12/21/17 – 5:30 A.M.

We continue our look back at 2017 today, recapping the top stories of the year as suggested by our listeners. The fourth story in our series looks at business development, as Site Selection Magazine named Findlay the top micropolitan community in the nation for the third straight time.

It’s only the second time in the award’s 29-year-history that a city has won the honor three consecutive times. Site Selection picked Findlay because of some large projects, including Whirlpool’s $40.6 million, more than 86,000 square foot expansion. In March Whirlpool said the expansion would add 50 jobs by 2019. By the end of the year, the company said it had already hired more than 300.

Other projects noted by Site Selection were the addition of 26 jobs by auto parts maker MITEC and investments of more than $1 million in machinery by Nissin Brake Ohio and Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies.