I have probably been to over half the counties in the state, but the major cities and county seats I can recall off the top of my head are - Gary, Crown Point, Michigan City, Lafayette, South Bend, Elkhart, Indianapolis, Evansville, Terre Haute, Logansport, Monticello (went to Indiana Beach all the time as a kid), Winamac, Rensselaer, Rochester, Valparaiso, La Porte, Kentland, Newport, Williamsport, Fowler, Sullivan, Vincennes, Princeton, Nobelsville, Knox, LaGrange, Bloomington, New Albany, Anderson, Bedford, Kokomo, Richmond .........Quite a few more in southern and eastern Indiana I can not think of off the top of my head.

Just trying to get some discussion going on the Indiana forum. What cities in Indiana have all you guys been to?

For me it's Gary, Michigan City, Marion and Indianapolis.

From what I read, they also demolished most of downtown during the 1950's "urban renewal" frenzy; is that not another big problem in South Bend? I've been avoiding visiting South Bend for fear I would find it way too depressing.

Not as impressive in my opinion as the development in Gary but downtown South Bend is going to get a pretty big new hotel by the college football hall of fame. This is a great thing for a downtown that needs a lot of work, again in my opinion. I always felt that the way downtown South Bend was built facilitated the growth outside of downtown, for instance, 933 and U.S. 20 make it extremely easy to fly right on through downtown. With that being said, I have only spent a brief period of time downtown. Here is a link to the South Bend Tribune article:

New hotel to boast 300 rooms

i'm heading up to indianapolis with my girlfriend on friday, january 4th to see a pacers game. we're planning on spending the day in indianapolis. just wondered if anyone had some suggestions on what would be the best things to do? we'd like to stay in the downtown area. is there anywhere we can park for free and just walk around all day? we're both interested in museums, parks, eclectic shops and such. any help would be great. also, any cool places to eat? thanks...

I agree! The people who come up with these ideas and who ultimately pick these ugly, miniscule buildings need to be taken out of the decision making process for these types of things. 280 feet is hardly a signature or iconic structure for Indy. There are roller coasters much taller than that. I have a plan, but no one will listen to me, so all I can do is complain about the uninspiring ideas for which we in Indy have to settle because a few uncreative people are creating them. My idea would be a very costly one, but it would put Indy on the map not only nationally, but internationally, and the tourism money my idea could generate would more than compensate for the money spent to make it a reality. My plan is already illustrated, but who would listen to an unimportant guy like me?

I attend Valparaiso University, and I take the South Shore on some weekends and it is ALWAYS crowded. Last weekend there were at least a dozen passengers who had to stand up all the way to Millenium Station because of the crowds. I really hope that it gets extended down to Valparaiso and Lowell soon. The expansion is currently being studied, but is very expensive.
I also like the South Shore line because it is free to members of the military.

I like its price and convenience.

I can't think of anything I don't like. Sure it can seem a little slow at times, but when weighed with the alternative.. it simply isn't a concern that bothers me any.

Granted, I use the line for leisure rather than commuting.

^ Thanks for the update on LaPorte. I had not heard it was having such bad financial issues lately; but had read where the county was trying to get the inter-modal facility, which would be a great economic asset for county if established. Hopefully it will be. There is a lot of potential for NWIN IMO if things are planned and developed properly in the coming years, as a significant portion of the tertiary economic growth from Chicago seems destined to increasingly push over into the Indiana side of the metro area.

Welcome to the forum frank! Glad to have a NWIN member on the boards! Look forward to hopefully more posts from you about whats going on up there in the Calumet region.

That is the new Honda Assembly Plant that you saw under-construction right off I-74. Greensburg landed it last year and it will employ roughly 2000 employees when its in full operation. Indiana beat out Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Ohio to land the $550 million dollar plant in what was seen at the time as a pretty big coup for the state.
It will definitely have a huge positive benefit for Greensburg and the region, as it could potentially employ more workers than expected as has been the case with Toyota plant in Princeton, Indiana - plus support plants may locate in the region to service the assembly facility. I was very pleased to learn the state landed it, as Indiana has been struggling with its manufacturing base here of late.

You can read more about it here in a Washington Post story from last year.