Indiana’s electric cooperatives have been around for almost 90 years. Read on to learn more about Hoosier co-ops. Can you find the bolded words in the puzzle?

► The first successful U.S. cooperative was organized in 1752 by Benjamin Franklin.

► Electric cooperatives began in the 1930s because it was not cost-effective for investor-owned utilities to string power lines into rural areas.

► Indiana Electric Cooperatives, the statewide service association for electric cooperatives in Indiana, was incorporated in 1935 and was the first organization of its kind in the country.

► Electric cooperatives in Indiana serve 1.3 million Hoosier homes, farms, and businesses in 89 of the state’s 92 counties.

► Boone REMC, headquartered in Lebanon, was the first electric co-op in Indiana.

► The co-ops are guided by the seven cooperative principles.