Neighborhood Beautification

Cass County was one of the four counties* selected in 2025 to participate in the inaugural round of the Rural Empowerment and Development (RED) program, a capacity-building and planning initiative created by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and the Indiana Communities Institute at Ball State University.

More than 40 community members participated in a two-day training with representatives from Ball State’s Indiana Communities Institute in March 2025. During Summer 2025, you may have talked with team members in our pop-up “Backyard” at the Cass County Career Expo, Pioneer Days, the Cass County 4-H Fair or Galveston Summerfest. Maybe you took our survey in person or online.

In Fall 2025, volunteers spent two more days with our coaches from Ball State, reviewing community data and analyzing the results of the survey. Then, they started thinking about ways to address the themes identified by the survey and engagement efforts.

The group split into teams and talked about inexpensive family activities, cultural opportunities, healthcare, use of public spaces, neighborhood beautification, and marketing and communication.

*Fulton, Huntington and Orange counties were also selected to participate.

Updates from the Neighborhood Beautification team will be posted here as available.