Crown Point Mayor Pete Land provides updates on achievements, growth, departments, and upcoming projects in 2026 State of the City address

Members of the Crown Point community came together to listen to Mayor Pete Land’s State of the City address on Thursday, June 4. The event took place at Bulldog Park with local vendors providing food and beverages all throughout the evening.

Land opened the presentation with a couple recognitions that Crown Point received from the Times Media Company.

“It’s my pleasure to share that Crown Point has received Best in the Region distinction in several categories. For the best sports venue, we finished second place. Interestingly enough, the first place was the SpartaDome, which is inside our sports complex. We also finished second place in the best place to live, and first place for the best downtown,” Land said.

Leadership staff, department heads, Crown Point City Council, board members, elected officials, and the representatives of the Common Council were all recognized by Land.

Shortly after, the award presentation kicked off with the business longevity recognitions. The businesses that were recognized this year included:

• In-Pact Inc. – 46 years
• Main St. Cafe – 55 years
• East Chicago Machine & Tool – 79 years
• Wilson Iron Works – 81 years
• Tech Credit Union – 90 years

Two students were presented with community service recognitions for being an active presence in assisting the community. Kailin Flewelling, who committed more than 254 hours, and Aiden Hielema, who committed more than 226 hours, went above and beyond to make Crown Point a better place.

Hielema, a recent graduate at Crown Point High School who will be studying communications at Purdue University Northwest (PNW) in the fall, cherishes the opportunity to help his hometown community.

“I took the community service hours as a challenge, and I just really like helping my community,” Hielema said. “I spent a lot of my time doing theater camp or helping with CPTV. I always have fun participating in Crown Point events.”

Bob Ligda was recognized with the Excellence in Business or Development Award. Ligda started D & L Wood Products back in 1992, but he couldn’t have done it without some helping hands along the way. He and his dad purchased and transformed the old McLaughlin Golf Ball Company into a custom architectural millwork shop.

He even shared the story of how his company name came to be through a community connection from his days as a high school basketball coach.

“A guy came up to me, and I had no idea who he was. He said, ‘Let me introduce myself. My name is Bill Davis, and I want to tell you how much I appreciate you playing my son. You gave him confidence.’ He asked, ‘What do you do?’ I told him. I asked him what he did, and he told me he was an attorney. One thing led to another, and he said, ‘Let’s be partners.’ That’s where the ‘D’ in D & L comes from, and not a lot of people know that story. I never changed it,” Ligda said.

Don Burrell was presented with the Community Impact Award. Land noted that Burrell embodies the values of helping those who need help, having a big heart, and compassion for others. Burrell started and operated a Crown Point based business for 57 years, employing over 1,000 people along the way. He and his family supported several community and capital projects through the Don & Alice Burrell Family Endowment Foundation, which disperses funds back into local charities, civic programs, and regional causes.

Land shared his gratitude for the city’s EMA, which volunteered 3,500 hours in 2025. He shared that the fire department answered 6,645 calls for service and training 1,047 residents in the community with CPR training. The police department handled 21,081 calls for services and continued with a capital investment for the police department, adding 14 new SUV police vehicles.

The City of Crown Point’s PACE (Parks, Athletics, Communications, and Entertainment) Department had a busy year.

The parks department included a stormwater management and drainage project in Sauerman Woods Park, the city skatepark, and the Veteran’s Memorial Trail. The athletics department operates the Bulldog Park ice rink and the 95-acre sportsplex with 12 fields and more than half a million visitors or players from throughout the country. An adult pickleball league will be coming soon to Crown Point. Land shouted out the IT and entertainment departments that helped contribute to making Crown Point a world class attraction. The communications department helped create positive exposure for the city, with a 391% increase in social media views and surpassing 30,000 followers on Instagram.

“PACE is a department that the revenue it generates helps to fund their operating budget; this keeps the impact on our general fund to a minimum. Adam Graper serves as our department head, and he does a great job managing the countless planned and unplanned tasks that fall onto their department,” Land said.

Last year, the City of Crown Point orchestrated plenty of exciting events for the families who live and visit their community. The Cal Ripken World Series, Summer Long Concert Series, New Year’s Eve Ball Drop – all of these events and more will return to Crown Point once again. With so much momentum to build on from last year, Land is overjoyed at the direction of their city.

“The state of our city is strong; we continue to be a community that people want to visit, to be involved with, and to be part of what I think is a pretty fantastic community to call home,” Land said. “I’m very excited for our city. I’m so optimistic for the present day and future of Crown Point. We can live anywhere, and we choose to live here. That’s our foundation; it’s us.”

For more information on the City of Crown Point, you can visit crownpoint.in.gov.