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- Which Small Town Won the Inaugural Bracket Challenge? 🤔🏆
Which Small Town Won the Inaugural Bracket Challenge? 🤔🏆
Plus - Hidden gems to check out in Greene County!
Get IN, Austin Sellers & Nate Spangle
April 10, 2025
Thursday, April 10th
My hometown of Bourbon was devastated on April 2, 2025, when a tornado with 105 mph winds tore through the community and damaged over 50 homes.
So, I've launched a “Bourbon 4 Bourbon” campaign with a goal of $20,000 to help my town recover where insurance falls short.
As my personal thank you, I've partnered with Rare Saint Fine and Rare Whiskeys to offer exclusive bourbon bottles to generous donors at higher giving levels!
Every donation helps me support my community. No matter the size of the gift, your generosity will be put to good use.
Please contact me, Nate Spangle, with any questions at [email protected]
I hope you'll share my campaign with others who might support my small town's recovery!
📜 This Week in Indiana History 📜
Palm Sunday Tornado (1965)
This week in Indiana History, we are talking about the weather… not just any kind of weather, but a historic thunderstorm in 1965 where 55 confirmed tornadoes touched down in the midwest, including Indiana.
Thousands of individuals were injured across the region and hundreds died, including 137 in Indiana. On top of that, entire towns were completely destroyed. Four out of every five individuals injured were Hoosiers.
The entire state felt the devastation of the storm. Tornadoes touched down as far north of Goshen, Indiana, all the way down to central Indiana in Marion and Tipton. The effect of the Palm Sunday tornadoes is still remembered and felt to this day.
Elkhart County in northern Indiana was ravaged by tornadoes during Palm Sunday on April 11, 1965. (Photo by Paul Huffman / The Elkhart Truth)
⚡ Hoosier Headlines ⚡
Your bags are packed, you have your airplane tickets… bring yourself to the Indianapolis International Airport and send yourself home — to the all-new 1933 Lounge + HC Tavern by St. Elmo on Concourse B, which opens tomorrow! After opening 1933 Lounge Carmel earlier this month, our friends at Huse Culinary are expanding business even further at the best airport in the country by offering travelers a unique collaboration of two iconic brands. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, guests can indulge in the world-famous St. Elmo Shrimp Cocktail, filet sliders, lobster “cargot”, cocktails and more. This is Huse Culinary’s second location at the airport, with the other being Harry & Izzy’s on Concourse A. 🦐✈️🥩
Indiana’s newest indoor football team is full steam ahead in the Indoor Football League. Last Friday, the Fishers Freight won their home debut in knocking off the Tulsa Oilers 40-29 at the Fishers Event Center. The Freight improved to 2-0 on the young season and have seven home games yet to play during the regular season, which wraps up in late July. There’s no shortage of sports entertainment this time of year in central Indiana — the Indiana Pacers have locked down a playoff spot, the Indy Ignite, Indy Eleven and Indianapolis Indians’ seasons are in full swing, the sophomore campaign of Caitlin Clark leading the Indiana Fever in the WNBA is on the horizon, and the Indy 500 is less than 50 days away. Giddy-up. 🏈🏀🏐️⚽️⚾🏎
The inaugural Small Town Showdown Bracket Challenge has its first winner, with Nashville — the No. 16 seed out of the South Region — stunning the field with a Cinderella run for the ages!
It took down No. 1 seed Jasper in the opening round, and the rest was history following wins over No. 8 seed Santa Claus, No. 13 seed Rising Sun, No. 3 seed Madison, No. 11 seed Monticello and No. 3 seed Greensburg en route to the championship. Now, you might argue that Nashville should’ve never been seeded 16th to begin with, but each region was seeded off population alone — biggest to smallest. Nashville was the smallest of the 16 towns in the South bracket and took out Goliath after Goliath to win a $1,000 bar tab in Nashville that’ll be covered by Get Indiana later this year. Thank you to everyone who followed @natespangle on Instagram and voted along the way. We can’t wait to run it back next year!
When something’s off with your plumbing, Hope Plumbing is the name to know. They’re pros at handling everything from stubborn clogs to water heaters on the fritz. No upselling, no nonsense — just solid work that gets your home back to normal.
💎 Hidden Gems 💎
We recently took a trip to discover southern Indiana (give ‘em a follow here) and stumbled upon a few hidden gems in Greene County. After checking out the impressive and historic Tulip Trestle railroad bridge that was built in 1906, we popped in to visit the Yoho General Store which opened in 1934 after its original location was wiped away by a fire. Today, locals love the deli-style breakfast, lunch and dinner served and reminisce about the good old days. It’s a true small town hidden gem you just have to experience.
While we were in Greene County, we visited Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum. Every year, 20 interns head to Greene County to pour over 30,000 pounds of iron and create amazing pieces of metal-casted art. Guests can stroll three miles of trails to check out those pieces created by people from around the globe. 🧑🎨
What’s your Hidden Gem? Reply to this email to get it featured!
👏 2 Big wINs 👏
Rent Cafe recently released its annual list of top 20 college towns in the United States, and Indiana is home to No. 11 (Bloomington) and No. 19 (West Lafayette) on the list. While the Hoosiers and Boilermakers don’t see eye-to-eye on the gridiron or hardwood, they do share positive university traits like cost of tuition, graduation rates and percentage of students who receive financial aid. On top of that, cost of living and air quality were factored in to give each Big Ten town a relatively high score compared to hundreds of college towns across the country.
🎧 From Small Town to Big Business — Iron Timbers’ Incredible Rise 🎧
🎙 In this episode I am joined by Gary, Caleb and Dustin, the brains behind Iron Timbers, a custom woodwork and metalwork shop based in Osgood, Indiana that has accumulated over 1 million followers on social media.
We delve into the company's origins rooted in family craftsmanship and its impressive growth through grassroots marketing, social media and strategic partnerships like its collaboration with HGTV's “Good Bones.”
The team shares personal anecdotes, its journey from hobbyists to full-time entrepreneurs, and the importance of authenticity and community support.
They also hint at future plans, including expanding their content creation and educational ventures to help other craftsmen succeed.
You are going to learn:
- The value of persistence and consistency in entrepreneurial growth
- The importance of building authentic relationships and community support
- Strategies for leveraging social media and strategic partnerships to expand your business