News

How Marion Works with Michelle Pond, Parks & Recreation Program Coordinator

  What does it take to turn local green spaces into vibrant hubs of community life and activity? In this episode of How Marion Works, host Layla Price-Bodkin and co-host Lillian Harshaw welcome Michelle Pond, Program Coordinator for the Marion Parks & Recreation Department. Michelle gives us an inside look at the programs, seasonal activities, and community experiences that make Marion’s parks such special places for families and residents. Discover the passion, planning, and dedication required to

New Restaurant Opportunity in Downtown Marion's Riverfront District!

Exciting development continues in downtown Marion! River Rocks Lofts, a new four-story, mixed-use development by The Ridge Group, is taking shape along the Mississinewa Riverwalk at 141 S. Adams Street. The development will feature 42 one- and two-bedroom apartments, resident amenities, and approximately 2,476 square feet of restaurant space available for lease. The restaurant space offers an exciting opportunity for a coffee shop, wine bar, brunch spot, or café, with available patio seating

How Marion Works ft. Victim Assistance Coordinator Amber Earhart

ShareLis­ten to the lat­est episode of How Mar­i­on Works, fea­tur­ing MPD’s Vic­tim Assis­tance Coor­di­na­tor Amber Earhart. Hear this episode: https://​www​.buz​zsprout​.com/244… Fol­low this pod­cast: https://​www​.buz​zsprout​.com/244…

INDOT Reopens Westbound SR 18 at Pennsylvania St. in Marion

 A sec­tion of west­bound State Road 18, just east of Penn­syl­va­nia Street, is now reopen fol­low­ing repairs by the Indi­ana Depart­ment of Trans­porta­tion (INDOT). Motorists may now have full west­bound access in that area, and full access to enter and exit Mar­i­on Ani­mal Care & Control.areemailfacebooklinA sec­tion of west­bound State Road 18, just east of Penn­syl­va­nia Street, is now reopen fol­low­ing repairs by the Indi­ana Depart­ment of Trans­porta­tion (INDOT). Motorists may now have full

How Marion Works ft. MFD Training Officer Brandon Satterthwaite

Ever wonder what actually goes into preparing firefighters for those split-second moments when every second counts? In this episode of How Marion Works, host Layla Price-Bodkin and co-host Lillian Harshaw sit down with Brandon Satterthwaite, Training Officer with the Marion Fire Department. Brandon takes us behind the scenes to show what rigorous preparation looks like, why continuous training matters, and the incredible dedication required to serve and protect the Marion community. From real-world

Splash Pad Closes for the Season, 10/1/26

Share The last day to enjoy the ​“Splash Fac­to­ry” is Wednes­day, Sep­tem­ber 30th, as the splash pad will be closed for the sea­son effec­tive Thurs­day, Octo­ber 1st, 2026 For more infor­ma­tion on Mar­i­on’s ​“Splash Fac­to­ry”, vis­it: The Splash Fac­to­ry. Thank you for a great first season!

City of Marion Awards $150,000 to Support First Responder Behavioral Health Services

  The City of Mar­i­on is proud to announce the award of $150,000 to Front­line Coun­sel­ing and Peak Brain Cen­ter to pro­vide con­fi­den­tial behav­ioral health ser­vices for Mar­i­on’s first respon­ders. This invest­ment, fund­ed through opi­oid set­tle­ment resources, reflects the City’s ongo­ing com­mit­ment to sup­port­ing the men­tal health and well-being of the police offi­cers, fire­fight­ers, EMS per­son­nel, and oth­er pub­lic safe­ty pro­fes­sion­als who serve the com­mu­ni­ty every

How Marion Works Podcast Featuring Ajay Papai

HOW MARION WORKSWhat does it take to keep an entire city running behind the scenes? In this episode of How Marion Works, host Layla Price-Bodkin and co-host Lillian Harshaw sit down with Ajay Papai, Superintendent of Citywide Maintenance. Ajay shares an exclusive look at the critical work, daily operations, and unexpected challenges involved in keeping Marion moving every single day. From managing core municipal infrastructure to responding to emergency repairs, discover the dedication and strategy

Request for Funds: Recovery Housing Stabilization & Compliance Initiative (Questions Due 8/7, Apply by 9/7/26)

Shareemailfacebooklinkedintwitterr Request for Fund­ing (RFF) Recov­ery Hous­ing Sta­bi­liza­tion & Com­pli­ance Initiative Fund­ing Avail­able: $150,000 total (up to six awards of up to $25,000 each)Fund­ing Source: City of Mar­i­on Opi­oid Set­tle­ment Funds Pur­pose The City of Mar­i­on invites eli­gi­ble recov­ery hous­ing providers to sub­mit Requests for Fund­ing (RFF) to strength­en recov­ery hous­ing serv­ing Mar­i­on and Grant Coun­ty res­i­dents impact­ed by opi­oid and oth­er sub­stance use

Owner Occupied Rehab Funding Needs: We Want to Hear from You

The City of Mar­i­on is seek­ing input from local home­own­ers about home repair needs through­out Mar­i­on neigh­bor­hoods. If you or some­one you know owns a home in Mar­i­on that needs home repairs — roof, HVAC, acces­si­bil­i­ty updates, or elec­tri­cal work — we want to hear from you. Take just five min­utes to fill out the Grant Coun­ty Crit­i­cal Repair Sur­vey: www​.ahc​grant​coun​ty​.com/​o​w​n​e​r​-​o​c​c​u​p​i​e​d​-​rehab This sur­vey is part of the City of Marion’s effort to secure $350,000

Two City Parking Lots to Permanently Close for New Development

The City of Marion is excited to continue development within the Riverfront District. Please be advised that the city-owned parking lots located between 1st and 2nd Streets, and Washington Street and Boots Street, will be permanently closed starting this Wednesday at 8:00 AM. The City will begin installing orange fencing on Tuesday in advance of the closure to secure the property in preparation for the removal of the asphalt parking lots to facilitate a site-ready area for the new development.  Thank you

Matter Park and Nearby Roads Closed for Go-Kart Race, 7/17-19, 2026

 Mat­ter Park and near­by roads will be closed for an upcom­ing go-kart race on July 17th, 18th, and 19th, 2026. The fol­low­ing roads will be closed: Riv­er Road between Over­look and Quar­ry Road Mat­ter Park Road at Quar­ry Road Clo­sure: Fri­day, July 17th: 7am Reopen­ing: Sun­day, July 19th, 8pm Con­tact: Chad King 765.251.1633 Event Page: https://​www​.face​book​.com/​sirakarting

Common Council Seeks Resident for Utility Service Board

The Mar­i­on Com­mon Coun­cil will soon have a vacan­cy for the Mar­i­on Util­i­ties Ser­vice Board. This appoint­ment is a four-year term begin­ning August 1, 2026, and end­ing on July 31, 2030. Resumes must accom­pa­ny an appli­ca­tion that can be picked up or emailed from the Mar­i­on City Clerk’s office or emailed to councilpresident@​cityofmarion.​in.​gov no lat­er than July 15, 2026, at noon. Appli­cants must receive ser­vices from Mar­i­on Util­i­ties to be considered. The Board pro­vides

Marion Community Schools Announces Outstanding Alumni Award Winners

Marion Community Schools is pleased to announce the 2026 inductees for the Marion High School Hall of Distinction, along with the MHS Arts Hall of Fame and the MHS Athletics Hall of Fame. All of these inductees will be honored during Homecoming Weekend, on Sept. 25. More details will be provided about our Night of Giants Alumni Awards ceremony closer to that time. Congratulations to all of these exceptional alumni! Nominations for all alumni honors are accepted year-round. For more information, check

How Marion Works: Jeff Richards of Obi's Barbeque

The latest Stand­out Busi­ness Edi­tion of How Mar­i­on Works fea­tur­es Jeff Richard­son of Obi’s Bar­be­cue! Find out what it takes to trans­form a raw pas­sion for authen­tic bar­be­cue into a beloved local favorite.  Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2440330/episodes/19384102Follow this series: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2440330/follow

Downtown Placemaking Public Meeting Scheduled for July 7th

Make the Marion Skatepark Project a Reality!

The Mar­i­on Skatepark Project crowd­fund­ing cam­paign is now live. We’re work­ing to cre­ate a safe, high-qual­i­ty recre­ation­al space for Mar­i­on’s youth, fam­i­lies, and com­mu­ni­ty. To secure a $50,000 match­ing grant, we must raise $50,000 in com­mu­ni­ty dona­tions by July 31st, 2026. Every con­tri­bu­tion helps move this project forward. Donate today: http://​patron​ic​i​ty​.com/​m​a​r​i​o​n​s​k​a​t​epark Please help spread the word!

WIG­GLY FIELD DOG PARK UPDATE

As of June 10, 2026, Wig­gly Field Dog Park is not yet open. We know many of you and your fur­ry friends have been excit­ed­ly wait­ing for open­ing day. While we’re dis­ap­point­ed that the park isn’t quite ready, our top pri­or­i­ty is ensur­ing it’s ful­ly up to code and pro­vides a safe, fun, and enjoy­able expe­ri­ence for every­one who visits. We appre­ci­ate your patience and under­stand­ing as we work through the final details and prepa­ra­tions. Open­ing day is still to be deter­mined, but we

City Awarded $750K to Launch One Marion, GIANT Care Behavioral Health Intervention Program

The City of Mar­i­on has been award­ed a $750,000 grant from the Indi­ana Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Insti­tute (ICJI) to imple­ment the One Mar­i­on, GIANT Care Behav­ioral Health Inter­ven­tion Pro­gram, an inno­v­a­tive ini­tia­tive designed to sup­port youth expe­ri­enc­ing behav­ioral health chal­lenges and reduce involve­ment in the juve­nile jus­tice system. The One Mar­i­on, GIANT Care pro­gram will pro­vide ear­ly inter­ven­tion, behav­ioral health screen­ing, assess­ment, coor­di­nat­ed care, and

City Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to Support New Skatepark

The City of Mar­i­on has launched a pub­lic crowd­fund­ing cam­paign to sup­port the devel­op­ment of a new skatepark at Hogin Park, cre­at­ing a ded­i­cat­ed recre­ation­al space for youth, fam­i­lies, and vis­i­tors in one of the city’s most active pub­lic parks. The City has secured most of the fund­ing need­ed for the project through a Parks Bond issued in Decem­ber 2025, and is now invit­ing the com­mu­ni­ty to help close the remain­ing gap.  Planned as a pro­fes­sion­al­ly designed con­crete

Clean City 2.0 Citywide Cleanup Dates

MFD Fire Prevention Chief Brandon Eckstein Retires after 20 Years of Service

MFD Fire Prevention Chief Brandon Eckstein Retires after 20 Years of ServiceShareemailfacebooklinkedin Jun 1, 2026  |  Web Administrator Fire Pre­ven­tion Chief Bran­don Eck­stein is retir­ing after 20 years of ser­vice with the Mar­i­on Fire Department.  The Mar­i­on native called home to many places includ­ing over­seas while his father served in the mil­i­tary, then set­tled in Ten­nessee for a few years before return­ing to Grant Coun­ty, IN. Eck­stein grad­u­at­ed from Mis­sissinewa High School in

Business View Magazine features Marion as one of America’s Best Run Cities

The May 2026 issue of Busi­ness View Mag­a­zine touts Mar­i­on, Indi­ana as one of America’s Best Man­aged Cities. The mul­ti-page arti­cle, enti­tled: A City Refus­ing to Stand Still — From Fac­to­ry Town to For­ward City: Devel­op­ment Accel­er­ates Along Indiana’s I‑69 Cor­ri­dor, observes a  once-depressed and declin­ing rur­al com­mu­ni­ty as a trans­for­ma­tion­al, inno­v­a­tive city with tena­cious spir­it, build­ing its own promis­ing future. The mag­a­zine con­tact­ed the City of Mar­i­on after

How Marion Works Featuring Sherry Loshnowsky of Marion Utilities

In Season 2, Episode 10 of How Mar­i­on Works, we pull back the cur­tain on local infra­struc­ture with Sher­ry Losh­nowsky, the Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Spe­cial­ist with Mar­i­on Utilities. Listen to the full episode here. 

State Approves Marion School Board's New Election Districts

State approves Marion School Board’s new election districts    The state has approved an amended organization plan for the Marion Community Schools Board of School Trustees that changes the way its members are elected. On October 28, 2025, the Marion School Board voted to adopt the plan. After completing all legal requirements, the plan was submitted to the Indiana State Board of Education for approval. The SBOE approved the plan on May 13, 2026. This means that candidates filing for election in fall

HMW Standout Business Episode: Tyler & Abby Hewitt of Ashley's Ice Cream Cafe

What happens when you mix a passion for speed with a love for local flavor? In this episode, we’re joined by Tyler and Abby Hewitt, the powerhouse co-owners of Ashley's Ice Cream Cafe. We dive into their journey of entrepreneurship, from balancing the fast-paced world of racing to building a beloved local staple that serves up more than just sweet treats. Hear the story of how they’ve grown their business while keeping community and family at the heart of everything they do. It’s an inspiring