Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
JASPER – As the days grow shorter and evening arrives earlier, visitors to downtown Jasper will find a downtown that is more welcoming, inviting and safer than ever before.
Heart of Jasper, the city’s Main Street organization, recently completed a downtown lighting project that added lights to the rooftops of downtown buildings. These new perimeter lights will be on all year and are coordinated with existing lights that stretch from the top of the Dubois County Courthouse to the corners of downtown.
“Heart of Jasper’s focus has been on the arts, entertainment and dining and projects that attract people to downtown,” said Kate Schwenk, director of the group. “We had talked about adding lighting that would be visually appealing and improve safety.”
Several downtown building owners had lights on their buildings already, but they didn’t all match and weren’t connected to the lights on the courthouse.
When approached with the idea for new lighting, Schwenk said building owners were on board with the project.
Heart of Jasper fundraised for the new lights, which are commercial grade, and will maintain them. The colors can be changed for holidays and special city events such as Strassenfest, Christmas and Memorial Day.
The lights are controlled with an app, making it easy to change colors as well as adjust their duration due to seasonal changes.
The lighting project follows up other improvements to downtown Jasper that included gathering spaces while enjoying downtown shops and restaurants.
Proceeds from the 2024 Mingle on Main supported the project. Schwenk said the city of Jasper Electric Department and Gasser Electric were great partners in completing the project.
Mingle on Main
Be a part of supporting downtown Jasper activities by getting your tickets to Mingle on Main, an evening of fun, food. Mingle on Main is Oct. 3 on the courthouse square from 6 to 9 p.m.