Inside INdiana Business Television Podcast: Weekend of 05/03/2024

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Drivers, start your engines. May in Indianapolis GPE.

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A timeless tradition that uniquely links Indiana GPE.

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To the world power

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passion pageantry and economic horse power it's time to buckle in for business at the brickyard

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and Joseph New PERSON Got it finally wins the Indianapolis 500 EVENT.

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From Indiana's business newsleader, this is IBJ Media's ORG Inside Indiana Business with Gary Dick, presented by Elevate Benchers, Indiana University, and Lyona ORG. Hello and welcome to Inside Indiana Business ORG.

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I'm Gary Dick PERSON. Coming to you this week from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and will be coming to you every week during the month of May with our special Business at the Brickyard Series WORK_OF_ART. It is a look inside the numbers,the economic impact that motorsports has on the state of Indiana GPE. From the world's greatest race course to race teams, suppliers, vendors, dirt tracks, and many others touching virtually every county in the state. How big is that impact? Well, a study released just last year pegged the impact of IMS ORG alone at more than $1 billionto the Indiana economy. More than half of that total, $566 million generated during the month of May last year. It is also estimated that IMS is responsible for nearly 8,500 full-time equivalent jobs statewide. And a man who knows full well about the economic impact of motorsports and the Indiana GPEpolis 500 on the Indiana economy, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug PERSON Bulls, Doug, thanks for joining me.

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Yeah, happy to be here a little bit of rain, but hopefully we get rid of that, right? We'll get rid of that for the month of May. It's here. First of all, the impact. You know, we talk

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a lot about it. And a year ago, you unveiled an economic impact study that we just talked about a billion dollars just from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC. Put into perspective how much, not only this place, but motorsports in general means to the Indiana

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economy. It's huge for our Indiana GPE economy. And obviously this is the anchor tenant in Indiana in terms of the economy and help them drive it. But it's everywhere throughout our state. It's not just IndyCar ORG racing, but it's drag racing, it's short track racing. There's some NASCAR components here. A lot of Dalar's work is invested in NASCAR today. So this community, this state, really depends on motorsport for its economic health. How would you sense the health of the motorsports industry?

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I think that motorsports industry right now is maybe healthier than it's ever been.

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It continues to go, well, obviously we all had to struggle through 2020, but there's this resurgence in terms of fans that come out, in terms of teams on the IndyCar ORG side. If you look at the short tracks, you go around the state to any of the short tracks, full fields, good crowds, I think it's in good shape.

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One measure of economic vitality for this place is ticket sales. And we were talking before we came on the air here. Ticket sales this year looking pretty good.

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Yeah, they're actually up on last year today as we stand here by 15,000 units. And that just says an awful lot about our fans. The fans for the Indianapolis 500 EVENT and the Indianapolis Emergency Bureau of Way continue to be our most passionate evangelist to make this place grow. I think Roger Pinsky buying it, the investment he's put into the customer experience,has really made it easy for fans to say, hey, come on, friends, come on, family. I want to introduce you to the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC. It's been outstanding.

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Talk about that investment because it does continue here year after year. What are fans going to see who come out to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month. What are fans going to see who come out to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month? What are they going to see new?

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Obviously, Roger bought the Speedway closed in 2020 in January 2020. He's put about $60 million in the facility since he's purchased it, most of which is in the customer experience. So this year, if you're a GA customer, you sit on one of our Spectator ORG Mounds, new video boards there. We've got a new concession partner. We're going to invest in some new concession areas. We've got a new kitchen in our quarterback club, our home and terrace club, that's something that Rogers ORG really allowed us to do. And then just all the little things

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that make the customer experience better. What is key, in your view, Doug PERSON, the ultra-competitive environment that you're in, in terms of being successful in this competitive marketplace?

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Just listening to our fans and making adjustments that make the fan experience better every year. That's really what it has to be. And the fans have to know we're listening to them. We want them to have a great experience. And when they're challenges, we wanted them to let us know. We had some traffic challenges last year.We worked with local police and the state police. I think our traffic's going to be much better this year. Got to remember, though, you put 330,000 people in one venue at the same time and then have them leave the same time. You're always going to have a little bit of a traffic delay.

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Yeah, all right. Doug PERSON Bowles, the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, always great to see you, Doug, and we're going to have you back a little bit later in the show to talk about technology, innovation, such an important part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC, including driverless cars, how autonomous vehicles and autonomous race could be part of the future here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC.That's a little bit later in the show. We Build Indiana GPE.

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The Laborers International Union of North America are men and women building roads and bridges to get Hoosiers NORP where they're going today and a new energy infrastructure that will keep Indiana competitive tomorrow. Lyuna's over 12,000 statewide members also grow local economies, earning good union wages, shopping where they live and work and paying taxes. We build Indiana GPE for good jobs and stronger communities. The Labor's International Union of North America ORG.We are Lyuna ORG.

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Welcome back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC where horsepower comes in the form of high-powered engines. But just across the Ohio River in southern Indiana, this weekend, horsepower on four legs, the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby EVENT. How long would it take an Indy car traveling at 220 miles per hour to get to Churchill Downs FAC? About a half an hour. We were just a stones throw away from Churchill Downs this week in southeast Indiana GPE,a part of the state that is undergoing a bit of a transformation. We were there for the second edition of our Engage Indiana ORG series, which took place on the campus of IU Southeast ORG. After decades of quietly living in the shadow of the Louisville GPE skyline, Southeast Indiana LOC is coming of age. A region once known for barge building is now busy building a brand in the new economy.

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Ten years ago, we would say Southern Indiana LOC made everything from biscuits to barges. And by 2018, we were no longer making biscuits or barges. So we were trying to find a new word, and we were making everything from bolts to bourbon. And that still exists. But now we're going to have to find that information technology words that start with B to keep that tradition going.

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Facebook parent Meadows decision to locate an $800 million data center campus in Jeffersonville's River Ridge Commerce Center is part of a changing economic landscape here that includes plans by Canadian NORP solar for an $800 million production facility and cheesecake factory picking Southeast Indiana LOC for a $74 million bakery and distribution center. With the changing economy come challenges and opportunities, talent attraction and retention, workforce, education, quality of life, all top of mind issues for regional leaders who assembled for our second engaged Indiana event at IU Southeast ORG.

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The biggest thing we're facing right now are offering the quality of life services that for talent, attraction and retention, you know, to get people to come to want to live there, stay there. And we're ahead of that. Our housing's through the roof. We have a great diversity of housing coming along, support those businesses, provide the labor

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they need. But we've got to stay ahead of it. The equation really is about creating pathways for today's learners. Because we also know that many of our high school partners are offering dual credit. So we have to ensure that those credits that that many of our high school partners are offering dual credit. So we have to ensure that those credits that they're earning as high school students continue to apply at Ivy Tech here at IU Southeast, but also at Hanover. And I can tell you that we're working on some pretty exciting partnerships that we'll be announcingcoming up between and among the higher entities. What we want to do is expand offerings.

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As neighboring Louisville GPE prepares for its busiest tourism season ever, fueled by the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby EVENT, the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club FAC, Southeast Indiana LOC is looking to cash in. Major infrastructure improvements and quality of life projects have already made New Albany GPE a dining and entertainment destination in the region.Longer term, ambitious plans have been unveiled for the former Jeffboat manufacturing site along the Ohio River in Jeffersonville, all viewed as building blocks for growing population in the region.

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This is a great place to live and it's a great place to raise a family, and people who have moved to Southern Indiana LOC to join our company have remarked that they've liked it even better than they did when they first came, and I think that's a real testimony

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to the quality of life that we have here, but we've got more work to do. Thanks to everyone in Southeast Indiana LOC for hosting us for what was really a great event. Let's send it back to the studio now and Mary Rachel Redmond PERSON, who has all of the business

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headlines from around the state. Mary Rachel. Here's what's making news around Indiana GPE. Brought to you by the Indiana Association of Realt ORGors, Indiana's 21,000 Realt's, the neighbors you know the experts you can count on.

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We begin with positive signs for Eli Lilly ORG. Lilly ORG reporting strong demand for diabetes drug, Manjaro and weight loss drug, Zembound PRODUCT, helping to push first quarter profits to a whopping 67%. Lily posting a nearly $2.5 billion profit based on sales of those two drugs between January and March. Zepbound, which launched in November on pace to become Lily ORG's next big blockbuster drug.Workers in Gibson County will soon help Toyota produce electric vehicles. The company investing nearly $1.5 billion into its Princeton plant to accommodate the added production. The Battery Pack assembly line is set to start next year and create around 340 jobs. Well, coming up next, we'll be right back.

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Time now for our Eye on Education, brought to you by PNC Bank ORG.

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Taylor University ORG has launched its largest capital campaign in school history. The private school in Upland GPE wants to raise more than $500 million. So far, they're more than halfway to that goal. Taylor's president tells inside Indiana GPE business that they welcomed their largest incoming class last year.Taylor ORG intending to use the money to add scholarships, invest in academic programming, and expand facilities to support growth. And the winner is 18 tech entrepreneurs and companies from across Indiana heard those words at Tech Points 25th annual Mira PERSON Awards last weekend. Mira, it's a red carpet dress for success, gathering of who's who at Indiana GPE's version of the Oscars of Tech. Among the winners this year, Indianapolis-based Authentics, which won for Best Tech Company of the Year for its health care software platform.Perhaps one of the most memorable Mira winners, Luke Zhang PERSON. He left China at the age of 16 to chase the American NORP dream, and it's been a tough journey.

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Gosh, this is so hard. This is why I love Indiana GPE. Oh, Furgist PERSON by choice, baby. Even though I was multiple state and national champion for mass science programming, I was disqualified to represent US, North China, to compete in the international level due to my residency.

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Luke Zhang, senior data scientist at Indianapolis Bates Resolutant, accepting Mira's resilience of the year award. Let's head back out to Gary at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a look at how the party of the month of May is fueling big-time energy and impact for the community. All right, Mary Rachel PERSON, thank you.

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Well, you might say that Rev ORG is the greatest spectacle in food and entertainment. A big party bringing together Indiana's best chefs, auto racing's biggest names, celebrating the month of May in Indianapolis GPE, all culminating with thousands of Revers, dancing the night away right here at the start finish line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC. But beyond the party, there is a serious mission behind Rev ORG, funds raised from the event, go to support Indiana University Hospital's trauma and critical care services. And Rev's impact is reaching even beyond that.Business of Health reporter Kylie Valletta PERSON has that story.

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Thanks Gary. Doctors here at IU Health Methodist ORG noticed some of their patients were battling hunger, so they created the concept of food lockers to help. And now an IndyCar ORG connection is

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adding some horsepower with protein. We had a patient that came in for complex surgery and they only had milk in the fridge. And we discharged them home to milk in the fridge.

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The patient was one of many who inspired IU ORG health nurses and doctors to build the nutrition hub.

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We felt that food insecurity was the right place to work, particularly in Marion County GPE, where 30% rates of food insecurity can persist. And nutrition is the foundation of all of health.

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And so open it up, and it has the groceries in there. They had their milk.

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A food pantry of the future. Anyone who is battling hunger and lives in the same zip code as Methodist

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Hospital can use the food lockers for free. Neighbors order their groceries online and the items

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are loaded into the lockers, each one a mini fridge or freezer to store the freshest items. The person zaps a QR code on their phone. And it pops open for them and they get their food out of there. And now a major victory for the Nut nutrition hub inspired by the month of May. Good Ranchers is donating $25,000 of protein to the food lockers. That's more than 1,000 pounds of meat. The name may sound familiar.Good Ranchers sponsors Team Pinsky driver Scott McLaughlin, who won at Barber just last weekend. The young Texas-based company sources meat from only American NORP farms and delivers it directly to the customer's door.

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We're not mass-producing, like you said, for the grocery store. We're taking a restaurant approach to where, like, every cut is supposed to be pristine. It's supposed to be handled with the absolute caring. Coming from farms that have really great practices, pasture-raised, grass-fed, grain-finished, high-quality.

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And it was a party that led to the food locker's biggest donation to date.

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Rev as the party of the year really is the must-have ticket in Indianapolis GPE for any kind of event outside of the race itself, I think.

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Rev raises money for the IU Health Foundation, which paid for the Nutrition Hub. Last year at Rev, Good Ranchers got to know Indy and the vision for IU Health's ORG food lockers.

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And when we heard about this nutrition hub about giving people quality food in times when they really need it most, maybe a moment around a table, you know, whatever is bringing them to that nutrition hub. We wanted to be a part of that.

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Stocking the food lockers with top quality meat is not only a win for flavor, but also health. Good Ranchers ORG meat has no MRNA vaccines or antibiotics. They're going to

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really, really love it, and it probably will get us lots more neighbors onto the program, because when they have good things happening, they don't hesitate to spread the word.

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A second storage area is already stocked, hoping to serve even more neighbors,

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has good ranchers as beefing up the meat supply. But also to have that lasting impact through the hub of family after family meal after meal, we don't take that privilege lightly. And so we're always super excited to be a part of helping people come together and really make memories around

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great food. The Nutrition Hub is serving 20 neighbors now, and there are plans to add more, and each neighbor can order up to 150 pounds of groceries per week. Gary PERSON, back to

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you. All right, Kylie PERSON, great report on a great event with big impact here in the community. Coming up next, driverless cars, just part of high-tech automotive innovation unfolding here at the racing capital of the world. IMS President Doug Bowles PERSON rejoins us with a look at that. That's when we come back.

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Finding the right health care partner for your business isn't easy, but Hancock ORG well-being at work can help. We're a different kind of program that combines employer clinics with a wellness strategy. And in a lot of cases, we can deliver greater health benefits at a lower cost. See why Well-Being for your employees is Well-Being for your business at Hancock-Wellbeing at Work.org ORG. Welcome back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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and our business at the Brickyard FAC special. You know, this place answers to a number of names. The Brickyard FAC, the world's greatest race course, the racing capital of the world. You could also call it incubator of automotive innovation. Since that first race in 1911, technology and innovation, really havebeen hallmarks of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC. Numerous breakthroughs here have translated into our daily driving experience. The rearview mirror, seatbelts, tire technology, front wheel drive, just to name a few of the advancements with links to IMS ORG. And the innovation is not slowing down. In fact, there are indications it is accelerating. Speedway President Doug Bowles PERSON rejoins me now with more on that. And Doug, first of all, from a technology standpoint, the car's going to be lighter this year.

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The car is going to be lighter that runs the Indianapolis 500 EVENT. Because of the hybrid engine or the hybrid unit that's going to be in the Indy car starting later this summer, there's some components that were lighten. So we'll be about 30 pounds lighter in May, which means the speed should be up. That's good. Technology innovation has

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mentioned a moment ago, part of the DNA here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC, really from the very beginning. Talk about the importance of innovation and that part. That's really part of the

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IMS brand. It is. Carl Fisher PERSON and his partners built this place to test the new technology of the day back in 1909, and that was the automobile. So the fact that we continue to test it, whether it's through mobile devices or some of our cellular partners that are really helping us, or through the Indy Autonomous Challenge EVENT, this place is still being used to test new technology.

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You mentioned the Indy Autonomous Challenge EVENT, and that is really forward-looking technology that you're looking at now. They're going to be back at the Indianapolis Sport Motor Speedway FAC again. Talk about this. Driverless cars is crazy, but it's reality. It is. And as the promoter of the

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Indianapolis 500, I love the fact that there are drivers in our cars. So I think we're a long way from having an Indy 500 this way. But what's going on through the state of Indiana GPE, through the Indy Autonomous Challenge, is we're really trying to showcase what we do here in Indiana GPE. Technology is so important to our economy. And we are a leader not just in the U.S. GPE but globally in using the Indy Autonomous Challenge PRODUCT race cars powered by normal racing engines,but the brains of it are computers that university students and high school students do. They come out here and compete, and it really brings the best and brightest engineers here to Indiana and also showcases what we can do in Indiana GPE as a technology state.

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Talk a little bit about the event itself because you mentioned it brings the best and brightest teams, individuals from all over here to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC. You talk about an incubator of innovation that really hits it on the market.

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It really is and we had an event here shortly after Roger bought the Speedway FAC and this is sort of the next round of the Indian Autonomous Challenge EVENT and having it here. But it's universities from all over the world that show up here and they go out on track and these cars go out and compete against each other and that cars have to tell each, they have to be able to predict what another car is going to do. It's really fascinating stuff.Purdue University ORG has a team in it. It's just really a fascinating way to use this facility but also to really talk about these are the brains in terms of students of the next generation, and we want them to come and locate here in Indiana GPE.

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You talked about this a moment ago, but technology, talent attraction and retention in the state of Indiana GPE, trying to get those best and brightest. Here we look at the evolving Indiana GPE economy in terms of electric vehicles and semiconductors, microelectronics. This, what we're talking about here, fits right in with it, is kind of a connector for that. It is 100% a connector for that. microelectronics. This, what we're talking about here, fits right in with it,

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and it's kind of a connector for that. It is 100% a connector for that. And that's really one of the things we've really tried to do here at the Speedway FAC. We're a racetrack, but when we make decisions on events to host here, it's not just how many people can we get in the grandstands, but how is that event helping the greater economy of the state of Indiana GPE, and the Indie

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Autonomous Challenge certainly does that. Doug Bulls, President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway FAC, thanks for joining us. I look forward to seeing much more this month. Absolutely.

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All right.

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And thank you for joining us on this edition of Inside Indiana Business, a special business at the Brickyard Edition ORG.

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We'll be here the entire month of May.

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That's it for this week. We'll leave you with some images from the world's greatest race course. I'm Gary Dick PERSON. Go out of make it a successful week.

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Thank you for listening to the Inside Indiana Business Television ORG podcast. Remember, you can get the latest business news from every corner of the state at inside Indiana business.com ORG. I'm Gary Dick PERSON. Go out and make it a successful week.