City of Goshen
March 20, 2017
Film Festival comes to Goshen
Goshen will be hosting the 17th annual River Bend Film Festival for the second year in a row from April 6 to 8. The three-day festival welcomes filmmakers and film-lovers alike to join in on a series of workshops, panel talks and film viewings. The film festival was first founded in 2002 by a group of film fanatics from South Bend. For 16 years the festival has brought filmmakers and fans from across the country together. In 2016, the festival was moved to Goshen and broke all previous attendance records, nearly tripling the previous sales. This year’s festival is projected...
March 16, 2017
‘Write on sports’ camp returns
For two weeks out of the summer, middle school students from all over Elkhart County have the opportunity to come to Goshen College to be sports journalists. From July 10-21, students going into seventh or eighth grade next fall are invited to participate in the Write on Sports camp. Led by three certified teachers (two from Goshen Middle School and one from Concord Elementary) and three Goshen College student interns, students get the chance to interview guest athletes and write stories on a deadline. Students and staff also take a field trip to South Bend to visit the University of...
February 23, 2017
A heart made of Hershey
A burgundy sign hangs above the storefront display case. It says “Never Enough Chocolate” in black, curling font. In the window hangs a single strand of gold garland, a leftover decoration from the recent holiday season. Dan Spence’s shop sits nestled in the corner of the second floor of The Old Bag Factory, a Goshen hub for local artisans and vendors. The Chocolate Factory is only five years old, but Spence has had a rich history with the chocolate industry. At the age of 2, Spence’s father died. His mother was grief-stricken and became unable to care for her young...
February 16, 2017
Interurban Trolley offers GC students free rides
As of last Wednesday, the Interurban Trolley is free for Goshen College faculty, staff and students. Jim Histand, former vp of finance, Launa Leftwich, dean of students, Paul Householder, associate director of ITS, and Ken Newbold, provost, all played key roles in getting this program up and running. It went into effect on Feb. 8 and is available to anyone with an active GC ID. Over the years, the idea for this program had been talked about, but it wasn’t until about a year ago that GC began to pursue it. In partnership with the Michiana Area Council of Governments...
February 16, 2017
Goshen community huddle sparks hope
Community members and college students sat together at tables on Sunday, Feb. 12 for a huddle, raising their concerns for the future and thinking of practical solutions. The huddle was organized by Joelle Friesen and Morgan Short, both seniors, and was an action following the Women’s March on Washington D.C. and the sister marches that happened in January. “The huddle was inspired by and based off of the second action proposed by the Women’s March Movement for their ‘10 Actions in 100 Days’ campaign,” said Friesen. “We saw the huddle as a way to build further connections and provide a...
February 16, 2017
From bread to cheese: the move next door
After 30 years of serving the loyal customers of Rachel’s Bread, Rachel Shenk is now managing The Wedge, a cheese shop located around the corner in the Goshen Farmers Market. Shenk, who for all those years filled the shelves of her bakery with French baguettes and loaves of sourdough and honey whole wheat, actually had a confession to make. “I started making bread so I would have something to put my cheese on,” she said. The transition from bread to cheese is appealing to Shenk, in part because the work is less physically demanding. She worked from 10 to 12...
February 16, 2017
Cooped up in the city
Every morning before leaving for work, John Nafziger puts on his boots, opens the sliding door to the backyard and tends to the chickens. Often times, it’s still dark when he goes out to open the door to the coop and make sure the chickens have fresh water and feed. At the end of the day, Nafziger again makes sure they have fresh water, checks for eggs and then closes the coop to keep the chickens away from predators like raccoons. That’s all he does. Ten minutes every day is all the time Nafziger spends taking care of the chickens....
October 27, 2016
Goshen College teams up with LaCasa
Goshen College received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, in partnership with LaCasa, to provide a unique financial aid offer to new students. The project is called the Goshen College “Individual Development Education Accounts,” or IDEA. It works as a kind of savings account; low-to-moderate income students will open an account through First State Bank in Middlebury after LaCasa has verified their income. When the student has saved up to $500, they will receive an 8-1 match, meaning that the student will get $4,000 for the $500 they saved. This money will go towards paying...
October 6, 2016
Faculty members run in bicentennial torch relay
In celebration of Indiana’s bicentennial, a torch relay passed through Elkhart County on Tuesday Oct. 4, featuring three Goshen College employees. The Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay started in Harrison County on Friday Sept. 9 and will finish in Marion County on Oct. 15. Richard Aguirre, director of corporate and foundation relations, Rocio Diaz, CIIE coordinator of intercultural community engagement, and Gilberto Perez, senior director of intercultural development and educational partnerships, each took a turn running through Goshen with the torch. “It was a fun experience,” said Perez, “but perhaps the greatest joy in all of this was seeing the GC...
September 22, 2016
Goshen community members advocate for ‘Central Park Goshen’
Live music, car shows, ice skating, basketball and more could all be possible in Goshen, if funding is secured for a multipurpose activities center known preemptively as “Central Park Goshen.” The park project is receiving enthusiastic support from downtown business owners and Goshen College students alike, despite the continued financial challenges. In November, the city will learn whether the park project will receive a $1 million endowment from the Regional Cities Initiative, which could influence other donors. For nearly 10 years, the idea of some recreational hub for Goshen has bounced around the minds of Victor Koop, a former Goshen...
April 7, 2016
River Bend Film Fest comes to downtown Goshen
The annual River Bend Film Festival has moved its roots to the city of Goshen. The three-day independent cinema celebration has been held in South Bend for the past 14 years, but the festival now finds its home in the heart of downtown Goshen, celebrating its inaugural year with thousands of attendees. In collaboration with Eyedart Creative Studio, Goshen Theater, Art House and many other local businesses, the festival was a huge success, fueled by the community’s support for the arts. “Moving the River Bend Film Festival from South Bend to Goshen is a really big deal,” said Jesse Bontreger,...
January 14, 2016
East Washington Street provides an escape for Goshen residents
The block of East Washington Street between Fifth St. and Main St. is a stretch that if ever in need of a meeting place or something to do, the block offers coffee shops and stores to gather or quickly pass the time. At the intersection of East Washington St. and Fifth St., the block begins on the south side with Ignition Music Garage. Ignition opened in 2012 and is locally owned and operated by Steve Martin. “I wouldn’t have done it in any other location,” said Martin. “Ignition is a place where people can experience the full quality of sound...
November 12, 2015
Rachel’s: Where ‘everything is good’
Rachel’s Bread opens at 8 o’clock on Saturday morning, but the line has formed long before. Customers wait to order pumpkin swoons, chocolate croissants, quiche and much more. “When I was a student at Goshen College, my friends would always talk about how there was no place to hang out downtown,” said Rachel Shenk, who opened her bakery business 21 years ago. “So in retrospect, it’s interesting that I decided to do this.” Since 1994, Rachel’s Bread has been a staple business in downtown Goshen. Originally born in Belgium, Shenk was never satisfied with the bread selection in the United...
November 5, 2015
Ignition Underground reaches out to students
Ignition Garage is Goshen’s neighborhood record shop, audio equipment repair store and a Top Ten Americana concert venue. Located in downtown Goshen, the glass façade building boasts selections of old-style records, CDs, movies and concerts. However, the $20 per seat price point puts Ignition’s concerts out of reach for many college students. Ignition is working to change that through a movement called Ignition Underground. “Ignition Underground is for GC students to have access to concerts at Ignition Music Garage with perks,” said Maria Bischoff, a senior and an intern at Ignition Garage. Several key-shaped flash drives filled with music were...
October 8, 2015
Goshen City Council approves 2016 budget
The Goshen City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the first reading of the 2016 budget. Changes to the budget that do not result in an overall increase in spending for the year can still be made before the next council meeting. Eric Walsh, a certified public accountant who works with the city’s finances, presented an outline of Goshen’s current financial standing and predictions as to what the next year will bring. “Everyone really is striving for the one thing—making the best use of what revenues do come in,” he said. Walsh explained that property tax caps, commonly known...