Karen Niverson is leaving the top post at the Columbus Area Visitors Center after seven years, and hers is experience in a valuable position that will be hard to replace. Niverson announced last week that May 13 will be her last day on the job.
Coming to Columbus in 2015 after 10 years leading the Grant County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Marion, Niverson is a community leader who gave her time and expertise to numerous boards and committees focused on commerce and economic development.
Niverson understood Columbus’ architectural draw and correctly predicted that Exhibit Columbus’ architectural exhibitions would become a popular attraction. Among other things, she also introduced the Miller House Holiday Tour and regularly succeeded in putting a fresh bow on numerous local attractions.
At times over the past couple of years, the pandemic ground the tourism industry to a standstill. But now that things are coming back, people will want to travel, and the Columbus area needs a skilled and talented ambassador to sell our region to visitors and conventions. A search for Niverson’s successor will begin soon.
On a positive note, Niverson isn’t going anywhere. “I am making this move to have more family time,” she said. “I plan to stay in Columbus and find new ways to serve the community.”
That’s good news for our area, and also good testimony for why visitors should spend time checking out the place we call home.
General Assembly: It could have been worse
The Indiana General Assembly adjourned the 2022 short session early Tuesday. Lawmakers delivered a small phased-in income tax cut and a tax refund that’s required by law because they continue to hoard such vast sums of cash. But they mostly made news for stirring up resentment.
Lawmakers angered teachers and librarians with bills that censored and/or threatened them for doing their jobs. Those bills mercifully died this session. But the Indiana legislature’s Republican supermajority couldn’t resist their trademark last-minute chicanery.
As time wound down, lawmakers used trickery to pass a bill dropping the license requirement to carry a handgun. This came after Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter told senators last month, “It’s often so easy to talk about your support for public safety … But if you choose to support this bill, you will not be supporting us.”
Lawmakers feigned outrage over such “unfair” criticism. Baloney.
Law enforcement officers for years have been trekking to the Statehouse to testify against this exact measure for the exact same reason. Carry permits, they repeatedly testify from their experience, are a key tool to determine if someone they encounter who has a gun may legally carry it. It simply protects police and Hoosiers.
So what did lawmakers do? Well, they initially appeared to heed Carter’s warning. They stripped the bill of the language he and other LEOs objected to. It was a bluff. On the final day of the session, lawmakers approved the very same language that had been jammed into an unrelated, already-approved bill, ensuring no further public testimony.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, who appointed Carter, can either sign this malformed legislation, or he can veto it and send a message that he hears law enforcement’s legitimate concerns and doesn’t endorse this cynical lawmaking by hook or by crook.
Home sweet ($30 million) home
Columbus racing legend Tony Stewart is selling his humble abode here, and if you have a cool $30 million, it can be yours.
Granted, it may not be for everyone. It’s what you might call rustic. It’s a log cabin at 10285 W. Youth Camp Road. On the other hand, it’s 20,000 square feet. Situated on 415 acres, it boasts a private 9-acre lake, a bowling alley, an 8,700-gallon aquarium, six bedrooms, and somewhere around 11 bathrooms, give or take.
The listing agent, Carrie Holle Group of Carmel, calls the old Stewart place “The finest property ever offered for sale in the state of Indiana.” Heck, in that case, $30 million seems like a steal!
