President Obama speaks during a town hall-style forum at Millennium Steel in Princeton, Ind. The president visited the plant, a Toyota supplier, for National Manufacturing Day. Photo by Hannah Troyer, TheStatehouseFile.com

President Obama speaks during a town hall-style forum at Millennium Steel in Princeton, Ind. The president visited the plant, a Toyota supplier, for National Manufacturing Day. Photo by Hannah Troyer, TheStatehouseFile.com

President Obama addresses a crowd of about 200 during a town hall-style forum at Millennium Steel in Princeton, Ind. The president visited the plant, a Toyota supplier, for National Manufacturing Day. Photo by Hannah Troyer, TheStatehouseFile.com

President Obama addresses a crowd of about 200 during a town hall-style forum at Millennium Steel in Princeton, Ind. The president visited the plant, a Toyota supplier, for National Manufacturing Day. Photo by Hannah Troyer, TheStatehouseFile.com

Workers from the Millennium Steel plant in Princeton listen as President Barack Obama talks about the economy during a visit Friday to the plant. Photo by Hannah Troyer, TheStatehouseFile.com

Workers from the Millennium Steel plant in Princeton listen as President Barack Obama talks about the economy during a visit Friday to the plant. Photo by Hannah Troyer, TheStatehouseFile.com

Obama touched on the unemployment rate, job growth, salaries and the minimum wage. But he said more work is needed and he called for a higher national minimum wage and more spending on the country’s infrastructure.

Millennium Steel and its home Gibson County made an appropriate background for the president’s talk about manufacturing. More than one third of the county’s jobs are in manufacturing and Indiana ranks first in the nation for the percentage of jobs in that sector.

Obama and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker briefly toured the Millennium Steel plant before the president came to the stage.

The president made his trip to the Hoosier state to highlight National Manufacturing Day – a day intended to educate the younger generation of men and women of the job possibilities in the industry.

“Factories like this one all over the country are opening their doors to give young people a chance to understand what opportunities exist in manufacturing in the 21st Century in the United States of America,” Obama said. “So I figured what better place to celebrate Manufacturing Day than with a manufacturer.”

Obama’s appearance drew a large crowd from business and production leaders from across the state.

 

David Snow, the director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership for Indiana, said the president’s address about manufacturing was something he didn’t want to miss.

“My job day in and day out is to help Indiana manufacturers be more competitive globally and produce better product, so this is an event I wouldn’t miss,” Snow said. “(Indiana) is a manufacturing intensive state… so it’s a perfect place for him to come to.”

Millennium Steel Services is a relatively small facility, with less than 60 employees, but it does upwards of $250 million a year in business.

James Harris, an employee at the Southern Indiana company, said Millennium Steel has provided a much-needed boost to the local economy.

“This is one of the largest minority-owned companies in Southern Indiana and I think it’s the 14th largest in the nation, so I figured he (the president) might come here to see that,” Harris said.

Obama began his speech with uplifting statistics about the country’s economy and job growth. However, he also said the nation’s financial progress has not come easy.

“This progress that we’ve been making, it’s been hard. It goes in fits and starts,” the president said. “It’s not always been perfectly smooth or as fast as we want, but it is real and it is steady and it is happening, and it’s making a (difference) in economies all across the country.

“So there is a lot of good stuff happening in the economy right now. But what we all know is, is that there are still some challenges…and that means that we’ve still got some more work to do to put in place policies that make sure that the economy works not just for the few, but it works for everybody… “

Towards the end of his appearance, a man asked Obama to share specifics about his plan to improve the nation’s infrastructure – the Rebuild America Act.

“It’s not just the traditional roads and bridges,” Obama said. “It’s also the infrastructure we don’t see – sewer systems, water systems. A lot of them are breaking down. There’s a whole bunch of new infrastructure that we should be building.”

Obama fielded a question about the effectiveness of increasing the national minimum wage and whether it will lead to inflation and higher prices on goods and services.

“Typically, the minimum wage are in certain sectors of the economy,” the president said. “But unlike what people think, the majority of folks getting paid the minimum wage are adults, many of them supporting families. The average age of somebody getting paid the minimum wage is 35 years old. They’re not 16.”

He said that although an increase of the minimum wage would have a positive effect on families, it “generally does not have a huge impact in terms of prices.”

The president said most companies can afford to give raises to their employees, but don’t because they are not required to. The “somewhat soft” labor market is also a contributing factor, he said.

“The market will take care of some of this, but having a minimum wage that’s a little bit higher, that’s also going to help.”

The trip was Obama’s sixth to Indiana since he was elected president. After finishing on stage Friday, he made his way through the crowd, shaking hands, before heading back to the Evansville Regional Airport and then to the White House.

Camera phones were busy during a town hall-style forum at Millennium Steel in Princeton, Ind. The president visited the plant, a Toyota supplier, for National Manufacturing Day. Photo by Hannah Troyer, TheStatehouseFile.com
Camera phones were busy during a town hall-style forum at Millennium Steel in Princeton, Ind. The president visited the plant, a Toyota supplier, for National Manufacturing Day.
 

 

Article writer Jacob Rund is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

 

Local News Briefs

PCPL lists activities, programs for May

The Pulaski County Public Library has listed its programs and activities for May. They include restorative yoga classes, adult canvas painting, and the opening celebration of the Story Trail at the park.

For more information on any program, call the library at 574-946-3432 or visit the library’s website at www.pulaskicounty.lib.in.us

Spring property taxes due Monday, May 12

Pulaski County taxpayers are reminded by the Pulaski County Treasurer's Office that the spring installment of property taxes are due Monday, May 12.

The taxes may be paid at the County Building (Rm. 307) or County Highway Garage in Winamac, or at several banks around the county.

Yakym district staff to hold local mobile office hours May 7 in Medaryville

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Rudy Yakym (IN-02) has announced that his staff will hold mobile office hours in Pulaski County May 7, in Medaryville.

Yakym’s mobile office will visit throughout Indiana's Second District in May to assist constituents with casework questions.

Stop signs to be added to two county intersections

The Pulaski County Highway Department will add stop signs Monday (April 28) to two county road intersections – one in southeast Rich Grove Township, and the second in northwest Monroe Township.

The new stop signs were approved April 14 in an ordinance adopted by the county commissioners.

PMH seeks community input identifying health needs of local communities

Survey deadline May 17

WINAMAC - Pulaski Memorial Hospital has announced the launch of its 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, a comprehensive initiative aimed at identifying and addressing the most pressing health needs of our local communities.

“Community feedback is essential” said Hospital CEO Steve Jarosinski. ”PMH will be gathering input from residents, local organizations, community leaders, and even other area healthcare professionals to better understand the health challenges and opportunities across the region.”

 

Indiana News

Northwest Indiana Forum hosts legislative wrap-up

CHESTERTON (May 2) – The Northwest Indiana Forum welcomed over 90 members for its annual Legislative Wrap-Up event Friday featuring bipartisan legislators from Northwest Indiana.

An engaging and informative panel discussion with the six key state lawmakers reflected on the 2025 Indiana General Assembly session and its impact on the region.

Pulaski County March unemployment rate drops to 3.1%

Pulaski County's unemployment rate dropped to 3.1 percent in March, down from 4.3 percent in February, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development reported Monday, (April 21). The rate was 3.7 percent a year ago.

The county had 6,586 employed persons in a labor force of 6,795 in March. In February those numbers were 6,533 of 6,830. A year ago the numbers were 6,302 of 6.546.

 

Braun signs package of executive orders to ‘Make Indiana Healthy Again’

INDIANAPOLIS (April 15) – Gov. Mike Braun Tuesday signed a landmark package of executive orders with initiatives to improve Indiana’s health and well-being.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz were in attendance to support Indiana’s initiative. Indiana now joins a number of states that have embraced, through legislation or executive orders, Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement.

Indiana Health News

Measles cases climb to 800 nationwide; 8 in Indiana

Also: respiratory illness updates

INDIANAPOLIS (April 21) — The Indiana Department of Health is investigating an outbreak of measles and working with local health officials to help stop the spread of infection. The current reported cases are connected to each other but at this time there are no known links to outbreaks in other states.

Eight cases have been reported in the Indiana, all in Allen County.

 

Post News

Economic Summit addresses county's financial health, state budget

'Making a place where we choose to live'
With a major restoration of the county courthouse nearing completion and a host of additional business and community projects under development, the mood was upbeat at the annual Pulaski County Economic Development Summit Tuesday (April 29). The event is hosted by the Pulaski County Community Development Commission.

CDC executive director Nathan Origer gave updates on projects and county economics, while keynote speaker Stephanie Wells, president of the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, reviewed legislation from this year's session of the Indiana General Assembly.

Chamber presents Don, Lynn Darda with 2025 Halleck Award

The Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce presented the 2025 Halleck Community Service Award to Don and Lynn Darda of Winamac at its annual award banquet Thursday evening (April 24), at the Winamac VFW.

The Dardas are both retired teachers in the Winamac schools and have been enthusiastic volunteers in a variety of projects throughout the years. 

Pulaski Superior Court appears saved

INDIANAPOLIS (April 24) – Pulaski Superior Court and seven other rural courts have been spared from closure, following revisions made to HB1144 approved by both the state house and senate Thursday evening in the Indiana General Assembly.

The legislation is now pending the approval of Gov. Mike Braun.

BraunAbility to expand Winamac facilities with new product line

WINAMAC - BraunAbility has announced a $3.8 million investment in its Winamac operations to support production of the new BraunAbility Ram ProMaster.

This funding will cover land acquisition, land work, fencing, drainage and building improvements. Construction, utilizing local contractors, will continue through Spring 2026.

Marlatt, Vanderkleed join IBA 40-Year Club

FRANCESVILLE - Alliance Bank has recently recognized Kimberly Marlatt and Lori Vanderkleed with membership into the 40-Year Club of the Indiana Bankers Association (IBA).

The club recognizes banking professionals who have completed 40 years or more of service to the Indiana banking community. Inductees are given IBA keepsakes and letters of congratulations.