Local News

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 464 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 4,411 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total. A total of 127 Hoosiers have died to date. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days. To date, 22,652 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 19,800 on Saturday. Marion County had the most

On April 3, 2020, at approximately 1:55 PM, deputies were dispatched to the 1400 east block of US Highway 6, in rural Union Township, reference a personal injury crash involving multiple vehicles.  Deputies arrived and discovered that a motorcycle, a truck and two passenger vehicles were all involved.  A crash investigation was completed by deputies.A passenger vehicle, driven eastbound on U.S. 6 by Thomas P. NELSEN (39 YOA) of Knox, Indiana, crossed the center line and collided with a truck, driven by Joseph D. Davis (33 YOA) of LaPorte, in the westbound lane of US 6.  A passenger vehicle, driven

The NB and SB passing lanes on U.S. 31 between the Indiana Toll Road and the Michigan state line will be restricted beginning on or after Monday, April 6. This restriction is the first phase of a project to reconstruct U.S. 31 and will be to construct median crossovers. 12 ft. driving lanes will be available. No wide loads are permitted. This restriction will last for approximately two weeks. After the crossovers are complete, the SB lanes will be converted to two-way traffic while construction is completed on the NB lanes.

Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) Commissioner Peter L. Lacy announced 6 BMV branches will be open by appointment only beginning Monday, April 6 to process new Commercial Learner’s Permits (CLP), new Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL), and upgrade/downgrade for the CDL to add the tank vehicle or hazardous materials endorsement credential transactions. This decision was made to support the current critical need to increase the number of new licensed commercial truck drivers on the road delivering supplies and to aid in the start of agricultural season in our state. Appointments will be available Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to

Chief of Police Dion T. Campbell, Assistant Chief David Cooney, and Assistant Chief Jillian Ashley are honored to recognize several Michigan City Police Department Officers with awards related to exceptionalwork that has been produced over the past several months. Each of these Officers that received an award were nominated by their fellow officers or supervisors. Normally, awards are distributed to Officers during theregular MCPD Commission Meeting, however; considering the current COVID-19 epidemic, these awards were presented to the Officers at the police station, with social distancing protocols in mind. Check out WIMS' FACEBOOK for the whole release, stories and pictures.

Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced Indiana has been granted a federal Major Disaster Declaration, which provides funds to help communities recover from COVID-19. The funding can be used to cover costs of emergency needs including crisis counseling, food programs, temporary shelters, protective equipment, safety resources and personnel. The Governor also signed an executive order today to extend the public health emergency by an additional 30 days – to May 5. The executive order is posted here: https://www.in.gov/gov/2384.htm. The first public health emergency was declared on March 6 and allows the state to increase coordination across all levels of government in the state’s

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced that more than 152,000 Indiana households will receive additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits when April distributions begin this Sunday. The additional funds are intended to help Hoosiers obtain food and support for their families while Indiana responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act gives states the option to provide SNAP households with the maximum SNAP allotment, which is based on household size. SNAP households which are not currently receiving the maximum allotment will receive additional benefits which bring their allotment amount to the maximum. Households already

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) announced that 408 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 3,437 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total. A total of 102 Hoosiers have died to date. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days. To date, 17,835 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 16,285 on Thursday. Marion County had the most new

 La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody today issued an executive order limiting the number of customers permitted in retail businesses to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. “This was a sobering week for our community, as we had our very first coronavirus-related death in LaPorte County,” Dermody said. “The number of confirmed cases continues to rise in Northwest Indiana, and they are only going to get higher if we don’t take action now.”  Under the executive order, customers entering a store within the city are limited to one person per family. Additionally, retailers are required to limit the number of

Governor Eric J. Holcomb on Thursday signed an executive order requiring all K-12 schools in Indiana to provide instruction via remote learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year and outlines options for districts to continue education during the fight against COVID-19. Click here for a link to the executive order: https://www.in.gov/gov/2384.htm To complete the school year, all schools previously received a 20-day waiver to reduce the number of required in-person or remote instruction days to 160. Schools must continue to provide instruction via remote learning until they complete either: 160 instructional days or at least 20 additional days of remote

In March of this year, the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation awarded 52 grants totaling $641,310 to Michigan City Area charitable organizations. Since inception in 1997, the Enrichment Corporation has granted over $16,500,000 in assistance to charitable organizations that directly benefit the people of the Michigan City area. Awards are only given to organizations that submit complete and timely grant applications. All applications must include evidence that their organization is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service to be a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. All applicants must perform their charitable service within the boundaries of the Michigan City Area School

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) and Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) announced that NIPSCO has created an endowment to establish a professorship in Engineering Simulation. Chenn Zhou will be the first to serve in the newly endowed position. In recognition of her scholarship and extraordinary contributions to the university, the Purdue University Board of Trustees has named Zhou the NIPSCO Distinguished Professor of Engineering Simulation in the College of Engineering and Sciences. She is the first faculty member at Purdue Northwest to achieve the distinguished professor title. Zhou, who has been with the university since 1994, currently is a professor

On Thursday afternoon at approximately 1:50 p.m. a black 2016 Toyota Rav4 was traveling east on I-80/94 at the 6.3 mile-marker. This is near the Burr St. exit. For unknown reasons, the Toyota struck the guardrail attenuator head on. The annenuator divides the Burr St. exit ramps from I-80. The impact caused the driver of the vehicle to be ejected from the vehicle. The black Toyota then struck a 2019 Freightliner. The driver of the Freightliner was not injured. The driver of the Toyota died at the scene. Family has been notified. The driver has been identified as 46 year

  Wanatah, IN…… In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the hardships that it is causing for families, children, and seniors, Kankakee Valley REMC’s Operation Round Up Trust organization recently made donations to area food pantries totaling $20,000. During this unprecedented time, the donation to each pantry will allow them to continue the fight against hunger in their community.  With schools closed and lives disrupted due to the loss of jobs, food pantries are seeing a spike in demand by area residents in need. During this critical time, local food pantries are the lifeline for so many families when it comes to

State Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) encourages Hoosier workers and small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to access recently expanded state and federal resources for help. Under Indiana's temporary "stay-at-home" order, many businesses deemed not essential have laid off staff or cannot pay employees while they are shut down. To help, Gov. Eric Holcomb expanded unemployment coverage to those impacted, including Hoosiers whose work hours were reduced, those under medical quarantine and employees who cannot continue to work because of lack of child care options. "Indiana is making it easier for those in need to access vital assistance to get them

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 474 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 3,039 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total. Seventy-eight Hoosiers have died to date. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days. To date, 16,285 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 14,375 on Wednesday. Marion County had the most new cases, at

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) announced that 409 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 2,565 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total. Sixty-five Hoosiers have died to date. Deaths have occurred over multiple days and are reported based on when data are received by ISDH. To date, 14,375 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 13,373 on Tuesday. Marion County had the most new cases, at

As Hoosiers await federal stimulus checks designed to help mitigate financial effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they should be prepared for phone calls from scammers posing as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents, Attorney General Curtis Hill said. Some Indiana residents have reported receiving such calls, in which scammers attempt to obtain the personal and financial information of would-be victims. Complaints about IRS imposter scams are a common concern reported to the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. In this case, the only new twist is that the scammers are tying their calls to the anticipated relief payments.

Shirley Heinze Land Trust announced that it has acquired an additional 50 acres of land within its Little Calumet River Conservation Area. The newly acquired property is located in Pine Township, adjacent to the organization’s Dale B. Engquist Nature Preserve and the Indiana DNR’s Reynolds Creek Gamebird Habitat Area. Together with Indiana Dunes National Park’s Heron Rookery Unit, nearly 2,000 acres of contiguous land are now protected at this site, providing significant wildlife habitat, including for endangered species like the Indiana bat. The parcel is mostly agricultural land, with some forested wetlands, emergent marsh, and surrounding upland woods. Its acquisition

Now through April 7th, there will be no parking on both sides of Pine St. from U.S. 12 to 11th Street. During this time Rieth and Riley will be honoring a contract from 2019 to mill and pave the roadway. Please use extra caution in this area as there will be lane restrictions throughout the course of this process.