Local News

Representatives of Indiana’s Department of Workforce Development visited the LaPorte County Career & Technical Education’s Construction Technology program at the A. K. Smith Career Center on Friday, September 10, to recognize it as a State “Earn and Learn” (SEAL) program. SEAL certification is granted to career centers, high schools, and/or employers that have developed comprehensive work-based learning programs with education and industry partners. The A. K. Smith Construction Technology program was the first in the state of Indiana to integrate a “Career Connections” curriculum developed by the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund, a program of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC). The material, which includes units

The Following is a statement from La Porte Community Schools Superintendent Mark D. Francesconi: We would like to thank everyone for their cooperation this week as we transition to the updated COVID-19 Intervention Plan. Our schools have demonstrated their commitment to keeping healthy students in the classroom. As always, we respect direct feedback from our school community, and have received numerous phone calls and emails from people voicing their support, as well as concern regarding the face covering requirement. This week we received a petition against the face covering requirement stated in the recent COVID-19 plan. As well, a peaceful

Earlier this week Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department (Porter County) escorted a family home with their newborn twins who had only a 15 percent chance of survival. After months spent in the hospital since April, Brandon and Megan Simpson embraced the welcoming of their twin girls, Riley and Hailey home by escort from Liberty Township Fire Department late Monday night to their home in Chesterton. Captain Brandon Simpson, who has been a volunteer firefighter for over 20 years continues to support operations at Liberty Fire and was joined by his extended family at Liberty. In April, the twins had a

The 16th Annual Hoosier Star competition was held on Saturday, September 11 at La Porte’s Civic Auditorium.  Ten youth and adult finalists from six communities in Indiana competed for the title of Hoosier Star. In a “first” for the Hoosier Star competition, Joseph Giuliani of La Porte won the Youth Division followed by his sister, Afyah Giuliani, the 2nd place winner, also of La Porte. In addition, Adult Division winner, Jarynn Sampson of South Bend, became the first former Youth Division winner to earn the top Adult Division award. Kim Kurtis of Valparaiso was the Adult Division's 2nd place winner. Lola White , of New Albany, was awarded the Joe

Purdue University says if you want to save big on your air conditioning bills to wait a few years to coat your home with the world’s whitest paint.  It may dramatically reduce or even eliminate the need for air conditioning. The paint, developed at Purdue University, has earned a Guinness World RecordsTM title. The record appears in the 2022 edition of Guinness World Records, available for purchase starting Thursday (Sept. 16). Breaking a record for the whitest paint wasn’t a goal for the researchers – curbing global warming was. “When we started this project about seven years ago, we had saving energy and

On the South Shore Line, due to 43rd Street bridge work taking place on Sept. 18 and 19, passengers on westbound train 510 (arriving @ Millennium Station @ 11:43p) and eastbound train 601 (departing Millennium @ 12:45a) will be bused between Metra’s 51st/53rd St. Station and Millennium Station Saturday night into Sunday. Train 510 and train 601 will not serve Van Buren Street, Museum Campus/11th Street or McCormick Place stations beginning 11:30 p.m. on Saturday and continuing until Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. Passengers seeking to board/detrain at these stations on train 510 or train 601 are advised to utilize

Lubeznik Center for the Arts, one of 278 nonprofit organizations throughout the state of Indiana, has been awarded American Rescue Plan Act funds through the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC). Each organization received $3,000 through the program. The grants were distributed through IAC’s Arts Recovery Program with American Rescue Plan Act funds directly from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) with additional NEA funds through Arts Midwest, Indiana’s regional partner. LCA says that grant funding from organizations such as IAC and donations from corporations and private individuals, as well as member subscriptions, allows the organization to continue its mission to

The Indiana State Department of Health updated the weekly Covid county advisory levels on Wednesday. Porter County is in yellow level at a 1.5 out of 3. Lake, St. Joseph and Jasper counties are at an orange level with a score of 2. LaPorte and Starke counties are at an orange level with a score of 2.5. Newton County is at a red 3 out of 3 level. 

Michigan City Police say that one person is dead after a drug overdose Sunday afternoon.  Officers were dispatched to 300 Block of South Street at 12:30 p.m., in reference to a drug overdose.  When officers arrived they assisted LaPorte County EMS and Michigan City Fire Department with 20-year-old Michigan City resident Dennis E. Barger III, who appeared to be under the influence of opiates. Barger III was immediately transported to Franciscan Health Michigan City where he was later pronounced deceased.   While Officers were speaking with witnesses, a second Michigan City resident, a 26-year-old female, also showed signs of being under

The Save the Dunes organization was able to literally save a dune through a partnership with the Town of Long Beach, and funding provided in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Coastal Program.  Beginning in 2019, Save the Dunes and the Town of Long Beach began the project to restore the natural dune habitat and enhance public access at “Stop 24”, one of the town’s public dune and lakeshore access sites. Save the Dunes said that Stop 24 was overrun with invasive plant species, and that the path to

Michigan City Police are seeking to identify individuals who robbed a gas station Monday morning. Police say that on Monday at 5:03 a.m. the GoLo gas station located at 1701 Greenwood Ave. was robbed by three African American males. These males then ran north away from the business following the robbery.  Police say residents that live directly north of the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and South Woodland Ave are asked to review any residential surveillance systems they may have from 5 to 5:10 a.m. to look for individuals running or entering a vehicle during this time. Police are asking the

A Covid testing and vaccination clinic is available in La Porte at Rural King Parking Lot (East end of the lot, behind Walgreens) now through Saturday Sept. 18 from noon-8 p.m. Rapid antigen and PCR tests are available. The vaccine is free. You can choose either Pfizer (two vaccines) or Johnson & Johnson (one dose). 

The Valparaiso Police Department is pleased to announce the arrival of K9 Keno, assigned to Lt. Jerame Simpson, to the department.  K9 Keno is an 18-month-old Dutch Shepherd, who was purchased with funds obtained from the Porter County Substance Abuse Council Community Grant. Keno and Simpson recently completed full utility training at F.M K9 of Berrien Springs, Michigan, from where Keno was purchased. The certification falls within the North American Police Work Dog Association standards, in which all Valparaiso Police K9 teams meet annually.  Keno is now certified in narcotic detection, tracking, building/area search, article search, and obedience.  Simpson is

The decision to expand Michigan City’s 2021 Great Lakes Grand Prix by continuing with the two races this year really paid off in a big way for the community, by setting all-time records for both attendance and earnings, according to Visit Michigan City LaPorte Visitors Bureau. A total of 249,400 people visited the 12th annual event held August 4 - August 8, generating $17.7 million for LaPorte County’s economy. “We were expecting good attendance and we didn’t get disappointed” said Jack Arnett Executive Director of Visit Michigan City LaPorte “adding the AquaX events again was a big success and we plan on

The Indiana Department of Transportation Northwest District Office is hosting a vaccine clinic today from 1-5 p.m. at 315 Boyd Boulevard in La Porte.  This free clinic, put on by Indiana State Department of Health is open to everyone and features the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Residents in all Indiana counties can now resume feeding birds, DNR announced Monday. The DNR had recommended a statewide moratorium on bird feeding earlier this summer to slow the spread of a still-undetermined illness that is killing birds across the state. Biologists identified more than 750 possible cases in 76 counties that involved a specific set of clinical signs, including crusty eyes, eye discharge, and neurological issues.  The DNR says the actions of many Hoosiers significantly helped the DNR’s work related to the disease outbreak.  The DNR stated, “By taking down their feeders and submitting more than 4,300 reports, residents

The La Porte County Sheriff's Office says that deputies are receiving a number of complaints from bus drivers, who are out on their routes, regarding motorists who are disregarding extended stop-arms. The Sheriff's Office says that on Monday morning along US 35, a vehicle traveling ahead of a bus had blown through this extended stop-arm, while posting a picture of the incident to their Facebook page.  The Sheriff’s Office said that since this portion of US 35 is a multi-lane undivided roadway with no median or barrier, all lanes of traffic must stop for buses as they load or unload

A traffic closure in the area of Evans Avenue and Silhavy Road. The closure is allowing for the improvement of the area, to include additional traffic lanes, a new signal, as well as updated curbs, drains and underground pipes. The closure is scheduled to end on Oct. 15.   Valparaiso Police said, “During this time, the traffic pattern will change, causing a need for alternate routes to be taken and necessary travel in the area to be done with caution.”   Police say westbound traffic on Evans Avenue from Silhavy Road will not be changed at this time.   Local businesses will remain

Anish Chopra, M.D., an interventional gastroenterologist with Northwest Medical Group, has introduced advanced gastroenterology services to benefit higher acuity patients who have challenging gastrointestinal (GI) conditions. Dr. Chopra completed an advanced interventional endoscopy fellowship at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine where he gained experience performing procedures such as diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) including non-surgical endoscopic biliary access. Procedures like this have revolutionized the management of many gastroenterology diseases and are now available at Northwest Health.   Some examples of Dr. Chopra’s expertise include his utilization of a cholangioscope during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to visually inspect