Jackson County was not named after the President Andrew Jackson — contrary to popular perception. Rather, it was named in honor of Gen. Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans at the end of the War of 1812. Obviously, the same person — but different circumstances. Jackson County was formed in 1816,… Continue reading.

Now’s a good time to go through that ever-growing stack of old bank statements and shred them. The Federal Trade Commission warns that identity theft if the fastest growing crime in the United States, and those old documents — along with the tons of credit card offers that arrive in the mail regularly — could… Continue reading.

Proper maintenance of your car or truck will increase its fuel economy and put dollars back in your pocket in the form of savings. The U.S. Department of Energy offers these tips: Check tires regularly. Underinflated tires not only can run hot, shortening their lives, they also lead to more gasoline use. About 4 million… Continue reading.

Besides heating and cooling your home, heating your water uses more energy than anything else in the house. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the typical family spends up to 18 percent of its utility bills on water heating. Good news: It’s simple to lower that cost. Here are eight tips: Get… Continue reading.

If you feel a draft while you’re curled up on the sofa with a good book or your favorite TV show, don’t crank up the thermostat. Move the sofa. The chilliest places in your home during the winter are right next to the windows. So, move your furniture away from the windows. Here are six… Continue reading.

Everyone should know these electrical control safety panel tips. The panel is where electricity enters a building. It contains circuit breakers and has a main switch for shutting off all power in an emergency. Be prepared for when a breaker trips: Always keep a flashlight with fresh batteries stationed by your circuit breaker panel. Keep… Continue reading.

As we slog our way through the last half of winter, the safety messages we heard back when the weather started getting cold may long be forgotten. But now’s not the time to get lax, especially if your family uses an electric space heater to take the chill out of a bedroom or family room…. Continue reading.

With the pandemic and social unrest, finding glimmers of hope in 2020 was not easy. But five young Hoosiers are doing their part to make this world a better place.   Each year since 2009, five community service-minded middle school students have been honored with Youth Power and Hope Awards from Indiana Electric Cooperatives and… Continue reading.

If winter’s usual hibernation — now coupled with COVID-19 isolation — gives you a double whammy of cabin fever in the coming weeks, the antidote right up your alley might be antiques … and a road trip to Indiana’s Antique Alley. “There’s never a bad time to antique,” said Beth Leisure, who, with her husband,… Continue reading.

By Richard G. Biever On the drizzly windy Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving, two wildlife biologists with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources stood in mud and manure beside a cattle barn. They stared up at a silo and scratched their heads. Deep inside the 22-foot-tall cylinder were five Indiana-endangered barn owl chicks. The empty unused… Continue reading.

LaGrange County was settled and founded in 1832 by mostly Yankee immigrants from New England. They so admired the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat and military officer who fought alongside the Americans in the American Revolutionary War, they named their county after his French estate outside of Paris.  But within a dozen years, LaGrange… Continue reading.

Even if the weather outside is already frightful, your heating bills don’t have to be. Here are 10 easy, low- and no-cost ways to stay warmer indoors without cranking up the thermostat this winter. Open the drapes. The sun’s rays will help heat your home for free. Let them shine in through south-facing windows all… Continue reading.