It’s National Zookeeper Week and Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden would like to recognize the efforts of the Zookeepers on staff. Zookeepers are responsible for the daily care of the zoo’s animal collections. Zookeepers feed, water, clean and maintain the general health of the animals. They also strive to enrich the lives of the animals by training them and providing enrichment items (such as toys or puzzle feeders) to help keep their minds and bodies in tip-top shape. Animals need constant care, so Zookeepers work every day of the year (yes, even Christmas.) Zookeepers work closely with the veterinarian staff to monitor the animals and with the commissary staff to make sure the animals are eating a proper diet.  The Zookeeper staff receives dedicated support from their fellow zoo employees to provide a great quality of life for the animals.  Thank you Zookeepers for your tireless efforts!

Special Event: Want to learn more about the care of animals at Mesker Park Zoo? Or maybe your child who wants to work with animals when they grow-up? Then join AAKZ for a “Meet the Keeper” Open House on Saturday, July 27, 2013 from 11 am to 1 pm. This casual meet and greet, which will include animal encounters, will take place in the Discovery Center. Not only will attendees learn about what keepers do, they will also learn about important local and national conservation efforts and what they can do to support these efforts. Appropriate for all ages. Regular admission rates apply. Zoo Members are FREE.

Evansville’s newest engineering firm, Envolve Engineering, LLC recently opened its doors at Innovation Pointe in Downtown Evansville with the support of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville, the Economic Development Coalition of SW Indiana, and the City of Evansville. Envolve Engineering is led by a group of local professionals with more than 68 years of combined experience in the automotive and consumer goods industries.

Envolve’s Technical Leader, Pat Boarman stated, “Our Design Engineering Company became a reality with the help of Evansville’s various business support groups. The tri-state area has a wealth of professional talent. Our business model simply links local talent with customers from a global market.”

Employment at Envolve Engineering is expected to reach 8-10 professionals in the first six months of business. Growth is expected through 2014 as Envolve’s capabilities compliment other regional employers well. Services provided by Envolve include:

• 3D component modeling & print detailing

• Plastic part design (injection mold, extrusion, thermoforming & specialty molding)

• Metal part design (sheet metal, die casting, powdered metal & other)

• Electromechanical and electronic assemblies (solenoids, motors, controllers & wiring) • Software and control algorithm development

“I commend the ingenuity and commitment of the talented group of engineers who made the decision to stay in Evansville and start their own company when Whirlpool ceased production and closed its product design center,” said Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. “With assistance of our local economic development team, Envolve Engineering, LLC is well positioned for growth as it seeks to do design work for a variety of national and international clients.”

Envolve Engineering is located on the 5th floor of Innovation Point; Evansville’s premier business incubator in Downtown Evansville. “Evansville is fortunate to have an asset like Innovation Pointe that can be used to help launch new, technology-based companies like Envolve Engineering,” said Growth Alliance president, Debbie Dewey.

“As talent is a critical driver to grow an economy, we were looking at how to leverage the tremendous wealth of talent from the former Whirlpool Product Development Center,” said Greg Wathen, president & CEO for the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana. “The team at Envolve Engineering represents the very best in global refrigeration and appliance design and we’re ecstatic to keep such individuals in Southwest Indiana.”

For inquiries, please contact:

Envolve Engineering Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville

318 Main Street, Suite 502 318 Main Street, Suite 500

Evansville, IN 47708 – Suite 502 Evansville, IN 47708

(812) 492-4586 (812) 401-4243

www.envolve-engineering.com

www.GrowthAllianceEvv.com

By Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller

Boating down the Wabash River near Lafayette on July 16, I witnessed firsthand the broad, winding river’s scenic beauty, but also got a lesson in the environmental challenges the river faces when two Asian carp hurled themselves out of the water and landed in our boat.

The Wabash is Indiana’s iconic river and inspiration for our state song, yet in recent years two species of invasive Asian carp have infested portions of it. These voracious non-native fish consume nutrients in the water, disrupting the food chain and threatening the native fish enjoyed by Hoosier anglers and sportsmen. At the sound of outboard motors, groups of Asian carp will jump out of the water and can injure boaters. The invasion of Asian carp into U.S. waterways and the risk they pose to the Great Lakes sportfishing industry has provoked consternation and litigation among our neighboring states; and as Indiana’s attorney general, I want to make sure the Wabash will be protected from further spread of this aquatic nuisance.

Fortunately we have allies in this effort. First is John Goss, director of the federal government’s Asian carp control efforts. John is a native Hoosier and former director of the Department of Natural Resources, and he accompanied me in a friend’s Zodiac inflatable boat during part of our river tour and inspection down the Wabash. John Goss educated me and people we met in river communities along the way about new approaches being explored to curb the carp population.

In communities along the Wabash, local residents have banded together to preserve the river. In the city of Wabash, Ind., where we launched our boat, we met with Mayor Robert Vanlandingham and some of the Wabash River Defenders, a group of volunteers who sponsor clean-up programs on the banks of the river and advocate for increased use and appreciation of the waterway.

Downriver in Peru, Ind., we met with Mayor Jim Walker and members of the Wabash River Heritage Corridor Commission, who support programs that celebrate the natural resource of the river. In Lafayette, we met with Purdue University Professor Reuben Goforth, a renowned expert on invasive species, and we learned about innovative ideas for addressing Asian carp overpopulation. In Terre Haute, largest city on the Wabash, Mayor Duke Bennett and citizens are celebrating 2013 as “The Year of the River” to showcase the waterway with activities to encourage its full use and enjoyment.

Slicing through the river along the Indiana-Illinois border on my friend John Hughes’ Zodiac boat, I spotted five bald eagles and 40 or more blue herons, a testament to the wooded natural ecosystem on the banks of the Wabash. A spectacular view of the river awaited us atop the bluff at Merom, Ind., in Sullivan County, where we had lunch at the Downtown Diner with local folks who exuded Hoosier hospitality. Longtime residents told me that in some areas, the river has never looked cleaner, but in others, they worry about agricultural runoff into the waterway.

The Wabash’s connection to the early development of our state is seen in the city of Vincennes, Indiana’s first territorial capital prior to statehood. There we toured the riverfront and George Rogers Clark Memorial with Mayor Joe Yochum. The final leg of our four-day river journey took us to New Harmony, Ind., in Posey County, site of 19th-century utopian communities and still a peaceful hometown for residents who met us at the Red Geranium restaurant to share their love of the river and discuss Asian carp.

After observing by boat most of a 334-mile stretch of the Wabash before its confluence with the Ohio River, I came away with a new appreciation for maintaining the river’s ecosystem, water quality and heritage, a deeper admiration for those volunteers whose stewardship helps keep the river free of litter and pollution, and a determination to do what I can to help our state control Asian carp. We in Indiana truly are blessed that such a scenic natural waterway flows through our state, and I encourage all

Hoosiers to visit the Wabash by boat, canoe or from the riverbank so they can appreciate why we must protect and preserve it.

Greg Zoeller is attorney general of Indiana and toured the Wabash River by boat from July 15 to 18.

WHAT: “GARY’S RIDE” is a recreational bicycle ride to honor Indiana State Police Lt. Gary Dudley. All proceeds from the ride benefit The Gary Dudley Memorial Scholarship Foundation, which provides college Scholarships to the children of city, county, state and federal law enforcement officers killed in the Line of Duty in Indiana.

WHEN: Saturday, August 17, 2013 Registration: 7:00 – 11:00 a.m.
It is an OPEN start to the Ride

WHERE: Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield, IN

WHO: Bicyclists of all ages and experience levels are welcome. Routes range from a “Family Fun Ride” (0-10 miles) up to a Century (100 miles). Six distance levels are available. You can ride as little or as much as you want. Helmets are required.

NOTES: On-line registration at: www.getmeregistered.com/garysride

For more information about this event, please go to www.garysride.com .

Please direct any questions to Carolyn Dudley at: bikecentury@comcast.net

EVENTS: In addition to the ride, there will be activities for kids of all ages to enjoy at ILEA, including a large display of Police, Fire, and Department of Natural Resource vehicles and equipment. The displays are FREE and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 12 noon