Spotlight: Rush county.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT EAST

DON'T LET THE HORSE and buggy, historic one-room schoolhouse or quaint covered bridges fool you. While Rush County celebrates its well-preserved past, appreciates its traditional Amish farming and enjoys a healthy tourism industry, the county of 18,000 has signs of the 21st century. Those buggies travel routes lined with fiber-optic cable. And newcomer Incerco makes ceramic parts for the space station.

In December, Rush Renewable Energy LLC announced it would build an $82 million ethanol that will produce 60 million gallons a year. "This new development will mean economic growth for both agriculture and manufacturing in the area," says Mayor Bob Bridges.

The news followed Pioneer Hi-Bred International's announcement last summer that it would spend $4.2 million to remodel and expand its seed-corn plant in Rushville.

"This is a strategy to take advantage of the ag niche Rush County has," says Greg Griffin, executive director of the Rush County Economic & Community Development Corp.

On the high-tech side, the Economic & Community Development Corp. has optioned 80 of the 250 acres in the new Industrial Park North. The organization hopes to attract life sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing and logistics companies...