Braun visits

Child care and early childhood education are among the key issues facing Indiana.

As he finished his visits to all of the state’s 92 counties Friday, an Indiana gubernatorial candidate stopped at a local facility that is helping to address the shortage.

Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who is running for governor against Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater, was in Jay County early Friday afternoon visiting Toddlertown Early Learning Center in Portland.

Braun had been in Wells and Blackford counties earlier in the day and left Portland en route to Adams County, which became the last on his tour of the state during his campaign. He closed the day with a fundraiser in Fort Wayne.

Most of his visits around the state, he said, have been to schools and businesses in search of best practices.

“It will give you a good feel for what’s working in your own state where you need to do more of it,” Braun said.

One of the areas of need for such efforts, he added, is in child care and early childhood education.

“Every county is looking for how to address it,” he said. “And this place looks like it’s hit it on the money. Everybody seems to be happy working here, parents like it and there’s a waiting list to get into it.”

Toddlertown owners Wade and Susan Kohler greeted Braun, sharing details about their facility that opened in February. Initially planned to address the needs of their own Pioneer Packaging employees, the Kohlers have seen the depth of the need in the community.

The facility is filled to capacity with more than 50 children and has a two-year waiting list. (It is currently Level Three on Indiana’s Child Care Quality Rating and Improvement System, meaning it has planned curriculum for child development and school readiness, and is working toward the national accreditation required to reach Level Four.)

Braun toured the facility from its infant room to its space for school-aged children to its open gym area, talking with children and staff along the way.

During a brief interview with The Commercial Review following his tour, he identified property taxes as the key issue facing Indiana.

“They were in check before we had inflation,” he said, blaming the federal government for borrowing and spending too much. “You can see how difficult it’s been to reign it back in and it’s popped everything up to where it’s 25% more expensive than what it was pre-COVID.”

He referenced his tax plan, which would allow deductions for homeowners and freeze property tax increases at 2% for seniors, low-income Hoosiers and families with children under 18 and 3% for everyone else.

Braun said he is not interested in proposals some state legislators have released that call for eliminating property taxes.

“Mine is for taking the aberration out of it that inflation caused,” he said.

On healthcare, Braun called for a greater focus on prevention and wellness rather than remediation after health problems arise. He also advocated for helping Hoosiers become better healthcare consumers.

He noted education as another key issue, noting that it makes up about half of the state’s $22 billion budget. He discussed making government run more efficiently overall and working to create an environment that attracts native Hoosiers to stay home.

“I want to make sure parents are in the driver’s seat for their own kids’ education,” Braun said. “Give them information for what the high-demand, high-wage jobs are, what four-year degrees are needed in our state, so that we don’t push degrees that export your kids to get a job outside of the state.”

He also talked about the importance of affordable housing, rural broadband internet access and controlling the cost of electricity and water usage.

Braun closed his visit to Toddlertown by chatting with Wade Kohler for a few minutes about a common interest — planting trees. The senator owns about 12,000 acres of land near Jasper with part of it planted in timber trees. Kohler runs his lumber and pallet manufacturing business and plants trees on his properties annually as well.

“You’re about as crazy as I was,” Braun said to Kohler as they discussed their passion.

He pointed to his experience as a business owner, school board member, state legislator and U.S. Senator as reasons to vote for him. He noted that three of his four children now work for the business he ran for 37 years, calling that situation “the American Dream.”

“I think I’ve got a good feel for how to take a good state and make it better,” said Braun. “I intend to be an accessible, entrepreneurial governor that looks at raising the lifestyle in Indiana in general as a great place to come back to raise your kids, your family, build your business.”