David Hill
GREENFIELD — David Hill, who has led the Daily Reporter for nearly 16 years in two stints as editor, will retire after the first of the year.
Hill, 63, returned to the Daily Reporter in October 2018 after retiring from the newspaper at the end of 2014. He first took over as editor in June 2002.
The newspaper won dozens of state journalism awards during Hill’s time as editor. Most recently, the Daily Reporter staff won more than 20 awards in the 2020-21 Hoosier State Press Association’s Better Newspapers Contest, including accolades for its coverage of the pandemic.
Hill will stay on until his replacement is named.
Unemployment continues to drop
HANCOCK COUNTY — The county’s estimated jobless rate for November is 1.6%, down from October’s 1.9% and a November 2020 benchmark of 3.8%.
The most recent rate ties with several other Indiana counties for fifth-lowest in the state. LaGrange and Union counties have the lowest preliminary unemployment rate, at 1.2%, while Howard County has the highest, at 4.7%.
Indiana’s estimated unemployment rate for November is 3%, down from October’s 3.3% and November 2020’s 5%.
The U.S. rate is estimated at 4.2% for November, down from October’s 4.6% and November 2020’s 6.7%.
Greenfield company donates land, building to town
GREENFIELD — Pride Investment Partners, a real estate and private equity investment company based in Greenfield, recently donated land and a building worth nearly $50,000 to the town of Galveston, Indiana.
The site contains 0.3 acres of land and a building measuring 3,100 square feet. Pride Investment Partners owned the land through the acquisition of the Red Barn gas station chain in central and northern Indiana — when the GasAmerica gas stations were in operation.
That particular store was too close to one of the newer GasAmerica locations, and rather than convert it into another one, the company decided to close it and rent it to the town, which uses it as a police station and town hall.
Galveston is in Cass County in north-central Indiana and has a population of about 1,226.
Home builders ending 2021 strong
INDIANAPOLIS — The Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis announced that in central Indiana’s nine-county area, single-family building permits were up 3% over November 2020, with 714 permits in November compared to 695 permits last year.
Central Indiana has seen a 22% increase year-over-year, with 9,583 permits in November compared to last year’s 7,881. Hancock County saw the largest jump, with a 132% increase over November 2020.
