cities located within the area include Elkhart, Mishawaka, Goshen and Warsaw. 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. Other cities located within the area include Huntington and Marion. East of Fort Wayne is an area of extremely flat land that, before development, was the western-most reach of the Great Black Swamp.[16]

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 and Glacial Lake Maumee. 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".[17] 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, Noblesville, 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

Main article: 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. The bottomlands of Indiana, where the Wabash and Ohio converge, hosts numerous plant and animal species normally found in the Lower Mississippi and Gulf Coast region of the United States.[18] 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
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 Indiana University's 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.[19]

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.[20] 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[21]

[edit] History

Main article: History of Indiana

The area of Indiana has been settled since before the development of the Hopewell culture (ca. 100–400 AD).[22] It was part of the Mississippian culture from roughly the year 1000 up to 1400.[23] The specific Native American tribes that inhabited this territory at that time were primarily the Miami and the Shawnee.[24] The area was claimed for New France in the 17th century, and handed over to the Kingdom of Great Britain as part of the settlement at the end of the French and Indian War (see Province of Quebec (1763-1791) for more on this era). During British colonial rule a war is fought with several Indian tribes between 1763-1766, called Pontiac’s Rebellion.

After the American Revolution, the area was officially handed over to the United States in 1783, without consulting the opinions of the indigenous Indian peoples. Their dissatisfaction with this handing over of their territory from British into U.S. jurisdiction, led to the Northwest Indian War[24] between 1785-1795.

In 1787 the area became part of the newly formed Northwest Territory, in 1800 part of this was established into the Indiana Territory. In 1811 the Indians again rose up against their treatment since the peace treaty of Greenville of 1795, in Tecumseh's War, and were again defeated. In 1816 Indiana joined the Union as the 19th state. Indiana fought on the Union side during the American Civil War and prohibited slavery.

[edit] Pioneer Era

On June 29, 1816, Indiana adopted a constitution, and on December 11, 1816, became the 19th State to join the Union.[25]

Indiana was populated from the Ohio River north. At that time southern Indiana was covered by huge virgin forests. Walnut trees 40 inches in diameter and 130 feet tall were common. Ancient oaks which had stood since before Columbus arrived were abudant.[26] 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.[27]

[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 Map
Indiana Population Density Map
Historical 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.[28] 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.[29] 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*
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 2000–05 (total population) 2.51% 8.99% -0.26% 23.11% 11.31%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) 1.33% 8.68% -2.87% 22.97% 9.77%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) 33.38% 26.82% 21.02% 28.42% 16.70%
* AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

As of 2005, the total population included 242,281 foreign-born (3.9%).[30]

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%).[31]

[edit] Religion

Although the largest single religious denomination in the state is Roman Catholic, most of the population are members of 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.[32]

The state is home to the University of Notre Dame and several other private, religiously affiliated schools. It 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 United Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, the largest branch of American Quakerism, 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.[33]

[edit] Cities and towns

The five largest cities in Indiana are the capital Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, and Gary.

[edit] Politics

See also: United States congressional delegations from Indiana and Indiana's congressional districts

Indiana has three branches: executive (government), legislative (parliament) and judicial. The governor of Indiana, elected for a four-year term, heads the government. The Indiana 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, it meets for thirty session days. The judicial branch consists of the Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana 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 either. 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.[34]

Former governor and current U.S. Senator Evan Bayh announced in 2006 his plans for a presidential exploratory committee.[35] 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 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 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 Pete 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 André Carson Democrat Indianapolis March 2008
Indiana 8 Brad Ellsworth Democrat Evansville January 2007
Indiana 9 Baron Hill Democrat Seymour January 1999

[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

Indiana State Quarter
Indiana State Quarter

The total gross state product in 2005 was US$214 billion in 2000 chained dollars.[36] Indiana's per capita income, as of 2005, was US$31,150.[37] A high percentage of Indiana's income is from manufacturing.[38] 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.[39]

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.[40] 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.[41] 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.[42] 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.[43] 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.[44]

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).[45] 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.[46] 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 7%. 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. However, a law enacted on March 19, 2008 limits property taxes to one percent of assessed value for homeowners, two percent for rental properties and farmland and three percent for businesses.

[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

[edit] Transportation

2008- Indiana License plate
2008- Indiana License plate
2003-2008 Indiana License plate, large letter version
2003-2008 Indiana License plate, large letter version

[edit] Airports

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.[50]

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. 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.[51]

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. The southeastern part of the state is served by the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport also across the Ohio River in Florence Ky. Many residents of northwestern Indiana use the two Chicago airports, O'Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport

[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". Originally the "Crossroads of America" referred to Terre Haute, where the two major US 41 and US 40 ("Old National Road") highways intersected.[citation needed]

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.[52]

[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.[53]

[edit] Education

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.[54] 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.[55] 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, IPFW, IUPUI, Butler University, Ball State University, Valparaiso University, Indiana State University, University of Southern Indiana, Vincennes University, Wabash College, University of Evansville, DePauw University, Manchester College, Huntington University, Earlham College, Indiana Wesleyan University and St. Mary of the Woods College 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. [56]

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 making it the largest single day sporting event in the world. 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 International Basketball League
Evansville BlueCats (defunct) Indoor football United Indoor Football
Evansville Crimson Giants (defunct) Football National Football League
Evansville Otters Baseball Frontier League
Evansville Triplets (defunct) Baseball American Association
FC Indiana Soccer Women's Premier Soccer League
Fort Wayne Fever Soccer USL Premier Development League
Fort Wayne Freedom Arena football Continental Indoor Football League
Fort Wayne Komets Ice hockey International Hockey League (2007-)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants Basketball NBA Development League
Fort Wayne Pistons (now Detroit Pistons) Basketball National Basketball Association
Fort Wayne Wizards Baseball Midwest League
Gary SouthShore RailCats Baseball Northern League
Gary Steelheads Basketball International Basketball League
Indiana Fever Basketball Women's National Basketball Association
Indiana Ice Ice hockey United States Hockey League
Indiana Pacers Basketball National Basketball Association, formerly, the American Basketball Association
Indiana Invaders Soccer USL Premier Development League
Indiana Speed Football Women's Professional Football League
Indianapolis Capitols (defunct) Football Continental Football League
Indianapolis Colts Football National Football League
Indianapolis Indians Baseball International League
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 Midwest League
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:

[edit] Miscellaneous

[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 displayed
Map of U.S. time zones with new CST and EST areas displayed

Indiana is one of thirteen U.S. states that is divided by more than one time zone. Indiana's time zones have fluctuated over the past century. At present most of the state observes Eastern Time; six counties near Chicago and six near Evansville observe Central Time. Debate continues on the matter.

Before 2006, most of Indiana did not observe 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, unofficially observed DST by local custom. Since April 2006 the entire state observes DST. Although DST is supposed to save energy, a 2008 study of billing data before and after the change in 2006 concluded that residential electricity consumption had increased by 1% to 4%, primarily due to extra afternoon cooling.[57]

[edit] State symbols

[edit] Famous Hoosiers

See also: List of people from Indiana

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:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Indianan is sometimes used to incorrectly refer to resident of Indiana [1]
  2. ^ a b Elevations and Distances in the United States. U.S Geological Survey (29 April 2005). Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
  3. ^ States ranked by population density
  4. ^ Stewart, George R. [1945] (1967). Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States, Sentry edition (3rd), Houghton Mifflin, p. 191. 
  5. ^ Angel Mounds State Historic Site. Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.
  6. ^ Meinig, D.W. (1993). The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History, Volume 2: Continental America, 1800-1867. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-05658-3; pg. 436
  7. ^ Ozick, Cynthia. "MIRACLE ON GRUB STREET; Stockholm.", The New York Times, November 9, 1986. Retrieved on 2006-10-19. (English) 
  8. ^ Fantel, Hans. "SOUND; CD'S MAKE THEIR MARK ON THE WABASH VALLEY", The New York Times, October 14, 1984. Retrieved on 2006-10-19. (English) 
  9. ^ Find A Park. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  10. ^ Northwest Indiana Population Data. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
  11. ^ Our History. Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  12. ^ Jackson, 211
  13. ^ Hudson, John C.. "Chicago: Patterns of the metropolis", Indiana Business Magazine, May 1, 2001. Retrieved on 2006-10-19. (English) 
  14. ^ Jackson, 190
  15. ^ Jackson, 189
  16. ^ Jackson, 201
  17. ^ Verespej, Michael A.. "The atlas of U.S. manufacturing", April 3, 2000. Retrieved on 2006-10-19. (English) 
  18. ^ Jackson, 177
  19. ^ Lawrence County Limestone History. Lawrence County, Indiana. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  20. ^ Indiana State Climate Office. agry.perdue.edu. Last accessed November 11, 2006.
  21. ^ Evansville Weather. US Travel Weather. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  22. ^ (January 12, 2003) Hopewell culture (in English). Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. 
  23. ^ Kavasch, E. Barrie. "Ancient mound builders", Cobblestone Publishing Company, Cobblestone, January 10, 2003, p. 6. Retrieved on 2006-10-19. (English) 
  24. ^ a b (January 1, 2005) Indiana (in English). World Almanac Books. 
  25. ^ Our History. The Indiana Historian. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  26. ^ USDA Forest Service, (2007)Old Growth Forest: Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest.
  27. ^ (January 12, 2005) Indiana (in English). Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. 
  28. ^ Table 4: Cumulative Estimates of the Components of Population Change for the United States, Regions and States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006
  29. ^ Population and Population Centers by State. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
  30. ^ Census: Indiana, United States
  31. ^ Census: DP-2. Profile of Selected Social Characteristics: 2000
  32. ^ American Religious Identification Survey. The Graduate Center. Retrieved on 2006-12-25.
  33. ^ Indiana - Online Information Article. Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
  34. ^ Democrats Take House by a Wide Margin. NPR. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
  35. ^ Officials: Bayh to take first step in 2008 bid next week. CNN.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
  36. ^ Bureau of Economic Analysis: Gross State Product
  37. ^ Bureau of Economic Analysis: Annual State Personal Income
  38. ^ Indiana Economy at a Glance. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
  39. ^ (July 19, 1998). "Manufacturers in Indiana". Purdue University Center for Rural Development.
  40. ^ WNDU-TV: News Story: Bayer is leaving Elkhart - November 16, 2005
  41. ^ Economy & Demographics. Terre Haute Economic Development Co.. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  42. ^ USDA Crop Profiles. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
  43. ^ Biofuels Indiana
  44. ^ About BioTown
  45. ^ NASA-Astronaut Bio: Virgil I. Grissom
  46. ^ Pentagon Renovation Program
  47. ^ Indiana Energy Statistics. US Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  48. ^ Indiana Quick Facts. US Department of Energy - State Energy Profiles
  49. ^ Indiana Office of Energy
  50. ^ New Indianapolis Airport. Indianapolis Airport Authority. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
  51. ^ Gary Airpport Gets Millions in Federal Funding. CBS Channel 2. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  52. ^ Indiana Rail Plan. Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  53. ^ Ports of Indiana Website. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
  54. ^ National Center for Education Statistics
  55. ^ Institute of International Education
  56. ^ My Man Mitch | Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
  57. ^ Matthew J. Kotchen; Laura E. Grant (2008-02-08). "Does daylight saving time save energy? evidence from a natural experiment in Indiana" (PDF) in Environmental and Energy Economics Program Meeting. Preliminary Program, National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Indiana Writer's Project. Indiana: A Guide To The Hoosier State: American Guide Series (1937), famous WPA Guide to every location; strong on history, architecture and culture; reprinted 1973
  • Carmony, Donald Francis. Indiana, 1816 to 1850: The Pioneer Era (1998)
  • Jackson, Marion T., editor. The Natural Heritage of Indiana. © 1997, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana. ISBN 0-2533-3074-2.* James H. Madison. The Indiana Way: A State History (1990)
  • Skertic, Mark and Watkins, John J. A Native's Guide to Northwest Indiana (2003)
  • Taylor, Robert M., ed. The State of Indiana History 2000: Papers Presented at the Indiana Historical Society's Grand Opening (2001)
  • Taylor, Robert M., ed. Indiana: A New Historical Guide (1990), highly detailed guide to citiies and recent history

[edit] External links

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  • IN.Gov - The Official website of the State of Indiana
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Coordinates: 40°N 86°W / 40, -86

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