Local News

News release by Franciscan Health: Franciscan Health Michigan City has been designated as a Gold Infant Safe Sleep Hospital, achieving the highest level of certification by Cribs for Kids. The hospital announced the achievement on March 1, which is designated as National Baby Sleep Day. “I am proud of the hard work and dedication of our Family Birth Center team in leading the way to earning Gold Safe Sleep status,” Franciscan Health Michigan City President and CEO Dean Mazzoni said. “They exemplify our commitment to compassionate concern and care for our community in these efforts to provide families with the

Michigan City Area Schools is seeking nominations for the 2023 Michigan City Area Schools Wall of Fame. The annual award, first presented in 1976, honors former school employees who have made outstanding contributions to the children of the Michigan City Area Schools. Employees from every area are eligible: administrators, custodians, food service personnel, instructional assistants, maintenance personnel, paraprofessionals, teachers, transportation staff, and secretarial staff. To qualify for nomination, the candidate must have been employed by the Michigan City Area Schools for a minimum of 15 years. Special circumstances may be considered for those not meeting the 15-year requirement due to

First Trust Credit Union presents a $15,000 donation check to The Salvation Army of Michigan City, on behalf of their credit card program partner, Elan Credit Card, as part of a national give back to local charities. First Trust Credit Union was honored to present their local charity partner, The Salvation Army of Michigan City, a significant donation of $15,000. This donation was provided by First Trust’s credit card program partner, Elan Credit Card (Elan), as part of their charitable giving program. To continue their commitment to partners and their local communities, Elan selected 25 new credit union partners to

The La Porte County Family YMCA reopened its La Porte branch today Wednesday. The pool deck was closed to repair the pool pack that controls the room temperature in the pool area. The YMCA says make sure to check their app, social media, or you can call the front desk for updates.

This week the DNR Division of Law Enforcement’s K-9 Resource Protection Program kicked off its nine-week training school at Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area in Johnson County. This year’s school has a total of six K-9 teams attending from Indiana, Kansas, Oregon, and Utah. Indiana’s K-9 program started in 1997 with a pilot program of two teams. Because of its effectiveness, the program grew to a team of 13 K-9 units throughout the state. At least one K-9 unit serves in each of the 10 Indiana DNR Law Enforcement districts. The Indiana K-9 program is not only well respected in

The Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) continued to support Michigan City Area Schools activities by providing Color Guards for the MCHS and Kreuger Middle School basketball teams, as well as guides for school tours for the Wolfpack Round-up. Cadets work on constructing a make-shift raft at the MCHS Cadet Leadership Camp in 2022. The Color Guard positions itself to present the colors before the Kreuger-Notre Dame middle school basketball game. The MCHS Military Drill Team continued its daily 5:45 a.m. practices, preparing for their last competition at Concordia

City of La Porte residents can expect to see different trash trucks servicing their neighborhoods this week, according to City Engineer Nick Minich. Beginning this Wednesday, Mar. 1, Waste Management will take over as the city's contracted trash vendor. This contract includes many positive changes for residents, including the distribution of 96-gallon carts. Minich said though there will be no changes to the pick-up schedule, trash may not be picked up at residents' usual times as Waste Management makes the transition. "After many calls and messages from residents regarding trash pick-up issues over the last three years, we are very

Sixth-grade students from the Michigan City area are invited to attend Middle School Roundup as these students and their families prepare to transition into middle school. This informational session will be held on Thursday, March 2 at 5:30 p.m. at both Krueger and Barker Middle Schools. In general, students who attend Lake Hills, Joy, Springfield, and Marsh Elementary Schools will attend Krueger Middle School. Those living in the boundaries of Knapp, Edgewood, Coolspring, and Pine Elementary Schools will attend Barker Middle School. There are exceptions; parents who are unsure about which middle school their sixth-grader will attend should contact their

Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC (NIPSCO) is informing customers that based on positive shifts in recent market trends, near-term prices for natural gas have dropped to levels that haven’t been seen since the early 2021 time frame. Meanwhile, the trend also has had a positive effect on electric bills, combined with upcoming credits that will soon be applied from the sale of excess electricity generated by the company’s wind and solar farms. Natural Gas Prices 25 to 35 Percent Lower Throughout 2022, natural gas commodity prices have been unusually high because of lower production volumes from domestic supplies compared

A 22-year-old man died after a crash Friday in Griffith, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. Just before 4:30 p.m., The Lake County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Reconstruction Unit was requested to respond to a collision involving a car and a motorcycle at Johnson Road and East Main Street in Griffith. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department says it is believed the driver of a passenger car was traveling eastbound on East Main Street, attempting to turn north on Johnson Road when the car was struck by a motorcycle traveling westbound. The person riding the motorcycle was transported by helicopter to

A 7-year-old is dead and three others were injured after a crash in La Porte County early Sunday. Just before 12:05 a.m., deputies were called to the area of U.S. 35 and Schultz Road, for a single vehicle crash. An off-duty deputy located the crash scene in the 3000 north block of U.S. 35. The initial on-scene investigation determined a 2000 Chevrolet was traveling south on U.S. 35 when for an unknown reason, the vehicle left the southbound lane, traveled off the west side of the roadway and struck a tree.  The vehicle continued and struck a second tree before

A Rensselaer man was arrested Friday after a pursuit, while trying to enter the La Porte County Complex. Just after 2:00 a.m., a La Porte County Sheriff’s deputy saw a vehicle traveling westbound on U.S. 20, west of Fail Road.  A radar check measured the vehicle’s speed at 63 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone. The deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop on U.S. 20 near Wilhelm Road, but the driver failed to stop the vehicle and a pursuit began. The driver turned south onto Wilhelm Road and then west on Springville Road. The driver failed to

The Norfolk Southern railroad grade-crossing on North 15th Street in Chesterton will close at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27, and remain closed through Friday, March 3, according to the Town of Chesterton Facebook page. The Town of Chesterton stated that Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg learned of the closure late Friday, Feb. 24. According to the town's page, Schnadenberg said that Norfolk Southern will be performing “immediate track repairs” at the grade-crossing. The closure will be in effect at all times, 24/7.

Two deputies of the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office on Friday graduated their Basic Recruit Training. On October 31, 2022, Deputies Margarita Velazquez and Jared Buford started a 17-week journey of intense paramilitary based law enforcement training at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy - South Bend Regional Training Site. The academy consisted of training that included blocks of instruction in emergency vehicle operations, physical tactics, firearms, criminal and traffic law and other areas of law enforcement. With their family members and agency administrators in attendance, the members of Basic Recruit Training Session 228 received their certificates and officially graduated on

A search is underway for a suspect who robbed a bank Friday in La Crosse, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office announced. Deputies were dispatched on Friday, at 3:03 p.m., to the 1st Source Bank at 218 North Washington Street in La Crosse, in reference to a hold-up alarm.  While responding, deputies were advised a robbery had just occurred at the bank. The initial on scene investigation found that at 2:55 p.m., a white male approached the rear of the bank on foot.  The man walked to the front of the bank, entered the lobby and approached the teller counter

Porter-Starke Services, a not-for-profit community mental health center serving Northwest Indiana, was recently awarded a $925,532 grant to expand access to permanent supportive housing in Starke County. The three-year Rural Set-Aside grant supports Porter-Starke’s efforts to help people with mental health challenges, who are also chronically homeless, to secure and maintain housing. “We have a long history of caring for people with housing instability, and it can impact their health and overall quality of life,” said Matthew Burden, President/CEO of Porter-Starke Services. “We’re excited to have this opportunity to help connect the people we serve with a safe and stable

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. – The Burn ‘Em Brewing team and community leaders celebrated the brewery’s new spot at 1215 E. 2nd St. with the turn of a shovel at a recent ground-breaking event. “This has been a long time coming, and we are happy to be here. Hopefully, we will be open by the end of the year,” said Steve Murray, Burn ‘Em Brewing head brewer and one of the Michigan City friends who opened the brewery in 2014. “We can’t wait to see you here when we open the doors.” “There is progress inside the walls despite the fact

The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday announced two more Merit Division hires. Both deputies will begin serving the citizens of La Porte County right away. Deputy Jet Balenia returns to the agency following a brief hiatus. Deputy Pablo Pesa joins the agency having over a decade of law enforcement (LE) experience and holding several specialty certifications. Deputies Balenia and Pesa join the other recent hires with LE experience, Deputies Jeff Loniewski and Joe Walker, in the Patrol Division. More information will be released by the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office in the coming weeks relating to all the

A new Treasurer of the Duneland Chamber Board of Directors has been elected. Lisa Human, CPA, senior manager and QuickBooks ProAdvisor with CLH, CPAs & Consultants, was recently elected to serve  the roll. She was elected at the board’s annual membership meeting this year, after previously serving as an at-large member of the Executive Committee, according to Building Indiana Business. Human has a long history of community volunteerism, including having served Homeward Bound, an organization dedicated to creating community through affordable housing in La Porte County. Additionally she serves as a member of the Advisory Board of Ivy Tech Community