Dr. Nate Bosch, Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams director, makes a request to the Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission during a Wednesday, Sept. 10, meeting. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Adkins.

By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission approved a $35,000 grant request from the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams for its toxin and E.coli program during a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

Dr. Nate Bosch, Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams director, said algae toxins and E.coli are the biggest threat to Kosciusko County’s lakes, which he said are the top tourist attraction for the county.

“Kosciusko County, I’m happy to report, is leading the way of other counties in Indiana and throughout the Midwest in keeping our visitors safe when they come and visit these lakes,” said Bosch.

Bosch requested $45,000 to be used toward the program’s implementation in summer 2026. He said that amount was about 15% of the total cost.

KCCRVC President Mark Skibowski described the request increase as “hard to swallow,” as the commission granted the Lilly Center $30,000 for the summer 2025 program.

Commission Member Kathy Ray proposed KCCRVC give $35,000 to the Lilly Center.

A request from Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Cori Humes for renewing the bureau’s Placer.ai subscription was also approved in full in the amount of $23,000. Placer.ai uses cellular location data to analyze travel trends, showing what ZIP code visitors come from and where they go within the county.

“It’s giving us visitor trends and demographics,” said Humes. “We’re able to share those reports with our festivals and events, organizations, attractions around the county to be able to share what their traveling tourism is looking at.”

Wagon Wheel Request

The commission also heard requests from representatives with the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts for funds to address patron-facing hazards. Kira Lace Hawkins, director of outreach and education; and Jennifer Dow, managing director, attended the meeting.

Hawkins said the center’s newly paved upper parking lot has resulted in deterioration. She discussed a curb at the front of the center’s parking lot, a 12-foot rock bed area, and timbers at the marquee sign. Hawkins described one incident where one patron fell and was injured due to uneven walking surfaces near the center.

“The curb presents a hazard to cars which are attempting to exit our parking lot, unaware the curb is too steep over which to drive,” said Hawkins. “Now that the parking lot looks so beautiful, it’s even more confusing that that is not an exit even though it’s not marked as an exit at all. The rock bed … creates an unstable walking surface, particularly for our older patrons.”

Commission Member Mike Loher said he drove by the center and wondered why the new paving work was not done all the way to the curb. He also said he spoke with City Planner Justin Taylor, who told Loher the city has plans to place sidewalks near the center.

Commission Vice-President Lyle Schrock said he felt the marquee sign required improvements. Both Schrock and Commission Treasurer John Hall encouraged Wagon Wheel to look at other options.

No grants were approved for Wagon Wheel.

Additional Requests

Anne Petre, lead organizer for Night to Shine, requested $5,000 for its 2026 Night to Shine event, which will take place on Feb. 13, 2026. Night to Shine is a worldwide prom event for people with special needs. 2026 will be the ninth year for Night to Shine in Kosciusko County.

Petre said 167 participants registered for the event last year, with over 300 volunteers assisting. She told the commission Night to Shine also has a broad reach as there’s not many nearby events. The $5,000 will go toward in-house catering for the attendees.

The commission approved Petre’s request in full.

Ken Locke, director of the Greater Warsaw Ministerial Association, requested $1,500 for the placement of 75 United States flags on light poles in downtown Warsaw.

“The one thing that we did in the past and we want to resurrect this is the downtown flags we used to do,” said Locke. “They changed all the light poles downtown and it just kind of got forgotten, and so we want to resurrect that, especially with next year being the 250th anniversary of the United States.”

Locke’s request was approved in full.

The KCCRVC’s next meeting is at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s old courtroom.