The donut shop was opened by Cambodian immigrant Arron Sok in 2019 in Indianapolis. There are now nearly ten Pana locations across Indiana with the Marion location being the newest addition.  

“I got a dozen donut holes from there this week,” said Jonny Rupp, a new Pana Donuts customer. “They do a great job over there and provide a ton of different options.” 

Pana Donuts sells both cake and yeast donuts.  

“I think we are set apart from places like Jack’s or Dunkin’ because we are more authentic and sell more than one kind of donut,” said John Shi, a manager at Pana Donuts, Marion.  

The store in Marion is also selling other kinds of pastries like bear claws, apple fritters, butterflies and more.  

“Their fritters are so tasty” said, Rachel Lee, a Pana Donuts customer.  

The Marion location hopes to establish themselves as the go-to donut shop for the city.  

After their grand opening earlier this month, Pana gained a significant level of attention and publicity from the town of Marion. By offering discounts and samples during the grand opening, Shi hopes the Pana team has won over some customers that will return frequently.  

“Offering free samples and discounts is an investment that we are more than willing to make. We want customers to come back,” said Shi.  

The case at hand was between a delivery driver Mahari Oukbu and Amazon. Oukbu sued Amazon and the property owner of the facility where the incident occurred, CF Mount Comfort.  

Oukbu was delivering a package to the Amazon facility when the signage for entrances confused him. He had to stop his car and get out on the highway to determine where to go. When Oukbu got out, he was injured by another vehicle. Seven weeks later, Harvail Dhillon, another delivery driver, got out of his car due to confusion and was struck and killed by a vehicle. 

Oukbu said he wanted Amazon to pay for damages and adjust, but Amazon argued that they are not responsible for damages that occur off their property.  

Alice Trueblood described Oukbu’s position. 

  “By placing those signs there, (Amazon) affirmatively assuming control of the behavior of the invitees who are attempting to enter their premises” Trueblood said. 

Amazon’s council said, “The concern is not so much how this affects Amazon, it’s how it affects property owners across the state, warehouse that have a condition that’s going to create a potential liability.”   

Justice Goff said this issue is not the liability as Amazon’s council is making it out to be.  

“Everybody’s worried about (liability), but it seems to me that the universe of people that this signage is directed to is really small and the conduct is really specific. Happens twice in a period of less than two months,” Goff said. 

No final decision was made during this hearing.  

Converse has a diverse set of businesses. The town boasts local produce shops, antique stores, coffee shops and restaurants on the downtown strip.  

“Most of our business comes from out of town. It really is Howard County and Marion that are probably some of our biggest playing field,” said Julia Rogers, owner of The Red Rooster Antique Store in Converse. “People like to come to Converse and eat and get away from the big city, and just come hang out in these small towns.” 

Most small-town entrepreneurs start businesses in Converse because of the memories they have connected to the town. 

“I love the downtown area. I have a ton of childhood memories that I kind of want to keep alive and pass on to my kids,” said Lindsay Baker, owner of Jefferson Street Barbeque. “(You) go throughout your whole life, and those are the special moments when you’re with your parents and you hold on for the rest of your life. I just want to keep creating those memories for people.” 

Converse entrepreneurs plant their businesses in Converse for many reasons, including economic development. 

“When buildings are empty, they typically go away, which is not good, because 90% of our buildings right here are on the historical register,” Baker said. “Not only is it keeping the businesses alive, but it’s also keeping that history alive in town.”  

Rachel Boyer, owner of Rachel’s Taste of Marion, sells locally grown and processed meats, jams and snacks. 

 Local produce stores like Rachel’s are part of the Indiana Grown Program.  

“We’re part of the Indiana Grown program, which is an Indiana Department of Ag program that helps everybody,” said Boyer. “It’s a platform to help people sell their products.” 

Administrator of Salvation Army Grant County, Ray Daniels, said the primary issue people face during the Holiday season is food scarcity.  

“We have found that we are up 20% in new clients,” said Daniels.  

To receive food, clients come to the pantry and are allowed to select a few items in a grocery shopping fashion.  

The Salvation Army runs the food pantry in their Marion location Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  

“We also do what they call Angel Tree, which is going on right now,” said Daniels. “(It is) a Christmas thing where we serve kids from birth to 12 years old. They come in and they fill out an application, and then we have a little tag that we put on trees. What (people can) do is they’ll take the tag off, they’ll shop for the child, and then they bring it back here.” 

Sarah Welch, the Angel Tree coordinator, oversees gathering and sorting Angel Tree toys. Welch and her team of volunteers sort through toys in the Marion Salvation Army gym.  

“We are sorting out the gifts that come in and bagging them up so that the families can come and pick up their gifts,” said Welch. “They’re really grateful. And some of them cry, and it makes you want to cry,”  

The Salvation Army does all they can to do good in their community but Social Media Coordinator and Marion Secretary James Wilkins said their resources are in short supply.  

“Our funds are limited,” said Wilkins, “It’s really hard to say no to a homeless person or someone that’s really desperate for food. There’s the joy of providing the food pantry and the Angel Tree, but also the kind of sorrow for needs we can’t meet, especially with homelessness.” 

The Salvation Army’s distribution day for the Angel Tree program is on Dec 19.  

A range of Swayzee locals arrived at West Park early in the morning to kick off Swayzee Day with the race. The course was arranged by Phillip Howell from Swayzee Utilities. The course spread out across the town of Swayzee, taking participants through parks, past morning wheat fields, eventually to end downtown across from the Town Hall building.  

Howell sprayed green arrows along the course to keep runners on the trail. Utilities also provided orange cones to highlight every major turn along the course. It was Howell’s first time planning the race.  

“It was good,” Howell said, “but I have learned quite a few things for next year. I guess that’s probably how it happens a lot.”  

The top three winners of the Swayzee Day 5K won cash prizes and placement medals.  

Howell said, “(We are) trying to get community involvement and just have something fun for everybody to get together with the town.” 

After the 5K wrapped up, pancakes were served in the Town Hall. Swayzee locals and a few visitors sat around plastic folding tables, eating breakfast and discussing their weekends.  

Event Communications Coordinator, Brittany Reiner, said, “One thing that Swayzee really prides itself on is small town living and the strong community. (Swayzee Day) is one thing that we’ve had for a long time just for people to come around and see each other and enjoy all the amenities that rural country life offers.” 

The Town Council hosts the event every year. The Saturday event consisted of the 5K run, a kids bike parade, a silent auction and a town parade, which was lead by the Swayzee Fire Department.  

“There are a lot of residents who have been here for a long time,” said Reiner. “They know that the culture is ‘everybody knows everybody’, and relationships are strong. This is something that people expect, and the town council is happy to put it on for them every year.” 

Scott Shepard, a Marion resident who was in Swayzee to perform radio corps communications, said, “I think there is obviously a core of very dedicated people that work at this. I think it’s a great community builder that represents what life is like in small-town America. I’m a little envious of the small-town atmosphere.”