Local News

Four months after dedicating the first Safe Haven Baby Box at a hospital in Indiana, Franciscan Health celebrated the installation of a baby box at its second hospital. The formal blessing on Wednesday at Franciscan Health Hammond also marked the first Safe Haven Baby Box in Lake County. Like the one at Franciscan Health Michigan City, the baby box in Hammond is aimed at preventing the death of an unwanted infant. The box is available to new mothers who wish to utilize Indiana’s Safe Haven Law, which enables a person to give up an unwanted infant anonymously without fear of

After closing thousands of stores over the years, and nearly six months after emerging from bankruptcy with about 425 stores, the two retailers' parent company announced Tuesday that 21 Sears and five Kmart stores will close in late October. According to the statement, liquidation sales are expected to begin around Aug. 15, and eligible associates "will be offered the same number of weeks of severance as offered to employees of Sears Holdings Corporation prior to that company’s Chapter 11 filing in October 2018.” This is the first list of closures the company has posted on its corporate website since Dec.

The South Shore Line plans to periodically bus weekday (Monday-Friday) passengers between Carroll Ave. and the South Bend International Airport while they upgrade track and segments of overhead wire between Michigan City and South Bend. The temporary busing periods will occur Monday, Aug. 12, through Friday, Aug. 16. During this time, weekday train service between Carroll Ave. and South Bend will be suspended, with buses arriving and departing with passengers to match the published Monday-Friday train schedule between Carroll Ave. and South Bend. Busing availability at the South Bend Airport will be limited, therefore westbound passengers are encouraged to board at Carroll Ave.

In the town of Porter, Waverly Rd. at US Hwy 20 is closed until August 16th every morning from 7 am to 3:30 pm for NIPSCO pole replacement. The first couple of days, Waverly north of 20 will be closed up to Dollar General. After those poles are replaced, 3 poles on the south side of US Hwy 20 at Waverly will be replaced. Detour signs will be posted.

Portage Police say they have received numerous complaints about solicitation phone calls from an "Indiana Pro Services" company claiming they're aware that there's been a lot of damage to roofs in our area and asking people "if they're going to be home tomorrow". When they were questioned, the person calling would get pushy and agitated and then hang up. The caller asked numerous times if the person they called would be home the next day. The numbers they are calling from have been phished to appear like local numbers, one of the numbers even came up as one of the City

In the Ogden Dunes area, Norfolk Southern will be closing the railroad crossing at US Highway 12 & Hillcrest Road, today and Friday. ODPD is advising the public to use the US Steel Bridge to access town. 

Volunteers can still help out the DNR by counting turkeys the see. Each summer, wildlife biologists and citizen scientists count the number of young wild turkeys (poults) with turkey hens in what are termed “brood surveys.” These surveys provide the DNR with information about turkey poult survival and informs wild turkey management. The survey will close Aug. 31st. Remember to report your observations at on.IN.gov/turkeybrood. 

What had been the largest public freshwater lake in Indiana without a public access site now has one. The DNR received a donation of land adjacent to Hudson Lake in LaPorte County in 2018 for the development of a boat launch. The DeGroote family kindly donated the site, which is dedicated to a family member that lost his life in the early 20th century.  The Division of Fish & Wildlife has prioritized Hudson Lake for public access development for more than 20 years. The limited availability of land surrounding the lake made it a difficult task to complete, but thanks to

U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, will host a series of Academy Day events to serve as informational sessions for current high school students interested in attending one of the U.S. Military Service Academies. For complete details on the academy nomination process,Locally there will be an Academy Day on Thursday, August 29 in South Bend, from  5:30 - 7:30 PM. at the Indiana National Guard Armed Forces Reserve Center, 1901 Kemble Ave.

At the I-94/I-65 interchange in Lake County, one ramp will reopen and a second is anticipated to close tonight. The ramp connecting westbound I-94 to southbound I-65 should reopen Wednesday night. At that point, crews will move on to close the ramp connecting eastbound I-94 to northbound I-65. That ramp is expected to reopen by the end of August.All this work is part of a bridge overlay contract in the area.

The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office is joining about 230 law-enforcement agencies across Indiana and thousands nationwide in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization. From mid-August through Labor Day, police will be working overtime to arrest impaired drivers. Expect to see increased sobriety checkpoints, roving patrols and saturation patrols.The annual Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement campaign includes the Labor Day weekend, with thousands upon thousands of Hoosier families taking to their cars for end-of-summer barbecues, football games, lakes and pool parties. Sadly, it is also one of the deadliest times of year for impaired-driving deaths.With all

In an update to the June 23rd fatal shooting of 27 year old Brandon D. Williams of Niles, Michigan, 28 year old Tyler Crawford has been identified as a person of interest. The shooting occurred outside Kelly's Pub in South Bend. The County Metro Homicide Unit would like to speak to him regarding this investigation.Crawford has links to South Bend and Michigan City. Crawford was identified as being present at the time of the murder and is sought for questioning.Crawford has an outstanding warrant for an unrelated matter.Investigators are asking that anyone with information regarding this incident, or anyonewith information

To accommodate passengers attending Chicago Bears preseason home football games, the South Shore Line is planning select train stops at Metra’s 18th Street Station, which connects passengers directly to the Soldier Field entrance via a pedestrian walkway.In addition to regular service to nearby Museum Campus/11th St., the following trains will also serve 18th St. Station for preseason games:For the home games at 7pm Thursday, Aug. 8, and at 7pm Thursday, Aug. 29:Train #220 arrives at 18th St. at 5:27p, and Train #20 at 6:06p.Following the game, Train #123 will depart 18th Street at 11:06p, and Train #101 will depart at

The Indiana Region of the American Red Cross, with the help of its partners, reached at least 26 lives saved in Indiana through the national Red Cross Home Fire Campaign.Since its launch in 2014, the Home Fire Campaign saved at least 610 lives across the country and made more than 770,000 homes safer through efforts to reduce deaths and injuries from home fires, which take an average of seven lives each day in the U.S.The number of lives saved in Indiana that can be attributed to the Home Fire Campaign jumped from 17 to 26, after the following fires resolved

On US 421 In Michigan City, patching is taking place ahead of a resurfacing project between I-94 and U.S. 20. Work is taking place in the outside lanes until approximately Monday before shifting to the inside lanes. Then, milling and paving operations will begin. 

The Valparaiso Police are investigating the report of several vehicles being damaged due to fire, at 105 Bush St., on August 4th. Officers responded to the location at 12:20 a.m. locating several fires having been ignited within vehicles. The Valparaiso Fire Department also responded to assist in extinguishing the fires. In total, nine vehicles sustained damage as a result of the multiple fires. The estimated loss due to the damage is $20,000—$30,000, among various victims. If you have any information as to who is responsible for this incident, please contact the Valparaiso Police Department at 219-462-2135. Information can also be texted

On Monday evening just before 7:30, officers of the Michigan City Police Department were dispatched to the intersection of Jackson and Michigan, in reference to a hit and run accident involving a pedestrian.  Officers located a female that was severely injured being administered CPR  by a bystander as the first officer, took over administering first aid. It was initially reported through witnesses at the scene that a Cadillac struck the pedestrian as she crossed the roadway in the crosswalk. The driver of the Cadillac did not stop and fled the scene. Through witnesses, the Cadillac was followed, and information was given directly

Lubeznik Arts Festival (LAF), one of Michigan City’s summer highlights, is fast approaching. The 2019 festival will take place on Saturday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the grounds of Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA). Here’s a sneak peak at some of this year’s festival highlights. Thanks to a generous grant by the Michigan City Public Art Committee (MAC), veterans will once again receive free admission to LAF in 2019. Qualifying individuals may either identify themselves at the festival gates or stop by LCA ahead of time to pick up a special

A Purdue Extension Master Gardener training program will be offered in La Porte County beginning Thursday, September 5th, and continuing until December 19 on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. Central Time. The classes will be held at the Purdue Extension – La Porte County office on State Road 2 near the county fairgrounds in La Porte. The purpose of the Purdue Extension Master Gardener Program is to teach people more about growing plants and to more effectively share information related to plants with others. Its specific aim is to provide information and technical assistance in the areas of

The La Porte Police Department is joining about 230 law-enforcement agencies across Indiana and thousands nationwide in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization. From mid-August through Labor Day, police will be working overtime to arrest impaired drivers. Expect to see increased sobriety checkpoints, roving patrols and saturation patrols. Overtime patrols are supported with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funds distributed by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). To assist with traffic enforcement, ICJI recently provided Indiana police agencies with: 2,600 portable breath tests to evaluate alcohol impairment in drivers, 1,000 RADAR and LIDAR speed-measurement devices, and Android tablets for 248 highly trained