Local News

On Saturday, March 24th, 2018 at approximately 5:53 AM (CST), La Porte County Sheriff's Office Deputies were dispatched to a single vehicle crash that had occurred in the the 2600 north block of County Road 700 East in rural Wills Township. Fireman from the Kankakee Township Volunteer Fire Department were the first emergency personnel to arrive on scene. They determined the driver of a blue Chrysler mini-van was unresponsive. The driver was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene by the La Porte County Coroner's Office. The crash investigation conducted by Sheriff's Deputies, determined the 2014 Chrysler Town & Country mini-van

On April 6, from 5:00 to 8:00pm, join Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA) for their annual Poetry Slam. Poets start reading at 5:30pm. Enjoy free admission, lite bites and a cash bar. LCA's Poetry Slam invites poets to showcase their works in a raucous audience-juried event. Each poet will be provided the opportunity to present one of their works. In tournament style, poets will be eliminated each round until one is left standing. It's all in good fun. Poets who wish to participate in the LCA Poetry Slam should prepare three original pieces, each under three minutes in length.

The Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) continues to partner with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to share the top tax filing season concerns referred to as the “IRS Dirty Dozen” tax scams for 2018. The fourth scam in the 12-part series is tax preparer fraud. Tax preparer fraud occurs when deceitful tax preparers are looking to make a quick buck off of honest individuals seeking tax assistance. This fraud may include inflated charges, advising clients to take credits or deductions they aren’t entitled to or ghost preparation. "Tax preparers play a vital role in submitting tax returns, with over half

Purdue University Northwest's (PNW) Odyssey Arts and Cultural Events Series, in cooperation with the Michigan City Public Library and the Irving Levin Jewish Cultural Fund of Sinai Temple, presents a Jewish Film Festival from 1:30 to 4:45 p.m. Sunday, April 8 at the Michigan City Public Library, 100 E. 4th St., Michigan City. The film festival is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Two documentary films will be presented that offer a look at the lives of individuals facing differing life circumstances. "Dancing in Jaffa" Directed by Hilla Medalia, "Dancing in Jaffa" documents renowned ballroom dancer

The Indiana Department of Transportation today announced that the agency’s annual Trash Bash! will take place Friday, April 13 through Sunday, April 15. Trash Bash! brings INDOT crews together with volunteers to beautify the state’s roadside areas by cleaning trash and debris. On average, INDOT invests about $4.3 million and more than 60,000 labor hours to pick up litter on state highways each year. On Friday, April 13, INDOT maintenance staff across the state will direct their focus toward litter collection on roads with high-traffic volume, such as interstates and divided highways. INDOT urges individuals, organizations, businesses and active Adopt-a-Highway

At Lubeznik Center for the Arts, there is currently a display of the Michigan City Area Schools Student Art Exhibit in the NIPSCO Education Studios through April 12. Also discover Birds & Bees , where ten artists share their personal interpretations and connections to birds or bees through drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture, mixed media, installation and video through June 2.

A number of measures that U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly has either introduced or supported to combat the opioid abuse epidemic were signed into law by President Trump today as part of the bipartisan government funding bill. The law includes funds to support the addiction treatment workforce through National Health Service Corps, which Donnelly advocated for as part of his Strengthening the Addiction Treatment Workforce Act, bipartisan legislation he introduced with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). That funding will help recruit more substance use disorder providers to serve in underserved communities. The law includes $4 billion in funds for grants to states

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) Nominating Committee is soliciting applications from people interested in filling an upcoming vacancy on the commission created by the expiration of Angela Weber’s term. Applications will be accepted today through Monday, April 9, 2018, and must be received in the Governor’s Office by close of business that day. After the close of the application period, the nominating committee will conduct a public meeting to interview applicants and will present Gov. Holcomb with a list of the three most highly qualified candidates, from which he may fill the vacancy. Applications for the position may be

The Indiana Department of Workforce development released new employment and unemployment data. Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.2 percent for February and remains lower than the national rate of 4.1 percent. Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 2,495 over the previous month. This was a result of 2,243 unemployed residents no longer seeking employment within the past four weeks, and a 4,738 increase in residents employed. Indiana's total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.31 million, and the state’s 63.7 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of

The La Porte County Drug Task Force announced the arrest of 24 year Jessica N. Dawson, La Porte. Probable cause was found to charge Dawson with two counts of Dealing in a Narcotic Drug (heroin) Level 5 Felony. Ms. Dawson was taken into custody by The Fugitive Apprehension Street Team (F.A.S.T.) without incident at Country Acres Apartment Complex in La Porte, on March 21st. The La Porte County Drug Task Force encourages citizens to report suspected drug activity via social media, or the crime tip hotline 873-1488. All arrested parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of

At a bill signing for legislation that creates sexual harassment prevention policies for the Indiana General Assembly, Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and Chief Justice Loretta Rush shared changes to sexual harassment training policies for the state’s executive and judicial branches. The governor signed House Enrolled Act 1309 in his office Thursday with the bill’s author state Rep. Karen Engleman, Senate sponsors Sen. Jim Buck and Sen. Tim Lanane, and co-author Rep. Cherrish Pryor. The bill requires annual sexual harassment training for all members of the General Assembly.

This week, Governor Eric Holcomb signed into law Senate Bill 387 (SB387), the Teacher Permits, Examinations, and Salaries bill, which incorporates extensive feedback and recommendations from Teach Plus Indiana Policy Fellows and alumni. Teach Plus teachers provided detailed comments on the bill’s content and offered recommendations that have been included as amendments. Teachers have testified before the Senate education committee and have been featured in the local media supporting the bill. SB387 provides for supplemental pay to special education and STEM teachers outside the bargaining agreement, with the intent of giving school corporations the flexibility to increase pay to attract

LaPorte County Prosecuting Attorney John Espar announced that a Porter County resident has been charged with OWI causing death and reckless homicide. As a result of a traffic accident that happened in southern LaPorte County. In February 16th, 46 year old Jeffery Bilyak, a dentist residing in Chesterton, was northbound near the 20000 south block of US 421 when he attempted to pass a semi. This occured during extremely reduced visibility conditions, which had previously that morning caused LaPorte County to be under a travel advisory due to dense fog causing visibility to be less than a quarter of a

Michigan City High School welcomed six students from Zama Sogo High School in Japan for ten days earlier this month, March 10-20. The two high schools have had a "sister school" relationship for several years, and students from Zama Sogo visit both Michigan City and Chesterton each year, staying with host families. At a farewell dinner on March 19, the MCHS student hosts (Kiara Stansil, Zack Parker, Lauren Werner, Liz LaFollette, Reese Attar, and Kendyl Adney) gave farewell speeches in Japanese and the Zama Sogo students gave speeches in English. After many photos, hugs, tears, line dancing, and laughter, the

A Dodge Challenger Hellcat was tamed on the Indiana Toll Road on Tuesday evening for driving 160 miles per hour, over twice the speed limit. On March 20, 2018, around 7:00 p.m., Trooper Dustin Eggert was merging back into traffic after helping a broke down motorist near the 45 mile marker eastbound when an Orange Dodge Challenger Hellcat passed him at a high rate of speed. Eggert purportedly saw the Hellcat weaving in and out of traffic without using turn signals as it moved around slower vehicles. Eggert sped up to catch up to the Hellcat and soon found himself

On Tuesday, March 20th, 2018 at approximately 11:20 AM (CST), Deputies from the       La Porte County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a two-vehicle personal injury crash that had occurred on US Highway 20 at the intersection of Fail Road, in rural Kankakee Township.  Deputies arrived at the scene and determined two (2) subjects were injured as a result of the crash.       The crash investigation revealed that a 2007 Peterbilt semi-tractor, driven by Patrick HOFF (54 YOA) of Modale, Iowa was traveling westbound on US 20.  Deputies learned HOFF disregarded the traffic control device at the intersection of US

The Alliance for a Healthier Indiana is hosting a series of town hall meetings in 2018 to discuss public health issues plaguing the state. Between April and October, the State of Our Health Road Show will stop in 17 Hoosier cities. The tour will be in East Chicago on May 1st, Gary on May 2nd and South Bend on May 3rd. The State of Our Health Road Show meetings are free and open to the public. Space is limited, and registration is required. For more information on the State of Our Health Road Show and becoming a partner, visit HealthierIndiana.org

Indiana American Water announced that it is partnering with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to promote Fix a Leak Week, which runs through March 25th. The national campaign, part of the EPA’s WaterSense program, raises awareness about small leaks and other water waste that might be occurring within homes. Across the U.S., EPA estimates that U.S. households waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water due to leaks and that the average household could cut 10 percent off their water bill by spending a couple of hours every few months checking for and repairing these leaks. More information can be

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announces the reopening of SR 331, between 9th Road and 10th Road, in Marshall County. This stretch of SR 331 was closed back in February due to damage caused by the historic rainfall and flooding that hit the entire Northwest District of INDOT. INDOT maintenance crews were able to expedite a project to fix the roadway.

A semi lost control, after hitting a tire, overturning his trailer, and catching his tractor on fire, blocking three lanes of west bound traffic on I-80/94 at Calumet Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. Preliminary investigation by Sergeant Lee Wright revealed at approximately 12:41 p.m., a 2014 Volvo tractor pulling a rail container, operated by Evans Delivery Company out of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and driven by Amrik Bal, 56 of Indianapolis, was west bound on I-80/94 when he hit a tire that was laying in the left middle lane. The truck then hit the concrete barrier median wall causing the trailer to lose