FORT WAYNE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 23, 2025--
CPI Card Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PMTS) (“CPI” or “the Company”), a payments technology company providing a comprehensive range of payment cards and related digital solutions, hosted the grand opening of its new production facility in Fort Wayne on Thursday morning, Oct. 23 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Lima Road facility with community leaders and CPI employees.
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The new Lima Road facility is more than twice the size of CPI’s former High Street location in Fort Wayne, where CPI operated for 16 years. The new site is already in use and shipping materials. It is anticipated that all production lines at the facility will be operational by the end of the year. CPI employs nearly 200 full-time team members in Fort Wayne.
“Opening day is about our people, our customers and the Fort Wayne community,” said John Lowe, President and Chief Executive Officer of CPI Card Group. “This facility increases our capacity and enhances quality and speed to market. It brings modern automation together with a skilled team so we can serve clients with consistency and reliability. We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from the Fort Wayne community and proud to continue growing here.”
The Lima Road site advances CPI’s production capabilities through automations that streamline data and equipment management. The facility features inline production, co-bots, and artificial intelligence with new equipment to support quality, efficiency and faster speed to market. In addition, CPI is pursuing environmental progress through efficiency and waste reduction with renewable energy options and LEED certification.
About CPI Card Group ®
CPI Card Group is a payments technology company providing a comprehensive range of credit, debit and prepaid card and digital solutions, including Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) instant issuance. With a focus on building personal relationships and earning trust, we help our customers navigate the constantly evolving world of payments while delivering innovative solutions that spark connections and support their brands. We serve clients across industry, size and scale through our team of experienced, dedicated employees and our network of high-security production and card services facilities – located in the United States. CPI is committed to exceeding our customers’ expectations, transforming our industry and enhancing the way people pay every day. Learn more at www.CPIcardgroup.com.
Jeremy Witte, CPI Card Group VP of Secure Card and Toni Thompson, EVP Debit & Credit Solutions, join other CPI leaders and employees for a ribbon-cutting to open the new Lima Road facility in Fort Wayne, alongside representatives from the mayor’s office and Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A state appeals court will decide whether to dismiss felony voter misconduct charges against an Alaska resident born in American Samoa, one of numerous cases that has put a spotlight on the complex citizenship status of people born in the U.S. territory.
The Alaska Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday in the case against Tupe Smith, who was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. Smith has said she relied on erroneous information from local election officials in the community of Whittier when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.
American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome.
American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.
Smith's attorneys have asked the appeals court to reverse a lower court's decision that let stand the indictment brought against her. Smith's supporters say she made an innocent mistake that does not merit charges, but the state has argued that Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship.
State prosecutors separately have brought charges against 10 other people from American Samoa in Whittier, including Smith’s husband, Michael Pese.
Thursday's arguments centered on the meaning of the word intentionally.
Smith “and others like her who get caught up in Alaska’s confusing election administration system and do not have any intent to mislead or deceive should not face felony voter misconduct charges,” one of her attorneys, Whitney Brown, told the court.
But Kayla Doyle, an assistant attorney general, said that as part of ensuring election integrity, it's important that oaths being relied upon are accurate.
About 25 people gathered on a snowy street outside the Anchorage courthouse before Thursday’s hearing to support Smith. Some carried signs that read, ”We support Samoans.”
State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a Democrat who attended the rally, said the Alaska Department of Law has limited resources.
“We should be going after people who are genuine criminals, who are violent criminals, or at least have the intent to deceive,” he said.
In a court filing in 2024, one of Smith's previous attorneys said that when Smith answered questions from the Alaska state trooper who arrested her, she said she was aware that she could not vote in presidential elections but was “unaware of any other restrictions on her ability to vote."
Smith said she marks herself as a U.S. national on paperwork. But when there was no such option on voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives that it was appropriate to mark U.S. citizen, according to the filing.
Smith “exercised what she believed was her right to vote in a local election. She did so without any intent to mislead or deceive anyone,” her current attorneys said in a filing in September. “Her belief that U.S. nationals may vote in local elections, which was supported by advice from City of Whittier election officials, was simply mistaken.”
The state has said Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship. Prosecutors pointed to the language on the voter application forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022, which explicitly said that if the applicant was not at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, “do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.”
The counts Smith was indicted on “did not have anything to do with her belief in her ability to vote in certain elections; rather they concerned the straightforward question of whether or not Smith intentionally and falsely swore she was a United States citizen,” Doyle said in a court filing last year.
One of Smith's attorneys, Neil Weare, co-founder of the Washington-based Right to Democracy Project, has said the appeals court could dismiss the case or send it back to the lower court “to consider whether the state can meet the standard it has set forth for voter misconduct.” The state also could decide to file other charges if the case is dismissed, he said.
The court did not give a timeline for when it would issue a ruling.
Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.
State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, left, stands with supporters of Tupe Smith gathered Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter misconduct case brought against American Samoa native Tupe Smith by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Supporters of Tupe Smith gather outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter misconduct case brought against American Samoa native Tupe Smith by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Michael Pese and his wife, Tupe Smith, stand outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Michael Pese, left, his wife, Tupe Smith, and their son Maximus pose for a photo outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
FILE - Tupe Smith poses for a photo outside the school in Whittier, Alaska, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
