Local News

News release by Indiana Department of Education: This summer, all Indiana students age 18 and younger have access to free, nutritious meals and snacks at more than 1,000 locations statewide through the 2023 Summer Food Service Program. To find a Summer Food Service site, families can visit IDOENutrition.com to search for sites near them. This tool allows families to search by the meal served and days of the week when meals are offered. Families can also call the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE or text “summer meals” or “verano” to the National Hunger Hotline at 914-342-7744 for additional

Press release by La Porte County Symphony Orchestra: The La Porte County Symphony Orchestra (LCSO) will present “Music Under the Stars” on Sunday, July 16, at Friendship Botanic Gardens’ Celebration Pavilion in Michigan City. The concert begins at 7:30 PM and admission is free to the public. This is a family friendly event! The evening’s sponsor is NIPSCO/NISOURCE. LCSO Music Director, Dr. Carolyn Watson, will lead the LCSO in selections of marches, music with an “Americana” theme as well as featuring the 2022 Hoosier Star winners. Joining the LCSO will be Savannah Holley and Julia Thorn. Holley will be performing

News release by Purdue University Northwest: HAMMOND and WESTVILLE, Ind. — Purdue University Northwest (PNW) announced that Bruce W. Berdanier will join the university as dean of the College of Engineering and Sciences, effective July 24, 2023. Berdanier most recently served as the Lohr Endowed Dean of the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering at South Dakota State University (SDSU) in Brookings, S.D. As dean at SDSU, Berdanier’s accomplishments included the completion of a $5 million endowment for the dean’s position, developing and implementing a strategic plan for the college and its departments, and engaging alumni, industries and partner universities

Press release by Michigan City Area Schools: Administrators, staff, school board members, families, and friends cheered on adult graduates from across LaPorte County as they gathered at the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center in Michigan City on Wednesday, May 31, to celebrate the achievement of an important milestone: a high school diploma. Forty-five of the 78 adults who had earned High School Equivalency diplomas during the 2022-23 school year opted to participate in the ceremony. Julie Fregien, the LaPorte County Adult Education Director, opened the ceremony with a warm welcome and introduced the four student speakers as well as the keynote

Work on Canadian National railroad crossings continues in Valparaiso, requiring short-term closures and detours as upgrades continue, the City of Valparaiso announced Wednesday. “We continue to work closely with Canadian National to facilitate projects that improve crossings for motorists,” said Engineering Director Mike Jabo. This week Canadian National is completing work on the crossing at Roosevelt Road, upgrading it to a higher level with a rubber surface, said Jabo. In order to maintain their tracks through the city, Canadian National will close the crossing at Lafayette Street for several weeks in order to move equipment along the track. “The next

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has issued an Air Quality Action Days (AQAD) on Thursday for all Indiana counties due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. Air quality may continue to be impacted beyond Thursday. Hoosiers are encouraged to visit smogwatch.IN.gov to view current and forecasted conditions and subscribe to email alerts. IDEM encourages everyone to help reduce PM2.5 by making changes to daily habits. You can: Avoid burning wood in fireplaces or wood-fired boilers and any other unnecessary fires Reminder: Indiana’s open burning laws make it illegal to burn trash and generally prohibit open burning, visit IN.gov/openburning for

An INDOT contractor will move to the next phase of concrete restoration work in Lake County on I-65 between U.S. 30 and I-80/94 on or after Saturday, June 10, switching from the southbound to the northbound side. I-65 northbound will be reduced to two lanes between mile marker 256 to 259, with one lane using a left crossover express lane that will not have access to the exit ramp at Ridge Road. Southbound I-65 will have three lanes shifted to the right to make room for the northbound crossover lane. There will be no access to I-65 northbound from U.S.

The Duneland Chamber of Commerce seeks nominations for their Community Awards event, including the Duneland Distinguished Woman Award. Chesterton, IN – The Duneland Chamber of Commerce is currently seeking community nominations for eight awards given during the Duneland Chamber Community Awards Luncheon, to be held on Wednesday, July 19. Nomination forms are available on the Chamber website or can be emailed to you upon request. All nominations are due by Friday, June 30, 2023. Putting Duneland on the Map Award honors an individual or organization whose achievements have brought state and/or national recognition to the Duneland area. Business Renovation Award

Press release by Healthcare Foundation of La Porte: On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) held its 2023 Round 1 AED Celebration at the HFL Conference & Learning Center. Each year, HFL provides grants for automated external defibrillators (AEDs) as part of its When Seconds Count: AED Initiative. The initiative helps ensure the La Porte County community has access to life-saving devices. When Seconds Count: AED Initiative works closely with La Porte County EMS to educate the community on the importance of routine AED maintenance, AED registration, and CPR training. This year, through HFL’s When Seconds

PORTER COUNTY – An Indiana State Police Trooper from the Lowell Post made three drug arrests durring his shift on Monday, according to the ISP. At around 7:45 a.m., the trooper initiated a traffic stop along I-94 at the 26.8 mile-marker on a VW Jetta for several traffic violations. This location is just east of the S.R. 49 exit ramp in Chesterton.  During the traffic stop investigation, a search of the trunk revealed 1.9 pounds of cocaine that had been concealed in a duffel bag. Both the driver and passenger were arrested and charged with dealing in cocaine.  The driver

In Portage, beginning Wednesday, June 14 until at least Saturday, November 11, Central Avenue between Swanson Road and Willowdale Road will be closed to through traffic due to the reconstruction of the bridge as part of the Central Avenue West Project. Detours will be marked. Westbound through traffic will detour south on Willowcreek Road to Stone Avenue; west on Stone Avenue to Willowdale Road and north on Willowdale Road to Central Avenue Eastbound traffic will take the reverse route.

Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. announced Tuesday that investigators with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department have identified a person of interest in connection with the fire that occurred in the lobby of the Lake County Jail Monday. Martinez says officers are actively attempting to locate him. Police will provide an update as more information becomes available.

Press release by NIPSCO: Merrillville, Ind. – With area schools being out for summer break, NIPSCO encourages parents and family members to have conversations with teens and young children about how to stay safe near and around construction zones this summer. Construction and work zone safety is especially important as northern Indiana communities are experiencing surges of economic growth resulting in an increase of road expansion projects, new residential and business builds, park recreational facilities, multiplex centers, advancements in medical facilities and a rise in utility work in local neighborhoods. The National Safety Council states that the construction industry employs

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. – One person sustained serious injuries after a train struck a vehicle in Berrien County on Tuesday. Just before 11:30 a.m., first responders were dispatched to the railroad crossing on Pardee Road near U.S. Highway 12 in Galien Township for a train vs. car crash. The Berrien County Sheriff Department says the vehicle was traveling south on Pardee Road and went around the activated railroad crossing arms and was hit by the train traveling west. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle sustained serious injuries. The driver was transported to South Bend Memorial Hospital where he

Press release by City of La Porte: Admirers of the historic Civic Auditorium will have the opportunity to purchase a piece of it to own forever, according Civic & Events Director Brett Binversie. The Civic's antique seating sections will be available for sale through an online auction beginning Friday, June 9. Original to the building since its dedication in 1930, the chair sections range in size from one to 13 seats. Starting bids range from $50 to $350. Though some may be sad to see them go, Binversie said the new seats make the building ADA accessible, allowing more people

In conjunction with the Duneland School Corporation, Porter Police Department will be hosting a multi-jurisdictional training at Yost Elementary School. Training will be conducted on Tuesday June 6, Wednesday June 7 and Thursday June 8. Porter Fire Department will also be conducting training in concert with other area fire departments. Police say citizens should not be alarmed at the large presence of police/fire personnel and are asked to avoid being on the property.

Lake County Sheriff’s Department police officers are investigating leads on a possible suspect in Monday's jail lobby fire, according to a Monday evening update by the department. No one was injured and there was no major damage. Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a visitor who started a small fire at the Lake County Jail. Just before noon on Monday, Lake County Jail staff reported that a visitor had started a small fire in the lobby of the facility. Police say it’s believed that a black male entered the lobby with a jug which contained some type of

Franciscan Health Breast Care Center Michigan City breast cancer patients will have additional support thanks to a generous donation from the Michigan City United States Bowling Congress Bowling Association.     The organization raised $16,735 at its February Bowl for the Cure fundraiser for the Michigan City through the Franciscan Health Foundation’s Michigan City Mammography Department/Breast Cancer Fund.     The donation is the largest to date from the annual event. The monies raised will be used to purchase breast cancer patient comfort bags containing journals, blankets and other resource materials. The funding will also support gas cards, grocery store

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. – Walsh Construction has provided the City of Michigan City with the following update regarding road closure information related to NICTD’s Double Track Northwest Indiana Project: Sheridan/10th – TBD – will be a 5-day closure 10th and Huron at Amtrak crossing – 7/31/23 open 8/11/23 Chicago Street- 6/12/23 Open Day Ohio/11th – close 6/12/23 open 6/23/23 Wabash/11th – close 7/5/23 open 7/28/23 Washington/11th – close 6/8/23 open 6/27/23 Franklin/11th – closed 3/20/23 open 6/8/23 (work at 10th and Franklin will happen simultaneously) Michigan Blvd/11th – TBD Michigan Blvd/Vail St – TBD Michigan Blvd/School St – TBD Michigan

The Food Bank of Northern Indiana will have several mobile food distributions throughout the month of June. The following is a list of locations and times for the mobile food distributions: Monday, June 12, 2034 – LaPorte County 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. CT *While supplies last. WHERE: LaPorte County Fairgrounds, 2581 IN 2, LaPorte, IN 46350 *This distribution is sponsored by HealthLinc and will serve 200 households.   Tuesday, June 13, 2023 – Elkhart County 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. ET *While supplies last. WHERE: The Excel Center, 2626 Prairie St., Elkhart, IN 46517 *This distribution is provided by