Source: Evansville Courier & Press
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/jul/22/work-to-begin-soon-on-tri-states-first-hindu/
On July 22, 2006 the Evansville Courier & Press reported, "The Tri-State is home to some 300 Hindu families, but not a single Hindu temple. That will change soon. On July 30, area Hindus will gather in Newburgh for a day of activities and a groundbreaking on the site where they plan to build a temple. Construction is expected to begin in August at the southwest corner of Vann and Anderson roads. Currently, Evansville-area Hindus worship once a month at Evansville's Central Library. Other groups of worshippers meet in various places around the Tri-State. 'Even though we say we're 300 families, we're so scattered,' said Dr. Ash Dhingra. Dhingra is in charge of fundraising for Tri-State Hindu Temple Inc., the group formed last fall to oversee the building project. 'We want to bring everybody together.' The five-acre Newburgh site was selected because it is in a central location and land was affordable, Dhingra said. So far, the group has about $300,000 in donations and pledges for the $500,000 project, Dhingra said. Several activities, all open to the public, will take place the day of the groundbreaking. From 8 to 11 a.m. or so, a priest from Nashville, Tenn., will lead believers in bhoomi puja or 'worship of the earth.' The purpose of this activity is to sanctify the land, making it suitable for housing a temple... Currently the closest Hindu temples are in Nashville, Tenn., Louisville, Ky., and St. Louis."