Luedtke said the mission of the church is to help others grow and be alongside them as they walk in their relationship with God.

“It starts with being biblically grounded in our sermons, so when people come to church, we want to be able to point them to God and connect with them,” Luedtke said. “We were created for community, so we promote small groups, getting involved in different activities and we want them to understand their purpose and to find out who God created them to be.”

After taking over as the Lead Pastor, Luedtke and the board of the church opened The Branch, a coffee shop in Fairmount that is tied directly to the church.

“We use that building as a tool, and I tell the congregation that this is a tool we can use to have conversations about Christ and to meet people outside of church,” Luedtke said. “It’s been an open door, and I’ve been able to have conversations at The Branch that I’d never be able to have at church.”

Marlene Overmeyer, an attendee of Fairmount Wesleyan Church, said Luedtke desires to challenge your walk with God to be stronger.

“He has a heart for the lost,” Overmeyer said. “He leads by example and is willing to work alongside you for the Kingdom.”

Luedtke also serves as an assistant coach for Indiana Wesleyan University Men’s and Women’s golf. 

Eli Gilmore, the Co-director of Children’s Ministries at Fairmount Wesleyan, said Luedtke’s attention to detail is part of what makes him such a great leader of the church.

“He doesn’t do things in a way that’s tyrannical. He gives out helpful suggestions solely with the congregation in mind,” Gilmore said. “It’s been cool to see his heart behind the ministry, his humility behind the scenes and his willingness to do what it takes to see his church grow, whether that’s in numbers or in their own personal walk with Christ.”

Different companies and teams signed up with United Way to volunteer and lend their services to help with different service and clean-up projects in Grant County.

United Way Marketing & Communications Director Evan Gilmore helped organize the event alongside several committees that partnered with United Way.

“We have over 20 teams made up of employers and their staff, along with many students from Marion Junior High helping today,” Gilmore said. “They now have the opportunity to help out with places like the humane society, over at the Boys & Girls Club, maybe it’s cleaning up a neighborhood or a community garden.”

The event started with a volunteer lunch before the teams were assigned and dispersed throughout the community. 

State Representative of District 31 Lori Goss-Reaves, who volunteered at the event, said the idea originated from Leanna Smith, the current Director of United Way.

“I remember her talking about this idea she had about uniting people in Grant County and allowing them to come together, serve together, and help out businesses,” Goss-Reaves said. “I just believe we have great people that live, work, and invest in Grant County and this is a way to show that.”

Breana Price, an employee of Heartland Scholar House, said the main goal was to help the community and make Sept. 19 the day United Way does it each year.

“When you see people do good things out in the community, their entire mood changes, their entire outlook changes,” Price said. “The more we repeatedly show that we are a positive community of givers and carers, it will change the perception.”

The event ended with a dinner and celebration at Gas City Park with different vendors, food trucks, and music groups, such as the Jesse Brown Duo and the Barstool Bandits.

This will mark the sixth matchup between the two teams, with the Cougars winning the first two meetings and the Wildcats winning three straight after that. The Wildcats are coming off a 59-0 victory on the road against the Madonna Crusaders.

Wildcat’s head coach Andrew Rode said he was excited about the challenge the Cougars would bring.

“Our guys are excited for the challenge. Saint Francis is, historically, one of the best programs in the country, and it’s a very proud program,” Rode said. “It’s going to be a battle, and our guys are ready. Especially in a game that’s going to be under the lights and at our place, it should be a fun one.” 

Fifth-year wide receiver Levi Tidwell said the team is focused and committed to taking the season one game at a time. 

“If everybody steps up and does their job, we can have a lot of success. Saint Francis has a lot of talent and skill on the defensive side of the ball,” said Tidwell. “I think we have everything in the tool bag that we need. We have a high expectation of ourselves. It’s not about the opponent. They don’t beat us; we beat ourselves, so we need to be efficient.”

Senior linebacker Drake Deshetsky said the atmosphere in every home opener has been incredible and he hopes it to be a packed house on Saturday night.

“Wildcat stadium is already amazing as it is, with all of the students filling the stands but then to make it a night game, we hope even more people will show out for it,” Deshetsky said. “I think the atmosphere is going to make us play even better. Once the game against Madonna was over, we were already getting ready for Saint Francis, and they’re coming with bad intentions and we’ve got to be ready for them.”

Kickoff for the game is at 6 p.m. EST.

Mayor of Marion Ronald Morrell Jr.’s initial goal with the Clean City 2.0 initiative was to make Marion look nice again and make it one of the nicest cities in Indiana.

“This was a passion of mine when I was running for mayor when I saw the condition of parts of the city of Marion, and I just felt that it was unacceptable compared to what the people of Marion deserve,” said Morrell Jr. “Ever since this administration took over, we’ve been working as a team to lock in and get this done.”

The first city-wide cleanup was held on June 29 and the second took place on July 27.

Super­vi­sor of Mar­ket­ing & Com­mu­ni­ty Development Layla Price-Bodkin said one of the most important parts of this initiative is realizing the scale and making the proper adjustments to maximize performance.

“When we drew everything up, our goal was to make sure every part of Marion can utilize this,” said Price-Bodkin. “Each time we do this, we have the city divided into four quadrants, which cover every street in the city when everything is said and done, to ensure everyone is a part of this clean-up initiative.”

Residents were able to take their trash to the Citywide Maintenance and Street Department as long as they were residents of the city of Marion.

Neighborhood Association Coordinator Deana Vice said this event is a great opportunity for the community of Marion to come together and pitch in and play a part in cleaning the city of Marion.

“This whole event is a way for people to clean up some of the trash and junk we see in the City of Marion,” said Vice. “It also gives people a great way to volunteer and be a part of the community.”

Mayor Morrell Jr. said, “Seeing people coming out and being willing to help means everything to me. It shows that we are really moving in the right direction as a city.”

The final city-wide cleanup will be on September 28.