Comcast to shed Indiana customers

As part of its $45 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable, Comcast is shifting most of its Indiana customer base to a new company to make the merger acceptable to federal anti-trust regulators.
Comcast, a longtime cable provider to Jay County and other Indiana cities and counties, outlined a plan Monday for the shift.
The new company would be managed by Connecticut-based Charter Communications.
The shift could happen as early as 2015 if the merger is approved.

MainSource
reports earnings
MainSource Financial Group reported first quarter net income of $6.2 million, or 30 cents per common share. That compares to net income of $4 million or 19 cents per share in the first three months of 2013.
During the quarter, the company announced plans to close three banking offices.

POET honored
Biofuels Digest presented its “Industrial Symbiosis” award to POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels this week at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.
Publisher Jim Lane said the award recognizes POET’s development of co-located facilities that transform the complexity of advanced biofuel production.
POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels LLC is a 50-50 joint venture between POET LLC and Royal DSM. POET LLC is the parent company of POET Biorefining Portland.

Berne to purchase furniture building
The city of Berne is looking to purchase the former Dunbar Furniture building, which has been an eyesore for the community.
Berne City Council last week discussed how much it would be willing to spend on the building at a recent auction.
The city’s attorney told council the building was part of a real estate auction last year and received no bidders.
At one time, Dunbar was one of the best-known manufacturers of high-end furniture for homes and offices in the U.S. But it ceased operations in the 1980s.

Gardens of Celina recognized
The Gardens at Celina has been named to US News & World Report’s list of Best Nursing Homes in America for 204.
The center also received a five star overall rating from the Center for Medicare/Medicaid.
Paul Dauerman, president of Peregrine Health Services, the operating company for The Gardens at Celina said the rating is quite the accomplishment.
“CMS does not award these ratings easily and this is further proof of the dedication that the staff and administration at this center have to the elders and families of this community.”

Indiana Michigan Power announces new leadership
Indiana Michigan Power, which has headquarters in Fort Wayne, announced new leadership positions.
David Lucas is the new vice president for finance. He was previously director of project controls in the AEP Generation organization.
Lisa Fritz is the new safety and health manager, and Andrew Williamson is I&M Regulatory Services Director.

Berne chamber to host events
The Berne Chamber of Commerce is hosting a leadership academy: Leadershipcast-Wells County Leadership Academy.
The event will be at 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 9 at Arts, Commerce & Visitors Centre. The cost is $99.
If interested in attending, contact Erin Meyer at 824-0519 or email at [email protected].

Grant for skills training
Ivy Tech Community College Richmond is among 17 community colleges nationwide to receive a $150,000 grant to train area residents in manufacturing skills. It was the only community college in Indiana to receive such a grant from the Walmart Foundation.
The grant was part of a $4.19 million three-year  initiative by the foundation to help provide skills training and industry-recognized credentials.
Ivy Tech Richmond’s Corporate College operates a skills gap training program named Manufacturing Matters.
The grant is expeted to allow expansion of the training regionally over three years..

Providing relief
Tyson Foods is currently involved in disaster relief efforts in four states in the wake of devastating tornadoes that whipped across the U.S. this week.
Tyson product and Tyson cook teams have helped serve thousands of meals since Monday. Currently, the company is involved in relief efforts in Mississippi, Tennessee, Kansas, and Arkansas. Tyson Foods is the parent company of Tyson Mexican Original  in Portland.

Sonic to locate in Muncie
National drive-in chain Sonic is expanding throughout the state and looks to locate in Muncie.
Steve Bailey, Sonic’s senior director of franchise development, told the Star Press the location is appealing because of Ball State University, the proximity to the interstate and the demographics of the area.
But before Sonic can locate to Muncie, it must first find franchise partners who can show they have the financial stability to successfully develop a restaurant.  Sonic announced recently it plans to add 1,000 new locations to the 3,500 restaurants it operates nationally. It would like to add 75 locations to the central Indiana region.

Webcast planned
Old National Bancorp will conduct its annual shareholders meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday in Evansville. Investors can access a live listen-only webcast via the Investor Relations section of www.oldnational.com.

Up four percent
Franklin Electric Co. Inc. reported first quarter sales of $231.4 million, up four percent from the same quarter of 2013. Adjusted first quarter earnings were 35 cents per share, compared to 33 cents per share in the first quarter of last year. The company’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 9 cents per share payable May 29 to shareholders of record on May 15.

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