Jul 1, 2021 Four of Indiana’s most innovative and successful rural cities near the Interstate 74 corridor southeast of Indianapolis have joined forces with their county partners to grow their communities and workforce talent. Accelerate Rural Indiana, a not-for-profit organization being launched by the cities and counties, will apply for a portion of the $500 million Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) planning grant and funding. Shelbyville, Greensburg, Rushville and Batesville, along with Shelby, Rush and Decatur counties, are formally cooperating through Accelerate Rural Indiana. Accelerate Rural Indiana is focused on delivering lasting growth and success to one of Indiana’s greatest assets, its rural frontier. The communities along I-74 already have compiled an impressive record, having landed more than $73 million in grants and philanthropic funding to leverage more than $1.6 billion in private investment in the past five years.