Local News

An inmate escaped the La Porte County jail Tuesday night and was captured shortly after, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office announced. Tuesday night at around 11:30 p.m., a Jail Division Supervisor fielded a telephone call from a citizen who had called the agency wishing to report suspicious activity on the east side of the La Porte County Jail (LCJ). Jail Deputies immediately responded to the exterior of the building and observed several pieces of bedding material that had been tied together coming from a top floor window. The Jail Supervisor immediately requested assistance from the Patrol Division. Moments later,

An impaired driver was arrested early Tuesday after hitting an Indiana Department of Transportation construction equipment on I-65 in Lake County. At around 3:00 a.m., INDOT was performing road repairs as I-65 was reduced to one lane, with the left lane being open while trucks with impact attenuators and arrow boards blocked the right two lanes. State troopers were also at the locations with their emergency lights activated to alert drivers of the construction project. During the lane closure, a 2017 Jeep Wrangler struck one of the impact attenuators at a high rate of speed, narrowly missing a police car that

La Porte County Sheriff John Boyd, Michigan City Chief of Police Dion Campbell and La Porte Police Chief Paul Brettin have announced that the 21st annual Peace Officer Memorial Service will take place on Friday, May 13, at 10 a.m. (CST) in the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center, in the auditorium of the former Elston High School, which is located at 1200 Spring Street in Michigan City. This year’s keynote speaker will be newly appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Clifford Johnson. United States Attorney Johnson was nominated by President Biden and unanimously confirmed by the Senate

A student at AK Smith Career Center was recently awarded the CTE Excellence Award. Delaney Messer, a Construction Technology student at A.K. Smith Career Center and a senior at La Porte High School, is one of six students in Indiana to receive the 2022 “CTE Award of Excellence.” The prestigious award, presented annually by the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, honors the state’s top career and technical education students and programs. Messer received the award at a ceremony on Tuesday in Indianapolis, which she attended along with her family and La Porte County Career and Technical Education Director Delincia Smith. “Delaney is

Aerial treatments conducted by DNR’s Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology and Division of Forestry to slow the spread of spongy moth, which used to be called gypsy moth, in selected areas of Marshall, Noble, and LaPorte counties could begin the week of May 16, weather permitting. The DNR says the Spongy moth is one of North America's most devastating invasive forest pests and has caused thousands of acres of defoliation across the eastern United States. Treatment begins shortly after sunrise but could be delayed until later in the morning or the next day due to unfavorable weather conditions like

There will be alternating lane closures on I-94 near Michigan City from approximately 9 p.m.-6 a.m. nightly Tuesday through Saturday this week. These lane restrictions will be in place for soil boring operations. Additionally there is ongoing  bridgework  on I-94 between Exit 34 and Exit 40 (U.S. 421 and U.S. 20/35) in Michigan City through late June.   

The Michigan City Police are investigating two shootings, which in total had 3 victims that were wounded.  The first incident occurred Friday May 6, at around 10:00 p.m. Police found one person had been shot. Officers immediately assessed the scene and began medical treatment. EMS transported the victim to Franciscan Health Michigan City Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Witnesses were interviewed by officers at the scene.  The Michigan City Police Department would ask anyone that may have witnessed this incident, has any additional information, or has video surveillance / cell phone video of this incident, to contact Corporal Lendell Hood at

Unity Foundation of La Porte County announced Monday that it is increasing the amount of funding available for projects through its Community “Power for Good” Grant Program. Starting this year, organizations may apply for two grants of up to $5,000 each to fund projects that strengthen La Porte County in meaningful ways. Applications will be accepted through Friday, July 22, 2022. Eligible applicants include nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations located in or serving La Porte County residents. In addition, churches may request funds for non-religious purposes, such as community programs or projects. Governmental bodies, including townships and fire districts, as well as

Major Haferkamp was hired by the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office as a Jail Deputy on January 7, 1989.  On June 1, 1991, he was promoted to the Merit Division and attended the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy that fall.  Until the spring of 2000, Major Haferkamp was a patrol deputy.  On May 1, 2000, he transferred to the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) where he served as a detective.   On May 14, 2003, Major Haferkamp was promoted to the rank of sergeant.  On April 30, 2011, he was promoted to the rank of Captain.  On April 11, 2016, he was promoted

The NewDay Foundation of LaPorte congratulated the 2022 winners of the Connie Yagelski-Marhanka Scholarship. Two $1000 scholarships are awarded to students graduating from LaPorte County high schools that plan to continue their musical education and participation in college.  Isabelle Eason is graduating from Michigan City High School.  She will be attending Butler University to study Music Education.  Jonathan Rocke is graduating from South Central High School. In the fall, he will be attending Purdue University in West Lafayette to study Agricultural Systems Management. Jonathan plans to continue his involvement in music through the Purdue Music Organization with both a vocal

The Indiana Department of Transportation announced Friday that through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program created by passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the state can expect to receive nearly $100 million in federal funding. There will be an open house Wednesday May 11 1-2 p.m. EST about INDOT’s EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan goals and vision, as well as how you can be involved in plan development. Those interested can register here.

La Porte Community School Corporation Youth Assistance Program Coordinator, Matt Zawacki, presented at the virtual meeting on May 4 for Indiana ACEs Coalition about the growth and success of the programs at LPCSC. The Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) provides La Porte High School students experiencing significant academic and personal challenges the opportunity to reset their life trajectory toward achieving success. Most recently, the Youth Assistance Program (YAP) has been added to work in conjunction with the VLA to support each student and provide the resources and sounding board to monitor goal attainment, make necessary adjustments, and encourage students as they

The La Porte County Commissioners, the La Porte County Council, and leaders from La Porte County EMS broke ground earlier this week on an EMS base project that has been in the works for nearly 20 years.  “This much-needed EMS base to serve Rolling Prairie and eastern La Porte County will address the high need for emergency medical response and services. Saving lives and getting help to our citizens more quickly when minutes make a difference makes this EMS base project so very important,” said Sheila Matias, President of the Board of Commissioners. “I really want to thank Commissioner Richard

Mayor of La Porte Tom Dermody is reminding residents that the Active Living Workshop will take place 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. on Thursday May 12 at the Civic Auditorium. The workshop is designed to help participants increase opportunities for active living and long-term quality of life. It will focus on equity, land use, public health and safety while connecting the audience with tools for analysis of their own communities. The workshop Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided. A video explaining more along with a registration link can be found on Tom Dermody’s public Facebook page. More can

The City of Portage announced City Hall will be on the move back to its home headquarters Monday, May 9. Renovations to City Hall are nearly complete and the city says there will “still be a few loose ends to tie up" once they've moved in. City offices and employees will begin to move back in on Monday. The move could take a few days. Until the move back home is completed, the city will still be operating out of their temporary offices at Woodland Park. The City Council meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, May 10, will be held at Woodland

Two groups of scammers on the hunt to victimize others have been frequenting gas stations in the northern half of the county, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office said on their Facebook page Friday. Police stated that one is operating out of a white Ford Explorer and the other is a gray Dodge Avenger. The scammers approach citizens with various sob stories and gas money requests. In exchange for money, the scammers begin attempting to trade jewelry, all of which is fake, police said. The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office stated on their Facebook page, “Do not entertain these crooks!”

The Indiana DNR would like more information about the wildlife that spend time around Indiana’s waterways and are asking paddlers for help. Volunteer paddlers can sign up to complete paddling trip postcards documenting the wildlife they observe while floating from June 1 to July 31. Volunteers will be mailed a packet when they sign up.  Previous volunteers will be mailed a new packet and do not need to sign up again. The information collected will allow wildlife managers to estimate changes in key wildlife populations over time. See more information on the DNR website. 

The Town of Chesterton says emergency repairs to a collapsed sanitary sewer lateral serving the apartments at 610 Wabash Ave. will force the closure of Wabash Ave. between North Eighth Street and Locust Street from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, May 9.  There will be no access for emergency vehicles. The detour will be North 4th Street south to Broadway, then west to North 8th Street, then north to Wabash Avenue.

Visitors from the Unity Foundation of La Porte County stopped by Michigan City High School Thursday afternoon for a tour of the school’s Manufacturing, Safe Harbor Robotics, Engineering and Compressed Air labs. The electric vehicles that students built will be racing at Purdue on May 21. Michigan City High School’s engineering and tech programs are giving students hands-on experience, dual credit, internships, summer jobs, and research opportunities. See additional photos on the Michigan City High School Facebook page.