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Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has passed away after a brief battle with cancer.

Governor Appoints Interim Commerce Secretary After Abrupt Departure

Courtesy of the Governor's Office

The state of Indiana’s economic development arm has a new, temporary leader after Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger abruptly stepped down last week.

Gov. Eric Holcomb Monday named Jim Staton the interim Secretary of Commerce, heading up the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

The IEDC is responsible for helping get companies to locate and add more jobs in the state.

Staton has worked for the agency for more than 15 years. Most recently, he was its senior vice president and chief business development officer, in charge of overseeing both domestic and international expansion and attraction efforts.

Staton takes over his new role immediately. Schellinger, his predecessor, announced last week he was resigning, effective immediately, because he said it was time for the agency to have a new leader.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.