A popular northern Indiana amusement park is celebrating its 88th birthday with new rides and a plan for growth. Indiana Beach officials say the park first founded in 1926 has seven new rides for visitors this year. The park was owned by the Spackman family until it sold the facility in 2008. Community officials who rely on the nearly $60 million the attraction pumps into the local economy each year had expressed concerns about layoffs of non-seasonal employees and utilities that were shut off for lack of payment. Indiana Beach Vice President Don Hurd tells the Pharos-Tribune that park officials are optimistic about the park's future and that feedback on the new rides has been very positive.
