The City of Rensselaer completed two big projects this past year, the Brick Street Project and the new water tower near I-65. There were more pictures on this blog of construction of the Brick Street Project than of any other subject. Related, the Fire Department constructed a training tower and Filson Park was largely finished.
Some other ribbon cuttings this past year included Plevna, Building Trades as SJC, the HYPER Center at Brookside Park, the Water Tower mural, the new EMS building, Ayda's new outdoor dining room, the new location for the Clinic of Family Medicine, the new location for Franciscan Working Well, the new location of the Good Samaritan Food Pantry, La Trinidad Bakery, and a revived greenhouse at SJC.
Some other business openings included Brick Street Ice Cream and the Wine Room. A Mexican Grocery opened on Washington Street and closed several months later. Gutwein Seeds moved. Janet's Kitchen closed after the death of an owner and also closing was A& B Auto Care. A couple of businesses that last year's highlights post mentioned as opening, First Hometown Mortgages and Not Your Typical Wingz, are gone. Also closing was the Jasper County Recovery House.
The primary and general elections gave us some new County officials, including a new judge, new auditor, two new commissioners, and a new councilman. The Carpenter Wind Farm got its final regulatory approval and should be starting construction early in 2025.
The High School has a new concession stand for the baseball field. SJC opened classes for CDL training and began hosting a branch of the Indiana Ag and Technical School. Mural week focused on Remington, but Cameron Moberg painted one in downtown Rensselaer. Rein Bontreger did one visible from the bowstring arch bridge and another on the pool house at Brookside Park.
(This summary was compiled with a quick scan through past posts. Undoubtedly I have omitted some things that should be included. You can add in the comments anything you think should be included.)
The picture below was taken on December 5 after several very cold days. We will see a lot more river ice in January.
