Local News

This past Friday, Managed Health Services (MHS) hosted a bullying prevention initiative at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Valparaiso. MHS sponsored an assembly in honor of National No One Eats Alone Day, created by the non-profit Beyond Differences. Students attended a bullying prevention program in the school auditorium performed by Young Actors Theatre. The students learned about social isolation and the negative impact it can have on a student's health and academic performance. After the program, students put the lesson into action by sitting with students at lunch who they don't know or who may feel left out. They were

Michigan City Area Schools is excited to celebrate the completion of a solar energy project involving solar arrays at 7 buildings. As far as the school system knows, this represents the largest, combined collection of arrays at an Indiana K-12 school district to date. The ceremony will be Wednesday, March 28 at 9:00am at Krueger Middle School, 2001 Springland Avenue, Michigan City. Project partners will be on hand and we'll have a ceremonial ribbon cutting to celebrate. (Additional information can be found at https://www.performanceservices.com/project/michigan-city-area-schools )

A dedication of an Indiana state historical marker for La Porte University from the Indiana Historical Bureau will be taking place on Friday, March 30th. The event will be at the Intersection of Harrison and Clay Streets, which is adjacent to Lincoln Elementary School (402 Harrison St) Downtown. La Porte University was established in the early 1840s to include law, literary, and medical departments.  The medical school served as a pioneer in medical education and training in the Midwest in the mid-1800s.

The Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) invites any interested community members to register to attend the presentation of the La Porte County Opioid Study commissioned by the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte through the Center for Health Policy at the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. The study addresses the burden of opioid addiction in La Porte County and makes recommendations to address the community's needs and gaps related to this issue. The presentation will take place Thursday, April 19 from 8-11am at Purdue University Northwest’s campus. A continental breakfast will be available at 7:40am, and the

There will be an all you can eat fish fry this Friday from 5-8PM at American Legion Post #21 on Highway 421 in Westville. Dinner includes:hand breaded pollock, chicken strips, french fries, creamy coleslaw, salad, rolls and homemade desserts. Special veterans and senior Pricing: Adults are $9.00, Seniors(60yrs+) & Vets-are $7.00, Kids 12 & under are $5.00, Preschoolers are Free. Carry-outs available.

With spring break right around the corner, the South Shore Line (SSL) is expanding its Kids Ride Free program for spring break to include 3 children under the age of 14 to ride free with a paying adult on ALL trains (not just off-peak and weekend) from March 24 – April 7, 2018. For more information on train schedules, discounts and to plan your spring break trip, please visit mysouthshoreline.com or download the SSL app.

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,

U.S. Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) announced the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act, bipartisan legislation that would address the ongoing shortage of professionals needed to provide treatment and recovery services as communities combat the opioid abuse epidemic. The bill would incentivize students to pursue substance use disorder work by providing them with student loan relief up to $250,000 if they work for six years in areas that have high overdose rates or a shortage of treatment providers. The program would be open to a number of providers including physicians, nurses, social workers,

Governor Eric Holcomb has asked Indiana lawmakers to authorize $5 million more for school safety spending before they adjourn for the 2018 legislative session. The governor sent a letter to Republican and Democrat House and Senate leaders with the request and outlined other steps his administration will lead over the next several months to improve school safety. Holcomb outlined his request with Senator Long and Speaker Bosma on Wednesday and has discussed school safety matters with Attorney General Curtis Hill and Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jennifer McCormick in the past several days.

In regards to the 60-Day insurance moratorium issued by Indiana the Department of Insurance, nine additional counties were declared disaster areas last week in Indiana. In response to the new Executive Order signed by Governor Holcomb on March 7, the Indiana Department of Insurance Commissioner Stephen W. Robertson wants Hoosiers in all of the impacted areas to know that the 60-day grace period applies to them. Commissioner Robertson signed Bulletin 241 on March 2, prior to additional impacted counties being added to the disaster emergency. The Bulletin directs insurance companies to implement a 60-day cancellation moratorium for any policyholder directly

Michigan City Area Schools' annual "Wolfpack Roundup" will take place on Thursday, March 15 at 5:30pm. Students in grades 5 through 8 -- and their families -- are invited visit area middle schools or the high school on this date, to find out what’s in store for them at the next level. Barker Middle School, Krueger Middle School, and Michigan City High School will all be open for tours, a meet and greet with teachers and staff, and other activities. Wolfpack Roundup will provide details about academics, clubs, and athletics, along with information about the Michigan City Promise scholarship. Public,

The Purdue University Northwest (PNW) Career Center will host a Professional Educators Fair on Tuesday, March 20 in the Great Hall of the Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex on the Westville Campus.. Students, alumni, and the general public are invited to attend. This event is intended for those pursuing careers in teaching, educational administration, social services, and school or mental health counseling. Public and private school systems from Northwest Indiana, Lafayette, Plymouth, Chicago and parts of Michigan, Texas, and Maryland will be in attendance with multiple employment opportunities available. The fair is free of charge and open to job

La Porte, Porter, and Starke hospitals, as well as physician clinics associated with the facilities, are ready to welcome dedicated, smart, scrub-wearing, friendly go-getters who want excellent training, advancement opportunities, and competitive compensation. The hospital network is hosting two job fairs in March to meet interested applicants for a variety of posted positions. The events are from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., March 12 at La Porte Hospital Main Lobby, and Porter Regional Hospital’s Community Room from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., March 13th,located at 85 E. U.S. Highway 6, Valparaiso. For a complete list of positions available, visit laportehealth.com/careers,

Michigan City High School will conduct a College Financial Planning Workshop entitled "Paying for College: There IS a Way!" on Wednesday, March 28, from 5pm-7pm in the high school auditorium. Panelists will include representatives from INvestEd, 21st Century Scholars, the Michigan City Promise Scholarship, the Unity Foundation, and Horizon Bank. Families will have an opportunity to ask questions regarding early financial planning for their students. They will also have an opportunity to sign up for the programs of interest at the event. The event is free and open to all families with students of any age -- most especially those

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) hosted two nights of Academic Super Bowl competitions for high school students in Porter and La Porte counties on March 7-8. Competitions were held in the James B. Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex on PNW's Westville Campus. The Academic Super Bowl theme was "World War I," with students answering questions in six subject areas: science, fine arts, social studies, mathematics, English and interdisciplinary. Porter County high school competition The 11th annual competition for students in Porter County was March 7 with all nine Porter County high schools represented: Boone Grove, Chesterton, Hebron, Kouts, Morgan Township,

MCPD Chief Mark Swistek would like to proudly announce the newest member of the department K-9 ”AXEL” and his partner, Officer Michael Oberle. In September of 2017, applications were put out to all officers of the department who had an interest in becoming a K-9 Handler. After receiving numerous applications, Officer Michael Oberle was selected by the command staff of the department. In January of 2018, Chief Swistek along with Officer Oberle traveled to Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana to select the newest recruit. Once there after several demonstrations they immediately picked Axel, a 16-month-old German Shepard from Hungary.

The 2017 film, “Marshall” will be presented at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 18 at the Michigan City Library, 100 E. Fourth St., Michigan City, through a collaboration between the Purdue University Northwest Odyssey Arts and Cultural Events Series and the Michigan City Public Library. The screening is free and open to the public. “Marshall” is a 2017 film drama about Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice and focuses on one of the first cases of his career. The film is rated PG-13. For more information about this film screening or about the Odyssey series contact Judy Jacobi, assistant

Michigan City High School will conduct a College Financial Planning Workshop entitled "Paying for College: There IS a Way!" on Wednesday, March 28, from 5pm-7pm in the high school auditorium. Panelists will include representatives from INvestEd, 21st Century Scholars, the Michigan City Promise Scholarship, the Unity Foundation, and Horizon Bank. Families will have an opportunity to ask questions regarding early financial planning for their students. They will also have an opportunity to sign up for the programs of interest at the event. The event is free and open to all families with students of any age -- most especially those

The Indiana State Board of Education (SBOE) has announced it will be holding an additional public hearing on the SBOE’s proposed Accountability Rule. The additional meeting will follow the other five public hearings that the SBOE has conducted around the state. The additional hearing will take place in Indianapolis on Monday, March 19. You can provide public comments at the one of the SBOE’s work group meetings on March 21st and April 3rd, via email through the SBOE’s public comment portal until March 29th at sboe_comment@sboe.in.gov, or at the April 4, 2018 SBOE meeting. If approved, Indiana’s new school accountability rule

Trail Creek Deputy Marshal Nick Korepanow, was dispatched to a Burglar Alarm early Friday morning at approximately 3:30am, to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles located in Evergreen Plaza. Prior to his arrival, Marshal Korepanow was informed that a vehicle had struck the building. As officers arrived at the scene, a male driver identified as 25-year-old Nicholas Judge, came forward identifying himself to Officer Korepanow as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the crash. Judge stated that he entered his truck to go home when the accelerator pedal became lodged against the floor board causing his vehicle