Latest news with #Fike
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Corry mayoral candidates once campaigned as a team. Now they're rivals for nomination
Michael Baker and Jeff Fike partnered to run successful write-in campaigns for Corry mayor and Corry City Council four years ago. Baker was elected mayor. Fike won a council seat. They have since parted ways on city issues, including the return of grant funding for public trail improvements and for a fiber optics network. Now the two men are facing each other for the Republican nomination for mayor in the May 20 municipal primary. Fike, an Air Force veteran and retired state trooper, had been attending council meetings and said that he was dissatisfied with council's unwillingness to answer questions about topics that were of interest to the public. "Before I stomped my feet and jumped up and down, I decided I would do something about it, and two weeks before the general election started a write-in campaign along with Mike Baker and Kristen Lindstrom," Fike said. Lindstrom also won a council seat in 2021. "They had agreed and decided to run on transparency and putting a stop to micromanaging, but as soon as they took office, that changed with them," Fike said. "And for about the last year and a half I've been a man on an island; all I can do is make sure the public has knowledge of what the other four (council members and mayor) are doing, and why I oppose a lot of the things that they're doing." Fike opposed council's decision to return a $73,000 grant for trail improvements to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources last year and this spring opposed council's decision to decline an $875,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant for a fiber network for high-speed internet service. City Council previously had voted to partner with Impact Corry for the grant to improve a rail trail on city property and to commit $14,000 and the use of city equipment and manpower for the project. The previous city administration also had agreed to partner with Impact Corry on creating a fiber broadband network. Council voted to return the DCNR trail grant last summer after some residents who owned adjacent properties raised concerns about privacy, noise, property values and possible vandalism. "It's a public nuisance, period," Baker, a business owner, said of the trail in June. "Having it in your backyard is an invasion of privacy." Improving the long-used trail as a connection in the Pittsburgh to Erie Trail would only compound problems, Baker said. "This is just the beginning of the trails they want to put in. If there are this many problems with one-third of that, what would we have when it's all done," Baker said. Many more residents supported the trail project than opposed it, Fike said. "I think nine families opposed the trail, and about 500 people in a poll favored it," Fike said. The city not only returned the grant to improve the trail along a former rail line. It also barricaded entrances to the trail without council authorization, Fike said. What's being built?: Corry Rails + Trails park will be for more than biking City officials voted to return the fiber grant because they weren't comfortable being the grant recipient and could not transfer the grant to Impact Corry as requested, Baker said. Impact Corry — a nonprofit organization dedicated to community, economic and civic development — can reapply for the funding on its own, Baker said. Further, a fiber network is not needed and the grant money could have been better used to address other city issues, Baker said. "We have three internet (providers) in Corry," Baker said. "We're not under-served or not served. Fiber would be a duplication." Even with three providers, internet service is not available in some areas and not reliable in others, Fike said. "It's not the kind of internet we need for people working from home. It's not the kind of internet we need for business expansion. And it's certainly not the kind of internet we need for kids to do their studies at home," Fike said. More: Barb Nichols, longtime Corry Memorial Hospital CEO, oversaw massive changes on her watch Corry is moving forward under the current administration, Baker said. The city has been remediating stormwater flooding and is working to address the issue long-term, Baker said. The city also is working with the Erie County Land Bank to address blight and with the Corry Redevelopment Authority to help residents repair and maintain properties, Baker said. A planned $40 million wastewater treatment plant will benefit residents and businesses, and a new road maintenance program is among more city accomplishments during his term as mayor, Baker said. "We started a better program to take care of our streets and we're spending money a little more wisely rather than patching a road and watching it fall apart," Baker said. "We're trying to do main thoroughfares on a more permanent basis." Fike said that other improvements that have been rejected by the city are taking a toll. "Residents, business owners — everyone's morale is down," Fike said. "Because every time it looks like we're taking a few steps forward, a project gets cancelled and the money gets sent back. And we're back to square one." No matter who wins a four-year term as mayor this fall, the Corry city administration is almost certain to change dramatically. Impact Corry Executive Director Chuck Gray and former Corry mayor and councilman Charles Campbell are the only candidates for two available Republican nominations for council. Bill Roche, another former city councilman and current member of the Impact Corry board of directors, is the sole candidate for two available Democratic nominations for council. Corry City Council is comprised of just four members, plus the mayor. Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Mayor, councilman face off for party's nomination for Corry mayor
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Corry City Councilman Jeff Fike resoundingly wins Republican nomination for Corry mayor
The race for the Republican nomination for Corry mayor wasn't much of a race, according to unofficial municipal primary results. Corry City Councilman Jeff Fike defeated incumbent Mayor Michael Baker by a 3-1 margin, 346 votes to 108, to win the Republican nomination for mayor. There were no Democratic candidates. "We just tried to keep everything positive the whole time," Fike said of his campaign. "We heard a lot of, 'We're tired of this,' and 'they shouldn't get away with this.' We just tried to stay positive to do what we can to turn things around and get positive momentum in the city of Corry." Fike campaigned on a platform of honesty, transparency and progress. "We've got to get some confidence back from different organizations and from agencies that awarded the city grants that were turned back for no good reason," Fike said. "We have to instill confidence again so we can get projects completed." Fike is a Corry city councilman who opposed council votes to return a state grant for trail improvements and to refuse an Appalachian Regional Commission grant for fiber broadband development. He is a retired state police trooper. Fike called the nomination win "humbling." "We had a lot of support from the community," he said. Corry city dynamics are almost certain to change dramatically next year, and not only because of the likely change in mayor. Erie County Executive race: Christina Vogel upsets Perry Wood to clinch Democratic nod Impact Corry Executive Director Chuck Gray and Bill Roche, a member of Impact Corry's board of directors and a former city councilman, won nominations for City Council, Gray on the Republican ticket and Roche on the Democratic. Impact Corry led planning for the trail and fiber projects. Former Corry mayor and councilman Charles Campbell also won a Republican nomination for council. Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Jeff Fike defeats incumbent Corry mayor Michael Baker for nomination
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Indiana State Police troopers help deliver a baby on the side of I-65
The birth of a family's newborn child came a little sooner than expected Saturday morning, when the mother started to go into labor while traveling along I-65 in Tippecanoe County. The family was still several miles away from a hospital when the mother went into labor. The baby's father pulled over onto the I-65 southbound shoulder near the 163-mile marker in Tippecanoe County and called emergency services for help. Just before 8:00 a.m., two Indiana State Police troopers responded to the call and, upon arrival, quickly determined that the baby was not going to wait for paramedics to help with his delivery. That's when Troopers Fike and McCormick put their training to the test and helped deliver the family's baby boy on the side of the highway. It's unclear how long the mother had been in labor before delivering her healthy baby boy, but shortly after giving birth, Tippecanoe County emergency medical services personnel arrived and transported the mother and newborn to a hospital. "The Indiana State Police commend Troopers Fike and McCormick for their quick response, steady professionalism, and composure during a truly unforgettable moment," reads the news release from the Indiana State Police. The name of the mother was not released at the time of reporting. Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@ follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ISP troopers help deliver a baby on the shoulder of I-65
Malaysian Reserve
25-04-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Fraser Institute News Release: Seven additional countries eliminated gender discrimination for economic freedom from 2020 to 2022; 35 others continue to impose severe restrictions on women's economic
VANCOUVER, BC, April 24, 2025 /CNW/ – Despite improvements, 35 countries continued to impose significant restrictions on the economic rights of women compared with men in 2022 while two countries increased these restrictions, finds a new study released by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. When people have more economic freedom, they are allowed to make more of their own economic decisions, including decisions to own property, to decide what to buy, where to work, whether to start a business, to engage in trade, and even to open a bank account. 'Economic freedom empowers women to determine the course of their own lives, granting them greater independence and leaving them less vulnerable, while also benefiting society by creating greater prosperity and increasing economic activity,' said Rosemarie Fike, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, economics instructor at Texas Christian University, and author of this year's Women and Progress report. This year's report, which reviewed165 countries in total, tracks changes in economic freedom for women around the world and finds that since 2020 seven countries completely eliminated gender disparity in economic freedom and now have equal economic freedom for men and women: Bhutan, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Kazakhstan, Uganda, and Vietnam. An additional 15 countries improved their Gender Disparity Index score by relaxing legal restrictions on women's economic rights from 2020 to 2022. Unfortunately, during the same two-year period, 35 countries continued to enforce severe restrictions on women's economic rights. Notably, Sudan, Yemen, Niger, Iran, and Egypt have the largest gender disparities in economic freedom. Crucially, gender disparity in economic freedom globally has steadily declined since 1970, but still some 600 million women live in one of the 35 countries with the greatest disparities. Moreover, backsliding happens. Since 2020, for instance, Saudi Arabia reintroduced several restrictions on women's economic rights demonstrating that the presence of economic freedom today does not guarantee it will be there tomorrow. 'While there has been some progress, now is no time for complacency given the sheer number of women around the world who are not allowed the same level of economic freedom as men,' Fike said. 'By allowing women the same economic rights as men, policymakers around the world could help all their citizens—men and women—live happier, healthier and wealthier lives.' The Women and Progress report is part of the Fraser Institute's internationally-renowned Economic Freedom of the World project. For a free PDF download and more information, visit Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Like us on Facebook The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit
Cision Canada
24-04-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Fraser Institute News Release: Seven additional countries eliminated gender discrimination for economic freedom from 2020 to 2022; 35 others continue to impose severe restrictions on women's economic rights
VANCOUVER, BC, April 24, 2025 /CNW/ - Despite improvements, 35 countries continued to impose significant restrictions on the economic rights of women compared with men in 2022 while two countries increased these restrictions, finds a new study released by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. When people have more economic freedom, they are allowed to make more of their own economic decisions, including decisions to own property, to decide what to buy, where to work, whether to start a business, to engage in trade, and even to open a bank account. "Economic freedom empowers women to determine the course of their own lives, granting them greater independence and leaving them less vulnerable, while also benefiting society by creating greater prosperity and increasing economic activity," said Rosemarie Fike, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, economics instructor at Texas Christian University, and author of this year's Women and Progress report. This year's report, which reviewed165 countries in total, tracks changes in economic freedom for women around the world and finds that since 2020 seven countries completely eliminated gender disparity in economic freedom and now have equal economic freedom for men and women: Bhutan, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Kazakhstan, Uganda, and Vietnam. An additional 15 countries improved their Gender Disparity Index score by relaxing legal restrictions on women's economic rights from 2020 to 2022. Unfortunately, during the same two-year period, 35 countries continued to enforce severe restrictions on women's economic rights. Notably, Sudan, Yemen, Niger, Iran, and Egypt have the largest gender disparities in economic freedom. Crucially, gender disparity in economic freedom globally has steadily declined since 1970, but still some 600 million women live in one of the 35 countries with the greatest disparities. Moreover, backsliding happens. Since 2020, for instance, Saudi Arabia reintroduced several restrictions on women's economic rights demonstrating that the presence of economic freedom today does not guarantee it will be there tomorrow. "While there has been some progress, now is no time for complacency given the sheer number of women around the world who are not allowed the same level of economic freedom as men," Fike said. "By allowing women the same economic rights as men, policymakers around the world could help all their citizens—men and women—live happier, healthier and wealthier lives." For a free PDF download and more information, visit The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit SOURCE The Fraser Institute
