Local News

On Wednesday, August 21, the Judicial Nominating Commission voted to reappoint Loretta Rush as Indiana’s Chief Justice. All current Supreme Court Justices—Steven David, Mark Massa, Geoffrey Slaughter, and Christopher Goff—reflected on the attributes important in a Chief Justice and told the Commission Chief Justice Rush should remain the judicial branch leader. Rush was appointed to the high court in 2012 and was first selected as Chief Justice in 2014. During the past five years, she has overseen the development of statewide e-filing, the continued implementation of a state case management system, the certification of over 100 problem-solving courts, the creation

Yesterday just after at 4 p.m., Valparaiso Police responded to Kentucky Fried Chicken, at 2402 Calumet Ave., in reference to the report of a male bleeding from his hand. It was soon learned a male had been “stabbed” by an employee who had been terminated just prior to the incident. Twenty-six year old Joshua Moser, of Valparaiso arrived for his shift at KFC, when he was advised of the decision by management. Moser soon attempted to aggressively approach a member of the management staff, with a knife in his hand, and was subdued by other employees. During this time, Moser

Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer is proud to announce that the Michigan City Sanitary District (District) will be receiving a grant of over $171,000 from the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Committee to help fund the purchase of three new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered Dump Trucks. The funds supporting this award are provided through Volkswagen’s commitments in a national consent decree. These new clean burning CNG Dump trucks will emit very low amounts of greenhouse gas, especially as compared to diesel powered vehicles. According to Michael Kuss, General Manager of the Sanitary District, the District currently operates eleven CNG

There will be a pair of brief, 20-minute road closures Friday morning at the SR 2 and U.S. 20 "dogbone" intersection project while crews set overhead sign structures. One will be westbound and the other eastbound, both taking place separately between 9 a.m. and noon. INDOT is telling driver to avoid the area during this timeframe if possible, or expect delays.

Chesterton Police have received questions regarding a recent Facebook post about a citizen being pulled over on I-94 between Michigan City and Chesterton by two males potentially impersonating police officers. Police did speak with the citizen about the incident and referred them to the Indiana State Police because the Indiana State Police has jurisdiction of I-94. The Indiana State Police are actively investigating the incident and will release more information when it becomes available. Police would like to remind everyone of the Indiana state laws regarding police officers and traffic stops. A police officer MUST be in a fully marked

Indiana American Water has issued the following statement regarding a chemical spill Tuesday morning into Burns Ditch at the U.S. Steel facility in Portage, Indiana:“Due to a chemical spill on Tuesday morning, August 20, 2019 into Burns Ditch at a U.S. Steel facility in Portage, Ind., Indiana American Water has shut down its Ogden Dunes treatment facility as a precautionary measure after being notified by representatives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) of the spill earlier today. Indiana American Water uses water from two Lake Michigan intakes as source water in northwest Indiana, including the facility at Ogden

On Tuesday the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) broke ground on a new facility in La Porte, IN. The structure will become HFL’s new headquarters and will house a Conference & Learning Center. The new building will be located 1.7 miles southeast of the current HFL office and will serve as a great resource for the Foundation and surrounding community.The Center will be 12,815 square feet and will be completely accessible. The site, located just south of Fishtrap Lake, will be constructed using natural materials which will complement the land. There is even a previously established hiking trail, the

Rev your engines and get ready to join Rittenhouse Village at Portage and the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce for the 5th Annual Car Show Fundraiser. This car extravaganza will be on Thursday, August 22nd from 4:00 - 7:00 pm at 6235 Sterling Creek Road Portage, Indiana. There will be vintage cars, music and hilarious entertainment from comedian Joe Zirconia. Refreshments and community tours of Rittenhouse Senior Living will be available.  The Vintagious Gals will also be available for photo opportunities. Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce. Awards will be awarded by Rittenhouse Village

The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office is conducting school bus safety patrols through August 30th.  Recently the Sheriff’s Office was awarded a Stop-Arm Violation Enforcement (SAVE) grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).  Additional deputies will be working SAVE during peak times when school buses are loading and unloading students across La Porte County.  The high visibility enforcement project will specifically target speeding violations, aggressive drivers and school bus stop-arm violations.  SAVE is a traffic safety grant that is funded with monies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and administered by ICJI.  For more information related to traffic safety

Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) Social Work program earned its initial four-year accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the sole accrediting body for social work education in the United States. The accreditation allows PNW graduates to enter a master's degree program with advanced standing, qualifies them to sit for the exam for the bachelor’s degree (BSW) level licensure in the State of Indiana, and puts them in an excellent position to work toward the master’s degree (MSW) licensure in a shorter period of time.

Visit Barker Mansion for the first installment in the 2019-2020 History on Tap lecture series. The guest speaker for September is Matt Kubik, retired architecture professor and church historian for Trinity Episcopal Church in Michigan City. He will facilitate a lecture titled: “Rome: The Politics of Architecture.” The talk begins at 6pm on Thursday, September 5th and is held in the theatre room at the Barker Mansion. The lecture is free and open to the public. Root beer and ginger beer will be served. History on Tap takes place on the first Thursday of the month from September-May. For more

According to the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office there has recently been a spike in the number of burglaries to unlocked garages and other buildings on properties across La Porte County. Members of the Criminal Investigations Division are urging residents to lock all buildings and any vehicles contained within.Anyone with information related to these burglaries is asked to contact either Detective James Lear (219-326-7700, ext. 2410) or Detective Aaron Banic (219-326-7700, ext. 2407).

Indiana American Water has issued the following statement regarding a chemical spill Tuesday morning into Burns Ditch at the U.S. Steel facility in Portage, Indiana: “Due to a chemical spill on Tuesday morning, August 20, 2019 into Burns Ditch at a U.S. Steel facility in Portage, Ind., Indiana American Water has shut down its Ogden Dunes treatment facility as a precautionary measure after being notified by representatives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) of the spill earlier today. Indiana American Water uses water from two Lake Michigan intakes as source water in northwest Indiana, including the facility at

The Indiana Department of Education announced income eligibility guidelines, including household size, for the free and reduced-price school meals and milk programs. The National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Special Milk programs were created to support students unable to pay the full price for meals or milk. The guidelines are effective until June 30, 2020. Children from households that meet federal guidelines are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and milk. To apply for free or reduced-price benefits, households must complete the application form provided to all homes. One application should be submitted for all students enrolled in the school

The right two lanes of eastbound I-94 are closed for installation of a new bridge joint. The bridge is located over U.S. 20 just east of the Indiana Toll Road and the Lake/Porter county line. Two lanes of traffic are being maintained in the left lane and shoulder, but motorists should expect backups and delays. Work is anticipated to be complete by August 25th.

Indiana’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.4 percent for July and remains lower than the national rate of 3.7 percent. The last time Indiana's unemployment rate was at 3.4 percent was April 2018. The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force. Indiana’s labor force had a net decrease of 6,608 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 1,274 unemployed residents and a decrease of 5,334 employed residents. Indiana's total labor

Late last week, Attorney General Curtis Hill expressed continued resolve to hold Purdue Pharma accountable for its alleged role in contributing to the state’s opioid crisis after a court rejected the company’s motion to dismiss Indiana’s pending lawsuit. In its motion to dismiss, Purdue Pharma argued among other things that Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act does not apply to the company because it is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. On Aug. 12, a Marion Superior Court judge rejected entirely the company’s arguments for dismissal. Attorney General Hill filed the state’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma on Nov. 14,

Educators from all across La Porte County got a high quality opportunity to learn how to integrate technology and computer science into their classroom. The Unity Foundation coordinated this first ever event so teachers could be close to home and attend for free. The Summer Teacher Tech Conference was held at Purdue University Northwest Westville campus on July 30 & 31 and featured knowledgeable, interactive sessions. Local educators, Nextech, Edge Factor, and La Porte County Public Library provided concurrent training sessions with hands - on materials, while representatives from Sullair, Arconic, and Ivy Tech shared the types of jobs that

Per the Ogden Dunes Town Council, the Ogden Dunes beach will remain closed until further notice. The most recent tests of chemicals present in the water at the beach continue to exceed “acceptable” levels. Testing will continue and town residents will be kept abreast of the beach status. Please comply with the beach closure for everyone’s safety.

The Duneland Chamber of Commerce is assisting Chesterton High School in attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest field trip on Tuesday, September 17 at Indiana Dunes National Park from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. They are seeking 52 “Stewards” to meet the requirements for the record.Stewards will be required to go through a background check and attend the entire field trip. Each Steward will be assigned 50 field trip participants and will be required to provide a written statement to Guinness after the field trip. Stewards cannot be employees of the Duneland School Corporation or have