Home Care In Elkhart, IN

The “2025 Elkhart RV Open House,” one of the North American RV industry’s top annual trade shows, is scheduled for Monday through Thursday, Sept. 22-25, in and around northern Indiana’s RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Ind., according to THOR Industries Inc. President & CEO Bob Martin and Forest River Inc. CEO Doug Gaeddert.

And while it’s way too early for either of those major RV builders to provide details about their companies’ respective plans for this year’s Open House, both companies – two of the continent’s largest RV builders – will be exhibiting products at the same locations as they have in recent years with Forest River again stationed at its East to West division’s production facilities on the southwest side of Elkhart and THOR’s varied divisional displays again located close to the Hall of Fame.

And, RVB has learned, the other member of the industry’s “Big Three” volume RV builders, Minnesota-based Winnebago Industries Inc. and its Grand Design RV Inc. and Newmar Corp. subsidiaries, are also returning to their same Open House locations with Winnebago-branded products again on display at the Elcona Country Club just east of Elkhart.

The Open House actually dates back to 2009 when Forest River, a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary, first launched a private dealer “Expo” as the U.S. economy and the RV industry were emerging from a trying recession with a private dealer gathering held at Forest River’s west-side Elkhart headquarters.

Over the next few years, as the story goes, the Open House evolved from Forest River’s own Expo – a name Forest River still utilizes – into an all-industry event including other competitive OEMs plus dealers from coast to coast as well as exhibiting suppliers – much like RVIA’s traditional, 50-year-old “Louisville Show” that was dropped in 2017.

The supplier exhibits are mainly located in the HOF’s modern 36,000-square-foot, east wing convention facility with additional specialty areas in the Champion Hall and Ingram Hall, both of which have already been sold out for this year’s show, reports HOF Executive Vice President Ryan Szklarek, who says he’s assumed oversight of the supplier show following the recent retirement of former President Darryl Searer, who was succeeded as president in April by military veteran Daryll A. Milnikel.

The Open House, in turn, has maintained a truly unique role as a freewheeling event that has no owners, directors or overall show management with the exception of the HOF’s emerging “2025 Hall of Fame Supplier Show” held inside the Hall where an increasing number of suppliers show their wares.

Szklarek, for his part, says this year’s supplier show is filling up.

“At this point it looks like the supplier show is once again going to get very close to selling out if not selling all the way out,” he told RVB. “We’re about 15% to 20% ahead of where we were last year as far as bookings at this point. And we’ve got a lot of inquiries that are outstanding that we’re hoping to lock down. And at this point I would say we’re close to about 75% sold out, which is, like I said, well ahead of last year.”

And last year’s supplier show, he added, amounted to record square footage. “Well, every year so far has been a record over the previous year because we’re developing the show and we keep finding creative ways to add booth space,” he said. “But I think the layout that we have right now is going to stick. And, yes, last year was the record. This year is going to be a record above that.”

Behind that growth, he maintained, is a tendency for loyalty among suppliers despite the general unpredictability of the current marketplace. “Correct,” he noted, “I feel like the suppliers are loyal. I’ve heard stories about the suppliers’ role at the Louisville Show for over 50 years. And whether the industry was up or down, the suppliers were always loyal and stuck it out. And even though they may have grumbled, they still always showed. And, yeah, we’re seeing the exact same experience here.”

SOUTH BEND — Where to begin with this Indiana high school football season so far?

Coming into the year, “uncertainty” felt like the word coming back to people when asked what to expect from the South Bend area this fall. There was so much change for key programs that there wasn’t a clear-cut favorite in any conference, let alone for who the top team from the area would be overall.

Three weeks in, we have some answers, but just as many questions.

Let’s assess some things as we enter the heart of the high school football season.

The teams we think are good

It feels like the quartet of Concord, Mishawaka, Penn and Elkhart are starting to separate from the pack as far as the best teams in the area.

Concord is the only unbeaten left in the Tribune coverage area. The Minutemen have picked up one-point wins over Elkhart and Mishawaka, with both contests being decided by missed PAT attempts late in the game from the Lions and Cavemen. That doesn’t take away from what Concord has done in its first three games, with a high-powered offense and strong defense putting squarely in the mix for Northern Lakes Conference and postseason hardware.

Mishawaka beat Penn by 20 points before its narrow loss to Concord. Although it’s a tough defeat to take, the Cavemen are still a good football team that can make a run in Class 4A. They’ll likely need to win out and get some help along the way, though, if they want to earn a share of the NLC title.

Penn recovered from its defeat at Mishawaka with a solid win against South Bend Riley. This reshaped Northern Indiana Conference gives the Kingsmen some very winnable games the next few weeks before key contests with Elkhart, New Prairie and South Bend Saint Joseph round out the regular season.

Speaking of Elkhart, now that the Lions are at full strength, they appear to be a threat in both in the NIC and in its Class 6A sectional. Elkhart has some tricky contests coming up, but a defense that’s only allowed six points per game so far is going to keep them in every game they play in.

The teams that are good-ish

It’s not the most official term, per se, but it seems like Saint Joseph, New Prairie, NorthWood, Bremen and Triton fit the “good-ish” category.

Saint Joe picked up its biggest win in six years last week by shutting out New Prairie. They are one point away from being 3-0 on the season, with its only defeat a 21-20 outcome against Lakeland. The Huskies defense has allowed nine points in the last 10 quarters its played. A victory over rival Mishawaka Marian this week could boost Saint Joseph from “good-ish” to simply good.

New Prairie had its first true test of the season against the Huskies and were shutout. The Cougars’ defense was still stout, but if they want to make another deep postseason run, they’ll have to figure out the offense against the better teams on its schedule.

NorthWood could easily be 3-0, but a blown 16-0 lead against Portage two weeks ago puts them at 2-1. The Panthers were expected to win its other two contests, which leaves them at “good-ish” for now.

Same with Bremen, which recovered from a blowout week one loss to East Noble with wins over Triton and Osceola Grace. If the Lions want to be seen as contenders in the new Indiana Northern State Conference, a victory over LaVille this week is vital.

Triton’s final record will benefit from playing in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference, as the Trojans could be 6-3 or 7-2 heading into the Class 1A tournament. Games with North Judson and North Miami later this season will be telling of how good Triton really is.

The teams hovering around good-ish

This includes South Bend Riley, John Glenn, Mishawaka Marian, Jimtown, LaVille, Michigan City, Plymouth and Northridge. The latter six are 1-2, while Riley and Glenn are 1-1 due to games either being ruled a no contest due to weather or being canceled altogether. All eight have shown some nice moments this fall, but are also at defining moments of their regular seasons. Will any of them break through?

In conclusion…

We’re 33% of the way through the regular season and don’t have much clarity. It’s what continues to make this season fascinating for the South Bend area.

South Bend area high school football schedule, Sept. 13

INDIANA

Elkhart at South Bend Riley, 7 p.m.

South Bend Saint Joseph at Mishawaka Marian, 7 p.m.

South Bend Washington at Penn, 7 p.m.

NorthWood at Mishawaka, 7 p.m.

Concord at Northridge, 7 p.m.

Plymouth at Goshen, 7 p.m.

Warsaw at Wawasee, 7 p.m.

LaVille at Bremen, 7 p.m.

Jimtown at John Glenn, 7 p.m.

Culver Academy at Fairfield, 7 p.m.

New Prairie at South Bend Adams, 7:30 p.m.

Triton at South Central, 7:30 p.m.

Chesterton at LaPorte, 8 p.m.

Valparaiso at Michigan City, 8 p.m.

MICHIGAN

Niles at Three Rivers, 7 p.m.

SOUTH BEND — New data paired with the South Bend area's first "Welcoming Plan" for immigrants shows that over a recent five-year period, 40.3% of the population growth in the South Bend-Elkhart region was due to immigration.

Funded by a Gateways for Growth grant, local organizations updated a 2017 immigration study to gather new figures for 2014 to 2019. Focused on St. Joseph, Elkhart and Marshall counties, some of the major takeaways from the new report shared at a Thursday night event are:

South Bend groups share new Welcoming Plan

In response to the influx of new residents, the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership partnered with the city of South Bend and a group called Welcoming Michiana to create the second Welcoming Plan in Indiana, joining nearly 70 municipalities nationwide.

"This is a movement of communities who see strength rather than threats in our new neighbors," said Alivia Haibach, whose organization Welcoming America works with chapters across the U.S. to foster a sense of belonging and economic opportunity for new Americans.

With residents' help, the new plan strives to address some of the problems highlighted by the data and by immigrants' stories.

Immigrants often struggle to find work in line with their education and experience. About a quarter aren't proficient English speakers. And many say they'd benefit from a central location where immigrants services are offered.

"We know that we're going to need more new residents in the future as we look to continue our growth and fill many, many jobs that people are coming in here and investing in our region," South Bend Mayor James Mueller said Thursday.

Read the full report and welcoming plan at https://southbendin.gov/welcoming/.

Immigrants to South Bend share their stories

The event highlighted the stories of three immigrants, including Dr. Rose Alyousif, who came to South Bend with her husband and three daughters in 2013 as refugees from Iraq.

A physician in Iraq, she and her family left for some years after feeling like they didn't belong. But she soon found purpose as an Arabic medical interpreter at local hospitals, and now she's a professor of anatomy and physiology at Indiana University South Bend.

"I found that when I engaged with the community, I was able to find a lot of people who believed in me and supported me," she said.

Mark Spence came to Illinois from South Africa for a job opportunity and in search of more social services for his daughter with autism. Charmed by the Midwestern hospitality that greeted him, he's since moved to South Bend and is now the vice president of technology and manufacturing at Hoosier Tire, a division of the global Continental Tire company.

And Juan Constantino, whose family brought him to the region from Mexico without legal documentation when he was 5 years old, said he expected to work at a restaurant and move up the ranks to a management role.

But Constantino was one of two undocumented students to whom Holy Cross College offered a full-ride scholarship. Today, after the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals process began in 2013 and he got authorization to work, he's the director of the immigrant services nonprofit La Casa de Amistad.

Selami Buzluk, who attended Thursday's event, moved from Turkey to Alabama with his wife, Lutfiye, to start his master's degree in engineering in August 2020. The two soon had a baby girl, Ikra.

Then a job opportunity arose for Buzluk, who's 28, in South Bend. With his J-1 exchange visitor visa, he's worked at Lawson-Fisher Associates, a South Bend-based engineering consultant, since May.

The success stories of the three immigrants who spoke left him feeling empowered, he said.

He and his family love the city. They were stunned to watch the leaves turn brilliant hues of red, orange and yellow along the banks of the St. Joseph River this fall.

"It looked kind of like heaven," Buzluk said.

An invasive moth-like insect that’s considered a threat to fruit orchards and nurseries as well as the logging and wine industries has been spotted in the Michiana area.

The spotted lanternfly, which officials say could cause millions of dollars in damages if left unchecked, has been found in Elkhart, Mishawaka and Chesterton next to railroad lines moving through those cities, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

It’s the third region of the state where the invasive pest has been found.

The lanternfly was discovered in Switzerland County in the southeast portion of the state in 2021 and in Huntington County in the northeast in 2022. It’s also been located at a parcel of property in Pontiac, Mich.

The DNR said it is surveying those areas to determine the extent of the infestation. The site in Michigan is being contained by a team of specialists, according to the Michigan Invasive Species program.

Originating in Asia, the insect was first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014 and is often unknowingly spread by humans. It’s now found in many eastern states as well as along the rail lines in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo in Ohio, and in Chicago, according to the DNR.

Natural resource officials in both states have been diligent about warning about the insects for the past several years because they can cause millions of dollars in damage. Management includes treatment and/or removal of invasive tree of heaven ? spotted lanternfly’s preferred host ? and regular surveying and monitoring of the insect population.

The adult insects have piercing, sucking mouthparts and weaken plants by feeding on them, making it difficult for the plant to survive the winter. Congregating spotted lanternfly insects produce large quantities of honeydew that over time become infested with sooty mold that attracts other pests in the area, further threatening native plants.

About an inch long, adult lanternflies have a somewhat exotic look with gray outer wings with dark spots and splashy hind wings that are red, white and black. It’s a bug that stands out for its size and appearance.

Nymphs are no longer than a half inch and are most visible May through September. They are wingless and beetle-like, first appearing black with white spots and developing red patches as they mature.

Egg masses resemble old chewing gum, with a gray, waxy, putty-like coating. Hatched eggs appear as brownish, seed-like deposits. They are most visible September through May, according to the Michigan Invasive Species Program.

Those spotting the lanternfly in Michigan are asked to take a picture, squish it and report it via its Eyes in the Field online form.

In Indiana, anyone who spots this insect or signs of it should contact the Indiana DNR Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology by calling 866-663-9684 or emailing [email protected].