Local News

At an event bringing forth evidence-based prevention solutions from across Indiana, Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) hosted a Partners in Prevention (PiP) celebration at their Conference & Learning Center on Friday, March 3.  Maria Fruth, CEO, welcomed representatives from schools throughout La Porte County to celebrate their school-based prevention programming to combat substance use disorder, in collaboration with successes from schools in Indianapolis and Lafayette. Speakers from schools across Indiana shared overall learnings, student impact, and plans for sustainability.  In 2019, all schools in La Porte County were invited by HFL to apply for grant dollars to help them plan

The Michigan City Chamber of Commerce announced newly elected directors and officers to the board for 2023. The following directors and officers were unanimously approved during recent Board of Directors meetings: Approved for their first three-year terms are Blake Applegate with Applegate & Company CPAs and Jesse Baldwin with Triplex Plating. Elected officers who will serve as the executive committee to the board for 2023 are Kim Giannetti with General Insurance Services as Chair, Sandy Smith with PNC Bank as Chair-Elect, Brenda Temple with Blue Chip Casino, Hotel & Spa as Treasurer, and Bill Gertner with Horizon Bank as Secretary.

The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office says an old scam has resurfaced in the county in which elderly citizens are being preyed upon and swindled out of large sums of money. Several citizens are reporting as to having received a phone call from someone claiming to be a relative or a representative of their relative. The caller is telling the citizen they, or whom they represent, are incarcerated, and need money. Police say an elderly citizen received one of these calls last week. Being concerned about the relative, the citizen continued to speak with the scammers throughout the day as they

The Indiana Toll Road has announced that construction has begun on their 2023 Northwest Indiana Bridge Rehabilitation Project. Construction is on six bridges on I-90 around Westpoint (Exit 1) Toll Plaza (Illinois/Indiana Stateline), followed on March 20 with 12 bridges on I-90 at Cline Avenue (Exit 10) (Gary/Chicago International Airport). In addition, guardrail improvements will take place between Cline Avenue (Exit 10) to Calumet Avenue (Exit 5) in Hammond. To expedite the overall project schedule, the majority of construction will occur Monday through Saturday between 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT. The Indiana Toll Road says work will last through

The Town of Chesterton is seeking an Indiana READI grant to help fund new police station, according to the Town of Chesterton Facebook page. The Town of Chesterton stated, “In 2021, the Northwest Indiana Forum (NIF) received $50 million from Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) program, a $500-million effort to jump-start economic development and place-making in 17 regions throughout the State of Indiana. “Now Gov. Holcomb is proposing what he’s called “a ‘READI Repeat’ or a ‘READI 2.0’ or a ‘READI Redo,’” including $500 million in his budget to make it so.” The Town of

The Michigan City High School Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) earned an award at the Ft. Wayne Concordia High School military drill meet on March 4. The Wolves finished 4th out of 14 schools in the Armed Regulation category.  Most of the schools were Army JROTC units, some of whom consistently compete in the All Service Drill National Championship held in Daytona Beach, Florida.  The judges were Army recruiters from the Ft. Wayne area. The Color Guard presents to the Head Judge. “This drill meet gave the opportunity for two of our cadets to command

Franciscan Health Crown Point and Geminus Regional Health Systems are partnering to host a free car seat safety clinic in Kouts. The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 18 at the Kouts Volunteer Fire Department at 108 E. Mentor St. in Kouts. Qualifying Indiana residents may receive a new car seat thanks to a generous grant from Geminus Regional Health Systems. A certified Child Passenger Safety technician will install the seats while supplies last. Caregivers must bring children to the event to allow the technicians to create a safe, proper fit. The National Highway Transportation Safety

The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man on Saturday they is a serious violent felon. Saturday at around  9:55 a.m., a deputy was traveling westbound on the Indiana Toll Road (I-80/90) near the 46-mile marker when they slowed and began to make a U-turn in a center-median crossover.  Officials say an eastbound passenger vehicle caught the attention of the deputy as it was traveling at an excessive speed. The deputy completed the U-turn, began traveling eastbound, and caught up to the vehicle near the 48-mile marker.  The vehicle was paced by the deputy and found to be traveling at

Two people are dead following a single vehicle crash in LaPorte County early Saturday. Sheriff's deputies were called just after  3:50 a.m. to the 7400 west block of County Road 800 South, in rural Clinton Township, for a single vehicle crash.  The crash scene was located in the lawn of a residence on the north side of the roadway. The initial on-scene investigation determined that a 2002 Chevrolet pickup truck was traveling eastbound on County Road 800 South. Deputies say for an unknown reason, the vehicle drove left of center, across the westbound lane and traveled off the north side

To honor and celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, the Michigan City Commission for Women is inviting the public to attend a roundtable conversation and luncheon. The theme will be "Embrace Equity for Access to Healthcare for Women." See more information on the Michigan City Commission For Women Facebook page.

Michigan City Area Schools is reminding the district that Monday, March 6 is a scheduled eLearning Day for MCAS. This allows teachers and staff to participate in professional development. This is an "asynchronous" eLearning Day, which means students should log in for assignments and work independently. For more information, visit https://educateMC.net/eLearning.

The Newton County Sheriff’s Office has issued a public alert regarding drug overdose deaths and drug overdoses. Police say as of March 3, law enforcement agencies have responded to numerous drug overdose calls in the area. “There have been 4 overdose deaths in our immediate area,” the Newton County Sheriff’s Office stated on its Facebook page. “There is no easy way to write this as there are many views on addiction. But we recognize those that have lost their lives were someone’s son/daughter, brother/sister and/or someone’s parent. Our hearts go out to those families that have suffered a loss,” police

An altercation between two brothers led to both being arrested and charged with felonies, according to the Michigan City Police Department. On the morning of Wednesday, March 1, at around 7:05 a.m., Michigan City police officers were dispatched to the intersection of York and Main Streets regarding an altercation between two brothers. While enroute to the call, one of the brothers reported being shot at by the other. No one was located in or around the intersection. Police searched the surrounding streets and alleyways with negative results. Attempts to contact the caller via telephone were also unsuccessful. Just after 7:30

La Porte County Sheriff Ronald C. Heeg announced the release of the 2022 Annual Report. The following details are from the La Porte County Sheriff's Office: The report contains crime related and statistical information in the following categories: calls for service, offenses, arrests, crashes, citations, and the Jail, Warrants, and Civil Divisions. “This year’s report reveals a slight increase in major cases investigated, but a decrease in violent crimes investigated. Throughout the report, there are reductions and increases in certain statistical areas,” stated Sheriff Heeg. The number of calls for service in 2022 decreased by 14%. A total of 24,724

Michigan City Area Schools: dismissing early on Friday, March 3. (Students will receive assignments to complete at home during the afternoon.) Middle and high school students will be dismissed at 11:00 am. Elementary students will be dismissed at 12:00 noon. School lunches will be served prior to dismissal. Bus transportation home will be provided at dismissal time. There will be no afternoon classes for A.K. Smith. There will be no PreK classes (AM or PM) on Friday. All after-school activities are canceled for Friday. We will share updates as they are available regarding the basketball Sectional game at LaPorte scheduled

Multiple Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for the area. For the counties of Elkhart, Lagrange, Steuben, Noble, De Kalb, Starke, Pulaski, Marshall, Fulton IN, Northern La Porte, Eastern St. Joseph IN, Northern Kosciusko, Southern La Porte, Western St. Joseph IN, Southern Kosciusko, Cass MI, St. Joseph MI, Branch, Hillsdale, Northern Berrien, Southern Berrien, Williams, and Fulton OH: ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON EST /11 AM CST/ FRIDAY TO MIDNIGHT EST /11 PM CST/ FRIDAY NIGHT... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Isolated thunderstorms possible. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 8 with isolated higher amounts around 10 inches. Winds

The Duneland Chamber of Commerce will be hosting Corkscrew & Brew event on Saturday, March 18, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Set in Chesterton’s beautiful Thomas Centennial Park, the 8th Annual Corkscrew & Brew will gather local wineries and breweries for this springtime, tasting. This event is a fundraiser for the Duneland Chamber of Commerce. Corkscrew & Brew will feature tastings from over twenty wineries and breweries. Live music by the Gerry Hundt Trio will be playing in the park. Food will be available for purchase from Leroy’s “Hot Stuff” Homemade Mexican Food. he Duneland Chamber of Commerce also

The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office announced a suspect has been arrested in connection to a bank robbery that occurred last week in La Crosse. Police say a man entered the 1st Source Bank in La Crosse last Friday, Feb. 24,  just after 3 p.m., and verbalized specific instructions to an employee.  The man exited the bank a short time later with an undisclosed amount of money. After the robbery, a major investigation was launched by members of the Criminal Investigations Division, along with the assistance of the FBI. In the days thereafter, detectives began to process leads and developed

A Michigan City man was sentenced to over 12 years after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Cory Thomas, 49, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In May 2022, Thomas was pulled over on his motorcycle while transporting over 125 grams of cocaine, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana (USAO). This is Thomas’s fifth felony conviction related to the distribution of controlled substances, according to the USAO.

Norfolk-Southern has informed the Town of Chesterton that its grade-crossing on North 15th Street is now not expected to reopen until the end of next week. The Town of Chesterton stated on its Facebook page that Chesterton Assistant Street Commissioner Dan Moy learned that Norfolk-Southern pulled its crew and equipment off the North 15th Street site and dispatched them to Elkhart, Ind., following a derailment there Tuesday. The job is now expected to be completed, and the crossing to be reopened on or by Friday, March 10.