Local News

The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office is saddened to announce that retired K9 Marko has passed away at the age of twelve. Marko, a German Shepherd, was born in November of 2006 and acquired by the Sheriff’s Office in 2008. He was partnered with Sheriff’s Deputy Dallas Smythe from April 2008 until the time of his retirement on December 31, 2017. He retired after ten years of service and upon his retirement was able to become a permanent member his handler’s home and family. At the time of his death he was suffering from cancer. Marko was certified in narcotics

The League of Women Voters of LaPorte County will host Cathy Martin for their Tuesday, November 13, Dinner With The League. Cathy is Program Manager at Save the Dunes, and worked on the Indiana Dunes Climate Change Adaptation Plan coordinated by Save the Dunes in partnership with the Field Museum. She has expertise in conservation planning and natural resource protection and restoration in Northwest Indiana's high quality natural areas. Cathy will update the guests on current and on-going efforts to deal with climate change in the Indiana Dunes and surrounding areas. Cathy's work, and that of her colleagues at Save

Parkinson’s patients can try this class for free during the Franciscan Health Fitness Centers open house on Nov. 19. Franciscan Health Fitness Centers offers boxing therapy class for people with Parkinson’s disease. Patients with Parkinson’s disease will have a chance to try their hand at the Rock Steady Boxing program in a free class at Franciscan Health Fitness Centers. During the Franciscan Health Fitness Centers open house on Nov. 19, the class will take place at the Schererville location. The class will be 3-4:30 PM for those with moderate to severe movement restrictions and 4:45-6:15 PM for those with minimal

The Kroger Foundation has awarded Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry a grant totaling $5,000 to fund processing fees on donated large game and livestock. "We are very excited about our “Meat” the Need program, "said Debra Treesh, Executive Director of Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry, "and pleased that this Foundation is continually making an investment in our community." These funds will be used to assist Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry in paying processing fees for donations of large game and livestock within Indiana. Founded in 2011, Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry encourages the donation of large game and livestock to the “Meat” the Need

The Indiana State Police is proud to partner again in 2019 with the U.S. Department of Justice in promoting the National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest.  In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25th as National Missing Children’s Day. This day is dedicated to encouraging parents, guardians, caregivers and all concerned individuals with the well-being of children to make child safety a priority.  It also serves as a reminder to continue efforts to reunite missing children with their families and loved ones. It also serves as an occasion to honor those that are dedicated to this very noble cause. The

Michigan City High School (MCHS) conducted a ceremony to honor veterans on Friday, November 9th, in the school gymnasium.  The ceremony was conducted by the school band, choir and Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) and was open to the public.  The guest speaker was State Senator Mike Bohacek of Michiana shores. He cited the example of Michigan City native and Medal of Honor recipient Danny Bruce of what it means to serve your country.  Bohacek encouraged the student to use Bruce’s example of total unselfishness to the point of giving his life to save his fellow Marines

The Michigan City High School Wolves football team will compete in the IHSAA Semi State game against New Palestine High School on Saturday, November 17. Kickoff is at 3:00 pm (Central Time) at New Palestine. All tickets are $10 and are available in the MCHS Athletic Office from 7:30 to 3:30pm, starting on Tuesday. Enter through door J in back of the school near the gym. MCHS will be sending two fan buses to the game, one for students and one for adult fans.  The student bus will cost $10 and includes a ticket to the game. The adult fan

Franciscan Health and Beacon Health System broke ground Friday on the $21.6 million Franciscan Beacon Hospital in LaPorte. The project officially got underway after city and health system representatives blessed the ground of the future new hospital and ceremoniously sunk their shovels into the earth outside the current Beacon Medical Group building. “This project, which has been in the works for the last two years, is a great symbol of the commitment by both organizations to the people in LaPorte County,” said Kreg Gruber, Beacon Health System chief executive officer. “It all really started with relationships and conversations, and oftentimes,

The Barker Middle School 7th grade English Language Arts & Reading classes of teacher Greg Olson participated in the "Patriot's Pen" essay contest this fall.  The "Patriot's Pen" contest is sponsored by the VFW Post 2536.  This year's essay theme was "Why I Honor the American Flag".  Mr. Olson's classes researched and wrote about the theme as a project in his class.  Seventh grader Kah'Lil Gipson won $25 and his essay will advance to compete against other students in the region.

The Indiana Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is instructing clients to immediately stop using divided plates that illustrate the recommended distribution of the four food groups following reports that two plates caught fire while in the microwave. No injuries have been reported. The plates have been distributed through Indiana WIC clinics since June. The program was notified of the two incidents on Nov. 8 and immediately instructed WIC clinics in Indiana to halt distribution of the plates. WIC clients are being notified of the potential hazard. “The safety of Indiana WIC clients is our top priority,” said Eldon Whetstone,

The PLAYOFFS are upon us! The GVSU Lakers are 3-seed in Super Region 3 and will host Northwest Missouri State this Saturday at 12pm CT! Tune in to the playoff game on WIMS!

According to a press release from ISDH, antibiotics save lives and are critical tools for treating a number of common and more serious bacterial infections, but improper use of these medications can lead to drug resistance that can be life-threatening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls resistance to antibiotics one of the most urgent threats to public health. U.S. Antibiotics Awareness Week, which runs from Nov. 12 to 18, is an opportunity to learn about good antibiotic prescribing practices and use. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.

Friday, Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC (NIPSCO), a NiSource Inc., (NYSE: NI) company, announced the selection of Jennifer V. Montague as its vice president of communications and external affairs. She will report to NIPSCO President Violet Sistovaris and be based at the company’s headquarters in Merrillville, Ind., beginning Monday, Nov. 12th. In this role, Montague will have responsibility for the company’s customer focused branding, marketing, economic development, municipal relations, media relations, advertising, charitable giving and employee communications and engagement efforts for the combined electric and natural gas utility in northern Indiana. Montague joins NIPSCO from Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) where

IDOE will continue its focus on ensuring all Indiana students graduate with critical thinking skills and are prepared for an innovation-driven economy by creating more opportunities for students to access quality, world class STEM education. Outlined in the STEM Strategic Plan, IDOE will carry out its plan by placing an emphasis along three objectives: Improve STEM Instruction, Implement Evidence-based STEM Curriculum in Classrooms, and Foster Early STEM Career Exposure. Doing so will also help IDOE work with Indiana’s educators and prepare them to provide every K-12 student with an evidence-based effective STEM education. IDOE’s goal is to accomplish its STEM

PFLAG continues their second year of PFLAG (Parents, Family, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Michigan City and LaPorte County Chapter with a NEW DAY and DIFFERENT SPACE. Meetings will usually be held the fourth Thursday of the month except for November and December. Their place is the Artspace Uptown Artist Lofts in the Uptown Arts District in Michigan City. We’ll meet this month on Thursday, November 29th, at 6:30 pm. They welcome everybody who are allies including everyone in the LGBTQA+ community. Meetings--for those 18 years of age and over—are usually held the fourth Thursday of the month except

The Valparaiso Police Department is seeking high school students that represent good citizenship and have an interest in a law enforcement career. The Department is again sponsoring the Junior Police Academy in 2019. The academy consists of two classes per week, starting February 18, 2019 through May 1, 2019 and are scheduled for 2-3 hours, per topic presented. The course is designed for high school students to meet officers and learn about the daily activities of police work. The topics presented include: traffic enforcement, crash investigation, crimes against young people, drug investigation, physical tactics, K9, SWAT, and various education topics

The Indiana Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is instructing clients to immediately stop using divided plates that illustrate the recommended distribution of the four food groups following reports that two plates caught fire while in the microwave. No injuries have been reported. The plates have been distributed through Indiana WIC clinics since June. The program was notified of the two incidents on Nov. 8 and immediately instructed WIC clinics in Indiana to halt distribution of the plates. WIC clients are being notified of the potential hazard. “The safety of Indiana WIC clients is our top priority,” said Eldon Whetstone,

Turkey Run State Park was named the best state park in Indiana by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development’s 2018 Best of Indiana people’s choice campaign. Turkey Run topped the list, with Brown County State Park coming in second and McCormick’s Creek State Park placing third. Rounding out Hoosiers’ top 10 state parks, in order, were Indiana Dunes State Park, Spring Mill State Park, Pokagon State Park, Clifty Falls State Park, Shakamak State Park, Patoka Lake and Chain O’Lakes State Park. Learn more at stateparks.IN.gov.

A La Porte man is in custody in connection with the armed robbery of a La Porte convenience store on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday, La Porte Police responded to a call regarding an armed robbery at La Porte Mini Mart, 205 Lincolnway, at approximately 9:00 a.m. During the course of investigation, it was learned that a lone man entered the store, approached the clerk and demanded money while displaying a weapon. The man fled the store on foot, taking an undisclosed amount of money. No injuries were reported. Officers attempted to locate the suspect in the area, but were unsuccessful.

Friday, the Indiana State Police executed a search warrant at the Lakes of the Four Seasons Security Department in Crown Point. The investigation was forwarded to the state police from the Indiana Attorney General’s office and involves violations related to controlled substances, impersonation of public servants, criminal confinement, and other potential criminal offenses related to traffic stops. This is an on-going investigation involving multiple allegations.  There will be no further information provided on the investigation at this time.