Citadel to offer new rental service

A local business will begin offering a new service next month.

Citadel Supply of Redkey has announced plans to open a new rental center on May 19.

The Rental Center at Citadel Supply — 9096 Indiana 67 — plans to offer various tools and equipment for rent. Included will be power tools, hand tools, Bobcat loaders, a pavement roller and a jackhammer.

“We see it as a need in our side of the county, in our side of the community,” said Mark Valentine, president of Mark Valentine & Associates, which operates the business. “On our side of the county there really isn’t anything.”

He said the new service has been in the planning stages for about three months, with equipment being moved in beginning about two weeks ago. The Citadel store is being reorganized to make room for the items available for rent.

Citadel’s rental center will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.



New headquarters

Italian firm Trebi this week announced plans to establish its North American headquarters in Muncie.

The company, which makes robotic finishing machines, will be located in the Innovation Connector complex. Plans call for working with the robotics training facility at the Ivy Tech Community College campus on Cowan Road.

“Delaware County gave us an incredible welcome and we are really excited for the opportunity to begin offering and selling our products from our Delaware County location,” said Christopher Talarico, Trebi North American Sales Operations director, in a press release. “Year one of our operations in the U.S. will be spent introducing our products and robotic machinery to the U.S. marketplace. From there, our goal is to have a warehouse and eventual manufacturing capabilities.”



Resuming flights

Indianapolis International Airport has resumed non-stop flights to Kansas City.

The flights had been offered out of Indianapolis previously but were suspended in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. There will be two non-stop flights to Kansas City each day by Southwest Airlines.

“This is yet another promising step in recovery for the airline industry after the pandemic,” said Mario Rodriguez, executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority, in a press release. “The Kansas City flight schedule is specific to support business travel — which has slowly continued to increase, and in the first quarter of 2023 we’re seeing about 47% of travel being done for business.”

The airport also announced plans to resume flights to San Diego once a week beginning in June.



Ground broken

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and local officials in Montgomery County held a groundbreaking ceremony for Nucor Corporation’s new sheet mill operations expansion in Crawfordsville.

The new $290 million expansion was announced in February 2020. It is expected to be complete by the end of 2024 and create 80 new jobs.



McDonald’s introduces

McDonald’s on Thursday announced that it will be adding a Strawberry Shortcake McFlurry to its menu.

The item will include soft-serve ice cream, strawberry-flavored clusters and shortbread cookies. It will be available at participating restaurants nationwide.



FDA declines

On Thursday, Eli Lilly indicated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve its drug mirikizumab for treatment of chronic inflammatory bowel disease in adults.

The FDA cited issues with the proposed manufacturing of the drug, Reuters reported.



Walmart closing

Walmart this week announced plans to close its four remaining Chicago locations.

The company said the stores were being shut down because they have not been profitable since the first one in the city opened about 17 years ago. It said the stores lose tens of millions of dollars per year.

The pharmacies at the stores will stay open for up to 30 days.

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