Local News

The first African American judicial officer in LaPorte County will be appointed this April. Thomas Alevizos, Judge of the LaPorte Circuit Court, announced that on April 21, he will be appointing and swearing in Erika C. Stallworth as the first African American Judicial Officer in LaPorte County, Indiana. Stallworth will be assuming the duties of Juvenile Magistrate upon the retirement of W. Jonathan Forker, who has served in the capacity of both Magistrate and Juvenile Magistrate since January of 2011. She is currently the Executive Director of the LaPorte County Juvenile Services Center (JSC), a 24-bed emergency shelter care and

City of Michigan City offices will be closed in observance of Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 20. There will be no interruption in Refuse services as they will be operating their normal pickup schedule. Transit will also be operating their regular schedule with no interruptions. The city is reminding citizens of the Complementary Paratransit Service (Dial A Ride) for passengers with scheduled medical treatment appointments.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. – The parents of a 3-year-old girl with autism who died in May have been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death. eOn the morning of May 12, 2022 the LaPorte County Regional Dispatch Center received a 911 call in reference to a 3 year old autistic child, Ivey Allen, who had wandered away from her residence in the 400 block of Long Beach Lane, and was missing. A search for Ivy began immediately following the call. The Michigan City Police Department Uniformed Patrol Division, Investigative Division, Traffic Division, Michigan City Fire Department, Long Beach

The City of La Porte Police Department says its Detective Bureau has made an arrest on a suspect responsible for four burglaries between August 2022 and February 2023. The victims of the burglaries were the La Porte Pantry and the Glass House Smoke Shop. Both businesses were victimized twice by the same suspect. Detectives worked together with the cases to build enough probable cause against the suspect to apply burglary charges. The suspect’s identity will not be released due to the suspect being a juvenile.

Board-certified orthopedic surgeon B. Israel Yahuaca, MD is now part of the Franciscan Physician Network and is accepting new patients in Michigan City and Chesterton. Dr. Yahuaca completed his training at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria, Ill. He completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, Mo. Dr. Yahuaca’s fellowship training was in shoulder and elbow surgery at Florida Orthopedic Institute in Tampa, Fla. His clinical interests are complex shoulder and elbow issues, shoulder replacement, arthroscopic shoulder surgery, upper extremity trauma, sports injuries and elbow replacement. Dr. Yahuaca is

As part of their investment with the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce (Chamber), Horizon Bank recently gifted a full year chamber membership to the Michigan City Black Business Association (MCBBA). During a recent chamber networking event, Horizon Bank representative, Bill Gertner, was able to present the membership to Denice Shipp Glenn, President, and founder of the MCBBA. (Photo provided) MCBBA was founded to empower and provide a voice for the invisible, overlooked, and undervalued black business community. As a membership-based association, they do this through business promotion, business resources, and networking. MCBBA meets monthly every third Monday at Emmet D.

Judicial officers around the state will have the authority to allow news media into their courtrooms to record, photograph, and broadcast court proceedings that are not confidential, beginning on May 1. Rule 2.17 of the Code of Judicial Conduct has long prohibited broadcasting, recording, or taking photographs of court proceedings and areas adjacent to courtrooms without prior approval by the Indiana Supreme Court. An order amending Rule 2.17, effective May 1, 2023, gives the discretion to allow cameras to the local judges. “This is the culmination of years of work and pilot projects with discussion and evaluation,” said Chief Justice

Eighth-grade students from Michigan City and beyond are invited to attend Michigan City High School’s annual Wolfpack Roundup. This informational session will be held on Friday, February 24 at 6:00 p.m. in the auditorium at Michigan City High School, 8466 W. Pahs Road. “Wolfpack Roundup is an opportunity for students and their families to take a tour, meet school counselors and administrators, and hear more about classes, extracurriculars, dual credit, and much more,” said MCHS Principal Kyle Dean. The Roundup is open to families of all current eighth-grade students – those who attend Michigan City Area Schools, as well as

Recently approved federal funding of up to $385 million over the next 15 years will allow Indiana to reclaim more former coal mines to their pre-mining status. Hoosiers who own such property are encouraged to report it to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) — even if you don’t want the work done right away. Reclamation is the process by which adverse safety, health, and environmental effects of formerly unregulated surface mining are minimized and mined lands are returned to a beneficial end use. In Indiana, more than 2,000 reclamation projects have been completed since 1982 on both public

In Portage, Tecumseh Street will be closed to all traffic beginning Wednesday, Feb. 15 through Friday, Feb. 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. between Defiance Avenue and Prophet Avenue for work on water lines. Local traffic will still be able to travel through the area. Detour routes will be from Defiance to Hamstrom to Prophet.

The Portage Police and Fire Departments with the assistance of the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Project ChildSafe are able to provide interested persons with free gun locks in an effort to reduce firearms accidents and misuse. Image source: Portage Police Department / Facebook The free gun locks can be picked up at the Portage Police Department or any of the three Portage Fire Stations. Police Department - 6260 Central Avenue Fire Station #1 - 3401 Swanson Road Fire Station #2 - 6275 Old Porter Road Fire Station #3 - 6300 Central Avenue More information on safe firearms storage

The LaPorte County E-911 Regional Dispatch Center received a 911 call on February 14, 2023, at approximately 5:13pm regarding a crash at the intersection of U.S. Highway 20 and Hitchcock Road. Michigan City Police Department Uniform Patrol Shift 2, along with Michigan City Fire Department and LaPorte County EMS were dispatched to this location. At this time, a preliminary investigation has revealed that the SUV involved in this crash was traveling eastbound on U.S. Highway 20 and attempting to make a lefthand turn onto Hitchcock Road to travel northbound. At this time the SUV and motorcycle crashed into each other. The Michigan

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) announced the collection of more than 30,000 gallons of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) firefighting foam from Indiana fire departments. Since April 2022, this free program, provided by IDEM, Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), and Indiana Finance Authority (IFA), has collected and safely disposed of foam from more than 220 Hoosier fire departments across the state. “When we first began collection, we set a lofty goal to collect 30,000 gallons of PFAS foam,” said IDEM Commissioner Brian Rockensuess. “We have exceeded that goal in less than a year’s time and are still scheduling

Board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor Joshua Scheidler, MD is now part of the Franciscan Physician Network and is accepting new patients in Crown Point. Dr. Scheidler completed his training at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. He completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, Colo. Dr. Scheidler’s fellowship training was in spine medicine at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. His clinical interests are spasticity neuro-rehabilitation such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI), medical rehabilitation, general debility amputation and spine and musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Dr.

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. — Donations and support from local businesses allowed the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department to replace medical equipment. The department said the equipment was in much need of replacing. A total of seven medical bags were purchased and placed on fire trucks filled with life-saving medical supplies. The department said the previous medical bags, after many years of service, were worn out and not able to safely secure all equipment. With the purchase of these medical bags and supplies, Liberty Fire was able to place a standard bag across seven of the fire trucks for uniformity. Liberty

Two local schools were recognized as heart safe on Friday. Rolling Prairie Elementary School and New Prairie Middle School were designated as Project ADAM Heart Safe Schools. To be recognized as a heart safe school, specific requirements must be met such as developing a cardiac emergency plan, house highly visible functioning AEDs that can be obtained within 2-3 minutes from any point on campus, conduct cardiac emergency response drills with students and staff, and additional safety requirements that create a rescue ready environment inside the school and throughout the campus. The elementary school and middle school are the first elementary

Story by Purdue University Northwest: HAMMOND and WESTVILLE, Ind. — Purdue University Northwest (PNW) has been recognized as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Scholars by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for its number of applicants selected for the 2022-23 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. PNW ranked among other top higher education institutions in the Master’s category, as designated by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Two PNW faculty members received Fulbright awards for the 2022-23 period. “Purdue University Northwest is honored to be recognized among peer higher education institutions as a

The Valparaiso Police Department is mourning the passing of former Assistant Chief of Police, Robert “Bob” Taylor, who lost his battle to cancer on Feb. 8.  Taylor served an entire lifetime in public service, holding many titles over the years, representing the Valparaiso and Porter County communities. He began his career with the Valparaiso Police Department in March of 1971, serving until March of 1992, when he retired as the Assistant Chief of Police. “During his time with the VPD, Taylor served diligently, working as K9 Handler, Motorcycle Officer, and even on horseback,” VPD said on their Facebook page. “Retirement

The LaPorte High School Robotics Team, SlicerTech, recently participated in Valparaiso University’s First Robotics Design Review Day. Students presented their preliminary designs and received advice from the engineering students and faculty. “The Valparaiso University faculty and engineering students were impressed with our teams’ designs," commented LPHS teacher Todd Hutson. The school corporation says the opportunity was a great experience for Slicer students interested in engineering, because they were also invited to tour the engineering department and participated in robotic football activities with the Valparaiso University Robotics Team. LPHS student, Aubrey Tanksley, said, “Our team was very impressed with the engineering