Latest news with #Swope
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Swope Art Museum now closed for renovation
The major renovation at the Swope Art Museum that started in March has now reached the point where the museum must close to the public, the Swope's executive director said Thursday. The museum will reopen to the public in January 2026. 'Much work has been going on for the last three months, and now it is time to start the process of replacing the existing elevator which will restrict access to the upper floors where the majority of exhibits are,' Fred J. Nation, executive director of the Terre Haute museum, said in a news release. 'This is the first major renovation of the Swope Block in 25 years and when it is finished, we expect the museum will be well prepared to preserve, protect and exhibit our collection of great American art and make the museum accessible to all,' he said. During the closure, the staff will continue to work, and the museum will continue offering programming to the community. The Third Annual William T. Turman Plein Air event will bring dozens of artists to Vigo County June 20-25, where they will paint outdoor scenes. The works will be exhibited July 1 – August 15 at the Gallery at Arts Illiana with a reception July 11, 6 – 8 pm. The 81st Annual Wabash Valley Exhibition will be on view August 19 - October 31 with an awards reception on Aug. 29 from 4 to 8 pm in the Yang Family Gallery at Indiana State University. Art Start, a free weekly program for children ages 3 to 5, will resume in September at the Vigo County Public Library. In addition, several other off-site events are planned. 'We realize our closure period will disappoint some, including visitors from out of town who come to see our collection,' Nation said. 'However, the investment today will make the future of the museum more secure and preserve and protect our collection. In addition to the new elevator, the renovation project includes a second interior stairway, new art storage, the Mary Ann Carroll Family Education Center and a new HVAC system. A successful 'Great Art for All' capital campaign has raised $6.5 million for the renovations and endowment of the Swope.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A cut above the rest: Butchers showcase their skills in Penn State competition
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WTAJ) — Many from across the state competed in the 2025 Best Butcher Contest at the Penn State meat lab to see who had the best cut of meat. Competitors were judged by four expert judges on their technique, precision and yield. The butchers showcased their skills and had just 45 minutes to do so. The event was also meant to showcase the importance that butchers play in the supply chain. 'For us, it's kind of twofold, shining a light on their skills and their craft, but also educating them on how they can better sell these, within their retail shops,' Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative Director of Marketing Kaitlyn Swope said. Huntingdon County highlights local beef farmers during National Beef Month Swope explained that the butcher's yield was important as they wanted to minimize waste and utilize the beef efficiently. The butchers and those who play a role in those businesses used the competition as an opportunity to fine-tune their craft and figure out how they could continue to deliver a high-quality product. 'We have a lot of spectators that are just watching the contest today, kind of seeing, maybe if they want to do it in the future,' Swope said. The contest was held in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Association of Meat Processors' annual meeting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Mark Bennett: Fred Nation guiding Swope through makeover, then stepping down
A couple strolled through the Swope Art Museum earlier this month, eyeing the paintings, sculptures and drawings. Initially, it was the couple's tall stature that caught Fred Nation's attention. Then, Nation — the Swope executive director — talked with the visitors and learned they'd traveled to Terre Haute from Denmark. Curious, Nation asked why. 'We came to see the Larry Bird Museum,' they told Nation. 'Who would've guessed?' Nation said Wednesday afternoon, recalling the moment. Museums are Terre Haute tourism niche, with nearly a dozen. The Haute's museums-per-capita ratio was 86th-best out of 1,318 places in the last year's Best Small Cities in America rankings by WalletHub. Coupled with downtown improvements and an 'open and welcoming' atmosphere, Terre Haute's future looks bright to Nation, a lifelong resident and active advocate for his hometown. 'This community's on the map for its cultural amenities,' he said. Nation has overseen one of Terre Haute's oldest museums, the Swope, for more than eight years — at first on an interim basis, and then as its full executive director since 2019. He's the 13th person to serve in that capacity since Terre Haute artist John Rogers Cox led the Swope's opening in 1942. Nation's stint is likely the third longest, according to his research. Now, Nation is guiding the museum through a major renovation project that will require the Swope to close to the public from June 1 through Jan. 1, 2026. He's also steady-handedly steered fundraising efforts for the makeover, with contributions already totaling $6.3 million of an estimated $7-million project. Famed sports artist captured 'motion' of 1962's classic Indy 500 In this 2021 photo, Theo Nation, then 4, grasps an imaginary steering wheel and makes the sound of a racecar as his grandfather, Fred Nation, executive director of the Swope Art Museum, points out the cars in a colorful scene in a painting by LeRoy Nieman in one of the museum's galleries. Once the project is done, and 2025 is done, Nation also will done as executive director. The 81-year-old intends to retire from his Swope post by Jan. 1. 'It's just time for a younger person, with new ideas and new energy,' Nation said from his office inside the Italian Renaissance-style building at the corner of Seventh and Ohio streets. 'It's just time. 'And to be fair to my wife [Nancy] and family, I should probably spend more time' with them, he added. The Nations have been married 60 years. Nancy is a longtime Swope supporter and member of its Board of Advisors, and is essentially the museum's 'co-executive director,' as he puts it. They've lived in the same Terre Haute house for 58 years. They raised a family of four children, who fittingly are all involved in community service — Todd as a Terre Haute city councilman, Tim as the Indianapolis Peace Learning Center, Tonya as a Terre Haute North High School math teacher and Indiana state representative, and Thad as owner of Nation Consulting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Nations also have 15 grandchildren. Nation's duty as Swope executive director has put a 'capstone,' he said, on his long career of community and state oriented work. The Schulte High School and Indiana State University grad started that path as a Terre Haute Star reporter in the 1960s, before serving as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College's public relations director and vice president of development. Afterward, he took over the Saturday Spectator newspaper and 'took on the establishment,' reviving that longtime publication; worked for U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh's unsuccessful 1980 reelection campaign; joined Brian Miller's marketing and graphic design firm; agreed to guide Evan Bayh's successful 1988 campaign for Indiana governor, and then wound up leading Bayh's staff for the next eight years; and finally became executive VP for communications for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Racing, before retiring in late 2011. That same year, Nation also ran for Terre Haute mayor, but incumbent Duke Bennett won that race. 'If I'd been elected, I'm not sure I'd still be alive,' Nation said. 'It's a very stressful job.' A different job eventually arose, anyway. The Swope needed an interim leader in 2018 after museum executive director Susan Baley moved on to lead a Tulsa, Oklahoma, gallery. Nation's leadership background, and Nancy's years of volunteering with the Swope, made Fred a logical choice as interim executive director. 'More relevant now than ever' Scott Sanders, an archivist from Antioch College (middle) shows Nancy and Fred Nation an original work by Terre Haute artist Gilbert Wilson that Sanders brought from Yellow Springs, Ohio, for a 'Moby-Dick' book release party at the Swope Art Museum in 2019. In 2019, the Swope Board of Managers asked him to stay in that role, minus the 'interim' label. 'I liked the [job], said yes, and had no idea I'd still be here' at the Swope in 2025, Nation recalled. He became its first executive director without an art background. He serves on a staff of five full-time museum employees, along with seven part-time staffers and a group of volunteers arranged by the Board of Advisors. Those volunteers include docents, who helped lead tours for fifth-graders from every Vigo County elementary school and other Wabash Valley schools. The presence of youth is crucial for an art museum. In fact, one of the most memorable images captured at the Swope in recent years, snapped in 2021 by Tribune-Star photographer Joseph C. Garza, featured Nation showing some of the museum's 2,500 artifacts from almost exclusively American artists to his 4-year-old grandson Theo. Future generations loom large for museums' health. Many struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly all closing to the public through at least a portion of 2020. Data from the American Alliance of Museums shows that 19% of museums experienced a decrease in operating performance as a result of the pandemic, while 57% saw increases in activity, and 24% no change. Nation steered the Swope through its pandemic years, and helped maintain the momentum of the capital fundraising campaign, which had restarted in 2019 after being paused in the wake of the 2008-09 recession. Murray Pate, a longtime Board of Managers member, praised Nation's 'wisdom and insight' through the pandemic and renovation project. Nation's efforts will also benefit the next executive director, he said. 'What Fred is about, is making sure his successor is well-equipped,' Pate said Thursday. The original script for the Swope's operations emerged from Sheldon Swope's will, penned in 1903, long before his death in 1929. Swope, a Union Army combat veteran from the Civil War and downtown jewelry store owner, had a progressive streak. His will called for the Swope to be governed by a three-member Board of Managers, and required at least one of the three to be a woman. He set that policy 17 years before American women received voting rights. It's been a hub of arts progress ever since, through ups and downs over time. Nation is confident the Swope's financial status and future are strong. He sees strength in his hometown, too. 'My sense is that our community is more open and welcoming than it's ever been,' Nation said. 'And that is going to be a real asset.'
CBS News
08-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Mega Millions ticket price increase means larger jackpots for players, officials say
The Pennsylvania Lottery's Mega Millions tickets are increasing from $2 to $5. Lottery officials say the price hike will result in more money up for grabs. Customers at Dave's BP on Evergreen Road and all across the state are seeing changes to the Mega Millions lottery. Signs inside the gas station show the increased cost per ticket. "I think it's a little bit of sticker shock when you tell customers right away, but sometimes there always is, and in three weeks, you know, people might just be buying it like normal," said Dave's BP owner David Brogan. "It just is what it is, I suppose," Aaron Garcia said. He said the changes won't stop him from trying to win. "It'd be cool, but we'll see. I don't hold my hopes too high on that one." Lottery officials said the changes mean larger starting jackpots and faster-growing prizes. It's also "building in" the multiplier. "Every winner will automatically receive a multiplier. So that ranges from two to 10 times," said Pennsylvania Lottery Press Secretary Ewa Swope. That slightly improves the odds of winning any prize from a 1 in 24 chance, to 1 in 23. Under the new rules, prizes for tickets not matching all six numbers will also increase. "I don't play it because it's expensive," said Dave's BP customer Chris Marak. Skeptics like Marak have more questions, too. "You don't win, you never win. So, where's the money really going?" Marak questioned. Swope said lottery proceeds actually go to helping Pennsylvania seniors. "We're talking property tax, rent rebates, huge. We're talking prescription drug assistance," Swope added. It's a win in the community, with hopes of big bucks, one drawing at a time. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lewis County passes resolution aimed at protecting use of natural gas for heating, cooking
Apr. 2—The Lewis County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, April 1, passed a resolution aimed at protecting the installation of gas furnaces for heating and cooking in new home and commercial construction. The resolution is designed to put county code in line with a 2024 voter initiative that was recently overturned by a King County Superior Court judge's ruling. Initiative 2066, which passed in November with 51.71% of the vote in the state, rolls back a number of state policies passed by the Legislature or enacted by the state Building Code Council that provided incentives for builders to install electric heat pumps in new construction and ramped up Puget Sound Electric's transition away from natural gas. Opponents have said the state's moves are aimed at eliminating natural gas as a heating and cooking source. The new Lewis County resolution follows the guidelines of Initiative 2066 by repealing parts of the Washington State Energy Code that they say discriminate against the use of natural gas appliances and replaces them with parts of the 2021 International Residential Code and the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code, which endorse the use of combustion-fueled heating systems. Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope introduced the county's resolution and used it as an opportunity to stress that the resolution followed the will of Washington voters who approved Initiative 2066. "We are here to fulfill a duty to our constituents and uphold the will of Washington state voters by passing this resolution to protect access to natural gas in Lewis County," Swope said. "Initiative 2066 passed with overwhelming support last November, clearly stating that people want the freedom to choose reliable and affordable energy options." King County Superior Court Judge Sandra Widlan overturned Initiative 2066 on March 21. Widlan said in her published opinion that the initiative violates a law that limits citizen initiatives to covering just one subject, that its title is misleading and that it does not provide the text of the state laws that it would change. Opponents of the 2024 initiative had claimed that it was unconstitutional when it was passed in November citing the same issues and claiming that many voters likely skipped over the measure because they were unsure what it would do. The Building Industry Association of Washington, which was the leading force behind Initiative 2066, stated at that time that the initiative was crafted with such a legal challenge in mind, according to reporting from The Washington State Standard. The future of the policy is now uncertain. Parts of Initiative 2066 were supposed to be implemented in January. Now, with the court ruling, the initiative is null and void unless ruled constitutional by a higher court. That outcome is possible as supporters of the ballot initiative have said that they intend to challenge the ruling.
