Local News

This past Friday, U.S. Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Todd Young (R-IN), and U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN-01) announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a grant to Porter-Starke Services under the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment program. The $449,393 grant award is the first year of an anticipated $1.2 million program to address the increased instances of opiate addiction and overdose deaths.   Specifically, the funding will be used to increase access to medication assisted treatment plans, which include counseling and other supportive services. The funding also will be used to improve services to individuals in

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) with a new exhibit about Indiana's Latino community—both past and present. The exhibit, Be Heard: Latino Experiences in Indiana, features stories from the Mexican community of Northwest Indiana, including Indiana Harbor. Be Heard: Latino Experiences in Indiana delves into the almost 100-year-old roots of Indiana's Latino population through collection items and photos, being made public for the first time. In addition, the exhibit features excerpts from new oral history interviews conducted by Nicole Martinez-LeGrand, IHS coordinator of multicultural collections. Be Heard: Latino Experiences

This October, The Michigan City Fire Department is proud to participate in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer in women after skin cancer. About 1 in 8 women born today in the United States will get breast cancer at some point. National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a chance to raise awareness about the importance of detecting breast cancer early and help spread the word and encourage annual mammograms. Michigan City Firefighters will be wearing Breast Cancer Awareness shirts on duty during the Month of October. The shirts are also available to

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) continues to see upward trends in first-time freshman students and in the retention of continuing students in its 2018-19 fall enrollment count. The university increased its first-time freshman population to 1,172 students; a gain of 47 students over last year. Additionally, retention of continuing PNW students increased to a record high of 69.4 percent, representing an 8.6 percent jump in the past two years.

. The Michigan City Police have received unfortunate calls of vehicle entries over the last several days which include thefts, ransacking, and damages. MCPD gave several tips including: ⦁ Always lock your doors and roll up your windows when you park. ⦁ Activate your security system if you have one. ⦁ DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN PLAIN SIGHT ⦁ Don’t use the console or glove box as mobile lock boxes. These are obvious to thieves, too. ⦁ Don't hand them the keys MCPD stated in a press release “Hear Something, See Something…….SAY SOMETHING!”

To accommodate passengers attending Chicago Bears home games, the South Shore Line is planning select train stops at the 18th Street Station in Chicago. These stops are in addition to regular service to Museum Campus/11th Street. For the home game at 7:15p on Monday, Sept. 17, Train #220 arrives at 18th St. at 5:27p, and Train #20 at 6:06p. Following the game, Train #123 will depart 18th Street at 11:06p, and Train #101 will depart at 12:51a. Both terminate at Carroll Ave., Michigan City.

An Elkhart man crashed a stolen car late Thursday night on the Indiana Toll Road stating he felt like he was in a “dream”. Thursday, September 13, 2018, at approximately 9:32 p.m., Trooper Matthew Drudge took a preliminary report of a vehicle crash on west bound I-80/90 (Indiana Toll Road) at the 55.9 mile marker (this is the 3 North Service Plaza). The driver, later identified as Matthew J. Aaron, 36 of Elkhart, driving a 2014 Kia Soul, stated he felt like he was in a “dream”.  Evidence showed and witnesses stated that the Kia was at a high rate

Homecoming season is officially upon us and the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office is increasing enforcement and presence throughout the County in an effort to keep our students and motorists safe. For the next month, South Central, New Prairie, La Porte and Michigan City high schools will be celebrating their homecomings, and each is a week-long celebration culminating with football games and dances. Traditionally, class rivalries and competitions occur during this week and at times have carried over in the form of incidents of underage drinking, reckless driving and criminal behavior such as vandalism. The Sheriff’s Office reminds students and

Yesterday, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) joined Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Chris Coons (Del.), co-chairs of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, to announce their bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Victims of Child Abuse Act (VOCAA) has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and is ready to be considered on the floor. The VOCAA provides funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers that serve child victims and help law enforcement hold perpetrators accountable. Children’s Advocacy Centers employ a multi-disciplinary team of trained professionals to conduct forensic interviews of children who have been victims of abuse. These interviews are designed to be

On Wednesday September 19, 2018 individuals wishing to visit an inmate in the Berrien County Jail will have the option of conducting that visit using the internet. These remote visits will be able to be scheduled starting Friday September 14, 2018 by visiting https://berrien.gtlvisitme.com. Internet Visitation Hours: o Monday – Friday 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM o Saturday & Sunday 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM Internet Visitation Rules: o Inmates can only have 2 visits per day o Inmates can have up to 10 visits per week o Only 3 visitors per visit (1 visitor

A motorcyclist was thrown from his bike early Thursday morning when he hit traffic barrel supports in the middle of I-65. Preliminary investigation by Trooper Nicholas Price revealed just after midnight, this Thursday, morning, a Triumph motorcycle, driven by 36 year old Derek Duvall, of Lake Village, IN was northbound on I-65 at the 240.2 mile marker (this is at the Lowell exit) when he hit the rubber traffic barrel supports that were in the middle of the interstate.  Traffic was down to one lane for on-going construction at the time. Duval after hitting the barrel supports, lost control of

The La Porte County Drug Task Force and The La Porte County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced the conviction of two defendants in separate investigations conducted by The La Porte County Drug Task Force. Both of the defendants have previous convictions for dealing narcotics. The first defendant, 28 year old Kyle S. Dilley of La Porte was tried by a jury in La Porte County Superior Court #1, where he was found to be guilty on August 14th, 2018 of Dealing in Methamphetamine Level 2 Felony, and Possession of a Narcotic Drug Level 5 Felony. The case was tried by Deputy

The Michigan City Sanitary District (District) partnered with Energy Systems Group (ESG), a leading energy services provider, to design and implement a $1.8 million energy conservation project at the wastewater treatment plant that includes infrastructure improvements and energy efficiency measures. The project will result in economic and environmental benefits for the City and its ratepayers with guaranteed savings of over $164,000 annually over the term of the contract. ESG also applied for and secured a $190,988.80 incentive through Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s (NIPSCO) energy efficiency program administered by Lockheed Martin Energy, marking the largest incentive awarded by the NIPSCO

Effective Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, improvements to the Gary Metro Center platform will begin that will impact passenger access to the station. On Sept. 15, the Gary Metro Broadway entrance will close for the duration of the project. Beginning Monday, Sept. 17, the Gary Metro east end of the platform will also be closed to passengers while the work is completed. Passengers may still access the SSL platform through the main Metro entrance, via the elevator and stairwell. The closure is expected to last approximately 2-3 weeks.

The Michigan City Police have received unfortunate calls of vehicle entries over the last several days which include thefts, ransacking, and damages. MCPD gave several tips including: ⦁ Always lock your doors and roll up your windows when you park. ⦁ Activate your security system if you have one. ⦁ DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN PLAIN SIGHT ⦁ Don’t use the console or glove box as mobile lock boxes. These are obvious to thieves, too. ⦁ Don't hand them the keys MCPD stated in a press release “Hear Something, See Something…….SAY SOMETHING!”

According to a press release from the Michigan City Police, on Sunday, at about 9:15pm, the MCPD received information via social media reference a MCHS student being in possession of a handgun at school this past Friday. An investigation into the received information began immediately. School officials were notified, safety plans were initiated and additional staff was summoned to assist. Throughout the night the entire school was searched. This search utilized staff from the MCPD, MCHS and also a specialized police K-9 from the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department that is trained to locate explosives. Additionally, witnesses were located and interviewed.

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) continues to see upward trends in first-time freshman students and in the retention of continuing students in its 2018-19 fall enrollment count. The university increased its first-time freshman population to 1,172 students; a gain of 47 students over last year. Additionally, retention of continuing PNW students increased to a record high of 69.4 percent, representing an 8.6 percent jump in the past two years. “Our fall enrollment this year demonstrates the progress we are making to show students and their families the tremendous quality and value available at Purdue Northwest,” said Chancellor Thomas L. Keon. Emerging

Thirteen local organizations will receive grants from NIPSCO—totaling $50,000—to help fund their safety and educational projects and programs throughout northern Indiana. “This was the first year we offered this grant and we were impressed to see the number of applications we received,” said Karen McCoy, public affairs manager. “Public safety, education and training, in all forms, are very important to us at NIPSCO and we’re excited to be able to assist these organizations in their mission.” This year’s recipients include: · Valparaiso Police Department, Project Safe Pathways · City of Hammond Fire Department, Fire Prevention Education · La Porte County

The Valparaiso Police Department is accepting applications for individuals seeking a career in law enforcement. The department will be testing individuals from these applications and from applications on file. Full application packets are available at the Valparaiso Police Department, located at, 355 S. Washington St. A complete application packet can also be downloaded from the department’s website atwww.valparaisopolice.organd returned to the department by mail. The minimum requirements needed to apply are: must be 21 yrs of age or older; hold a high school degree or GED; be a United States Citizen; possess a valid driver’s license and have no prior felony

This Friday, Olympic hopeful and American long jumper Norris Frederick will be giving a motivational speech to 800 juniors and seniors at Michigan City High School. In partnership with Indiana-based Sour Punch, the speech aims to spread their new brand purpose: “Embrace Your Punch,” a message of acceptance and self-love, which is important for today’s youth as teen suicide rates continue to rise. Leading up to October’s National Bullying Prevention month, the speech offers insight on how Sour Punch, the Boys and Girls Club of Northwest Indiana, and Norris are working to make a difference in the community. As someone