Nana's Homemade Peanut Buttercups

Homecroft, IN (April 13, 2025) - When Nana made these heavenly treats, they were always everyone's favorite. Growing up, we spent a lot of time at Nana's house on the Southside of Indianapolis and we always asked her to make these for us.

Several days ago, while getting stuff prepared for supper, I ran across Nana's recipe and made some for my self and it was so easy. I love this recipe and that you don’t need to bake them, all you need to do is to place them inside the fridge until set.

Nana's peanut buttercups have the same creamy, sweet peanut butter layer and melty chocolate coating you love without all the extra oils or preservatives you get in store-bought candy. Making candy with Nana always tasted so much better, plus you get to control the ingredients. 

 Ingredients: 

•  1 cup butter, melted 
•  2 cup graham crackers, crushed 
•  2 cups confectioner’s sugar 
•  1 cup peanut butter 
•  1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 
•  4 Tablespoon peanut butter 

 Directions: 

1. Apply cooking spray or line with paper liners muffin tins. 
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add 1 cup of peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, butter, and graham crackers. Beat until well mixed and creamy. 
3. Transfer 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture into the prepared muffin tins. 
4. Press them lightly in each muffin tin. Place 4 tablespoons of peanut butter and chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl. 
5. Place the bowl inside the microwave and turn the setting to medium. Allow the mixture to melt completely. 
6. Spoon the mixture and drop them on top of each filled muffin tins. Place inside the fridge to chill and set. 
7. Serve and enjoy! 

SOURCE: Nana

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1970: Remembering Apollo 13

Cape Canaveral, Florida (April 13, 2025) - It was 55 years ago today that the world held its breath as three astronauts began a harrowing journey back to earth after an explosion aboard Apollo 13 crippled their spacecraft.

Apollo 13 lifted off on time from the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, April 11, 1970 at 2:13pm EST. The first 55 hours and 55 minutes of the mission went smoothly until, just over 3/4 of the way to the Moon, shortly after the one and only TV transmission of their journey, Apollo 13 had a problem.

A liquid oxygen tank exploded, pushing the flight off course, robbing the capsule of breathable oxygen and fuel for power generation.

An accident investigation board later found that upgrades to the tank, designed by American Rockwell, had overlooked thermostatic switches while being made to work with higher voltage test equipment at the Kennedy Space Center. These switches were likely welded shut during preflight tests allowing temperatures in the tank to rise to over 12 times the original design's limits.

Systems, including guidance, were shut down to conserve power. Over the next 6 hours, the astronauts with assistance from flight controllers on the ground, manually calculated a free return trajectory to get them back home.

The crew used the on board sextant, which required no power, to determine their position looking for two stars from a list of 37 known to the guidance computer. This a common task used many times during all Apollo missions to provide updates to the guidance, but was particularly complex for Apollo 13.



Had everything gone to plan, NASA’s third mission to land astronauts on the moon would have deployed a pallet of science instruments and brought back samples from humanity’s first visit to the lunar uplands. Instead, 55 years ago this month, Apollo 13 “had a problem.”

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New Bicycle Factory Coming to Indiana

Seymour, IN (May 20, 2022) - Guardian Bikes announced it would build a highly automated factory to move production of its safety-focused kids’ bikes to the United States. Guardian has selected a site at the Freeman Field Industrial Park in Seymour, Indiana, where the company expects to invest nearly $7 million and employ around 100 workers by 2026.

 

Guardian Bikes mock up of first U.S. bike factory in Seymour, Indiana. Photo: Guardian Bikes

Guardian Bikes makes children’s bikes with a patented Sure Stop brake system that prevents head-over-handlebar accidents, and was featured on Season 8 of Shark Tank. According to the company, approximately 11 million kids’ bikes are purchased in the U.S. annually, and 10.5 million of them (96%) are imported from China.

“Guardian’s vision is to challenge this status quo in every way. We’ve said NO to disposable unsafe kids bikes, and instead, make the safest bikes, ones kids LOVE to ride, and soon will be built right here in the USA,” Brian Riley, CEO and Co-Founder, Guardian Bikes wrote in a company statement.

“By moving production of our bikes to the USA, and then fulfilling our bikes straight from our U.S. factory floor direct to your door, we begin to create a sustainable supply chain system, which allows us to not only be a Guardian for the kids in your family with the safest bikes available for them, but also be a Guardian for the future of the planet they will grow up on,” added Riley.



ABOUT: Guardian Bikes

Founded in Irvine, CA, Guardian moved to Austin, TX in 2020. The company’s transition to U.S. production will happen in several phases: Phase 1 will involve final assembly of parts and frames, which will begin in June of this year.



To support the Seymour, Indiana project, the Seymour Redevelopment Commission has approved a four-year $100,000 ECLIPSE loan. The Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation (JCIDC) developed the ECLIPSE program to provide a cash loan to help offset startup costs based on job creation. 

Loan proceeds come from tax increment finance or economic development income tax funds, and the amount of the loan is tied directly to the number of permanent, full-time jobs and wages. The Seymour City Council also approved a $275,000 tax abatement for Guardian’s initial investment for equipment and machinery.

SOURCE: Guardian Bikes