Local News

On Sunday July 3rd at 6:44 Michigan City Fire Michigan City Fire Department was dispatched for multiple drownings at Washington Park Beach. On arrival, one victim was out of the water and being cared for by La Porte County Emergency Medical Service. Multiple fire crews entered the water in search of a second victim. The 2nd victim was quickly located at the bottom of the lake. MCFD Dive team member Kyle Gish went down and retrieved this victim then proceeded to pass her off to the secondary rescuer Joshua Allen. Josh, who was connected to water rescue rope, gave two

NIPSCO, part of NiSource Inc., one of the largest fully-regulated utility companies in the United States, is announcing the launch of chatbots and live chat technologies. The chatbots and live chat are now available on the NIPSCO.com website and via its mobile app. NIPSCO says that customers have told NIPSCO they want more convenient ways to get answers to their questions without having to call the call centers. “Chatbots and live chat allow customers to get immediate answers to key questions, including enrolling in payment plans, viewing their usage, reporting an electric outage, finding payment locations, understanding bill charges and

Franciscan Health Crown Point has received three American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines achievement awards for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines. As a participant in the Get With The Guidelines program, Franciscan Health Crown Point qualified for the awards by

State health officials are urging Indiana residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites following the detection of the first West Nile virus case of 2022 in a Lake County resident.   West Nile virus has also been detected in a sample of mosquitoes collected from Steuben County. The Indiana Department of Health expects to continue to see additional West Nile virus activity as the mosquito season progresses. The Indiana Department of Health says that residents across the state should take precautions to reduce their risk of exposure. Even a container as small as a bottle cap can become a mosquito breeding

The Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City announced Thursday that they had put down their 13-year-old Llama named Nitro. The Zoo said on their Facebook, “By far, the most difficult part of being an animal care specialist is providing end-of-life care. Today was no exception when the Washington Park Zoo lost our beloved Llama, Nitro. Nitro had been ill and under veterinary care since June 19th. “Nitro first seemed to have a mild lameness in mid-June and later showed a decrease in activity and appetite. Despite the week of supportive care and medications, his health continued to fail to the

A Munster police officer was injured in a two vehicle crash Thursday evening. Just before 9 p.m., a vehicle crash occurred at the intersection of Ridge Road and Beech Avenue in Munster. The crash involved a Munster Police Department Ford Explorer being driven by Officer Bradley Riemerts and a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck. The crash resulted in serious injuries to Officer Riemerts. Troopers from the Indiana State Police Lowell Post responded to the scene and handled the crash investigation at the request of the Munster Police Department. Preliminary investigation found that Riemerts, was traveling west on Ridge Road and

The Michigan City Police Department is reminding residents to use diligence when selecting a company for home improvements. The department said in a Facebook post that it was recently made aware of a heating and air conditioning company displaying signage and advertising for expert and cost-effective repairs on A/C units. Police said the company has apparently made appointments and sent service technicians to evaluate and diagnose these A/C units. The technicians would advise homeowners that their units were going to fail soon, or that the entire unit would need to be replaced. Police said this company offered quotes to repair/replace

The Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife has completed its spring trout and salmon stockings in Lake Michigan and tributaries, the Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday. Locations stocked include the East Chicago Marina, East Branch of the Little Calumet River, Salt Creek, Trail Creek, and the St. Joseph River. A total of 40,000 brown trout fingerlings, 77,765 Coho salmon yearlings, 194,836 Skamania steelhead yearlings, 40,943 winter run steelhead yearlings, and 224,753 Chinook salmon fingerlings were among the stocked fish. Although spring stockings are complete, fall stockings are also planned. Coho salmon fingerlings are scheduled to be stocked during October

Representative  Frank Mrvan on Wednesday announced $47,852,000 in Fiscal Year 2022 federal funding investments in Northwest Indiana, including to the Michigan City area. The announcement includes $7,000,000 through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support improvements at the Michigan City Harbor.  Mrvan’s office says the funding will be used for the dredging and maintenance in federal harbors to stabilize supply chains across the region, the construction of water-related infrastructure, and the restoration of critical natural areas along the lakeshore. The announcement includes $2.7 million toward sand nourishment activities at Mount Baldy, in the Indiana Dunes National Park.  Funding announcement

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources will target boating while under the influence on Independence Day weekend. Indiana Conservation Officers, in partnership with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) and the U.S. Coast Guard will participate in the national Operation Dry Water heightened awareness and enforcement weekend from July 2-4. During those days, law enforcement agencies from across the country will be focused on educating boaters about safe boating practices, including sober boating. Because alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in recreational boater deaths, Indiana Conservation Officers will be working to increase public awareness of

Forbes has recognized Centier Bank as a top-rated bank in the state of Indiana for the fourth consecutive year. Forbes conducts its annual Best-In-State-Banks survey through market research firm Statista. Over 26,000 customers are independently surveyed nationwide to rate their banking relationships for overall satisfaction, but also considering trust, terms & conditions, branch services, digital services, and financial advice. According to Forbes, scores are based on a 1-100 scale, ranging from 74.2 to 93.6, and out of more than 5,000 banks in the country, just 2.7% of all banks nationwide made the cut. Excluded from the survey were institutions that

An Air Quality Action Day has been declared by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for La Porte, St. Joseph, Elkhart, Allen, Wabash and Huntington counties in Indiana. It is in effect for Thursday and Thursday evening. Ozone levels are expected to be in the Orange or unhealthy for sensitive groups range. People and businesses are urged to avoid activities which lead to ozone and fine particulate formation. These activities include refueling vehicles or topping off when refueling, using gasoline powered lawn equipment and using charcoal lighter fluid. Positive activities include car pooling, biking to work, delaying or combining errands

U.S. 6 will close between Walkerton and La Paz in both directions for 3 days, on or after July 5, INDOT announced. The seal coating operation will close U.S. 6 between State Road 931 and State Road 23. INDOT says this work should take approximately three days, but the schedule is weather dependent and subject to change. INDOT says “When seal coating, work is most often completed under road closures to prevent damage to both vehicles and the roadway. If driving through a seal coating work zone, drivers should take extra caution, drive slowly and allow additional space between vehicles

The South Shore Line will operate a weekend/holiday train schedule on Independence Day, Monday, July 4. South Shore ticket offices will observe holiday hours on July 4, with the Millennium Station ticket office open from 9:35 a.m. to 5 p.m. All other ticket offices will be closed. NICTD administrative offices in Chesterton and Michigan City will be closed.

The Town of Chesterton is reporting that INDOT lowered the speed limit for trucks from 50 miles per hour to 40 mph along Indiana 49 in the Town of Chesterton. For the benefit of the Chesterton Police Department, INDOT will also construct three turnaround cross-over culverts in the median between East Porter Avenue and the Indiana Toll Road. Much more information can be found on the Town of Chesterton Facebook page.

The City of Portage announced that the closure of the southbound lane of Willowcreek Road between Portage Avenue and Houston Avenue has been extended through Friday. The city says this is due to unforeseen issues at the asphalt plant. A detour route will be marked.  

Michigan City Athletics has welcomed two new head coaches Tuesday evening. The MCAS Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Jocelyn Garner as the new head coach for MCHS volleyball. Ethan Warne was announced as the new head coach for boys soccer at MCHS.

LAKE COUNTY– A Milwaukee man is in custody after police say he shot at a state trooper during a pursuit Monday afternoon. On Monday at around 3:20 p.m., a trooper working on the Indiana Toll Road stopped to check on what he believed to be a disabled vehicle at the 3.8 mile-marker, which is near the Calumet Avenue exit ramp. As the trooper approached the vehicle, a teal Ford Escort, he observed that the vehicle did not have a license plate attached to the rear of the car. The driver saw the trooper and sped away. The trooper returned to

Michigan City transit has released the schedule for then Patriotic Parade taking place on July 2 from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. The schedule is as follows: Route 1 – Franklin St and Lakeland Area – Out of Service Route 2 – Coolspring and high school area – Will travel uptown to Pine Street and Detroit Street and dwell at Elston Auditorium. Route 3 – Michigan Boulevard and Franklin Street – Will travel South - Wabash Street to Coolspring Street to Franklin Street. Reverse traveling North. Route 4 – Westside and hospital area – Will travel Wabash Street to 8th

The South Shore Line has given an update on parking at the new Miller Station Building and East Parking Lot. “Right now, important preparatory work is underway in the Miller Station area in Gary. NICTD is completing a large 54" sewer installation west of Lake Street. Next begins construction of the future Miller Station building. The new Miller Station building will abut the two platforms/tracks. The building, tracks and platform will move to the south of the existing single track and station in the final configuration,” the SSL stated. Just east of Lake Street, a 36" sewer relocation was recently