April 6, 2026
SALEM, Ind. (April 06, 2026) — At this year’s annual “Monon South Annual Report to the Communities” on April 1, regional leaders, partners, and stakeholders gathered to reflect on Phase 1 of trail construction, share insights, and discuss ongoing and future initiatives along the trail corridor to further activate trail use and economic success in southern Indiana.
With nearly 40 people in attendance, the meeting began with a showcase of plein air paintings of the trail communities of Mitchell, Orleans, and Salem by student artists at Indiana University. In addition to completing artwork, many other Indiana University departments have taken an interest in the Monon South Trail— from the IU Center of Rural Engagement developing local trailhead maps to Kelley School of Business students giving recommendations on how to activate economic success along the trail.
“With the development of customized maps for each community, residents and visitors of the trail have improved accessibility and usability,” said Jeni Waters, Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement's Associate Director of Communications. “Each community trailhead map gives an at-a-glance summary of the completed trail segments and amenities, a high level view of where the trail runs through the community and the trailhead location, and a unique fold out to zoom in feature that expands the map to highlight points of interest within the community.”
Another new development along the trail is the Town of Borden’s upcoming restoration of the 1900-era Borden State Bank Building as they turn the building into restroom facilities for trail users. Celebrating their recent success in making this project come to life through a IHCDA CreatINg Places crowdfunding campaign, Radius Indiana presented Borden with a check for the $49,031 raised.
“We continue to value our partnership with the Town of Borden and look forward to following along the progress of their new restroom facility,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana.
With the crowdfunding goal of $48,000 met and exceeded, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority will provide a matching grant to Borden through their CreatINg Places grant program. All funds collected will be put toward the restoration and construction cost of the project.
The planned Borden restroom facility will join other public restrooms located at the Monon South Trail trailheads in Campbellsburg, New Pekin, Orleans, and Salem. The Campbellsburg, Orleans, and Salem trailhead restrooms officially opened for public use on April 4 with the New Pekin restroom facility set to open later this spring.
Other topics covered at the annual meeting included a presentation from engineering and design contractors Clark Dietz and Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group on the “Core Lessons from the First Phase” of trail construction as well as an update from the Magnificent Monon South Main Street Program on businesses and community activities happening along the trail this spring.
This annual gathering reflected Radius Indiana’s ongoing commitment to transparency, regional collaboration, and community-driven development as the Monon South Trail continues to take shape across Southern Indiana. Radius Indiana continues to apply for grants to fund additional trail construction and connect sections of the trail in the future.
To learn more about the trail, visit www.mononsouth.com and follow Monon South Trail on Facebook.