Blog - Greater Lafayette Commerce

EVONIK TO POUR $100 MILLION INTO ITS SHADELAND PLANT

This summer, Evonik said it would spend $100 million over five years to modernize its plan with new reactors, more automation and better reliability.

AMELIA BECKONS STILL

A new mural and an Aug. 13 deadline tie Lafayette to one of the 20th century’s most enduring mysteries.

AFTER THEIR FATHER’S DEATH, TWO BROTHERS TOOK THE WHEEL

Dustin and Clint, not quite four years apart in age and suddenly at the helm of a business their parents spent years building, kept the shop open, and they figured it out as they went.

WITH STEEL AND SONG, LAFAYETTE HONORS ITS RIVER

A $500,000 public artwork dedicated last week captures the river, the people and the long, complicated story of a place still becoming itself.

THE BANK THAT STARTED WITH NO DEPOSITS IS BUILDING ITS FOURTH TIPPECANOE COUNTY BRANCH

1st Source Bank breaks ground on a fourth Tippecanoe County branch amid a wave of investment in the region

FOUR GENERATIONS LATER, RELIABLE EXTERMINATORS IS STILL FAMILY-OWNED

In Lafayette, a 90-year-old pest control company is holding out against the consolidators, one generation at a time.

MARKETING VETERAN OPENS YARN STORE IN DOWNTOWN LAFAYETTE

Joann’s collapse left a hole in the region’s craft economy. Local entrepreneurs are stitching it closed.

INDIANA’S MATERNAL DEATH RATE IS AMONG THE WORST IN THE NATION. A WEST LAFAYETTE NONPROFIT IS DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Four years ago, Lindsay Mputubwele converted her doula business into a nonprofit because she believed free, culturally responsive birth support could save lives

NEW OWNERS OF WEST LAFAYETTE DANCE STUDIO DOUBLE DOWN ON INCLUSION, AFFORDABILITY

When Millie Maximo and Heather Fisher took over Turning Pointe Academy, they brought tuition lower than anywhere else in Greater Lafayette, they say, and a studio where all children know they belong.

MENTAL HEALTH IS A CRISIS IN THE TRADES. SOM SMALL EMPLOYERS ARE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Employee engagement is at its lowest point since the pandemic. Mental health is a significant reason why. Some employers already know what to do.

BANKING ON GROWTH

In Greater Lafayette, lenders are helping finance a period of remarkable expansion while confronting the financial realities of a changing banking industry

MAY 2026 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: LAFAYETTE HEARING CENTER

Dr. Susan Taulia has spent years expanding an audiology practice in Lafayette as neuroscience links hearing loss to cognitive decline and new technology reshapes the industry.

VILLAGE CAREGIVING OPENS IN LAFAYETTE, OFFERING FAMILIES — AND EMPLOYERS — SOME RELIEF

A new provider enters a growing market, but the story behind the demand is one most families know too well.

SMALL BUSINESSES POURED MORE INTO MARKETING IN 2026. MANY STILL DON’T KNOW WHETHER IT WORKS

Marketing is the top operational challenge for small businesses, and the industry selling solutions has a financial interest in making those solutions feel more complicated than they are. The data tells a different story about what really works.

GREATER LAFAYETTE TAKES ITS CASE TO WASHINGTON AS SEMICONDUCTOR INVESTMENT ACCELERATES

Nearly 30 Greater Lafayette leaders traveled to Washington to make the case that the region’s $3.87 billion semiconductor investment needs workforce, housing, and infrastructure support to succeed.

HANDMADE IN THE AGE OF MASS PRODUCTION

At Lafayette’s record-setting 2026 farmers market, vendors like Mrs. Ginger Handmade are building profitable businesses.

MERIDIAN HEALTH OPENS MEN’S RECOVERY HOME IN LAFAYETTE

The 26-bed facility at 1700 Salem St. is part of a continuum of care the organization says runs from detox to outpatient treatment

INDIANA MANUFACTURERS CONFRONT COMPOUNDING THREATS AS TRADE WAR, CYBER ATTACKS STRAIN INSURANCE MARKET

The threats hitting that sector right now are unlike anything insurers — or manufacturers — have seen in decades.

GREATER LAFAYETTE GETS ITS FIRST MATERNITY BOUTIQUE

The Ivory Wren & Co. held its official ribbon cutting this month at 2200 Elmwood Ave. in Market Square, completing a launch that began with a soft opening last November.

A NEW HOSPICE PROVIDER OPENS IN LAFAYETTE

Paradigm Health brings its care-at-home approach to Tippecanoe County as demand for end-of-life care grows.

A LAFAYETTE COMPANY, BUILT ON POLYGRAPHS, IS NOW A GLOBAL FORCE IN BRAIN SCIENCE

On Monday, Lafayette Instrument announced that it had acquired Sutter Instrument Corp., a Novato, California firm.

WHAT COMES NEXT

For many veterans, the transition out of military life is not a clean break but a slow unraveling of identity, routine and purpose.

UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS EXPANDS HEALTH SCIENCES PROGRAMS TO GREATER LAFAYETTE

In 1890, a small Catholic college took root in Lafayette, before eventually movingto Fort Wayne. On Tuesday, the University of Saint Francis came back to fill a gap.

GREATER LAFAYETTE HAS 35,000 MANUFACTURING WORKERS. IT NEEDS MORE.

There is a version of the American manufacturing revival story that ends well. It requires, among other things, a workforce that does not yet exist.

A STITCH IN TIME

Seven weeks before the scissors hit the ribbon, Charlene Brown bought her first shelf.

A CHURCH-BASED EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTER EXPANDS

Ninety-one new child care spots just opened in West Lafayette, where infant and toddler seats have been among the hardest to find.

APRIL 2026 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: SANDY BEACH LIGHTING & DESIGN CO.

Five years ago, Michelle and Andy Schwindler identified a gap in the Greater Lafayette market.

IN WEST LAFAYETTE, AN ART SHOW REDRAWS WHAT IT MEANS TO GROW OLD

At Joyful Journey Adult Day Services, a gallery opening doubles as a window into the revolution happening inside America’s adult day centers.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

A newly renovated living room at the Greater Lafayette Family Shelter was unveiled, offering families a more comfortable space during times of housing uncertainty.

GREATER LAFAYETTE COMMERCE BUILDS ON INTERN PROGRAM TO KEEP YOUNG TALENT IN REGION

The Greater Lafayette Intern Experience returns this May, introducing college interns to the opportunities in the area.

LAFAYETTE FARMERS MARKET RETURNS DOWNTOWN MAY 2 WITH 120 VENDORS

The Lafayette Farmers Market will return to downtown Lafayette on Saturday, May 2 with weekly Saturday markets.

CARMEL BUILDER BREAKS GROUND ON 1,200-UNIT WEST LAFAYETTE DEVELOPMENT

Carmel-based homebuilder, Estridge Homes broke ground this week on Millbrook, a 328-acre subdivision planned for Millbrook Boulevard in West Lafayette.

IN LAFAYETTE, MORE THAN 60 LATINO ENTREPRENEURS TAKE CENTER STAGE AT ANNUAL EXPO

More than 60 Latino entrepreneurs will gather this Friday at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds for the Latino Business Expo.

WHEN VETERANS FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS IN GREATER LAFAYETTE, LTHC CATCHES THEM

The No Hero Should Be Homeless Motorcycle + Jeep Ride is the centerpiece of a month-long campaign run by LTHC, a Lafayette nonprofit that has works to address homelessness in the region.

MARCH 2026 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: THE BEYOND GALLERY & GIFT SHOP

Before she owned a gallery, Beth Dow was an artist who had been turned away from them. She will tell you this if you ask, and she won’t make much of it .

FEBRUARY 2026 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: ALVAREZ LAWN MAINTENANCE

When Isaac Alvarez was in middle school, he spent his afternoons knocking on doors in his neighborhood, asking if he could mow lawns or shovel snow.

JANUARY 2026 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: ARCEM BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

Eric founded ARCEM in 2012 after seeing the same pattern repeat itself. Technology wasn’t something businesses planned for. It was something they dealt with after it broke.

OCTOBER 2025 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: CAMFLO HEATING & COOLING

When temperatures plunged below zero during a 2022 Christmastime cold snap, phones at Camflo Heating & Cooling didn’t stop ringing.

KARA WEBB AND THE FORMULA FOR BUILDING A WORKFORCE

Kara Webb is the director of workforce development at GLC, where she helped design Career+ Pathways, one of the most comprehensive talent pipelines in the state.

SEPTEMBER 2025 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: GARICA INSURANCE AGENCY

In the summer sun of the 1980s, Diana Garcia learned what it meant to work. Her parents were migrant laborers from Mission, Texas, chasing the harvests across the country.

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