Governor Mike Braun believes Northwest Indiana is well-positioned for development.
"I know the lay of the land here," Braun said during a fireside chat hosted by the Lake County Indiana Economic Alliance in Schererville on Thursday, in his first visit to the Region as governor. "It is the neatest mixture of small businesses, entrepreneurs, blue collar workers and a dynamic economy."
He said Northwest Indiana has many of the benefits of being part of the Chicago area, without the drawbacks of being in Illinois. "You have got your own interesting logistical advantages," Braun told reporters following the event. "You're in the center of the country, and you're next to the third-largest economy, in one of the busiest east-west traverses."
During the fireside chat, the governor said he's long been interested in helping the city of Gary. "We know what it was at one time. It's got a great location, and it, among other places in the Region, I think, are just ripe for upside potential," Braun said.
Braun believes Northwest Indiana is well-positioned for data center development, which requires massive amounts of electricity and water. "And the only place we have enough water capacity would be the northern third or fourth and two counties along the Ohio and about two counties at the bottom of the Wabash because that doesn't have enough capacity," Braun said.
When it comes to electricity, Braun wants to slow down the closure of coal power plants, until small nuclear reactors and other power sources come online to meet the new demand.
During Thursday's event, Braun recounted how he returned to Indiana after attending Harvard Business School. But he also pointed out that his own children had, at one point, moved across the state line to Chicago.
Braun told reporters that the state can help convince young Hoosiers to stay by encouraging entrepreneurship through its schools. "We just need to be a nurturing environment for it," Braun said. "Sadly, we've got one of the best environments; we haven't closed the deal through our own school systems."
He also felt the state of Illinois of has followed the federal government too closely but admitted that the idea of Illinois counties joining Indiana is unlikely.
