Indiana nudist campers worry I-69 extension will ruin their solitude

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KIRKSVILLE — Members of a southern Indiana nudist camp founded more than 60 years ago are worried that the Interstate 69 extension being built adjacent to the rural resort will ruin its peace and tranquility.

The Evansville-to-Indianapolis highway extension will run past Fern Hills Club, a private family nudist resort that opened near the Monroe County town of Kirksville in 1947.

Co-owner Carol Ripple says the camp's nearly 200 members are worried the highway's noise and traffic will cost them the solitude they've enjoyed for decades.

A push by the camp to have the state erect a 20-foot-high concrete sound barrier to hold down the noise failed. But state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Cher Elliott says the state is working with the camp's owners and wants to "be good neighbors."