From December 16th to 17th, the Mid-States Update, a group opposing the Mid-States Corridor, hosted a survey by Public Polling Policy which was conducted by 635 registered Dubois County Voters. This was a survey to gather research on the public’s opinions on the construction of the Mid-States Corridor, and a press conference was held on December 22nd at 12:15 pm at the Dubois County Courthouse Steps. The press conference was called by Jasper City Council President Pro Tempore Phil Mundy regarding the results of the new, independent public opinion poll of Dubois County voters on the Mid States Corridor.

The Mid-States Corridor is a proposed four lane highway, running 23 miles through Dubois County, with an estimated cost of more than one billion dollars.

In his speech, founder of the Mid-States Update Brad Hochesgang said, “You don’t make big decisions on gut feelings. You make them on data.”

In the concluding results, there was a gap between the opposing and supporting groups as opposition was 81% and support was 14%. The opposition that incited this survey sample testing was a bipartisan selection to not be in favor of one or the other, receiving results across all demographics.

Hochgesang then revealed the results of the poll:

The toplines of the survey revealed that 81% of Dubois County Voters oppose the Mid-States Corridor with 72% strongly opposing and 14% supporting. When asked if they would be less likely to re-elect an official who publicly supports the Mid States Corridor, 77% agreed that they would be less likely while 67% agreed they would be much less likely. 84% of Dubois County voters said they oppose using local tax dollars to maintain US-231 if responsibility shifts locally with 78% strongly opposing. 87% of voters said local officials should clearly state where they stand on the Mid States Corridor.

“This project is big, permanent, and it deserves public scrutiny,” said Hochesgang.

For families along the proposed route, the impact is personal.

In an interview with one of the attendees of the press conference, Tom BarteIt shared, “I don’t want to be the generation. This is our part. We’ve got two generations after me, and I want to be able to pass the farm down.”

Some local leaders say they’re still waiting for convincing evidence.

“As soon as they started putting J turns in the road, it quickly became apparent to me that the safety of Dubois County was not their paramount place for doing this,” said Jasper City Council President Pro Tempore Phil Mundy in an interview.