Client News
VINCENNES – New billboards encouraging out-of-state Knox County, Indiana workers to consider a move from Illinois and national print and digital ads in Site Selection magazine are expected to boost the southwest county’s brand awareness and attractiveness, according to Chris Pfaff, CEO of Knox County Indiana Economic Development (KCIED). The new outreach adds to prior Opportunity Knox initiatives for talent attraction through the MakeMyMove targeted program, a new four-minute marketing video, and other elements to capture local momentum about county opportunities and resources.
National advertising
Print and digital ads in Site Selection magazine are strategically designed to elevate national awareness of key business and development assets for the Knox County region. A half page print ad in the Indiana spotlight section of the March 2026 Site Selection edition is expected to help boost Knox County’s position as an attractive relocation or expansion opportunity.
I’ve been practicing medicine in southern Indiana for a long time – long enough to remember when nobody needed a government pamphlet to tell them that a bag of chips wasn’t dinner. Back then, real food was just called “food.” Turns out, Washington has finally caught up with your grandmother.
Nutrition history in the making
The brand-new Dietary Guidelines that you may have heard about – now available at RealFood.gov – have scrapped the old food pyramid and, for the first time in history, officially told Americans to avoid highly processed food. Think about that. The federal government is now telling us what many of our own mothers and grandmothers told us for free, every single day. Better late than never.
The new framework — called the New Pyramid — flips the old model on its head. Instead of loading your plate with bread and pasta first, the new guidance says: start with protein. Every meal. Quality protein from eggs, meat, fish, dairy, nuts, and beans is now at the top of the priority list, followed by vegetables and fruit, with whole grains taking a modest supporting role. Added sugar? It really has no place at the table at all. Neither do sodas, sweetened drinks, or highly processed snack foods.
VINCENNES, INDIANA – Thursday, February 5 – Amazon today announced plans to expand its operational investments in Indiana with a new 104,000-square-foot delivery station in Vincennes—bringing fast delivery to Knox County and the surrounding areas.
“Amazon already provides excellent services to Vincennes and the Knox County region, and we’re grateful to see this new local delivery station expansion raise the performance bar even higher,” said Vincennes Mayor Joe Yochum. “We appreciate Amazon’s confidence and strategic vision in making this important investment in Vincennes and the region through job creation and other positive economic benefits.”
VINCENNES – Knox County Indiana Economic Development (KCIED) is rolling out an aggressive 2026 talent and business attraction strategy, leveraging a powerful combination of new digital marketing, a proven national relocation platform, and all-new housing opportunities to capitalize on regional economic momentum.
“Knox County is prepared to capitalize on our progress by elevating the county’s broad array of opportunity and capacity,” said Chris Pfaff, CEO of KCIED. “We’ve built real momentum with expansions in manufacturing, significant new housing development, and growing employer interest. Now we’re pairing that with a comprehensive talent recruitment program—and we hold high expectations.”
VINCENNES – The first apartment building of five for the $35 million Bierhaus Flats apartment complex “is under roof and into the framing process,” according to Phil Reinbrecht, president of Simplified Developments. “Construction is moving along and we’re excited,” he said, noting that the first 24 units of 240 are expected to open for move-ins by June. The first units to open will feature a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom apartment options.
“This new housing development represents a key element for driving future growth and opportunity in Knox County, including attracting new talent to our region,” said Chris Pfaff, CEO of Knox County Indiana Economic Development. “The mix of apartment options offers important flexibility to both young professionals establishing a career to families with children or other needs, and these new facilities will enhance our already strong quality of life and attraction capacity.”
After more than 30 years practicing medicine in rural southern Indiana, I’ve learned something important: the best health advice often isn’t found in complex medical journals or one-size-fits-all fitness programs. Ways to get and stay healthy comes from understanding how real people in real communities actually live.
Some patients tell me they can feel discouraged if they compare themselves to idealized images of gym culture or lose-weight-fast diets. But here’s what I’ve come to understand as a success path: the people who achieve lasting health improvements aren’t the ones who try to overhaul their entire lives overnight or make decisions based on negative experiences they’ve had about weight or food. The successful ones are people who make one thoughtful decision at a time, focusing on small, but sustained changes.
ELLETTSVILLE, Indiana – Broadband Communities magazine recognized Smithville in 2025 as a national top 100 fiber broadband provider, marking the company’s 17th consecutive national honor. The recognition places the 103-year-old Indiana company alongside industry giants like Google Fiber, AT&T, and Starlink for its work in expanding rural broadband and transforming local economies.
Quarter of a billion dollars in private investments
“Smithville has invested upwards of $250 million to build and upgrade its fiber network, deploying more than 3,000 miles of fiber across Indiana alone,” said Brad Randall, editor of Broadband Communities. “The company’s recent network upgrades are particularly impressive—their infrastructure now supports connectivity ranging from 1 Gbps to 100 Gbps, with capacity to scale to 200 Gbps in the future.”
Knox County entered 2025 with an ambitious vision: become a region where talent wants to live, businesses want to invest, and opportunity thrives. By year’s end, we can look back, not at isolated achievements, but at a coordinated endeavor that touched every sector of our county.
(This column also appeared in the Vincennes Sun-Commercial and on KnoxCountyIndiana.com)
From groundbreakings to global partnerships, from homegrown innovators to international connections, 2025 demonstrated what happens when a community decides to work together toward shared prosperity. Here’s what unfolded.
Building a home for talent
The year brought fresh, tangible momentum in an important sector: a $35 million market-rate apartment complex rising in Vincennes. This wasn’t just another construction project. When Simplified Developments LLC broke ground on 240 new apartments last summer, they were answering a question every growing region faces – why should talent come and stay here?