Indiana lieutenant governor participating in trade mission to Israel | Jobs and Employment
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch is traveling to Israel on Friday to promote the Hoosier State and its many connections with the Jewish state.
The Republican will be part of a delegation of six GOP lieutenant governors set to meet with, among others, Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll and Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov.
The trip also will include stops at Israeli defense facilities and agricultural areas. Crouch’s duties as lieutenant governor include serving as Indiana’s secretary of agriculture.
“This trade mission presents a terrific opportunity to further develop relationships with industry leaders in tech, agriculture and manufacturing in the Middle East,” Crouch said.
“Indiana and our nation have strong ties to Israel, and I am excited to meet with Israeli leaders and further grow our relationship.”
Crouch was invited to visit Israel by the conservative State Government Leadership Foundation, which also is covering the costs of her travel.
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The foundation said that sending the lieutenant governors to Israel is a reminder “the partnership between the U.S. and Israel is one of the strongest in the world.”
The other lieutenant governors in the delegation are: Jeanette Nuñez of Florida, Adam Gregg of Iowa, Mike Foley of Nebraska, Pamela Evette of South Carolina and Deidre Henderson of Utah.
Crouch’s trip to Israel comes some 10 months after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb made a surprise visit to Israel just days after Israel and Hamas militants ended 11 days of fighting that killed more than 200 people, primarily Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
Holcomb was the first U.S. governor to visit Israel in 2021. It also was his first overseas trip since start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crouch is due to return to the Hoosier State on March 23.
Gallery: Maple sugar time returns to Indiana Dunes National Park
Maple Sugar Time returns
Indiana Dunes National Park volunteer Marisa Rempala shows the equipment used to make maple cream.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Metal buckets and a wagon at the Chellberg Farm’s barn show some of the gear the family used.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Zella Olson has been a volunteer at Indiana Dunes National Park’s Maple Sugar Time since the festival began 40 years ago.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Cooking over a wood stove requires hot coals like these, shown with a burner removed.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Volunteer Mark McColley tests the sap being boiled to create maple syrup during Maple Sugar Time at Indiana Dunes National Park’s Chellberg Farm. The sap is 98% water.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Steam rises as coals are dumped into water outside the Chellberg Farm sugar shack.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Metal buckets made it easier to collect and transport maple sap and other liquids at Chellberg Farm.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Native Americans collected sap from maple trees in a mukak, like this one held by Indiana Dunes National Park ranger Steve Rodriguez.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Indiana Dunes National Park volunteer John Roquet shovels ashes from the Chellberg Farm sugar shack as Saturday’s maple syrup production winds down.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Pioneers used three kettles to make maple syrup, boiling sap to release steam as the sap was distilled into maple syrup.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Animal pelts like these were used for warmth by Native Americans in the area.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Cliff Goins points to the Chellberg family’s accounting of maple syrup production in 1947, conveniently written in pencil on a board at the sugar shack at Indiana Dunes National Park. The family produced 154 quarts that year.
Maple Sugar Time returns
The wood stove at Chellberg Farm is a lot more fancy then many stoves used at the time the Chellbergs lived there.
Maple Sugar Time returns
A suspended gallon jug hangs in steam over evaporator trays used to make maple syrup at Chellberg Farm’s sugar shack.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Visitors to the Chellberg Farm sugar shack see how maple syrup is made, with steam rising from the evaporator pans to concentrate sap into syrup.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Maple coffee stays warm in a vat of sap at the Chellberg Farm sugar shack. The coffee is made with maple sap instead of water to give it a sweet, maple flavor.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Native Americans boiled sap to create maple sugar, which they used for a burst of energy at the end of a long winter.
Maple Sugar Time returns
Cliff Goins, a retired Indiana Dunes National Park ranger who helps at Maple Sugar Time as a volunteer, pours himself a sweet cup of coffee in the Chellberg sugar shack. The coffee is made with maple sap instead of water.
