The proposed route would use existing roads and trails to connect the 22-mile Panhandle Pathway running between Winamac and near France Park in Cass County and the 37-mile Nickel Plate Trail linking Rochester and Kokomo.

The museum has called Noblesville home for the past 52 years, but last month the city's Parks and Recreation Board voted to end the relationship.

Julian Ridlen died Oct. 10 at an Indianapolis hospital at the age of 77.

The grants announced Wednesday include $300,000 each for Indianapolis, Bloomington and Connersville.

Mayors Scott Long of Wabash, Gabriel Greer of Peru and Dave Kitchell of Logansport want the state's Department of Natural Resources to give the Eel River the "Indiana Scenic River" designation.

The Wabash River occupies a comfortable position in Indiana consciousness. The state designated the waterway as its official river in 1996, and marching bands and a cappella groups pay it homage before Purdue football games and the Little 500 bicycle race. But until earlier this year, no one knew exactly how much the state depended on the river.