Local News

Franciscan Health Michigan City will participate in a new Safety PIN (Protecting Indiana’s Newborns) grant provided by the Indiana Department of Health to lower infant mortality in Northern Indiana. Beacon Health System is the primary grant holder for the Region 2 collaborative. Along with Franciscan Health Michigan City, St. Joseph Health System, Elkhart County Department of Health and the St. Joseph County Department of Health will share funds from the grant of just over $1 million. Region 2 includes LaPorte, St. Joseph, Elkhart and Marshall counties. Franciscan Health Michigan City’s efforts will center on its Prenatal Assistance Program, which will

The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest has announced the 2021 Innovators Awards Luncheon featuring special guest speaker Blair Milo. The luncheon will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, November 17 at the Avalon Manor Banquet Center in Merrillville. The annual celebration of innovators brings together business and community leaders from across the seven-county region of Northwest Indiana to celebrate the spirit of creativity and ingenuity of innovative individuals and teams across all industries and backgrounds. The 2021 Class of Inductees into the Society of Innovators will be presented during the event. This year’s luncheon

Porter County schools are partnering with the Council of Carpenters to launch carpentry State Earn and Learn (SEAL) programs. On Aug. 24, officials from the Indiana Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship (OWBLA), the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC), IKORCC signatory contractors, school officials, and community stakeholders gathered to formally recognize Porter County Career Center (PCCC), Portage High School, and Chesterton High School’s respective carpentry programs as certified State Earn and Learn (SEAL) programs. Developed in partnership with the IKORCC, these SEAL programs will serve as pre-apprenticeships for the IKORCC Carpenters Union. Students participating in the SEAL will earn

Yesterday, Governor Eric Holcomb signed two Executive Orders. In the first Executive Order 21-22, Holcomb renewed the public health emergency for 30 days. It is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2021. In the second Executive Order, which extends the Executive Order specific to COVID-19 through Sept. 1. The short-term extension will allow for ongoing conversations with healthcare stakeholders to evaluate pertinent information that supports hospitals during the current COVID surge.

Northwest Health Welcomes New Surgeon Expanding both Bariatric Surgery and General Surgery Services Northwest Health has welcomed Andrew Martin, M.D. to Northwest Medical Group. Dr. Martin is a General Surgeon who also has experience in Bariatric Surgery. “With the addition of Dr. Martin, Northwest Health is able to increase its general surgery services and bariatric surgery services at Northwest Health – La Porte and Northwest Health - Starke,” said Ashley Dickinson, CEO of Northwest Health. Dr. Martin completed a fellowship in bariatric surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania prior to joining Northwest Medical Group. He

All Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) branches are closed Saturday, September 4 through Monday, September 6 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Branches resume regularly scheduled business hours on Tuesday, September 7. For a complete list of branch locations and hours, to complete an online transaction, or to find a 24-hour BMV Connect kiosk near you visit IN.gov/BMV.

The Michigan City Parks and Recreation Department is creating a youth baseball equipment exchange program. If you have baseball gloves, bats, cleats, or any other youth baseball equipment that is still in good shape and you are looking to get rid of it, donate it to the Michigan City Parks and Recreation Department. If you have equipment your child has outgrown, bring it in and exchange it for a larger size (if available). Donations can be made to Michigan City Parks and Recreation Department at City Hall. For question email williams@emichigancity.com . 

Governor Eric Holcomb has directed flags to be flown at half-staff to honor and pay our respects to the U.S. service members and other victims killed in the terrorist attack on August 26, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Flags should be flown at half-staff until sunset on Monday, August 30. Gov. Holcomb also asks businesses and residents to lower their flags to half-staff.

A new report jointly released today by Hoosier Action and Community Change Action outlines the anticipated positive impacts of the recently expanded child tax credit for Hoosiers. For the past two months, the vast majority of Hoosier families with children under the age of 18 have been receiving monthly cash payments of $250-$300 per child as a part of the landmark expansion of the child tax credit through the American Rescue Plan. Using recently released data from the Niskanen Center, this new report outlines the widespread economic and fiscal benefits to Hoosiers which redound well beyond individual family units. It is estimated that the child tax credit will result in a $701,861,037 incremental increase in consumer

In Lake County, rolling slow downs will be performed on I-80/94 during the overnight hours, from approximately  10p.m.-12a.m. on Saturday, Aug 28 between S.R. 912/Cline Ave and S.R. 51/Ripley while NIPSCO replaces an overhead conductor. INDOT says traffic will be temporarily slowed so expect delays in the area.

The Franciscan Health Breast Care Center at Crown Point is welcoming Sean DeSilva, MD, as the new director of the program. DeSilva is a board eligible, fellowship-trained breast radiologist. He is trained in comprehensive diagnostic and interventional breast radiology, including complex MRI-guided interventions, general diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine and emergency radiology. DeSilva completed his fellowship training in advanced breast imaging at Harvard Medical School in Boston, his residency training at the State University of New York in New York City, his internship at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., and his medical degree at Boston University. The Franciscan Health Breast Care

The 16th Annual Hoosier Star vocal competition will take place on Saturday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. at La Porte’s Civic Auditorium located at 1001 Ridge Street . Doors open at 6:00 p.m. (CDT). Ten finalists will compete for the title of Hoosier Star.  New this year is a $15 Pay-Per-View virtual/live-stream option in addition to the standard In-Person admission. Balcony seats are $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under.  All voting will take place online. In-Person patrons may vote via a QR code or website address (URL) to be provided in the show pamphlet the

A cancer drug repurposed to treat malaria has been shown to be nearly 100% effective in helping defeat the disease in just three days, according to the results of a Phase 2 clinical trial. The results of the trial were published Thursday (Aug. 26) in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The trial shows that the addition of the drug Imatinib to the customary malaria therapy enables clearance of all malaria parasites from 90% of patients within 48 hours and from 100% of patients within three days, says Philip Low, Purdue University’s Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of

A quarter of Indiana’s economic output is based in manufacturing, and the transition to becoming data-driven and using artificial intelligence holds the possibility for broad economic impact among manufacturers, who, at this point, are missing a golden opportunity and lagging behind national trends. That is a finding of a Purdue University study, which also found that those not using the advanced technology are not against the idea. Around 36% of manufacturers responding to the study’s survey said they are interested in learning more. “They’re sitting on a very valuable asset that they have to convert into information,” said Ragu Athinarayanan,

When Franciscan Health and Beacon Health System collaborated on a new hospital in La Porte, Tonn and Blank Construction had the challenge of renovating and adding on to the existing Beacon Medical Group facility. That work was recognized as Project of the Year award at the annual award ceremony held in partnership between the Construction Advancement Foundation (CAF) and the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable (NWIBR). The banquet, which celebrates the most outstanding achievements in construction and safety over the past year, was held on Thursday, Aug. 19, at Avalon Manor in Merrillville. “First and foremost, we want to thank the

To accommodate passengers attending University of Notre Dame 2021 home football games, the South Shore Line has announced train service, with South Bend Transpo offering free shuttle bus service between the South Bend International Airport and Notre Dame Stadium. Service for the Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin game at Soldier Field on Sept. 25 will be announced in the coming weeks.  Visit the South Shore Line website for additional information.

The heat continues as another heat advisory is in effect for portions of our area from 11a.m. to 7p.m. central time Thursday. This includes LaPorte, St. Joseph and Starke counties. Heat index values up to 103 expected.  Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur. Clouds with showers and storms may bring some relief from the heat and humidity Thursday. Hot temperatures and high humidities are expected Friday and Saturday with additional heat headlines possible.

Northwest Health has announced the addition of a new cardiovascular & thoracic surgeon to Northwest Medical Group. Izza Rezek, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon, joins cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Walid Khabbaz in Northwest Medical Group at their location on the Northwest Health – Porter campus in Valparaiso. Northwest Health CEO, Ashley Dickinson explained, “With the addition of Dr. Rezek we can continue caring for the increasing number of patients needing cardiothoracic surgery in our region. The incidence of two conditions in particular, lung cancer and heart disease, seem to be increasing and we know if patients can be diagnosed early and receive surgery