Pretty contrived story. She went from a local business owner, to the local university and the Chamber of Commerce to fill find people who told her what she wanted to write.
The question in my mind is why manufacture this story now? Election ploy I suppose.
Good point, plus the story is from South Bend, she went to Therre Haute and Bloomington to find quotes, literally no one within 100 miles of her publishing address was quotable.