Local News

TORNADO WATCH and HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK-be prepared-see the COUNTIES below TORNADO WATCH 99 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS INDIANA COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE BENTON     BOONE      BROWN CARROLL     CASS        CLAY CLINTON     DAVIESS  FOUNTAIN FULTON       GRANT     GREENE HAMILTON HENDRICKS HOWARD JASPER       JOHNSON    KNOX KOSCIUSKO   LAKE   LAWRENCE LA PORTE   MARION    MARSHALL MARTIN   MIAMI   MONROE MONTGOMERY    MORGAN    NEWTON OWEN    PARKE     PORTER PULASKI    PUTNAM    STARKE SULLIVAN    TIPPECANOE    TIPTON VERMILLION   VIGO   WABASH WARREN   WHITE Hazardous Weather Outlook National

Great Grocery Giveaway from Bethany Church in La Porte-A Bethany Church Community Giveback Event! Bethany Church bought out all remaining foods from the Westville Grocery that closed - to give it away to families in need! The distribution is this Sunday, 4/6 at the Westville Grocery from 2-5pm.Families MUST preregister at: www.bethanylaporte.com.  Bags will be prepackaged with a variety of groceries - limit 2 bags per household. Thanks to the owners of Westville Grocery for working with us on this giveaway as well at the Center and New Durham Township Trustees. Volunteer or donate towards this at the same link

The City of La Porte and Mayor Tom Dermody announced on Tuesday that their Dumpster Program is back. Dermody credited Jeff Batchelor, Mike Fraze and their teams, for the program returning for its fourth year. The dumpster is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the 1206 2nd St for city residents only. "If the dumpster is full, please DO NOT pile trash on the ground in front of the dumpster. Likewise, if the gates are closed, that means the dumpster is full or is being dumped - DO NOT pile trash in front of the

The Food Bank of Northern Indiana announced its Mobile Food Distributions for April 2025:   Wednesday, April 2, 2025 – Elkhart County – PRODUCE ONLY 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. ET *While supplies last. Where: The HUB, 201 Division St., Bristol, IN 46507 *This distribution is sponsored by CVS and will serve 150 households.   Thursday, April 3, 2025 – Marshall County 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET *While supplies last. Where: Bourbon Helping Hands, 204 N. Washington St., Bourbon, IN 46504 *This distribution is sponsored by CVS and will serve 200 households.   Thursday, April 3, 2025 – Marshall

  PORTER COUNTY, Ind. - Indiana Department of Transportation contractor Rieth Riley Construction will close the intersection of State Road 149 and C.R. 875 N/Robbins Rd this week. The intersection will be closed to all traffic through the end of July for a vertical sight correction project. Motorists should seek alternate routes. The official detour for State Road 149 will follow U.S. 20, State Road 49 and U.S. 6.

CHESTERTON, IN — The Duneland Exchange Club has officially launched its annual Blue-Ribbon Campaign in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. As part of the campaign, banners have been placed in Chesterton, Porter, and Burns Harbor to raise awareness and promote the importance of child abuse prevention throughout the community. Club members gathered on Saturday, March 29 for a kickoff event at the Duneland School Corporation’s Administration Building. Members wore blue to symbolize their commitment to the cause and took part in a photo opportunity before placing banners across the three towns. The Duneland Exchange Club encourages the public to

In Portage there is a lane closure at the intersection of Hamstrom Road and Portage Avenue due to fiber optic cable repairs being completed. This intersection has one lane open for East/West traffic between 7:00am and 5:00pm. Flaggers will be in the area to direct traffic.

The Town of Chesterton is letting the public know that people policing their yards of storm debris in Chesterton may call the Chesterton Street Department at 219-926-2222 for brush collection. Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg noted that he was aware of several privately owned trees toppled or damaged, including one in the 1300 block of Park Ave. which dropped on a car. Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs, R-North, is reporting that a gust of 81 miles per hour was recorded at the Porter County Airport, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane wind speed.  

In Ogden Dunes, the town beach and all accessways, except for #19 at the very west end of Shore Drive, are temporarily closed for a shoreline protection, maintenance, and dune restoration project. In addition, there are heavy trucks and machinery operating at access #18. The Ogden Dunes Police Department is asking the public to exercise caution if walking or driving in that area. Access #19 remains open if anyone would like to utilize West Beach during this time. The lakeside walkway or “promenade” area between access #1 and #7 remains open as well. The Ogden Dunes Police Department says to

Porter County EMA has worked with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to set up a process for reporting damage from Sunday's storm. Residents of Porter County are being encouraged to contact Indiana 211 at 866-211-9966 or go to in211.org & click on DAMAGE REPORTING to submit a report of severe storm damage from March 30, 2025. Currently, only residents in Porter County should utilize Indiana 211 for March 30, 2025 storm damage reports. This may change and more counties may be added as the recovery process continues, so keep an eye out for updates Agricultural damage should be reported

In La Porte, Severs Road is closed for utility work. This work is expected to continue now through Friday, May 9. The City of La Porte says to please plan accordingly and follow the detour. The exact finish date is weather dependent.

If you have received a text message related to unpaid or past due tolls from INDOT or another tolling service provider, please delete the message and report it to the Federal Trade Commission and/or Internet Crime Complaint Center. INDOT does not send text messages related to unpaid or past due tolls.

Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department responded to 24 calls for service on Sunday, March 30th alone. Twenty-two (22) of those calls were as a result of the severe weather Porter County experienced. With a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and a Tornado Watch in effect, Liberty Township and Jackson Township saw a significant amount of damage throughout the area. Responding firefighters were faced with trees down across the roadway, power poles snapped and hanging, electrical lines hanging low, trees and tree branches suspended on lines, and power pole fires all during and in the aftermath of the powerful storm. Fire crews, highway

La PORTE, IN – The past year held many successes for the La Porte Urban Enterprise Association, according to Board President Mike Riehle.   Formed in 2002, the La Porte UEA awards grants each year to local businesses and residents residing within the Urban Enterprise Zone. In 2024, the UEA was proud to award more than $110,000 to aid 13 business owners to improve the outward appearance of buildings within the zone. Riehle said these grants help to alleviate the financial burden for those small business owners that take pride in the appearance of their building.   “Our board places

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. - Indiana Department of Transportation contractor Rieth Riley Construction has lane closures on State Road 2 between Timothy Rd and the U.S. 20/31 through Noevmber   There will be alternating lane closures on State Road 2 in this area through mid-November for resurfacing work. This is a continuation of a 14 mile resurfacing project that began on State Road 2 at U.S. 20 in La Porte County in 2024. Motorists should be prepared for changing traffic patterns and delays during peak times.   INDOT encourages drivers to allow extra time when traveling through this area and

The Hammond Police Department is currently investigating a shooting that occurred in the early morning hours of March 30, 2025, outside of Portside Pub, located at 1516 Indianapolis Boulevard. At approximately 4:00 a.m., officers responded to reports of gunfire at the location. Upon arrival, officers discovered five individuals had been shot at the scene. Three victims were transported to a local hospital. Two of the victims died at the scene, two remain in serious condition, and one is stable. Identities of the deceased are being withheld until next of kin can be notified. Detectives are actively investigating what preliminarily appears

The Michigan City Public Library will be closed until further notice to due damage to their structure. Please FOLLOW their FACEBOOK page to keep up to date.  #wims

Thousands WITHOUT POWER due to SEVERE Weather ripping through the area. PLEASE stay connected with NIPSCO and Kankakee Valley REMC-this information will change rapidly. Stay up to date by visiting their FACEBOOK Pages-highlighted on this post. Check out www.nipsco.com or call 1-800-4-NIPSCO and www.kvremc.com as well. Download apps. Stay connected. Check COMMENTS below and FEEL FREE to ADD anything in your area. According to NIPSCO and their outage map there are THOUSANDS WITHOUT POWER. This will vary by the minute please download their app for your phone and check on your family and friends. According to Kankakee Valley REMC -(from

RECALL ALERT in Indiana among other states on Tostitos Cantina Traditional Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips that could include nacho cheese tortilla chips, and therefore may contain undeclared milk in Frito-Lay issued a recall of a limited number of 13 oz. bags of Tostitos Cantina Traditional Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips that could include nacho cheese tortilla chips, and therefore may contain undeclared milk. Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the recalled product. The product included in this recall was distributed to a mix of retailers

LA PORTE COUNTY, Ind. - An Indiana Department of Transportation contractor will have overnight lane closures on I-94 between U.S. 421 and U.S. 20/35 on or after Monday, March 31. Restrictions will begin with overnight left lane closures during the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., as well as day and night left shoulder closures. This will be ongoing for approximately one week for inlet cleaning, edge line removal and other pre-work for future work in this area. Construction work this year will include concrete patching along this stretch of I-94 and a bridge deck overlay on I-94 over