Local News

News release by Purdue University Northwest: HAMMOND and WESTVILLE, Ind. – Purdue University Northwest (PNW) has selected three impactful alumni to honor as its second annual PNW Alumni Hall of Fame class. PNW’s 2023 honorees include Robert Johnson III, Stewart “Stu” McMillan and Alfredo “Al” Sori. “These distinguished honorees embody the qualities of PNW alumni: people who built upon their PNW degrees to provide transformational change for the region and the world and who continue to devote attention to the university so that others may be inspired to pursue their own dreams,” Purdue Northwest Chancellor Thomas L. Keon said. “Each

La Porte County Sheriff’s deputy Deputy Michael J. Walker retired on Monday, Sheriff Ronald Heeg announced. Deputy Walker was hired by the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office as a Jail Deputy on September 21, 2000.  He was promoted to the merit division on January 1, 2002. Deputy Walker attended the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy later that year and was a graduate of Basic Recruit Class 02-150. Over the course of his career, Walker was a patrol deputy, an investigator assigned to the La Porte County Drug Task Force and was a member of the agency’s Hostage Crisis Negotiation Team. “I

The LaPorte County Health Department says it will be accepting water samples starting April 3 on Mondays and Wednesdays only, with the exception of government holidays. The LaPorte Office is temporarily located in Michigan City, 302 W 8th Street - Suite 4. Their office in the County Complex building has been under renovation since the flood in December 2022. More information is available on the flyer. The La Porte County Health Department is asking the public to read the flyer information carefully.    

The Indiana Department of Transportation will begin a resurfacing project on U.S. 35/Pine Lake Avenue between NewPorte Boulevard and State Road 39 starting on or after Monday, April 3 through early July. One lane will be closed at a time through the duration of the project. There will also be intermittent intersection closures for work, with no more than two intersections and never two consecutive intersections closed at the same time, INDOT says. Motorists should be prepared for changing traffic patterns and intersection access through the area. Work will include patching, replacing curb and gutter, bringing ramps up to ADA

The Duneland Chamber of Commerce is congratulates the winners of the Chesterton town banner photo contest. The winners (in alphabetical order) are Susan Kirt, Olga Petryszyn, Elizabeth Robinson, and Morgan-Daniell Witt. All of the winners will have their pictures displayed on banners throughout Chesterton. The Duneland Chamber of Commerce thanks everyone who submitted photos. The banners will be up in time for the 2023 European Market Season.

Franciscan Health is offering free grief support group sessions to anyone seeking support with the loss of a loved one. The Palliative Care Departments at Franciscan Health Dyer and Franciscan Health Munster offer free grief support group sessions on Tuesday evenings for 10 weeks. The groups use “Understanding Your Grief,” by Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D., as a guide through the journey from loss to healing. The spring session runs from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evenings from April 18 through June 20. Registration is required and groups are limited to 10 members. Locations will be disclosed upon registration. No food

The next tribute band in the Civic Concert Series is sure to ‘rock’ the house, according to Civic Auditorium & Events Director Brett Binversie. Performing at the La Porte Civic Auditorium on Saturday, May 20 is Queen Nation – an amazingly accurate tribute to the legendary Queen. Formed in 2004, Queen Nation is the West Coast's longest-running, most authentic, fully costumed re-creation of a vintage Queen concert. According to Binversie, tickets to this show have been selling steadily from the moment they went on sale. “This show has already met and exceeded our expectations for attendance, and we are still

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. – The U.S. 6 bridge over Coffee Creek, between Mander Road and County Road N. 350 E/N Old Suman Road. The closure is set to be approximately 15 days starting on or after Monday, April 3. The official detour will follow State Road 49 and State Road 2.

The Westville Volunteer Fire Department stopped by AK Smith Career Center in Michigan City Monday to donate a fire engine to AK Smith’s Fire Science program. The WVFD recently replaced the 1993 model with a new truck. "We wanted to do something to give back to future generations of firefighters," said Westville Fire Chief Jason Zeman. For more information about the Fire Science program, visit https://educateMC.net/fire.  

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. – State Road 149 will be closed between Robbie Lane and County Road W 550 N on or after Monday, April 3 through early June. The closure is for a pipe lining and small structure maintenance and repair project. The official detour will follow State Road 130 and U.S. 6.

MICHIGAN CITY – Registration is now open for The Salvation Army’s annual free summer camp opportunities. Children ages 7 to 17 who reside in Michigan City are eligible to attend camp through The Salvation Army, including four different camps that will take place at Hidden Falls Camp in Bedford, IN. The experience will be a four or five day overnight visit, depending on the camp. Teen Camp will be held June 12-16 for campers ages 13-17; Kids Camp, for children ages 7-12, will take place June 19-22; and Sports Camp will be held July 3-6 for campers ages 10-14, with

DNR’s Division of State Parks recently honored its volunteers, partners, and employees for their commitment to conserve, manage, and interpret resources while creating memorable experiences for visitors in 2022. Awards were announced at the division’s annual leadership conference, which was held at Brown County State Park. Outstanding Volunteer Awards recognize the work of individuals who share their time and expertise at Indiana State Park properties. Three individuals were honored for their service: Phil and Marcia Douglass first came to Indiana State Parks in 2011 when they enrolled in an Indiana Master Naturalist class. There they were introduced to the campground

Valparaiso’s City Administrator Mike Jessen will leave his position with the City of Valparaiso on May 1 to become President and CEO for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, Mayor Matt Murphy announced on Friday. “Mike’s leadership has added tremendous value to the City of Valparaiso, from navigating through the pandemic to managing our most impactful projects to advancing community engagement. While he will surely be missed at City Hall, we wish him well in this new role, where he is perfectly suited to lead,” said Murphy. Jessen has served as City Administrator since January 2020, managing

To accommodate passengers attending the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) taking place March 31 – April 2 at McCormick Place, the South Shore Line will be offering select weekday train stops at McCormick Place Station on Friday, March 31, in addition to regular service to McCormick Place during the weekend. On Saturday, April 1 an extra eastbound passenger train will depart Millennium Station at 4:25 p.m. (McCormick Place at 4:34 p.m.), run non-stop to Hegewisch and make all local stops terminating at Gary Metro Center. The following weekday trains will make special flag stops at McCormick Place on Friday,

The Porter County Sheriff's Office announced on Friday that it has raised over $23,000 to purchase its first bomb detection K9 in department history. The K9 was named Luna, the department said on its Facebook page. The funds were also used to completely outfit Cpl. Gosbin’s car with equipment.  

The Valparaiso Police Department is warning the public about a potential phone scam. Over the last few weeks, the VPD has noted an increase in reports related to potential fraud or scams against citizens.  Police say these activities often occur over the phone, either through text or direct contact, and request payment for what appears to be legit services or invoices. The VPD is offering assistance and encouraging anyone who may experience a potential scam to contact their station officer, Sgt. Perry Stone, before taking further action or responding to the message. Stone can be reached Monday through Friday, 8:00

Franciscan Alliance is updating its masking policies for all facilities, the healthcare ministry announced Friday. All Indiana facilities will be mask optional effective Monday, March 27. All Illinois facilities will be mask optional effective Monday, April 3. Beginning on each respective day, masking will be optional for visitors, patients and staff, with some exceptions. Masking will be required where it is part of the routine infection-control process. Staff caring for COVID-positive and COVID-suspected patients will be required to wear N95 masks, as will those performing high-risk procedures related to the COVID virus, such as intubation. Patients may request Franciscan staff

The closure of the South Shore commuter line’s grade-crossing on Waverly Road, north of U.S. 12, has been postponed for two weeks, the Town of Chesterton said on its Facebook page. The closure, which was originally scheduled to begin on Monday, March 27, will now go into effect on Monday, April 10, through Friday, April 21. The reason for the postponement is that this season’s opening of the local asphalt plants has been delayed, the Town of Chesterton said. Walsh Construction will be reconstructing the grade-crossing and adding an adjacent set of tracks, as part of the Northern Indiana Commuter

The Porter County Sheriff’s Office has recently been receiving reports that citizens have been getting phone calls in which people were fraudulently claiming to be law enforcement officials. Police say that sometimes callers can mask the caller ID information to make it look like the call is coming from a police department or other government entity. The Porter County Sheriff’s Office says if you receive a call from a person claiming to be one of their and are concerned they are not who they say they are, to hang up and call 219-477-3170 to verify their identity. The PCSO also

The Michigan City Housing Authority (MCHA) says effective immediately, it has sufficiently improved its performance rating established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to be designated as a “Standard Performer.” Using its Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS), HUD classifies public housing agencies such as MCHA into various categories ranging from “Troubled” to “High Performer.” Housing agencies are evaluated using a 100-point scoring system which includes components relating to physical condition of housing units, financial stability, management, and use of capital funds. Under the leadership of Executive Director Sharon Hutton, in collaboration with the MCHA Board