MUNCIE, Ind. (AP): Muncie is one of 11 Indiana cities competing for a share of $19.8 million to pay for tearing down vacant houses.
 
The city tells The Star-Press it plans to apply for up to $4 million in federal funds aimed at eliminating urban blight. But it first must find partners willing to take ownership of the empty lots that would remain after demolition.
 
The Indiana city about 35 miles northeast of Indianapolis has a list of 199 vacant homes that have cited as unsafe and targeted for  possible demolition.
 
Muncie will compete for funding with communities in 11 other Indiana counties, including counties surrounding Jeffersonville, Elkhart, Danville, Franklin, LaPorte, Anderson, Bloomington, Valparaiso, Lafayette, Evansville and Terre Haute.
 
The program is part of a $7.6 billion federal initiative.