Local News

CROWN POINT, Ind. – The emergency department at Franciscan Health Crown Point will move to the new hospital on Sunday, Jan. 28, when the hospital is scheduled to open to the public. At 6 a.m. Central on Jan. 28, the emergency department at the new Franciscan Health Crown Point hospital at 12750 Saint Francis Drive will open and the existing emergency department at 1201 S. Main St. will simultaneously close. The new hospital at U.S. 231 and Interstate 65 is accessible from the roundabout on U.S. 231 just east of Interstate 65 by turning right onto Saint Francis Drive. The

Celebrating another Brilliant Centenarian! Mary Dillow turned 100 on Saturday, January 20th! Mary has lived at Rittenhouse Village for 6 years! Her friends and team members at Rittenhouse believe part of her secret of living a long life is due to always having a smile on her face and keeping positive! She was married in 1943 and had four wonderful children (three daughters and one son). Tragically she lost her first husband at a very young age of 35 from brain cancer. That’s when Mary had to learn to drive and financially support her family with finding a secure job.

To help Indiana schools celebrate Earth Day 2024, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is offering free hands-on classroom presentations to elementary students across the state. Every year, IDEM staff visit schools to talk about their careers and share STEM-based lessons on air, land, water, and recycling. “I am pleased to have IDEM staff visit classrooms to work with Indiana’s leaders of tomorrow. Our STEM-based lessons are a great way to emphasize the importance of taking care of our environment while also introducing them to environmental-related careers,” said IDEM Commissioner Brian Rockensuess. “I hope Indiana’s teachers will take advantage

JOIN RIC FEDERIGHI AND TEAM WIMS LIVE AT Chesterton Physical Therapy, Inc. ANNIVERSARY EVENT happening on February 6th, 2024 from 3p-5p at their Portage location. Stop by and meet Dr. Dimple, Dr. Chandra and their staff. Check out the flyer for more infomation. Also, check under the Events tab on www.wimsradio.com for this event and others.

Porter County Sheriff Jeff Balon and Starke County Sheriff Jack Rosa announced that the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association will again be awarding college scholarships to qualified high school seniors or college students who are pursuing a degree in criminal justice studies.  There will be approximately 40 -$750 scholarships awarded to qualifying students throughout the state. The Indiana Sheriffs’ Association Scholarship Fund was established for the purpose of receiving, investing and dispensing of funds to provide college scholarships to qualified students who are committed to pursuing an education and career in the law enforcement field. To qualify for one of these scholarships,

Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch update on SNOW EMERGENCY.

News release, Indiana Department of Revenue: The Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) will start accepting filings for the 2024 Individual income tax season on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, along with the Internal Revenue Service. DOR encourages customers to use electronic filing, online payment and direct deposit to significantly improve the accuracy and speed of the return and refund processes. Customers must file both their state and federal tax returns and pay any taxes owed for 2023 by Monday, April 15, 2024. DOR reminds Hoosiers they should wait to file their tax returns until they receive all their official tax documents

To help Indiana schools celebrate Earth Day 2024, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is offering free hands-on classroom presentations to elementary students across the state. Every year, IDEM staff visit schools to talk about their careers and share STEM-based lessons on air, land, water, and recycling. “I am pleased to have IDEM staff visit classrooms to work with Indiana’s leaders of tomorrow. Our STEM-based lessons are a great way to emphasize the importance of taking care of our environment while also introducing them to environmental-related careers,” said IDEM Commissioner Brian Rockensuess. “I hope Indiana’s teachers will take advantage

La Porte County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man during Friday’s winter storm following a foot pursuit. At about 9:30 a.m., deputies responded to a residence located in the 700 block of Dorothy Lane for a welfare check. Deputies had prior knowledge of a wanted person, 26 year-old Beck A. Serles, to have been periodically staying at the residence recently. Shortly after arriving, deputies determined Serles had just fled from the residence. While beginning to search the neighborhood, a deputy observed Serles on Lura Lane. Serles was ordered to stop, however he disobeyed the commands and continued to flee. Despite the

For the counties of La Porte, St. Joseph IN, Berrien: 321 AM EST Sat Jan 20 2024 /221 AM CST Sat Jan 20 2024/ ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST /NOON CST/ THIS AFTERNOON... * WHAT...Heavy lake effect snow. Additional snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. * WHERE...Portions of northern Indiana and southwest Michigan. * WHEN...Until 1 PM EST /noon CST/ this afternoon. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The intense lake effect band will shift into far northwest Indiana, before pushing back east into LaPorte

A Travel Warning remains in effect for LaPorte and Starke counties by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Until 4PM today Saturday The highest level of local travel advisory, means that travel may be restricted to emergency management workers only. During a "warning" local travel advisory, individuals are directed to: (A) refrain from all travel; (B) comply with necessary emergency measures; (C) cooperate with public officials and disaster services forces in executing emergency operations plans; and (D) obey and comply with the lawful directions of properly identified officers. Check for updates on https://www.in.gov/dhs/traveladvisory/.

The City of Michigan released an update on a water main break in Michigan City. Water service was restored to customers near U.S. 12 and Karwick Road around 11 a.m. Friday. Department of Water Works Superintendent Chris Johnsen advised that all impacted customers are under a 24-hour Boil Water Advisory as a precautionary measure. The update was made at 12:46 p.m. Friday. See the statement below for additional details:    

La Porte County Disaster Emergency Declaration for Travel Restriction. See below and attached. Thank you LaPorte County EMA for the update. #wims #nwi #laportecounty

Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch declares a Snow Emergency effective immediately. Stay inside and off the roads. Only Emergency Personnel are allowed. Stay Home. #wims

The Indiana Toll Road (ITR) has issued a Winter Weather Ban starting from the IL state line to St. Joseph County, IN | MM 96. The ban is in effect until Saturday, Jan. 20 at 7:00 a.m. ET. This ban only impacts: Triple-tractor-trailers, long-doubles (high profile only), high-profile oversize permit loads. The ITR says to use extreme caution if you are out on the road and remember to reduce speed in hazardous conditions. The ITR will reevaluate on Friday at 9:00 p.m. ET for possible ban extension

The National has issued multiple Winter Storm Warnings for northern Indiana and southwest Michigan. For the counties of La Porte, western St. Joseph (Indiana) and southern Berrien (Michigan): Including the cities of Michigan City, La Porte, Kingsbury, Fish Lake, Wanatah, La Crosse, Union Mills, North Liberty, New Carlisle, Walkerton, Niles, New Buffalo, Stevensville, and Berrien Springs ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST /6 AM CST/ SATURDAY... * WHAT...Heavy lake effect snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 12 to 18 inches in northern La Porte County and southwest Berrien County. Total snow will generally be in the

The City of Michigan City released the following statement on a water main break:

All eyes were on the City of La Porte this week, as Code Enforcement Director Jeff Batchelor presented at the Accelerate Indiana Municipalities Conference in Indianapolis. The conference gathered nearly 700 newly elected municipal officials from throughout the state of Indiana for a Newly Elected Officials Boot Camp. La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody said Batchelor was asked to share with the group the best practices for code enforcement within a city. Dermody said this is a testament to the hard work being done by Batchelor’s team every day. “Not only did state officials recognize that we are doing something right

The Indiana State Police is investigating a crash on the Indiana Toll Road that led to the death of a tow truck driver this morning, January 18, 2024. (Thank you to the Indiana State Police for the update and information). Preliminary investigation by Trooper George Youpel indicates that at approximately 9:40 a.m. crews were on scene at mile maker 114.2 cleaning up a diesel spill and removing a semi from the center median that crashed earlier in the morning when the driver of a 2021 white Dodge Ram towing an enclosed trailer lost control as it traveled eastbound. The Dodge