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Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has passed away after a brief battle with cancer.

Mixed News As Indiana Unemployment Rate Drops

Indiana’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in five and a half years, now lower than the national rate, even as the state’s private sector lost jobs in January.

The Indiana unemployment rate fell nearly half a percent in January, its largest one-month drop in 20 years.  Its rate of 6.4 percent is the lowest since September 2008 and the first time the state’s rate has been below the national average in nearly two years. 

Yet the state’s private sector contracted to start the year, losing 7,100 jobs.  Its biggest losses were in the trade, transportation and utilities sector, as well as the construction business. 

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development blames the losses primarily on the extreme winter weather that gripped Indiana.  

In a statement, Governor Mike Pence says while people should be encouraged by the drop in the unemployment rate, he acknowledges that the news is not all positive and that Hoosiers are still struggling.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.