Local News

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) announced the 2017-2018 Four Star Schools. Created by IDOE, the Four Star Schools designation recognizes great schools in Indiana. The Four Star School Award has been in existence for over 30 years. To receive Four Star designation, a school must receive an “A” on the state’s A-F accountability system and have excellent ISTEP pass rates. A total of 234 schools received the award. For more information regarding the Four Star School Award, please visit: www.doe.in.gov/accountability/four-star-schools. To view acomplete list of recognized schools, please visit: www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/news/2017-2018-four-star-list.pdf. Local schools on the list: Saint Patrick School - Chesterton Saint

The Michigan City Parks & Recreation Department announces that beginning Mon, April 1, Washington Park 2019 parking stickers will be issued at the North Pointe Pavilion in Washington Park, 6 on the Lake, Michigan City, IN  46360. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9 am-4 pm (excluding holidays), and on Saturdays from 9 am-12 noon beginning May 4th through July 27th. Stickers will be available at the Michigan City Senior Center FOR ONE DAY ONLY during their annual Trash & Treasure Sale to be held on Saturday, March 30th from 8am-12noon.  The Sale itself will continue until 1:00pm

The La Porte County Sheriff's Office has announced that it is now seeking applications for the Neil Thompson Memorial Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship is available to any senior scheduled to graduate this year from a high school in La Porte County who has been accepted to a college or university and will be studying law enforcement, criminal justice or a criminal justice related field. Applicants are required to submit an essay, no fewer than 500 words, on why they will be pursuing a career in law enforcement. The scholarship was established soon after the 1980 death of Patrolman Neil Thompson,

The Indiana Department of Education has announced the recipient of the 2018-2019 Title III Distinguished Indiana School District Award. Hamilton Southeastern Schools was chosen to receive this distinction for demonstrating a commitment to English Learner success through strategic programming, rigorous instruction, inclusive school culture, and beneficial partnerships with families and the community.  Hamilton Southeastern Schools was selected after a review of English Learner performance data from all public-school districts and charter schools, followed by a two-part interview process, including an on-site visit. For more information on Title III funding, please visit: www.doe.in.gov/elme/title-iii-language-instruction.

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) will offer its first Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) Summer Camp weekdays from Monday, July 8 through Friday, July 19 on the Hammond Campus. The PNW Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will host the camp, which will offer high school students the opportunity to learn AI/ML concepts and implement them in fun game-based programming platforms. Participants will discover the science and engineering that runs their technology, and see how AI/ML techniques have improved many professional fields and created a number of job opportunities in the last few years. Camp details. The two-week session will last from

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that nearly 3,400 Hoosiers will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and an estimated 1,100 will die as a result of the disease this year. Screening and early detection can save lives, and screening does not have to be expensive or uncomfortable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is urging Hoosiers to get regular screenings and make healthy lifestyle choices to reduce their risks of developing the disease, which is the third-most commonly diagnosed cancer among

La Porte Hospital is opening the doors to its chapel for another “First Friday” concert. On April 5, at noon, the musical ensemble, Knit Together will be playing and singing its popular southern gospel and folk music. Instruments to be played for this performance include the soprano, baritone, and concert ukulele and a rain stick. Members of the group include Wayne and Lori Stefano, a local couple who have been married for nineteen years as well as Tammy Glanser who is married to her husband Gary. The Glansers are proud parents of three children and many grandchildren. Selections for the

The Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) is warning taxpayers to be on alert when getting phone calls claiming they have unpaid tax bills. These phone calls are often scams designed to threaten individuals with some sort of law enforcement or legal action in order to get them to send money towards bogus tax bills. The federal government’s Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reports that 14,700 victims have paid more than $72 million as a result of phone scams since 2013. Customers should be aware that DOR and the IRS will never: Call demanding immediate payment using a specific

Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.5 percent for January and remains lower than the national rate of 4.0 percent. With the exception of one month when it was equal (October 2014), Indiana's unemployment rate now has been below the U.S. rate for more than five years. 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 increase of 7,613 over the previous month. This was a result of an increase

Work is set to begin Monday, March 18, on an intersection improvement project at U.S. 20 and SR 2 in Rolling Prairie. This project will see a “dogbone” interchange built at this location, eliminating the traffic signal and creating a bridge carrying motorists north-south with east-west traffic passing underneath. Roundabouts will be placed at the north and south ends of the bridge, creating the so-called “dogbone”. During the project, the corridor will be closed to north-south (LaPorte to New Carlisle) traffic between CR N 500 E and Oak Knoll Road, while east-west traffic (Michigan City to South Bend) will be

With the heavy construction season around the corner, NIPSCO will be continuing its work to upgrade the electric and gas infrastructure across northern Indiana with nearly $660 million in planned investments this year. This reinvestment is part of NIPSCO’s overall ongoing modernization plan to ensure long-term safety and reliability for customers. Vast portions of the nation’s infrastructure system – including NIPSCO’s – were built in the post-World War II era. After more than 60 years, those systems are nearing the limits of their original design, and NIPSCO’s plan proactively addresses these critical areas before they become problematic. Among the types

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) announced the 2017-2018 Four Star Schools. Created by IDOE, the Four Star Schools designation recognizes great schools in Indiana. The Four Star School Award has been in existence for over 30 years. To receive Four Star designation, a school must receive an “A” on the state’s A-F accountability system and have excellent ISTEP pass rates. A total of 234 schools received the award. For more information regarding the Four Star School Award, please visit: www.doe.in.gov/accountability/four-star-schools. To view acomplete list of recognized schools, please visit: www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/news/2017-2018-four-star-list.pdf. Local schools on the list: Saint Patrick School - Chesterton Saint

In order to accommodate an expected increase in ridership due to the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade and dyeing of the river, the South Shore Line will offer additional capacity and extra passenger trains on Saturday, March 16.  Westbound Train 502 and Train 606 will operate with additional capacity to accommodate passengers heading to Chicago in the morning.  In the afternoon, two eastbound passenger Extras will run after the parade and dyeing of the river: The first Extra will depart Millennium Station at 4:25 p.m. (Van Buren St. at 4:28 p.m.). The second Extra will depart Millennium Station at 6:15

For the second year in a row, the Indiana Tobacco Quitline is offering tobacco users free medication to help them quit tobacco use. The nicotine replacement therapy promotion is available now and ends when supplies run out. In the last year, nearly 7,500 Hoosiers received a free two-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy through the Quitline. To take advantage of the free offer, tobacco users must enroll in the Indiana Tobacco Quitline, which provides a trained coach who will work with them to make a personalized quit plan. Online counseling is also provided. Once enrolled, users will receive a two-week

The Michigan City Human Rights Commission will welcome Stacy Valdivia, a disability advocate who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in February of 2014 on Tuesday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Michigan City Area Schools Administration Building located at 408 South Carroll Avenue in Michigan City. Stacy will discuss her “invisible” disability, how she felt when she received her diagnosis, what therapies and medications she suggests and how she advocates at work to help educate the disability community about how clothing, fabrics and tags can impact kids with sensory processing issues. Stacy lives in Valparaiso and is a

La Porte Hospital has announced its April childbirth and family care classes. Super Siblings Class This class, for children ages 3 to 7 and their parents, helps brothers and sisters adjust to a new baby in the house. TheSuper Siblings class is a one-session class that helps prepare children for the new baby and teaches positive sibling skills. The class is one Saturday every other month from 2 – 4 p.m., in the La Porte Hospital Childbirth Education and Prenatal Classroom, 1007 Lincolnway, La Porte. The Next class is Apr. 6. The class is free, but pre-registration is required. Register

The LaPorte Police Department would like to make the community aware of an event that is scheduled to take place the morning of March 18th. The LaPorte Police Department along with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department, Michigan City Police Department, LaPorte City Fire Department, Michigan City Fire Department, LaPorte County EMS, LaPorte County EMA, LaPorte Community School Corporation and Michigan City School Corporation will be conducting a mock active shooter exercise at LaPorte High School. To help keep everyone safe and to prevent any confusion, I St., F St., and 6 th St. will be closed during the exercise from

Yesterday, 114 House members led by Reps. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in support of keeping agricultural products as a key negotiating objective in any proposed trade agreement with the European Union (EU). The European Commission has specifically excluded agricultural products in draft negotiations and Commission officials continually state their unwillingness to include agriculture in the negotiation process.

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) presents its annual ShamROCK It Out Battle of the Bands, a spirited competition open not only to PNW students but to bands throughout Northwest Indiana, showcasing a diverse variety of artists and rhythmic styles at this musical showdown. ShamROCK It Out will take place starting a 6 p.m., Thursday, March 21, in Alumni Hall, Student Union & Library on the Hammond Campus. The event is free to participants and open to the community.

Hammond Academy of Science and Technology (HAST), an urban charter school in Hammond, Indiana, was recently awarded a $15,000 grant from NIPSCO to build a hands-on, smart-technology powered greenhouse for their students and Horticulture Club members. HAST serves an urban population from the surrounding area. This project will connect more urban communities to where their food comes from, and how it can be grown and prepared sustainably. Additionally, HAST students will use the smart technology in the greenhouse to learn about programming and electrical engineering. The Hammond Academy of Science and Technology was established in 2010 to provide the highest