Local News

La Porte County SkillUp funded program provides coursework, lab work and real-world experiences The SkillUp program and A.K. Smith Career Center provide trained interns and employees in the field of air compression and vacuums to manufacturing facilities throughout LaPorte county and neighboring communities. Located in Michigan City, the A.K. Smith Career Center provides students an opportunity to learn all about manufacturing through classroom, lab and real-world experiences. The program will help high school students and those enrolled in Adult Education to be better prepared for employment in a technical work environment. “Every high school in LaPorte County has the opportunity

In alignment with the Governors’ orders, Franciscan Health Fitness Centers has re-opened with phases for safety. The phased strategy implements specific measures to ensure the safety and well-being of members and staff. All three Clubs have now re-opened, with the Chicago Heights location being the latest on June 15th.  The Chesterton and Schererville Clubs, following the Indiana Governor’s guidance, are in Phase Two and are offering limited land and aquatic Group Exercise classes. The Locker Rooms and the walking/running tracks are now available for Member’s use.  In the Chicago Heights Club, currently in Phase One or their re-opening strategy, Members

On Friday night, at 10:00 PM, Captain Andy Hynek had just started his shift as the Midnight Shift Supervisor. At 10:02 PM, he notified the La Porte County Regional E-911 Dispatch Center that he had been involved in a motor vehicle crash at US 20 and CR 450 East. Investigators and deputies determined Captain Hynek was traveling west on US 20 at CR 450 East in his agency issued blue 2017 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor. A white 2020 Mack tandem axle truck, driven by 50 year old James V. Futch of Dallas, Texas, was traveling south on CR 450 East.

May Indiana Employment Report - All key sectors grew in the month of MayIndiana’s unemployment rate dropped to 12.3 percent for May and is lower than the national rate of 13.3 percent. 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 increase of 110,780 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 156,903 unemployed residents and an increase of 267,683 employed residents. Indiana's total labor

Adult Education and Learning Centers of Northwest Indiana will be providing scholarships to cover the $95 cost of High School Equivalency (HSE) testing for adult learners enrolled in their programs throughout Northwest Indiana. Funding for the scholarships comes from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, and serves as an incentive for individuals to complete their high school equivalency, making them eligible for better paying jobs and entry into training.  “We are delighted to provide these scholarships,” said Kitty Meyer, adult education manager at the Center of Workforce Innovations (CWI). Meyer said in order to qualify for free testing scholarships, students

State Representative Pat Boy (D-Michigan City) today announced she was assigned to three interim study committees. Boy will be serving on the following: Interim Study Committee on Elections; the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations; and the Code Revision Commission. "I'm looking forward to re-joining and collaborating again with my colleagues in the Indiana General Assembly," Boy said. "Our time spent learning, listening to testimony and debating will be the starting point for legislative change on major issues affecting the Hoosier State. As always, I'm honored to serve Indiana House District 9 and plan to do just that this summer and

Chief Dion Campbell and his administrative team have recently developed a new way in which MCPD will handle internal investigations. Previously, if MCPD received an internal complaint, the complaint would be reviewed and assigned to one of the Assistant Chiefs and/or a Supervisor. This week, Chief Campbell rolled out the Internal Affairs Investigation Committee (IAIC) to investigate officer complaints received by MCPD. The IAIC is comprised of three (3) sworn/active members of MCPD. These members are appointed by the Chief of Police to investigate most internal complaints that are received. The exception would be those investigations in which Chief Campbell

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 389 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories. That brings to 41,746 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total. Intensive care unit and ventilator capacity remains steady. As of today, nearly 37 percent of ICU beds and more than 81 percent of ventilators are available. A total of 2,327 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 23 over the

Governor Eric J. Holcomb and fitness icon Jake Steinfeld announced the three Indiana schools that were selected to each receive a $100,000 DON’T QUIT! fitness center from the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils (NFGFC). The NFGFC Review Committee has named Perry Meridian Middle School in Indianapolis, Martin T. Krueger Middle School in Michigan City and Southside Middle School in Muncie for demonstrating leadership in getting and keeping their students fit. The NFGFC seeks to encourage and reward innovation in the field of youth fitness by awarding fitness centers to schools that use new and unique methods to promote student

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 584 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories. That brings to 41,438 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total. Intensive care unit and ventilator capacity remains steady. As of today, nearly 37 percent of ICU beds and nearly 82 percent of ventilators are available. A total of 2,304 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 15 over the previous

The Social Security Administration announced the first of several steps the agency is taking to improve the public’s experience on its website.  The newly redesigned retirement benefits portal, at www.socialsecurity.gov/benefits/retirement, will help millions of people prepare for and apply for retirement.  “We are working hard to continue improving our website to provide people with clear, helpful information and easy access to our online services,” said Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security.  “Our new retirement portal is more user-friendly and easier to navigate, whether someone is ready to learn about, apply for, or manage their retirement benefits.” The redesigned portal will make it easier

Results from the second phase of a scientific study of statewide random testing aimed at measuring the spread of the novel coronavirus in Indiana show fewer active infections and a greater number of people testing positive for antibodies. In its second phase, the study -- a collaboration between the Indiana State Department of Health and the Fairbanks School of Public Health -- tested more than 3,600 Hoosiers between June 3 and June 8 for viral infections and antibodies of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease. This number includes more than 2,700 people who were randomly selected and almost

RE-OPENING OF CITY HALL & PUBLIC MEETING PROTOCOL We will be opening City Hall to the public on a limited basis beginning Monday July 6th Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the City has carefully monitored national, state, and local data.  In addition, the City has followed Governor Holcomb’s Orders and suggested plan of action regarding COVID-19 to insure a safe work and meeting environment for our valued employees, Council, and the citizens of Michigan City. The City has devised a plan after balancing the need to provide a safe workplace for employees while attending to the needs of visitors for permits,

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has issued an Air Quality Action Day and is forecasting high ozone levels for Thursday, June 18, 2020, in the following areas:   North Central Indiana – St. Joseph, ElkhartNortheast Indiana – Allen, HuntingtonNorthwest Indiana – Lake, Porter, LaPorteWest Central Indiana – Vigo Central Indiana – Marion, Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Delaware, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Monroe, Morgan and Shelby  IDEM encourages everyone to help reduce ozone by making simple changes to their daily habits. You can: Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportationAvoid using the drive-through and combine errands into one tripAvoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn

The Indiana Department of Transportation announces that a project to reconstruct the bridge deck of Broadway/State Road 53 over I-80/94 will begin Monday, June 22 until mid September. State Road 53 will be reduced to two lanes. During phase one of the project, the northbound lanes will be closed, and the southbound lanes will be converted to two-way traffic.

American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at the LaPorte County Annex Building (Jail) this Friday from 9AM-3PM. For an appointment call Barb Mossman at 219-326-6808 ext. 2409, the American Red Cross at 800-RED-CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org, sponsor code “laporteannex”.

As the weather gets warmer and 4th of July gets closer, MCPD receives an overabundance of firework related calls for service. MCPD would like to remind everyone that fireworks can only be discharged by persons 18+ years old and only during set dates and times outlined in city ordinance 54-231. Inside of the corporate limits of Michigan City, fireworks can only be discharged on the following dates and times: ▪️June 29th-July 3rd from 5:00 p.m. until 2 hours after sunset ▪️July 4th from 10:00 a.m. until midnight ▪️July 5th-9th from 5:00 p.m. until 2 hours after sunset ▪️10:00 AM on

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is issuing a fraud alert to notify those who have filed for unemployment insurance benefits in 2020 that they need to protect their personal information from potential scammers. The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General has discovered that scammers are sending emails in an effort to steal claimants’ passwords, account numbers, and/or Social Security numbers. With this information they can gain access to email, bank, or other accounts. The scammers are sending emails using the names of companies or individuals familiar to claimants. They use familiar icons, folder names, and programs

On June 5, 2020, the United States Department of Labor notified the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) that Indiana has triggered “on” Extended Benefits (EB). The EB program provides federal reimbursement to the state for up to an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits. EB took effect on June 7, 2020.   EB is triggered during different periods of high unemployment. EB is available to workers who have exhausted regular unemployment insurance benefits during periods of high unemployment and are calculated per state. Indiana’s unemployment rate currently exceeds the five percent threshold to trigger the extension. Determination of “on” and

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 533 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories. That brings to 40,430 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total. Intensive care unit and ventilator capacity remain steady. As of today, more than 41 percent of ICU beds and more than 83 percent of ventilators are available. A total of 2,251 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 11 over