If Notre Dame's commercialization bandwidth is already committed to Colfax Corner through 2028, what are we doing now to get Plymouth's Innovation District positioned before that window closes?

Watch for Plymouth Common Council action on the annexation and rezoning petitions, then any application for state Innovation Development District designation, since that is the mechanism that would put Plymouth into the same funding stream South Bend already captured.

With NIPSCO's idle Schahfer units costing $174,000 a day and FERC Docket EL2636 still undecided, have we modeled what full cost recovery does to our industrial rate next year?

NIPSCO is asking FERC to spread Schahfer costs across its entire 11-state MISO footprint, with total retention costs projected above $1 billion through 2027, so the rate pressure is coming regardless of how the pending court cases resolve.

As tariff-driven closures push production out of Michigan and Iowa, are we positioned to pick up relocating work the way Grand Design RV captured Winnebago's Iowa production?

Winnebago's own WARN filings confirm 381 Iowa layoffs tied to consolidating production in Middlebury, Indiana, so this relocation is already happening, and the plants ready to bid on that freed-up work now are the ones that will land it.

Can we compete for skilled labor against Nucor's new wage floor in Crawfordsville?

Nucor's expanded facility is targeting an average wage near $87,500, roughly 150% above the Montgomery County median, so any plant drawing from that same regional labor pool should expect upward wage pressure starting now.

Manufacturing News TEG Daily

October 12, 2026 · Marshall · Jasper · Posey · Montgomery · NIPSCO

NIPSCO's Schahfer Coal Plant Costs Indiana Manufacturers $174,000 a Day While Plymouth Chases Innovation Dollars and Nucor Expands

NIPSCO's Schahfer coal plant costs Indiana manufacturers $174,000 a day as FERC weighs cost recovery, plus Plymouth, tariffs, and Nucor's Crawfordsville bet.

Daniel BurkePublished every day

NIPSCO's Schahfer coal units are costing Indiana ratepayers $174,000 a day in retention costs, money already flowing into industrial bills while federal regulators have not yet ruled on who ultimately pays. In Plymouth, ITAMCO is working against a funding and attention clock to get an innovation district in front of Notre Dame before Colfax Corner locks up the university's commercialization capacity. Tariff-driven factory closures in Michigan and Iowa are pushing production toward Indiana, and Nucor is putting $105 million into its Crawfordsville tower plant with a wage floor that will pull on the local labor market.

01Marshall

ITAMCO's Plymouth Innovation Bid Faces a Notre Dame Clock Colfax Corner Already Started

Indiana Tool & Manufacturing Co., the Plymouth gear and precision-machining manufacturer founded in 1955, announced Oct. 10 that it will petition the City of Plymouth to annex its Michigan Road headquarters and rezone the site, the first step toward an adjacent Indiana Innovation Center and District built around advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and tech commercialization.

For the huddle: If Notre Dame's commercialization capacity is already committed to Colfax Corner through 2028, what can we do now to get Plymouth's district into the queue before that window closes?

SourcesIndiana Tool & Manufacturing Co. unveils vision for Indiana Innovation Center and District in Plymouth (giant.fm)

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02Jasper · Posey

NIPSCO's Schahfer Coal Plant Costs Indiana Manufacturers as Mrvan Targets DOE Lifeline Orders

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan introduced the Utility Affordability and Transparency Act, which would stop the Department of Energy from using emergency orders to keep NIPSCO's R.M. Schahfer plant and CenterPoint's F.B. Culley plant running past their scheduled retirements, and would require DOE cost estimates plus a transparent line item on customer bills.

For the huddle: If FERC approves full interstate cost recovery in Docket EL2636, have we modeled what that does to our industrial rate next year regardless of how the court cases resolve?

SourcesLifelines for coal plants cost millions. New legislation wants them to end (aol.com)

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03Statewide

Tariff-Driven Layoffs in Michigan and Iowa Could Become Indiana's Gain

A century-old clockmaker in Zeeland, Michigan, Howard Miller, closed its factory and laid off nearly 200 workers after tariffs raised the cost of overseas parts it depended on, and similar backlash is building in competitive House races across Michigan, Kansas, Iowa, and Ohio ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

For the huddle: As tariff-driven closures hit plants in Michigan and Iowa, are we positioned to pick up relocating production the way Grand Design RV captured Winnebago's shift to Middlebury?

SourcesRepublicans face midterm backlash from factory workers squeezed out of jobs by Trump's tariffs (theridgefieldpress.com)

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04Montgomery

Nucor's $105M Crawfordsville Expansion Pairs With Higher Q3 Guidance

Nucor set third-quarter 2026 earnings guidance of $5.55 to $5.65 per diluted share, above its second-quarter adjusted earnings of $4.84, with results due after market close Oct. 26 and a call the following morning.

For the huddle: With Nucor setting an average wage near $87,500 at its expanded Indiana facility, roughly 150% above the county median, are we prepared to compete for skilled labor in that same regional pool?

SourcesNucor guides Q3 earnings as analysts target Nucor stock at USD 276.07 - ad-hoc-news.de (ad-hoc-news.de)

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