Local News

The Indiana State Department of Health’s Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity (DNPA) has released its Active Living Guidebook. Created in collaboration with Health by Design, the guidebook will help community leaders and advocates create more active communities throughout the state. From 2014 to 2018, DNPA worked with Purdue Extension and Health by Design to conduct 46 active living workshops in communities across Indiana. More than 1,800 participants, including city planners and engineers, public health professionals, school administrators and community leaders, attended the workshops and learned how to improve their communities’ infrastructure so residents have more opportunity to be active. According to

Indiana American Water announced late last week that the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has approved a stipulation and settlement agreement with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and several other interested parties regarding the company’s rate request filed in September 2018. Details of the agreement are contained in an order issued on Wednesday, June 26, 2019 by the IURC. During the period covered by the rate request, Indiana American Water invested more than $542 million in its water systems across the state to ensure reliable service to customers. The order includes a 7.9 percent overall increase in operating water

The Indiana State Police is accepting applications for two Regional Dispatcher’s position at the Lowell Regional Dispatch Center which is located at 1550 East 181st Avenue, Lowell. The deadline for applications is Friday, July 12th, 2019. Specific job information can be found online by clicking: https://www.in.gov/isp/3627.htm National Night Out 2019 Valparaiso Neighborhoods Wanted The Valparaiso Police Department is again participating in National Night Out, being held August 6, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. National Night out is a national event, bringing communities and police together under positive conditions, creating an exchange of ideas, and developing a partnership with citizens.

Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) Office of Concurrent Enrollment awarded its first scholarships to area high school students who participated in the concurrent enrollment program. The scholarship recognizes four highly motivated and engaged students wishing to attend PNW. Among the recipients were Nathan Karnezis of Munster, Cameron Wickersham of Westville, Antionette Yasko of La Porte, and Elise Richards of Boone Grove.Students who completed a minimum of 3 dual credit courses in high school and enrolled as full-time PNW students starting this fall semester were eligible. They also needed to have a minimum 3.5 high school GPA.Winners wrote a 500-word essay explaining the

PNW students won sixth and ninth place honors in a field of over 50 rovers in NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2019, held at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, April 12-13. The annual event features an engineering design challenge and promotes research and development of new technology for crewed space missions to other worlds.The international competition included college teams from 20 U.S. States, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, as well as Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, Dominican Republic and India. PNW entered two rovers in the competition. Rover #1 finished in sixth place and Rover #2 came

Last week, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) introduced the Investing in Main Street Act to increase investment in small businesses by permitting banks to invest up to 15 percent of their capital in Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC). The dramatic increase in capital for the SBIC program would be deployed to domestic small businesses at no cost to the taxpayer. SBICs have invested more than $451 million dollars in 135 Hoosier small businesses over the last ten years. 

The Barker Mansion in Michigan City will be having their first Behind-the-Scenes-Tour since the Barker Mansion's extensive renovations during the spring. View the basement, closets, and former servants’ quarters of the basement, first and second floors. Cost is $15 for adults and $10 for youth and seniors. Tickets may be purchased on Eventbrite.com or by calling the Mansion at (219) 873-1520. 

Teens in grades 6-12 are invited to a new offering at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Michigan City: an overnight lock-in. The free event takes place July 16-17, beginning at 6 pm on the 16th and ending at 6 am on the 17th. Teens of all faith backgrounds are welcome, though programming will rely heavily on Catholic teachings.Activities include a bonfire and s’mores, SoulCore prayers and stretching, packaging baby supplies for the hospital, crafts, a movie with popcorn, breakfast prepared by the Knights of Columbus, a sunrise walk and more. Opportunities for growth in faith include a Holy

With the weather finally starting to resemble summer, it’s a perfect time for a fun holiday weekend.According to AAA projections, a record number of folks – around 49 million – are expected to travel for the four-day, Fourth of July holiday weekend. Of those, more than 41 million are expected to travel by vehicle. Those numbers would represent a four percent increase over the 2018 holiday.Over the holiday, INDOT is lifting restrictions and closures where possible, but in some locations, it’s simply not safe to do so. Plan your route by visiting indot.carsprogram.org to see where you can expect to

The Indiana Poet Laureate represents Indiana and the art of poetry through the development and implementation of programming to the education community and general public. The Poet Laureate makes formal presentations at various educational facilities and events, pursues individual initiatives to advance the knowledge and appreciation of poetry, and offers advice to the IAC regarding ways to further the art of poetry in Indiana.Nominations for Indiana Poet Laureate should be limited to one, single-page cover letter and a resume or CV detailing the nominee’s qualifications and accomplishments. No additional materials should be included with the initial nomination. Successful nominees must

Yesterday, Attorney General Curtis Hill asked Hoosiers to watch for car dealers posing as private sellers on Craigslist — and to alert the Office of the Attorney General if and when they come across such listings.Craigslist.com allows a seller to post either as a dealer or as a private party under “by owner.” Consumers are then able to search either category according to their preferences. Dealers are prohibited by Craigslist from advertising under “by owner.” Dealers who post misleading ads by posing as private sellers often run afoul of Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.The Office of the Attorney General is

State health officials have confirmed the presence of West Nile virus in mosquitoes in two counties and are urging Hoosiers to take steps to protect themselves from the insects and the diseases they can carry. As of July 1, mosquitoes in Elkhart and Clark counties have tested positive for West Nile virus. No human cases of West Nile virus disease have been detected so far in 2019; however, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) expects to see increased West Nile activity throughout the state as the season progresses. To see the latest results of ISDH’s mosquito surveillance, go to https://gis.in.gov/apps/ISDH/Arbo/. To

In accordance with HEA 1001, marketplace facilitators must register and collect Indiana sales, county innkeeper's and food and beverage taxes (if applicable) effective July 1, 2019. For more information you may visit DOR's Marketplace Facilitator web page.

United Way Regional Volunteer Center is seeking volunteers to help local nonprofits during its annual Day of Caring event on Friday, August 9. As the largest single-day volunteer event across Northwest Indiana, Day of Caring brings together nonprofits, families, local businesses, municipalities, churches, civic groups and individuals to change lives one project at a time by helping local nonprofits with facility improvements and client-support projects. United Way is looking for more than 600 volunteers to help with 30 service projects. Volunteers can choose from activities such as painting, landscaping, building, cleaning, hosting picnics and taking kids fishing. Volunteers who are

The La Porte Police Department would like to welcome two new officers to the department. Officer Ryan Allen and Officer Zach Feldmeier were sworn in on July 1st. by Chief Owens. They will be training around the department until going to the academy in September.

PNW students won sixth and ninth place honors in a field of over 50 rovers in NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2019, held at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, April 12-13. The annual event features an engineering design challenge and promotes research and development of new technology for crewed space missions to other worlds.The international competition included college teams from 20 U.S. States, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, as well as Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, Dominican Republic and India. PNW entered two rovers in the competition. Rover #1 finished in sixth place and Rover #2 came

The Michigan City Fire Department are reminding families and others to be smart, safe, and responsible when lighting and shooting off fireworks.  The Department further stated, “The Michigan City annual Fireworks will be on July 4th beginning at dusk at Washington Park.  If you are planning your own fireworks display please follow these safety reminders and remember that by Local ordinance fireworks may only be used between 9:00 am and 11:00 pm.  Please be considerate of neighbors and remember that fireworks may only be set off on the user’s property, unless given consent otherwise.  Never allow young children to play with or ignite

Last week, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) introduced the Investing in Main Street Act to increase investment in small businesses by permitting banks to invest up to 15 percent of their capital in Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC). The dramatic increase in capital for the SBIC program would be deployed to domestic small businesses at no cost to the taxpayer. SBICs have invested more than $451 million dollars in 135 Hoosier small businesses over the last ten years. 

The Barker Mansion in Michigan City will be having their first Behind-the-Scenes-Tour since the Barker Mansion's extensive renovations during the spring. View the basement, closets, and former servants’ quarters of the basement, first and second floors. Cost is $15 for adults and $10 for youth and seniors. Tickets may be purchased on Eventbrite.com or by calling the Mansion at (219) 873-1520.

The Mayor’s Office has released a statement on the inspection that occurred on June 23rd at Local Option. The statement reads,“In the early morning of June 23rd,, the Indiana State Excise Police requested the assistance of the Michigan City Police Department to accompany them to Local Options [sic] Bar for an inspection. Since that inspection, the Mayor’s Office has been receiving numerous questions and concerns regarding that inspection based on a video that was posted by a patron on social media.  The Mayor’s Office is investigating this matter. In addition, the Indiana State Excise Police, who were the lead agency