Local News

Press release by Franciscan Health: MUNSTER, Ind. – Franciscan Health Munster and Rush University System for Health (RUSH) are adding to their partnership by expanding vascular surgery options in Northwest Indiana. RUSH vascular surgeons will now see patients and perform procedures at the Franciscan Health Munster campus. Michele Richard, MD, will work with the team of Franciscan Physician Network interventional cardiologists treating vascular surgery patients including Michael Nicholas, MD, DO FACC, FACOI; Wisam Martini, MD and Tariq Hameed, MD, FACC. “We are thrilled to be able to expand our collaborative efforts with our partners at RUSH to provide more vascular

Press release by NiSource Inc.: Blackstone Infrastructure Partners affiliate agrees to acquire 19.9% non-controlling equity interest in NIPSCO for $2.150 Billion, with additional equity commitment of $250 million to fund ongoing capital requirements. Blackstone invests alongside NiSource in NIPSCO to fund the energy transition and accelerate the reindustrialization of the Midwest. NiSource reaffirms commitment to Indiana and to its consolidated credit, earnings and growth commitments through 2027. MERRILLVILLE, Ind., June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with an affiliate of Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone's (NYSE: BX) dedicated Infrastructure

State Road 39 will be closed between State Road 8 and County Road 50 South for around two weeks on or after Monday, June 26. The work taking place will be for a small structure replacement at Prettyman Ditch. The official detour will follow State Road 8, U.S. 35 and State Road 10.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating after recovering the body of a female from Robinson Lake in Lake County on Sunday. Emergency personnel were dispatched to the beach area near the 5200 block of Liverpool Road in Hobart at 12:53 p.m. for a report of two swimmers struggling in the water. A male was rescued by a witness. A woman went missing in the water and did not resurface. A DNR Law Enforcement diver located and recovered the woman at 3:03 p.m. with assistance from the Merrillville Fire Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Department divers. The woman was pronounced dead on

Press release by Franciscan Health: DYER, Ind. – Crown Staffing recently conducted a food drive for the Franciscan Health Foundation’s Food Insecurity Program and Fresh Start Markets as part of the ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Dyer location. The Fresh Start Markets are healthy food pantries in Crown Point and Hammond where those in need can shop free of charge at designated times. The Franciscan Health Foundation partnered with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana to create a program to help address food insecurity throughout Northwest Indiana, including the two markets. “The service we provide to the community with

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has issued an Air Quality Action Day (AQAD) and is forecasting high ozone levels for Tuesday, June 20, 2023 in the following areas: North Central Indiana, including the cities of: Elkhart, Goshen, Knox, Logansport, Plymouth, Peru, South Bend, Warsaw, and Winamac. Northeast Indiana, including the cities of: Angola, Auburn, Decatur, Fort Wayne, Hartford, Huntington City, LaGrange, Marion, Portland, and Wabash. Northwest Indiana, including the cities of: Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Kentland, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage, Rensselaer, and Valparaiso. A state map including regions and affected counties is available at SmogWatch.IN.gov.  Continued sunny skies with highs in

STARKE COUNTY, Ind. - Norfolk Southern plans to close their railroad crossing on State Road 23 in Ober between County Road East 200 South and County Road East 225 South for beginning stages of their upcoming rail construction project. Work is scheduled to begin on or after today, June 20, depending on rail conditions. The work will start no later than Friday, June 23. State Road 23 will be closed for approximately 24 hours in this location once work begins while Norfolk Southern lays dual rail for upcoming construction work at their at-grade crossing. INDOT says motorists should seek an

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has issued an Air Quality Action Day (AQAD) and is forecasting high ozone levels for Monday, June 19, 2023 in the following areas: North Central Indiana, including the cities of: Elkhart, Goshen, Knox, Logansport, Plymouth, Peru, South Bend, Warsaw, and Winamac. Northeast Indiana, including the cities of: Angola, Auburn, Decatur, Fort Wayne, Hartford, Huntington City, LaGrange, Marion, Portland, and Wabash. Northwest Indiana, including the cities of: Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Kentland, LaPorte, Michigan City, Portage, Rensselaer, and Valparaiso. A state map including regions and affected counties is available at SmogWatch.IN.gov.  Surface high pressure will be over

LAKE COUNTY, Ind. - An Indiana Department of Transportation contractor has moved to the next phase of concrete restoration work on I-80/94 between I-65 and State Road 912/Cline Avenue. Overnight lane closures will be utilized on westbound I-80/94 between mile marker 12 and 5 the evenings of June 19-20 and June 20-21 to change the traffic configuration. Motorists should be prepared for changing traffic patterns overnight and delays due to lane closures. Beginning on or after the morning of Wednesday, June 21, I-80/94 westbound will be setup for phase three. Work will be done in the right driving lane and

Franciscan Health Michigan City emergency department staff members and local first responders are better equipped to help patients with autism spectrum disorder thanks to help from one of their own. Crown Point Fire Lt. Matt Kodicek, who also serves as lead EMS instructor in Franciscan Health Crown Point’s emergency management services department, recently conducted Ben’s Blue Bags training sessions for hospital staff and local first responders at Franciscan Health Michigan City. The bags contain sensory stimulation items for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that help deescalate over-stimulation during emergency situations. Kodicek leads training to help healthcare workers and first responders

Based on new information gathered by Lake County Sheriff’s Department investigators, a new suspect has been arrested in connection with the jail lobby fire that occurred on June 5, 2023.  The suspect is identified as 40-year-old Terrance Craig, of Gary.  He was booked into the Lake County Jail June 12, 2023. From the beginning of this investigation, our detectives were considering two persons of interest.  One was Ryan Andrews, who was identified in a photo lineup by witnesses.  A warrant for Andrews was issued so that we could find him and question him.  Both Andrews and Craig shared some similar

Two persons of interest were in custody in Hamilton County, Ohio, following an investigation into the death of a Lake County man found in the Chustak Public Fishing Area, on Tuesday, according to a Facebook post by the Chesterton police Department. According to the post, the deceased was identified as Lake County resident Derek William Hartz, whose body was found at approximately 10:30 a.m. Tuesday off a small trail in the 76-acre fishing area, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said. The Chesterton Police Department said “Investigators succeeded in identifying Hartz—whose body had sustained unspecified trauma—from an in-house database photograph, which

With the 4th of July holiday less than a month away, City of La Porte Fire Chief Andy Snyder urges residents to keep the city's fireworks ordinance in mind. "Independence Day is a favorite holiday for many of our residents," Snyder said. "While we know everyone is eager to start celebrating, we urge our residents to be respectful of their neighbors and to keep the city's firework ordinance in mind. Our fire and police departments, along with the code enforcement team, will be keeping a watchful eye over the next several weeks to make sure everyone is following the rules."

Franciscan Health is partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana to provide kid-friendly meal kits that encourage family time around the dinner table. The Fellowship and Meals (FAM) Kits are distributed monthly to members of the Boys and Girls Clubs in Hammond and Gary. The FAM Kits include kid-friendly meals young people can easily make themselves as well as meals intended to be prepared and consumed as a family. The food for the meals is provided through Franciscan Health’s partnership with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. Each kit also includes a family activity, such as

Aerial mating disruption treatments conducted by Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) divisions of Forestry and Entomology & Plant Pathology to slow the spread of spongy moth, formerly called gypsy moth, are planned for the week of June 19. Spongy moth is one of North America's most devastating invasive forest pests and has caused thousands of acres of defoliation across the eastern United States. Mating-disruption treatments for this destructive pest using SPLAT GM-Organic are planned in Starke, Fulton, Marshall,  and Warsaw counties. They will take several days to complete. Treatment begins shortly after sunrise but could be delayed due to

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. - CSX will close their railroad crossing on State Road 104 between U.S. 6 and Barley Rd near Walkerton on or after Monday, June 19. State Road 104 will be closed for approximately two weeks while CSX upgrades their crossing. Motorists should seek an alternate route. The official detour will follow U.S. 6, State Road 23 and Stat Road 4. The previously scheduled State Road 4 closure between C.R. S 500 E and Taylor Rd near Fish Lake has been postponed until after State Road 104 reopens. State Road 4 will be closed for a culvert

NEW CARLISLE, Ind. – Governor Eric Holcomb on Tuesday announced plans to bring a more than $3 billion EV battery cell plant to St. Joseph County. The new battery cell plant, a joint venture between General Motors and Samsung SDI, is scheduled to begin operations in 2026. GM and Samsung SDI, will build the plant just east of New Carlisle at Larrison Boulevard and Indiana 2. The new facility will house production lines to build nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells and is expected to help significantly increase the accessibility and affordability of EVs, according to a press release. When complete,

LAKE COUNTY, Ind. - An INDOT contractor will conduct bridge work resulting in lane closures on State Road 53/Broadway between 66th Place and 59th Avenue in Lake County on or after Monday, June 19. State Road 53 will be reduced to one lane in each direction with alternating lane closures through late September for a bridge deck overlay project over Turkey Creek. Motorists should be prepared for changing traffic patterns in the area. INDOT encourages drivers to allow extra time when driving through this area and follow traffic directions carefully. Motorists should slow down, exercise caution and drive distraction-free through

News release by Purdue University Northwest: HAMMOND and WESTVILLE, Ind. — Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) undergraduate program in Elementary Education received recognition from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) for its rigorous preparation of future educators in how to teach reading. PNW earned an “A” grade in NCTQ’s new report, “Teacher Prep Review: Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction.” PNW was among 23% of higher education institutions to earn the grade for meeting standards set by literacy experts for most effective teaching methods of reading instruction, which is referred to as the “science of reading” by educators. “Earning an ‘A’ grade

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. – Franciscan Physician Network OB/GYN Sharmilee Thota, MD, has been chosen as the recipient of the 2023 Franciscan Health Michigan City St. Luke Award. The winner of the St. Luke award, named for the patron saint of physicians and surgeons, is nominated by and voted upon by the nursing staff. The award recognizes physicians who have an outstanding rapport with nurses, patients and their families; show respect for the nursing profession; provide education and act as a resource to staff; serve as a role model and exhibit a team approach to care. "I am humbled to accept