Indiana’s state government increased taxes in 1973and during the mid－1980s to help meet rising social needs．Unemployment increased due to foreign competition in the automobile industry．Farmers also experienced a depression in their industry．Indiana is now striving to expand and renovate（革新，刷新，修复）existing service industries while attracting new industries into the state
Early Indiana settlers had a great concern to preserve religious freedom，and many denominations（命名）have been cultivated here and contribute much to the makeup of Indiana life．Today，over 7000churches can be identified serving about half of the current population．
Residents from even all walks of life have preserved their history and traditions through museums，libraries，archives（档案室），and publications．There are currently over 370museums in Indiana which focus on a variety of subjects．There are more than 2，900libraries throughout the schools，public，academic，institutional，and specialized．In the early twentieth century，Indiana received more Carnegie Libraries than any other state，totaling 164．
Indiana has also had it’s share of successful writers．Studies have determined that the best－selling fiction by Indiana authors is ranked second only to New York authors in the period of 1895to 1965．
Indiana’s natural heritage has benefited from private and public attention over the years．In 1916，Indiana began its state park system under Richard Lieber，who became a leader in the national conservation movement．Indiana has 12state forests，9reservoirs（水库），151nature preserves，and 18fish and wildlife areas to preserve its natural heritage．Private organizations help to preserve many natural areas in Indiana．There are 4national areas designated for their special importance．Such areas are also important for recreation（消遣，娱乐）for Hoosiers（印第安纳州人）and tourists．
Governor州长
Jr Mitchell E．Daniels在2005年1月10日成为印第安纳州州长。他要求本州人们作为邻居联合起来共建印第安纳州。Daniels州长许诺印第安纳州人他将革新政府创造工作，重获人们对政府的信任，瞄准改革的关键时刻。在做完州演讲一周后，他提出平衡10年的财政预算。在三周后，他签定法律来大力整顿经济发展。
On January 10，2005，Mitchell E．Daniels，Jr．was sworn in as the 49th Governor of the State of Indiana with the same Bible used to inaugurate President Benjamin Harrison．Surrounded by his family，his mentor（导师，指导者）and friend U．S．Senator Richard Lugar（R－Indiana），school children，and thousands of other Hoosiers，Governor Daniels asked the people of this great state to join together as neighbors to “raise a new barn”in Indiana．
Daniels exited that ceremony（典礼，仪式）at the historic Indiana State Fairgrounds（露天市场）to immediately begin raising that barn．Governor Daniels promised Hoosiers he would get right to work reforming state government to create jobs，restore the public’s trust，and aim higher at a critical moment of change in Indiana．On day one he proposed the most aggressive legislative agenda in recent history．A week later during his State of the State Address，Governor Daniels proposed the state’s first honestly balanced budget in ten years．Three weeks later，he signed into law a major overhaul（全面修订）of Indiana’s economic development efforts．
The idea of getting right to work plays a constant theme in the life of Governor Daniels．He learned that life lesson from his father，Mitch Sr．，and young Mitch has applied that philosophy through decades of service to our state and our nation in business，government，politics，and the non－profit sector．
Mitch Daniels came to Indiana when he was in grade school，and he’s been a Hoosier ever since．In 1967，when Mitch graduated from North Central High School in Indianapolis，President Lyndon Johnson named Indiana’s future Governor a Presidential Scholar—the state’s top male high school graduate that year．Daniels went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton（普林斯顿）University in 1971．
Mitch began his public service career during his breaks at Princeton by working for then－Indianapolis Mayor Dick Lugar．He followed Lugar to the United States Senate，serving as chief of staff during Lugar’s first eight years in Washington and earning his law degree from Georgetown University．
President Ronald Reagan asked Mitch to join him in the White House in the mid－1980’s．Daniels served as a senior Presidential advisor and the administration’s liaison（联络）to state and local officials．
In 1987，Mitch，his wife Cheri，and their four daughters －Meagan，Melissa，Meredith，and Maggie，returned to Indiana where Mitch entered the corporate（社团的，共同的）sector as CEO of the nationally renowned Hudson Institute．After turning around that financially distressed research organization，Daniels was recruited into the ranks of senior management at another Indiana institution—Eli Lilly and Company．By 1993，he was leading a multi－billion－dollar business enterprise as president of Lilly’s North American pharmaceutical（制药（学）上的）operations．
In January 2001，Daniels made a significant personal and financial sacrifice when he answered the call from President George W．Bush to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget（OMB）．In this role，he became responsible for overseeing the federal govern－ment’s 2trillion budget．
After serving two years in the White House，a massive grassroots effort successfully persuaded Daniels to run for public office for the first time．For the next 16months，“My Man Mitch”traveled the state over and over again on an Indiana－built RV meeting scores of Hoosiers along the way．In November 2004，the voters of Indiana elected Mitch Daniels their Governor．
State Bird州鸟
北美红雀一种北美鸣鸟（主红雀属），头部有羽冠，喙短而厚，雄鸟的羽毛色泽亮红。它在1933年成为印第安纳州州鸟。北美红雀是由早期美国殖民者命名。这种鸟分布广，声音清脆。它同时也是伊利诺斯州、肯塔基州、卡罗莱纳州、俄亥俄州、弗吉尼亚州、西弗吉尼亚州的州鸟。
The cardinal was adopted as the state bird of Indiana in 1933．The northern cardinal is also the state bird for six other states．These are Illinois，Kentucky，North Carolina，Ohio，Virginia，and West Virginia．