Local News

The City of Michigan City recently said farewell to Battalion Chief Tom Zawacki who has retired.  The retirement of Battalion Chief Tom Zawacki has created the opportunity for several firefighters to be promoted. Battalion Chief Tom Zawacki served the City of Michigan City proudly for over 40 years. Receiving the promotion to replace Assistant Chief Zawacki is Captain James Young.  Battalion Chief Young has 28 years of service and is assigned to “C” shift. Lieutenant Randy Dibble was promoted to Captain. Captain Dibble has 31 years of service and is assigned to “C” Shift at Station #3. Driver Operator Craig

A Veterans Commission Committee Meeting of the Michigan City Veterans Commission has been called for Friday , January 18, 2019 at 2:00  P.M., in the Mayors Conference Room, City Hall, 100 E. Michigan Boulevard.• The purpose of the meeting is to determine the date and time of future meetings.

 Purdue University Northwest (PNW) invites the Northwest Indiana community to celebrate diversity and inclusion through the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in two events on its Westville and Hammond campuses Jan. 21 and 22. Michigan City, Indiana native, Dr. Theo Williams will deliver the keynote presentation at both celebrations. Williams has a passion for social justice issues having conducted extensive research on topics related to Dr. King's vision. He developed and facilitated his first national conference workshop on racial reconciliation in 1998. He has spoken nationally and internationally. An associate professor of communications at Bethel College and

The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard SB 28 on enhancement of penalties for crimes involving synthetic drugs by Sen. Bohacek. This bill makes certain offenses involving synthetic drugs an enhancing circumstance at the penalty phase. It removes certain misdemeanor prosecutions concerning synthetic drugs and synthetic lookalike drugs from eligibility for conditional discharge (diversion).As amended, it also allows for charging the act of dealing or manufacturing synthetic drugs that behave like a legend drug as the same level of offense that would be dealing or manufacturing the legend drug.Representatives from the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and the Attorney General’s

The last day to return completed applications for this year’s JPA is January 15th. Applications are still available in the lobby of the Valparaiso Police Department and additional information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/ValparaisoJuniorPoliceAcademy. You can also contact Ptrl. Pat Yokovich at pyokovich@valpopd.com with inquiries.

La Porte County Sheriff John T. Boyd, announced that the Indiana Sheriff’s Association (ISA) will again be awarding college scholarships to qualified high school seniors or college students who are pursuing a degree in criminal justice studies. There will be approximately forty $750-dollar scholarships awarded to qualifying students throughout the state. The ISA Scholarship Fund was established for the purpose of receiving, investing, and dispensing of funds to provide college scholarships to qualified students who are committed to pursuing an education and career in the law enforcement field. To qualify for one of these scholarships, the applicant must be an

On August 16, 2018, Mayor Ron Meer of Michigan City announced that the City would seek to conduct air testing in all residences in a four block area bounded by Tryon Street, Walker Street, Michigan Boulevard, and 8th Street, in an effort to determine if vapors from the former Concord Cleaners ground water contamination plume are entering homes in this area.  The purpose of this Press Release is to provide an update on the results from those sampling activities. Important Background Facts The City is not a Potential Responsible Party (PRP) for the contamination and they are not having this

The Starke County Sheriff's Office will be accepting applications for their Reserve Unit until January 25th at 4pm. This is strictly volunteer basis without pay. If you are interested in applying you can either pick an application up at 5435 E St Rd 8 or go online at https://co.starke.in.us/forms/employment_application.pdfAll Applicants are subject to background investigation prior to be accepted.*To be considered for the Reserve Unit you must:*Be at least 21 yrs old*Possess a Valid Indiana Driver's License*Have no Felony Convictions or any Convictions of Domestic Battery

Detectives of the Griffith Police Department and the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force are investigating a shooting which occurred just after 9:00 PM on January 9, 2019. A Griffith Police Officer working on the property of Park West Apartments heard what sounded like a car crash in the 1800 blk of N Arbogast St. Upon responding to the area, the officer observed a vehicle leaving the scene at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was seen turning onto Ridge Rd and then it turned into the parking lot of Mansard Plaza, a shopping plaza just blocks away, where

In a statement by La Porte Police, they would like to acknowledge two new K9's for the LaPorte Police Department. K9 Dallas successfully tracked a wanted subject who fled from officers on Tuesday during the afternoon shift. K9 Kerr successfully tracked a subject who fled from the midnight shift during a domestic disturbance investigation. Both subjects were taken into custody without incident.

Thursday morning at the LaPorte County Sheriff’s January Merit Commission meeting, a plaque was presented to Pastor Dennis Meyer and Carey Garwood of Bethany Lutheran Church. Pastor Meyer and Mrs. Garwood were recognized for their on-going support and partnership with the Sheriff’s Office.Pastor Meyer and Mrs. Garwood continue to bless the Sheriff’s Office in many ways, such as each year donating a portion of the proceeds from the annual Red, Wine & Brew event.With the assistance of these donations and from others, the Sheriff’s Office K-9 Division continues to flourish and serve the citizens of LaPorte County.

Preparations are in place to open the new Franciscan Health Michigan City hospital on Saturday, Jan. 12. Patients will be transported from the current hospital on Homer Street. From the Emergency Department, the patients will be transported by ambulance south on Ohio Street to the new hospital at 3500 Franciscan Way, on the northwest corner of Interstate 94 and U.S. 421

Several area candidacies have recently been filed for elections. Republican Courtney Parthum announced her candidacy for clerk-treasurer in the 2019 City of La Porte election. Beth McKee Pishkur will be seeking the Democratic nomination to represent the 4th Ward on the Michigan City City Council. Ron Meer will be seeking another term as Mayor of Michigan City and Tom Dermody will be seeking Mayor of La Porte.

An Indiana State Police trooper assigned to the All Crimes Policing Team made a traffic stop that netted over twenty-three pounds of marijuana Wednesday morning.At approximately 11:00 a.m.,yesterday morning, a trooper who was in a fully marked police car, was south bound on I-65 when he observed a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox, make unsafe lane movements while changing lanes. The trooper initiated a traffic stop at the 224 mile marker (this is approximately 4 miles north of the Fair Oaks exit). When the trooper talked to the driver he smelled an odor of marijuana coming from inside the Equinox. A state

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is working with partners to educate Hoosiers about prevention of cervical cancer as part of National Cervical Health Awareness Month. Each year, an average of 264 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in Indiana and 88 cervical cancer-related deaths occur among Indiana women.In 2018, the Indiana General Assembly charged ISDH with identifying methods to increase the number of Hoosiers vaccinated for HPV, increasing regular cervical cancer screenings and creating partnerships throughout the state to reduce the number of cases of cervical cancer. As a result, a statewide working group consisting of government

The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding businesses in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio that working capital loans are still available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives; small businesses engaged in aquaculture and private nonprofit organizations affected by the severe storms and flooding Feb. 14 – March 4, 2018. Residents may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoan.sba.gov .

The right lane of southbound I-65 will be closed overnight starting Wednesday between mile markers 247 and 248 (just south of U.S. 231) for guardrail repair. Work is expected to last through Friday.

Soon after taking the oath of office for the 116th Congress, U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) have introduced “No Budget, No Pay” legislation.The legislation requires Members of Congress to pass the annual budget resolutions and all appropriations bills by the start of the fiscal year, October 1, otherwise Members will not be paid, with retroactive pay prohibited. This bill prohibits the payment of any pay to any Member of Congress: if Congress fails to approve a concurrent budget resolution on the budget by the start of a federal fiscal year on October 1, and

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is issuing a call for volunteers to help students express creativity through history. Volunteer judges are needed for the 2019 National History Day in Indiana (NHDI) contests, including a regional event, Saturday, Feb. 23, at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN.NHDI is a yearlong program in which students in grades 4 through 12 research a historical topic of their choosing and create projects in the form of documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances and websites. This year’s theme is “Triumph & Tragedy in History.”At each regional contest, judges work in teams to interview students about their

Purdue Extension is offering an introductory course on preparing grant proposals. The workshops will be held this spring at Purdue Extension, La Porte County, 2857 W. State Road 2, Suite A, in La Porte on Tuesday, February 26th and Tuesday, March 26th.The Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing Workshop teaches grant writers of all skill levels how to prepare and submit a professional proposal. The two-day interactive workshops take place from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM local time on both days listed above. During the workshop, participants develop their ideas into written proposals. They learn about how to find funders as