Local News

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.

The Indiana State Police is warning residents of a phone scam involving callers impersonating the department. The Indiana State Police says it has received several concerns from citizens reporting the apparent phone scam.  The ISP says it receives numerous reports of phone scams each year, but this scam involves using the ISP General Headquarters phone number. The scammer is using a Caller ID showing “Indiana State Police” with “317-232-8248”.  The scammer then identifies him/herself as an Indiana State Police Trooper and tells them they have drug charges pending in Texas.  The scammer then threatens the citizen with arrest if a

Michigan City Area Schools will hold a Community Town Hall on Monday, March 13 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Michigan City High School (8566 W. Pahs Road). The town hall will give community members an opportunity to hear about the process underway to develop a new strategic plan for Michigan City Area Schools and to engage in conversation to help inform the plan. The two-hour session will include an overview of the planning process, along with facilitated small group discussions centering on constituents' experiences within MCAS. The meeting will be held in the MCHS cafeteria; park in front of

News release by NIPSCO: NIPSCO is accepting applications for its Environmental Action Grant to support local nonprofit organizations with environmental initiatives. For the eighth consecutive year, NIPSCO will provide support for environmental restoration and education projects throughout northern Indiana. “Our employees are passionate about investing in the communities where they live and work, and we have a lot of energy to give to the communities we serve,” said Rick Calinski, NIPSCO Director of Public Affairs and Economic Development. “We are proud to provide help to local organizations dedicated to benefiting and revitalizing our environment.” In 2022, winning organizations used the

News release by Franciscan Health: Franciscan Health Michigan City has been designated as a Gold Infant Safe Sleep Hospital, achieving the highest level of certification by Cribs for Kids. The hospital announced the achievement on March 1, which is designated as National Baby Sleep Day. “I am proud of the hard work and dedication of our Family Birth Center team in leading the way to earning Gold Safe Sleep status,” Franciscan Health Michigan City President and CEO Dean Mazzoni said. “They exemplify our commitment to compassionate concern and care for our community in these efforts to provide families with the

Michigan City Area Schools is seeking nominations for the 2023 Michigan City Area Schools Wall of Fame. The annual award, first presented in 1976, honors former school employees who have made outstanding contributions to the children of the Michigan City Area Schools. Employees from every area are eligible: administrators, custodians, food service personnel, instructional assistants, maintenance personnel, paraprofessionals, teachers, transportation staff, and secretarial staff. To qualify for nomination, the candidate must have been employed by the Michigan City Area Schools for a minimum of 15 years. Special circumstances may be considered for those not meeting the 15-year requirement due to

First Trust Credit Union presents a $15,000 donation check to The Salvation Army of Michigan City, on behalf of their credit card program partner, Elan Credit Card, as part of a national give back to local charities. First Trust Credit Union was honored to present their local charity partner, The Salvation Army of Michigan City, a significant donation of $15,000. This donation was provided by First Trust’s credit card program partner, Elan Credit Card (Elan), as part of their charitable giving program. To continue their commitment to partners and their local communities, Elan selected 25 new credit union partners to

The La Porte County Family YMCA reopened its La Porte branch today Wednesday. The pool deck was closed to repair the pool pack that controls the room temperature in the pool area. The YMCA says make sure to check their app, social media, or you can call the front desk for updates.

This week the DNR Division of Law Enforcement’s K-9 Resource Protection Program kicked off its nine-week training school at Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area in Johnson County. This year’s school has a total of six K-9 teams attending from Indiana, Kansas, Oregon, and Utah. Indiana’s K-9 program started in 1997 with a pilot program of two teams. Because of its effectiveness, the program grew to a team of 13 K-9 units throughout the state. At least one K-9 unit serves in each of the 10 Indiana DNR Law Enforcement districts. The Indiana K-9 program is not only well respected in

The Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) continued to support Michigan City Area Schools activities by providing Color Guards for the MCHS and Kreuger Middle School basketball teams, as well as guides for school tours for the Wolfpack Round-up. Cadets work on constructing a make-shift raft at the MCHS Cadet Leadership Camp in 2022. The Color Guard positions itself to present the colors before the Kreuger-Notre Dame middle school basketball game. The MCHS Military Drill Team continued its daily 5:45 a.m. practices, preparing for their last competition at Concordia

City of La Porte residents can expect to see different trash trucks servicing their neighborhoods this week, according to City Engineer Nick Minich. Beginning this Wednesday, Mar. 1, Waste Management will take over as the city's contracted trash vendor. This contract includes many positive changes for residents, including the distribution of 96-gallon carts. Minich said though there will be no changes to the pick-up schedule, trash may not be picked up at residents' usual times as Waste Management makes the transition. "After many calls and messages from residents regarding trash pick-up issues over the last three years, we are very

Sixth-grade students from the Michigan City area are invited to attend Middle School Roundup as these students and their families prepare to transition into middle school. This informational session will be held on Thursday, March 2 at 5:30 p.m. at both Krueger and Barker Middle Schools. In general, students who attend Lake Hills, Joy, Springfield, and Marsh Elementary Schools will attend Krueger Middle School. Those living in the boundaries of Knapp, Edgewood, Coolspring, and Pine Elementary Schools will attend Barker Middle School. There are exceptions; parents who are unsure about which middle school their sixth-grader will attend should contact their