October 1, 2026 · DeKalb · Bartholomew · Dearborn · Monroe · Kosciusko · Marion · AES INDIANA · DUKE INDIANA

Nucor's $59M St. Joe Steel Grating Expansion Signals a Defensive Play in DeKalb County

Nucor's $59M St. Joe steel grating expansion in DeKalb County, Duke Energy's new Site Readiness picks, and the AES Indiana ownership fight at FERC.

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Nucor is putting $59 million into a new 127,000-square-foot steel grating facility at Vulcraft Indiana in St. Joe, DeKalb County, and groundbreaking is set for the fourth quarter. The move adds a higher-spec product line next to the plant's existing joist and deck operations, and the 20 new jobs will pay more than 150% of the DeKalb County average wage.

Two other developments are worth your attention today. Duke Energy Indiana added three properties to its 2026 Site Readiness Program. And a federal fight over who owns one of Indiana's largest utilities just picked up two more members of Congress.

01Statewide

Nucor Vulcraft Steel Grating Expansion Points to Margin Pressure, Not New Demand

Nucor announced the St. Joe project in August.

For the huddle: If a dominant player like Nucor is diversifying into higher-spec product lines to offset margin compression in its commodity business, where in our own product mix are we most exposed to the same price pressure a competitor could out-diversify us on?

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02Bartholomew · Dearborn · Monroe

Duke Energy Indiana Adds Three Sites, One Already Has a Likely Tenant

Duke Energy Indiana added three properties to its 2026 Site Readiness Program: up to 68 acres in Taylorsville, Bartholomew County; the I-74 Alig Site in St. Leon, Dearborn County; and 87 acres of I-69 frontage in Bloomington, Monroe County.

For the huddle: Given how IFG is clustering multiple brands around one Bartholomew County campus, should we be looking harder at co-locating near an anchor tenant's existing infrastructure instead of building standalone?

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03Statewide

AES Indiana Ownership Fight Reaches FERC With a Rate Case Still Pending

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Indiana Reps.

For the huddle: If this acquisition closes with BlackRock controlling both utility assets and data-center customers, how exposed are we to rate-base investment being redirected toward hyperscale load instead of industrial ratepayers like us?

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04Kosciusko

Indiana, Ohio Named NSF 'Regional Innovation Engine' Manufacturing Award Winners

Northeast Ohio's NEO-SMART coalition, led by Case Western Reserve University with more than 70 partners, was named one of 12 National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines on July 14, 2026, positioning it to receive up to $160 million over a decade for materials research, AI, and manufacturing workforce training. The same NSF round named Indiana among the winners, alongside West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania, with Indiana's engine centered on the Warsaw medtech corridor anchored by Zimmer Biomet and DePuy Synthes.

For the huddle: Given that this funding is milestone-gated and could shrink if commercialization targets are missed, how could we plug into the Warsaw medtech training pipeline now, while the money is flowing at full force, rather than waiting to see if NSF's benchmarks are hit?

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Questions for Your Morning Huddle

Q: How much will Nucor's new St. Joe jobs pay in DeKalb County? A: Nucor says the 20 new positions will pay more than 150% of the DeKalb County average wage, widening the gap for any employer recruiting technicians against Nucor's existing 300-plus person workforce there.

Q: What does the BlackRock takeover of AES mean for AES Indiana's electric rates? A: FERC approval would not set your rate directly, the IURC does that, but a $33.4 billion debt load behind the new ownership raises the question of whether AES Indiana pushes harder for rate increases in its next case, which is relevant now because its $71 million rate increase is still under rehearing.

Q: Where are Duke Energy Indiana's new 2026 Site Readiness Program sites located? A: The three new sites are in Taylorsville in Bartholomew County, St. Leon in Dearborn County, and Bloomington in Monroe County, and the Taylorsville parcel sits next to IFG's existing Grillo's Pickles and King's Hawaiian plants.

If you're tracking the AES ownership question and what it could mean for your next rate case, our utility rate case intervention guide covers what it costs and when to act, and our earlier coverage of the AES Indiana BlackRock buyout and rate case has the background on the $71 million filing.

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