Local News

On Tuesday the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) broke ground on a new facility in La Porte, IN. The structure will become HFL’s new headquarters and will house a Conference & Learning Center. The new building will be located 1.7 miles southeast of the current HFL office and will serve as a great resource for the Foundation and surrounding community.The Center will be 12,815 square feet and will be completely accessible. The site, located just south of Fishtrap Lake, will be constructed using natural materials which will complement the land. There is even a previously established hiking trail, the

Rev your engines and get ready to join Rittenhouse Village at Portage and the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce for the 5th Annual Car Show Fundraiser. This car extravaganza will be on Thursday, August 22nd from 4:00 - 7:00 pm at 6235 Sterling Creek Road Portage, Indiana. There will be vintage cars, music and hilarious entertainment from comedian Joe Zirconia. Refreshments and community tours of Rittenhouse Senior Living will be available.  The Vintagious Gals will also be available for photo opportunities. Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce. Awards will be awarded by Rittenhouse Village

The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office is conducting school bus safety patrols through August 30th.  Recently the Sheriff’s Office was awarded a Stop-Arm Violation Enforcement (SAVE) grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).  Additional deputies will be working SAVE during peak times when school buses are loading and unloading students across La Porte County.  The high visibility enforcement project will specifically target speeding violations, aggressive drivers and school bus stop-arm violations.  SAVE is a traffic safety grant that is funded with monies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and administered by ICJI.  For more information related to traffic safety

Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) Social Work program earned its initial four-year accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the sole accrediting body for social work education in the United States. The accreditation allows PNW graduates to enter a master's degree program with advanced standing, qualifies them to sit for the exam for the bachelor’s degree (BSW) level licensure in the State of Indiana, and puts them in an excellent position to work toward the master’s degree (MSW) licensure in a shorter period of time.

Visit Barker Mansion for the first installment in the 2019-2020 History on Tap lecture series. The guest speaker for September is Matt Kubik, retired architecture professor and church historian for Trinity Episcopal Church in Michigan City. He will facilitate a lecture titled: “Rome: The Politics of Architecture.” The talk begins at 6pm on Thursday, September 5th and is held in the theatre room at the Barker Mansion. The lecture is free and open to the public. Root beer and ginger beer will be served. History on Tap takes place on the first Thursday of the month from September-May. For more

According to the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office there has recently been a spike in the number of burglaries to unlocked garages and other buildings on properties across La Porte County. Members of the Criminal Investigations Division are urging residents to lock all buildings and any vehicles contained within.Anyone with information related to these burglaries is asked to contact either Detective James Lear (219-326-7700, ext. 2410) or Detective Aaron Banic (219-326-7700, ext. 2407).

Indiana American Water has issued the following statement regarding a chemical spill Tuesday morning into Burns Ditch at the U.S. Steel facility in Portage, Indiana: “Due to a chemical spill on Tuesday morning, August 20, 2019 into Burns Ditch at a U.S. Steel facility in Portage, Ind., Indiana American Water has shut down its Ogden Dunes treatment facility as a precautionary measure after being notified by representatives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) of the spill earlier today. Indiana American Water uses water from two Lake Michigan intakes as source water in northwest Indiana, including the facility at

The Indiana Department of Education announced income eligibility guidelines, including household size, for the free and reduced-price school meals and milk programs. The National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Special Milk programs were created to support students unable to pay the full price for meals or milk. The guidelines are effective until June 30, 2020. Children from households that meet federal guidelines are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and milk. To apply for free or reduced-price benefits, households must complete the application form provided to all homes. One application should be submitted for all students enrolled in the school

The right two lanes of eastbound I-94 are closed for installation of a new bridge joint. The bridge is located over U.S. 20 just east of the Indiana Toll Road and the Lake/Porter county line. Two lanes of traffic are being maintained in the left lane and shoulder, but motorists should expect backups and delays. Work is anticipated to be complete by August 25th.

Indiana’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.4 percent for July and remains lower than the national rate of 3.7 percent. The last time Indiana's unemployment rate was at 3.4 percent was April 2018. 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 decrease of 6,608 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 1,274 unemployed residents and a decrease of 5,334 employed residents. Indiana's total labor

Late last week, Attorney General Curtis Hill expressed continued resolve to hold Purdue Pharma accountable for its alleged role in contributing to the state’s opioid crisis after a court rejected the company’s motion to dismiss Indiana’s pending lawsuit. In its motion to dismiss, Purdue Pharma argued among other things that Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act does not apply to the company because it is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. On Aug. 12, a Marion Superior Court judge rejected entirely the company’s arguments for dismissal. Attorney General Hill filed the state’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma on Nov. 14,

Educators from all across La Porte County got a high quality opportunity to learn how to integrate technology and computer science into their classroom. The Unity Foundation coordinated this first ever event so teachers could be close to home and attend for free. The Summer Teacher Tech Conference was held at Purdue University Northwest Westville campus on July 30 & 31 and featured knowledgeable, interactive sessions. Local educators, Nextech, Edge Factor, and La Porte County Public Library provided concurrent training sessions with hands - on materials, while representatives from Sullair, Arconic, and Ivy Tech shared the types of jobs that

Per the Ogden Dunes Town Council, the Ogden Dunes beach will remain closed until further notice. The most recent tests of chemicals present in the water at the beach continue to exceed “acceptable” levels. Testing will continue and town residents will be kept abreast of the beach status. Please comply with the beach closure for everyone’s safety.

The Duneland Chamber of Commerce is assisting Chesterton High School in attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest field trip on Tuesday, September 17 at Indiana Dunes National Park from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. They are seeking 52 “Stewards” to meet the requirements for the record.Stewards will be required to go through a background check and attend the entire field trip. Each Steward will be assigned 50 field trip participants and will be required to provide a written statement to Guinness after the field trip. Stewards cannot be employees of the Duneland School Corporation or have

Sign-ups for put and take pheasant hunts begin on Sept. 7 at 6 a.m.On that date, hunters can begin purchasing a reservation for put and take pheasant hunts at on.IN.gov/INhuntfish. They do not need to log in or create an online account to purchase a reservation, but must have an online account to look up completed reservations at a later date. Hunters must register online for put and take hunts, as these hunts are no longer available on a first-come, first-served basis at Fish & Wildlife Areas (FWAs).The cost is $30 per reservation. Reservations are non-refundable; however, they can be

U.S. military veterans from around the world and across the nation begin arriving in Indianapolis next week for activities surrounding the 101st National Convention of The American Legion, the nation’s largest organization of wartime veterans. Nearly 9,000 members of The American Legion Family are expected between August 22nd and 29th. The American Legion previously held national conventions here in 1990, 1995 and 2012. Veterans of all five branches of the armed forces who have served in uniform anytime since December 7, 1941or those who are currently serving, are invited to join The American Legion and participate in the convention activities.

NICTD, operator of the South Shore Line, has provided an update regarding its Double Track Northwest Indiana Project (DT-NWI). An environmental analysis was conducted in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and concluded in November 2018 with the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) issuance of a Finding of No Significant Impact. The FTA’s Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Program has three phases – 1) Project Development; 2) Engineering; and 3) Construction. Each phase of the project involves extensive requirements that must be completed and approved by the FTA in order to advance to the next phase. The project has completed the Project

U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) announced a $1 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to support efforts by Porter-Starke Services and the Starke Taskforce for Overdose Prevention (STOP) to combat the opioid epidemic in Starke County. Porter-Starke Services and Starke County were among 80 recipients nationwide of funding through the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), a multi-year initiative supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to address barriers to access in rural communities related to substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder. The funding, totaling $1,000,000 over three years, will support a plan

The Indiana Department of Education announced income eligibility guidelines, including household size, for the free and reduced-price school meals and milk programs. The National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Special Milk programs were created to support students unable to pay the full price for meals or milk. The guidelines are effective until June 30, 2020. Children from households that meet federal guidelines are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and milk. To apply for free or reduced-price benefits, households must complete the application form provided to all homes. One application should be submitted for all students enrolled in the school

The right two lanes of eastbound I-94 are closed for installation of a new bridge joint. The bridge is located over U.S. 20 just east of the Indiana Toll Road and the Lake/Porter county line. Two lanes of traffic are being maintained in the left lane and shoulder, but motorists should expect backups and delays. Work is anticipated to be complete by August 25th.