Local News

Three people died and two others were injured after a crash on the Indiana Toll Road on Sunday evening in St. Joseph County. At around 7:55 p.m. on Sunday, police began receiving calls of a serious crash on the Indiana Toll Road near mile marker 67.6 involving two vehicles that had eastbound lanes blocked. Preliminary investigation indicates that an SUV was traveling westbound when it struck a deer. The SUV then crossed the center median and collided with a Ford pickup truck that was traveling eastbound. Both the driver and passenger of the SUV died as a result of the

The South Shore Line has announced special train service for the Chicago Marathon from Oct. 6 to 9. The South Shore Line invites all Bank of America Chicago Marathon runners and observers to leave their vehicle at one of  their train stations in Indiana and take the South Shore Line to Chicago for all Bank of America Chicago Marathon events. Thursday/Friday, Oct.. 6-7: Bank of America Chicago Marathon Health & Fitness Expo and Packet Pick-Up: For the convenience of Bank of America Chicago Marathon participants, on Thursday, Oct. 6, and Friday, Oct. 7, the South Shore Line will stop the

The Burns Harbor Police Department is advising the public to make sure they are removing valuables and securing their vehicles. Police say that surrounding communities had several thefts of vehicles in addition to items that were reported being taken from vehicles Friday morning.   Police also say if you see anything suspicious or abnormal, to give them a call so that they have the opportunity to check it out.

The Indiana Department of Transportation announces the upcoming temporary closure of two I-65 off-ramps in Merrillville. This information is according to the Town of Chesterton’s Facebook page. Ramp 253A, northbound I-65 to U.S. 30, is scheduled to close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 7 and reopen by 6 a.m. on Oct. 10. Ramp 255A, NB I-65 to 61st Avenue, is scheduled to close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 14 and reopen by 6 a.m. on Oct. 17.  In the event crews need to complete more work on this ramp it will again close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 21 and

The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) recently announced changes to its COVID-19 dashboard to reflect new publishing schedules and additional surveillance tools. The COVID dashboards at www.coronavirus.in.gov will be updated each Wednesday by 5 p.m. The IDOH says this change reflects a national shift to evaluating weekly metrics rather than daily case counts and will ensure that trends in COVID-19 activity remain available to the public and healthcare providers to help inform decisions. The IDOH said in a news release, "Breakthrough case counts and hospitalizations have been removed from the vaccine dashboard at www.ourshot.in.gov and from the youth dashboard in recognition of

Starting Monday, the Indiana Toll Road will be working on the structures over U.S. 41 in Hammond until the beginning of December. Watch for the right lanes of 41 to be closed in each direction. The work is being done by the Indiana Toll Road.

There were no injuries reported after a kitchen fire Friday morning at a duplex in Liberty Township within Porter County. On Friday just before 11 a.m. in the 700 block of Ravinia Drive West, the residence filled with smoke pushed out of the house when the homeowner, who was mowing the lawn, went to investigate a burning smell. The homeowner had opened his sliding door and found his house filled with dense smoke. The homeowner called 911, which helped save his duplex as the fire was able to quickly be contained to the kitchen. Assistant Fire Chief Michael Wineland estimates

The Indiana State Excise Police has requested that the Indiana State Police investigate an officer-involved shooting that took place in South Bend, at around  9:30 p.m. eastern time on Thursday. The Indiana State Excise Officer had been in the area working a special detail around local convenience stores when he began to follow a silver vehicle that is believed to be an early 2000’s or late 90’s Honda Civic northeast on Rockne Drive.  Near the intersection of Rockne Drive and North Jacob Street the driver of the suspect vehicle stopped in the street, exited his vehicle, and began to fire

Area fire departments are supplying Porter Regional Hospital with water after a vehicle accident left a hydrant damaged, cutting off supplied water to the area. The crash occurred in the early Thursday morning along U.S. Highway 6 near county road 75 West.  The Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department (LTVFD) says the crash left a hydrant damaged, causing supplied water to the area to be shut down for an extended period of time. This is the same water line that supplies Porter Regional Hospital (Northwest Health) further down the highway, according to the LTVFD. The Liberty Volunteer Fire Department stated on

More than 1.5 million automatic taxpayer refund (ATR) checks have been printed and mailed, State Auditor Tera Klutz confirmed Thursday.  “We successfully completed printing on September 21 and sent the last batch of automatic taxpayer refund checks to the postal service on September 22,” stated Auditor Klutz. “Most Hoosiers who filed a 2020 tax return in 2021, should have received their automatic taxpayer refund via direct deposit or mailed check by now.” Klutz continued, “While most eligible recipients have received their refunds, we are aware that many need further assistance to claim it. Due to the checks being issued from

After the death of his wife, Paul Willy realized he needed help.   He sought the Franciscan Health Dyer Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly or PACE. The experience, he said, was life-changing. “They actually saved my life,” Willy said. “I would not be here. They say, ‘all your health care needs.’ That’s true.” PACE is a national, community-based healthcare program created for people 55 and older who are eligible for nursing-home level care but prefer to remain in their own familiar surroundings. The PACE model of care is centered around the belief that the well-being of seniors with chronic

The La Porte Community School Corporation Strategic Action Planning Initiative is underway and with the intent to understand the perspective of the community, they are announcing two engagement opportunities.  This week, they have launched an online survey and invite everyone to share their thoughts and perceptions to help guide continuous improvement efforts in the areas of curriculum, safety, as well as staff, parent, and community engagement throughout the Slicer community.  The survey can be accessed at this link, and will be open until October 19, 2022.  All data collected from this survey is completely anonymous.  Additionally, the LPCSC would like

The City of La Porte’s transportation service will extend its hours next week, according to TransPorte Manager Beth West. Beginning Monday, Oct. 3, TransPorte buses will run from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., extending one hour later than busses currently run. West said this comes after nearly two and a half years of restricted operations due to COVID-19. "It’s been a long couple of years filled with a wide variety of restrictions, but we are finally ready to return to our normal hours of operation,” West said. “Our ridership and demand have increased to beat even pre-COVID years, and we

Edgewood Elementary School is celebrating the heroic efforts of a fifth-grade student. The entire student body gathered on Wednesday as the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office recognized Jonathan Mendez-Osornio for saving a man’s life. On Aug. 25, Jonathan was selling chocolate bars for a school fundraiser. He was going door-to-door in his neighborhood when he came upon a home where he heard someone calling out for help. There was no answer at the door, so Jonathan used his cell phone to call 911. Emergency responders arrived and found an elderly man who was in need of medical help. Deputy Jacob

Individual income tax rates will increase in five Indiana counties, including LaPorte County, starting Oct. 1, according to the Indiana Department of Revenue. Local income tax rates are determined by county officials and provided to DOR for review regarding compliance with Indiana law, according to the Department of Revenue. Below are the five counties impacted along with their new tax rates: Boone County: 0.017 (increased from 0.015) Johnson County: 0.014 (increased from 0.012) Knox County: 0.017 (increased from 0.012) LaPorte County: 0.0145 (increased from 0.0095) Monroe County: 0.02035 (increased from 0.01345) These tax rates affect businesses with employees who live

UPDATE: The Silver Alert 143-2022 issued on September 28, 2022 on Blake Nielson has been cancelled as of September 28, 2022. The Porter County Sheriff's office stated on its Facebook page that the juvenile had been located. ORIGINAL: A Statewide Silver Alert has been declared. The Porter County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the disappearance of Blake Nielson, a 13 year old white male, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 150 pounds, brown hair with hazel eyes, last seen wearing a green baseball cap, black / tan T-shirt, grey sweatpants, and Nike Jordan shoes. Blake is missing from Portage, Indiana and was

UPDATE: The Silver Alert issued on September 26, 2022 on Lauren Schmidt has been cancelled as of September 27, 2022. No further details were provided by police.   ORIGINAL: A Silver alert has been issued as the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the disappearance of 17-year-old Lauren Schmidt. She is described as a white female, 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds, with brown and blond hair with blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black sweatpants. Lauren is missing from Mill Creek, and was last seen on Thursday, September 22, 2022

Two former detectives with the Starke County Sheriff’s Department were indicted by a grand jury in connection to a case involving missing evidence, according to Indiana State Police. Following a lengthy investigation by detectives with the Indiana State Police Criminal Investigation Division Lowell Post, evidence and testimony was recently presented to a grand jury. The subject matter of the grand jury involved missing evidence from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the grand jury issued indictments against 50-year-old Adam Gray of Knox and 54-year-old Don Ferguson of South Bend. Gray faces 4 counts of official

Two separate truck crashes late Monday and early Tuesday gridlocked traffic along eastbound I-80/94 for hours Tuesday morning, according to Indiana State Police. The first crash occurred last night at around 9:30 p.m. Preliminary investigation shows that a 2022 Freightliner was traveling eastbound in the far-right lane when it rear-ended a 2003 Freightliner that was pulling an empty box trailer. The 2003 Freightliner was in the process of being towed by a tow truck. As a result of the impact, debris and vehicle parts were scattered across all the lanes, as well as a large amount of oil and diesel

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has approved Indiana’s plan to use funding from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program to build out a statewide electric vehicle charging network. The plan approval clears the way for the state to work with private and public partners to begin investing nearly $100 million over the next five years to bolster the availability of EV charging infrastructure across the state. “A robust network of convenient, reliable charging infrastructure is essential to addressing range anxiety for electric vehicle owners,” INDOT Commissioner Mike Smith said. “Through the NEVI program, Indiana will work with private and