2022 Year in Review

Dec 31, 2022

It’s time for the Kokomo Lantern’s Year in Review for 2022. Below, you will find links to the Lantern stories that were most impactful to the local community. Some of them may be new to you. Others you might remember reading when they were written. Click on the links at your leisure to reminisce about the year that is coming to a close.

January

The Kokomo Lantern

Three new hotels coming to Kokomo

Kokomo’s south end is set to explode with new development this year as two hotels have been approved by the city’s planning commission, and a third is in the works. The two active projects were the subject of variance requests in front of the Kokomo Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 4. The board approved minor variances to the city’s regulations to allow b…

4 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

City ambulance not in the cards

The citizens of Kokomo have demanded ambulance service from the Kokomo Fire Department from the very moment it was eliminated in 2008. When Mayor Tyler Moore took office, he did so with the promise that the ambulance would return. That hasn’t happened. It likely won’t happen this year. And the reason for the delay seems completely controllable by the Moo…

3 years ago · 1 like · 31 comments · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Pole signs a thing of the past

A few years ago, Howard County Plan Commission director Greg Sheline looked at a photo of State Road 931 just north of Markland Avenue. All he saw were signs reaching skyward and cluttering the view. Pole signs along the 931 corridor will be forbidden as of Jan. 1, 2023…

4 years ago · Patrick Munsey

February

The Kokomo Lantern

Apperson islands aren't going anywhere

On Jan. 14, one of the islands separating traffic along Apperson Way collected a motorist in spectacular fashion, flipping the vehicle at the intersection with Madison Street. The islands are not exactly popular with local motorists. From Vaile Avenue to Richmond Street, the barriers have collected many a vehicle since their installation during the administration of Mayor Greg Goodnight…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

What’s in the READI grant proposal?

Local leaders have spoken repeatedly about the READI grant and how the money might be used. But what is the grant, and what have those leaders requested? The Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) is a program that appropriates $500 million in state tax revenue for investments to catalyze economic development and growth. The in…

3 years ago · 3 likes · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

The mess at the Meadows

When the tenant above Melisa McHenry’s apartment at Terrace Meadows flushed her toilet, Melisa’s sinks overflowed with raw sewage. Not long after Nicholas Hunt and his fiancée moved into their apartment at Terrace Meadows, they found black mold growing, and mice took up residence…

3 years ago · 1 like · Patrick Munsey

March

The Kokomo Lantern

READI for: Ivy Tech’s Industry 4.0 Training Lab

Industry 4.0 is a revolution in manufacturing on a scale comparable to the introduction of robotics to production lines in the 1970s and 1980s. It will be transformative, and Kokomo will sit at the epicenter of it all, thanks to Ivy Tech Community College…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

City Council opts for drug settlement money

Kokomo stands to receive a nice chunk of funding to fight the ongoing war on drugs, thanks to a resolution passed by the Kokomo Common Council on March 14. The city has re-entered the state’s opioid settlement with drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, making it eligible for a portion of the $507 million pay-out…

3 years ago · 4 likes · 2 comments · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

ARP grant creates conflict of interest

The City of Kokomo recently awarded grants of up to $10,000 to local nonprofit organizations, using funds from the American Recovery Plan (ARP). One of the recipients is a charity founded and operated by Kokomo Common Councilman Greg Davis, which raises questions of propriety…

3 years ago · 1 like · Patrick Munsey

April

The Kokomo Lantern

Cervantes Brothers’ artistry enlivens Cooper’s Pub

The Cervantes Brothers – Cesar, Seferino, and Isaias - are hugely popular and multi-faceted, Delphi-based, Latino artists whose work products are acclaimed throughout the region. Now, passersby and customers to downtown’s Cooper's Pub can witness the front window artwork the Cervantes Brothers designed and hand painted…

3 years ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Maynard Eaton

The Kokomo Lantern

Work release is changing lives

Trenton Smiley went through a “rough spell” with drug addiction and criminal activity a few years ago. His broken lifestyle overwhelmed him so much that when he finally was convicted, he was ready to change. “It just asked the judge to max me out,” said Smiley. “I was fed up with the way I was living…

3 years ago · 1 like · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Reclaiming Kokomo’s Native history, heritage

The city of Kokomo sits in the middle of the only Indian reservation in the state. The city is named after a Miami native. Mayor Tyler Moore is a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. And yet the community knows very little of its Native American history and heritage…

3 years ago · 2 likes · Patrick Munsey

May

The Kokomo Lantern

Kokomo School Board changing rules on public comment

The Kokomo Center School Board intends to change its bylaws concerning public comment. An amended version of the policy was passed by the board on first reading on May 2, and if adopted, it would relax restrictions on who can address the board while further restricting how comment is made…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Stellantis announces $2.5 billion investment in Kokomo

Stellantis N.V. and Samsung SDI today announced that they have executed binding, definitive agreements to establish an electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana, U.S. Targeted to start in 2025, the plant aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt hours (GWh), with an aim to increase to 33 GWh in the next f…

3 years ago · 1 like

The Kokomo Lantern

Acord resigns council seat

The Kokomo Common Council just lost its third elected member in this term. First District Councilman Jason Acord tendered his resignation on May 24, leaving the Howard County Republican Party with the task of filling his vacant seat. Acord resigned following an investigation by the Kokomo Lantern which revealed that he was not a resident of the 1st District. The Lantern reached out to GOP chairperson Jennifer Jack once Acord’s residency was confirmed, and within an hour, Acord resigned…

3 years ago · 1 like · Patrick Munsey

June

The Kokomo Lantern

Unfinished trucks return to Kokomo

First, they were here. Then they were gone. Now they are back. The unoccupied parking lots at GM Components Holding Kokomo filled up with new Chevy and GMC pickups late last year as the global chip shortage made its effects known to the auto industry here in Indiana…

3 years ago · Edwin Faunce

The Kokomo Lantern

Local attorney arrested for OWI

Local attorney and Howard County public defender Craig Dechert is facing a lawsuit and possible criminal charges for his role in a May 23 traffic incident in Hamilton County. Dechert was arrested on a charge of OWI Endangering a Person on that date…

3 years ago · 1 like · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Former Delco site slated for remediation

A long-vacant lot on the city’s north end is about to get some attention. The former home of a General Motors and Delco plant will be the focus of a remediation effort from its current owner, RACER Trust of Michigan. Located along North Washington Street, the land once held Delco’s Plant 5 where circuit boards were assembled and tested for nearly 40 years. Before that, the building was used to manufacture automobile parts, radio cabinets and women’s clothing. It even was a site used to pack parachutes for the military during World War II…

3 years ago · 1 like · 1 comment · Patrick Munsey

July

The Kokomo Lantern

UPDATED: Murder arrest made in missing teen case

UPDATED with information from the Kokomo Police Department Kokomo Police have made an arrest connected to the 2016 disappearance of Karena McClerkin. Flint Farmer was arrested on July 18 on a charge of murder. He is being held in the Howard County Jail…

3 years ago · 1 comment · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

BZA says no to solar farm

The Howard County Board of Zoning Appeals on July 26 turned down an application by solar electricity producer Engie to allow a solar farm to be built in eastern part of the county. The denial was greeted with cheers from red-shirted residents opposing the development…

3 years ago · 1 like · 1 comment · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Wedding venue regulations left at the altar

Wedding venues and AirBnB rentals will not be re-classified to require special exceptions in zoning as originally proposed by the Kokomo Plan Commission. Commission director Greg Sheline asked the Kokomo Common Council to remove that language from an ordinance on July 25…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

August

The Kokomo Lantern

A fighter has fallen

Indiana has lost a fighter, a listener, and a person of faith. That is how U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Walorski was described by one of her closest friends in the Kokomo area. Kenlyn Watson, owner of Mane Attraction Styling Salon and close friend of Walorski, first met the legislator in 2009 at a candidate forum in Kokomo, and the two hit it off from the s…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Kokomo hits a $20 million snag

The City of Kokomo set out to make improvements to the wastewater treatment plant last year, but that project quickly came to a screeching halt. The presence of heavily contaminated soil, likely created by operation of the nearby Continental Steel Corp. decades earlier, is creating a costly obstacle which will require years of remediation at a cost of more than $20 million…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

What happened to Kokomo’s Gus Macker?

Once upon a time, the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament was a big deal in Kokomo. Downtown street transformed into half courts filled with hoopsters who traveled from all across the Midwest to compete. This year, there weren’t enough teams signed up to make the event successful. The event, originally scheduled to take place next weekend, was cancelled by the local organizers on Aug. 19. According to Torrey Roe, Kokomo Parks Superintendent and local Gus Macker organizer, the interest just wasn’t there…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

September

The Kokomo Lantern

Healthcare returns to city's center

Once upon a time, doctors had offices in downtown Kokomo. It seemed natural to set up shop in the hub of city activity and commerce. The doctors went where the people were. But as the city grew, medical services relocated. Downtown was no longer the center of attention…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Wastewater treatment rate hike ahead

Today's article is brought to you by the men and women of Carpenters Local 615. Professional carpentry is one of the oldest and most respected trades in the world. If you like seeing your work produce immediate results, and if you have a good work ethic, you have the fundamental tools to build the career of a lifetime…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Turning Point Recovery Center opens with a twist

Today’s article is brought to you by Freedom Financial. More than 140 people in the U.S. die each day from substance abuse overdose. Of those, 85 percent of them die due to the drug fentanyl. Kokomo, Howard County, and the surrounding region are not exempt from these statistics. In fact, it is because of those deadly numbers that Turning Point – A System…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

October

The Kokomo Lantern

City planning a new industrial park

Today’s article is brought to you by Michelle Martin for Howard County Council District 2. Remember to vote on Nov. 8. Michelle asks people who want to display her yard sign to contact her at martinhococouncil2@gmail.com The City of Kokomo has started the process to develop new industrial park, but nearby residents are displeased with the decision. The proposed location, adjacent to the future home of the Star Plus Energy EV battery plant, was chosen to attract suppliers to the Stellantis/Samsung joint venture. But the homeowners see it as a step too far…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Mt. Pisgah Lions impacting lives through football

Today’s article is brought to you by the Howard County Democratic Party. Join the Dems on Oct. 22 for their annual Celebrate Democracy dinner. There is a saying that goes, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Men of the Mount, from Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church saw a need, and through the game of football they ar…

3 years ago · 2 likes · 4 comments · JC Barnett III

The Kokomo Lantern

United Way alive and in transition

Today’s article is brought to you by Freedom Financial. Several local non-profit agencies received a bit of a shock late last month when they received a letter from the United Way of Howard and Tipton Counties. The charitable organization announced that it was postponing grant funding…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

November

The Kokomo Lantern

Red wave finishes off Democrats

Today’s article is brought to you by Freedom Financial. Local Republicans were ebullient on Tuesday night as the election returns revealed themselves. Once again, the party swept the evening, taking every contested seat on the ballot. And they did so by such wide margins that only one race could be considered close; most were won by margins greater than …

3 years ago · 1 like · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Wildkats' run ends at semi-state

This article is brought to you by Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union. Managing your finances doesn’t have to be a struggle. Simplify with Solidarity! Learn more at SOLFCU.org. Now serving those who live, work, worship or play in Howard, Tipton, Miami, Clinton, Cass, Carroll, and White Counties. Member NCUA. Equal Housing Lender. NMLS # 804855…

3 years ago · 1 comment · Jenn Goad

December

The Kokomo Lantern

Battery plant draws more jobs to Kokomo

This article is brought to you by Moore's Home Health and Medical Supply. For 67 years, Moore's Home Health has been Howard County's leading provider of assistive and adaptive home medical equipment and supplies. Call 765-454-5210 or visit Moore's at 608 W. Markland Ave. to let them help meet your healthcare needs…

3 years ago · 1 comment · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

Eli’s Magical Christmas Corner

This article is brought to you by Marvin’s Auto Repair and Service. Located at 111 E. Gano St., Marvin’s is ready and able to repair vehicles of most makes and models, affordably and professionally. They also can provide service to your vehicle, from oil changes to tire rotations. To schedule a repair or service appointment, call 765-553-7074…

3 years ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Patrick Munsey

The Kokomo Lantern

No more New Year’s ball drop

This article is brought to you by Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union. Managing your finances doesn’t have to be a struggle. Simplify with Solidarity! Learn more at SOLFCU.org. Now serving those who live, work, worship or play in Howard, Tipton, Miami, Clinton, Cass, Carroll, and White Counties. Member NCUA. Equal Housing Lender. NMLS # 804855…

3 years ago · Patrick Munsey

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