Local News

Opportunity Enterprises will host their annual Celebration of Achievement awards breakfast on June 28, 2018 at 8 am at Aberdeen Manor. The awards are presented to individuals with disabilities in recognition of outstanding achievement in meeting personal goals. Awards are also presented to outstanding volunteers, staff, and businesses for supporting individuals with disabilities. An inspirational program will be hosted by Marc Ruiz, OE board member and senior partner at Oak Partners in Valparaiso. The clients, staff, volunteers, and businesses were nominated by fellow clients and staff and a blind vote was held by the Board of Directors to select the

With extreme heat and humidity expected over the next few days, Mayor Meer would like to remind the citizens of cooling centers located within the City of Michigan City. Cooling centers will be available at the following locations: Michigan City Police Station (24 hours) 1201 E. Michigan Blvd. Michigan City Fire Administration Building (8am-4pm, Monday-Friday) 2510 E. Michigan Blvd. Michigan City Senior Center (8:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Friday) 2 on the Lake Michigan City City Hall (8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday) 100 E. Michigan Blvd. Michigan City Public Library (during regular business hours) 100 E. 4th Street Keys to Hope Community Resource Center (8:00am-5:00pm, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-12pm,

Over 24 days, the La Porte County Sheriff's Office issued 58 citations and made 6 arrests as part of the 2018 Click It or Ticket mobilization. More than 230 Indiana law-enforcement agencies joined thousands across the nation to enforce seat-belt laws in cars and trucks, for both children and adults, in the front seat and back, both day and night. The overtime, high-visibility traffic patrols were supported with federal traffic-safety funds administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).

A mobile operation that is replenishing and refurbishing raised pavement markings will start Monday and continue through July 1. As crews move through the locations, there will be lane closures with flaggers directing traffic. Please exercise caution in these zones and slow down to protect workers. The areas being worked on include: • A 20-mile stretch of U.S. 6 between U.S. 35 and U.S. 31. • A 17-mile stretch of SR 23 between U.S. 6 and U.S. 20. • A 21-mile stretch of U.S. 31 between U.S. 30 and U.S. 20. • Ramps connecting U.S. 31 to 7th Road (Veterans

NIPSCO announced a new grant to support local nonprofit organizations that provide public safety education and training across northern Indiana. Grant opportunities will include community and youth public safety education programming and training for first responders. Areas could include, but are not limited to, police and fire department fire and carbon monoxide safety programs, education and training in the prevention of damage to underground natural gas lines, and child-related safety education. Grant funding is not intended to cover the purchase of equipment other than that needed to support public safety education programs and training. Grants are available in amounts ranging

The Indiana Department of Education on Tuesday awarded New Prairie High School for student success on AP exams for the 2016-2017 school year, according to State Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie). During the 2018 Indiana AP Recognition Ceremony, the DOE and College Board recognized more than 70 schools for having 25 percent or more of their graduating class earn a score of 3 out of 5 or higher on at least one AP exam. Pressel said high school students take AP exams after they complete courses designed to demonstrate they are prepared to handle college-level work. With a successful AP

Secretary of State Connie Lawson announced yesterday that according to the official canvass of primary election returns recently certified by the Election Division, 20 percent, or 870,336 of Indiana’s 4.4 million registered voters cast a vote in the May 8 Primary Election. The complete 2018 Primary Election Turnout and Absentee Chart with voter statistics for each county can be viewed online (at: https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/Election_Turnout_and_Registration_20180608_124613PM.pdf). The report was compiled by the Secretary of State’s office using voter data gathered in Indiana’s 92 counties. Voter turnout in the 2018 primary represents a significant increase from the 2014 midterms and is comparable to the

As of June 13th, more than $3 million in FEMA assistance has been approved to help Indiana residents recover from the February flooding, and more than 2,400 registrations have been received. Federal funding is now available to homeowners and renters for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses after severe storms and flooding on February 14 – March 4, 2018. This assistance is available to affected individuals in the Indiana counties of Carroll, Clark, Dearborn, Elkhart, Floyd, Fulton, Harrison, Jasper, Jefferson, Kosciusko, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Ohio, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Spencer, Starke, Switzerland, Vanderburgh,

LaPorte County Emergency Management would like to remind people with the up and coming heat that is expected, Cooling Centers will be available at the following locations. **Michigan City** -Michigan City- City Hall 100 E Michigan Blvd during regular business hours, Monday thru Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm -Michigan City Fire Administration Building during regular business hours, Monday thru Friday 800am to 4:00pm **LaPorte City** -LaPorte County Complex the lobby area is open 24 hours -LaPorte Civic Monday thru Friday during regular business hours The Center Township Trustee office is also a warming and cooling center Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9-4

Moms and parents-to-be may have a lot of questions about what it means to have a healthy pregnancy. Bethany Cluskey, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., an obstetrician and gynecologist with La Porte Physician Network Women’s Care, has answers, and is inviting the community to meet her personally for a free program. The program is ideal for anyone who is pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, and for significant others, family or friends who are supporting pregnant moms. Dr. Cluskey will walk participants through a helpful discussion about nutrition and exercise recommendations for women, and how they change with pregnancy and breastfeeding. She'll also

Cadets of the Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) conducted a Leadership Camp at the St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, WI, from June 4-8. They also used a local Boy Scout Camp for some of the adventure training and a local state park for their land navigation exercise. The camp was funded by the Marine Corps. It did not cost MCHS or the cadets anything. Michigan City planned and coordinated the camp which also involved Portage and South Bend Riley High Schools. Among the events were rappelling, negotiating an obstacle course,

Indiana is one of seven states with a law allowing police to seize firearms from those considered a risk to themselves or others. And new research shows that these so-called "red-flag" laws are working to help prevent tragedies. According to a study conducted by Aaron Kivisto, an assistant professor of clinical psychology at the University of Indianapolis, in the ten years following enactment of Indiana's risk-based firearm seizure law, firearm suicides decreased 7-point-5 percent. The study also looked at Connecticut, the first state to pass such a law, and found a 1-point-6 percent reduction in firearm suicides immediately after its

The La Porte County Master Gardener Association will be hosting a meeting open to the public on Thursday, July 5th at the Purdue Extension – La Porte County Office located at 2857 W. State Road 2, La Porte, IN. The meeting will feature Zully Alvarado, presenting Accessible Gardening. Zully has been disabled most of her life, and will be sharing gardening tips that she’s learned along the way. She will also tell us about some of the projects her organization, Causes for Change, is involved in. She will discuss accessibility of public and private spaces for gardening. There will be

The Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) is holding its annual public hearing on June 19, 2018 at the Indiana Government Center South Building, Conference Room C from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. DOR’s public hearing provides customers and stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback and share their ideas on how the agency can improve policies, processes and procedures. As a new feature to promote accessibility and transparency in the process, those who are interested but unable to attend the hearing can visit DOR’s Facebook page where it will be streaming live for the first time. The public can also submit

Yesterday, U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly met with representatives from the Indiana chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to discuss ways to help prevent suicide in Indiana. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a report stating that suicide has now become the second-leading cause of death among 15- to 34-year-olds, and that the suicide rate in Indiana has risen 31.9% since 1999. Donnelly has been a leading voice in the Senate to improve mental health care and address the scourge of suicide. Those efforts have included authoring legislation that has been enacted to combat suicide among

The Michigan City Police Department congratulated Sergeant Ken Havlin for being selected as this year's Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police "Chris Anton" award recipient. The prestigious "Chris Anton Award" was named after the late Chris Anton, former Sheriff of Lake County and long-time active member of the Fraternal Order of Police. The "Chris Anton Award" was developed and named after Chris Anton in recognition of his many years of dedicated service of the Fraternal Order of Police. Chris Anton exemplified the true meaning and spirit of the Fraternal Order of Police with his involvement for many years as an

The American Legion, Department of Indiana's Centennial Commemorative Coin is a 2.5", textured raised and recessed, hand-painted, antique brass piece that proudly displays the Indiana Torch and 19 Stars, representing Indiana as the 19th State of the Union and our Hoosier Legion motto, We Change Lives on the back. The American Legion, founded by WWI veterans in Paris, France and chartered by Congress in 1919, is the largest Veterans Service Organization in the world. We advocate and support our nation's wartime veterans, their families and our communities. Show your support and help bring in the first 100 years of continued

Teens in grades 7-12 are invited to a new offering at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Michigan City: Ignite . The free, week-long event takes place July 16-20 from 6-8 pm each evening and is a twist on classic vacation bible school. Teens of all faith backgrounds are welcome, though programming will rely heavily on Catholic teachings. Activities for the week include a bonfire and s’mores with seminarians, SoulCore prayers and stretching, stewardship of the natural environment, a visit from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, creating blessing bags for area homeless, and a movie night with popcorn.

Join the Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce for Coffee Talk, a networking event for La Porte area business people. The event will take place on June 19th at Silver Birch of Michigan City, 4400 E. Michigan Boulevard, from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. This version of Coffee Talk will be Speed Networking, where each attendee will have the opportunity to speak to each other one-on-one for 2 minutes at a time. This event is free of charge, and coffee will be provided. These events highlight a nonprofit or community-based member of the Chamber at each meeting. The community member

Possible changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program now under debate in Congress could overwhelm the faith groups that run some of Indiana's hunger-fighting programs. Rules added to SNAP, formerly food stamps, under a proposal in the House could include much tighter income and work requirements for eligibility. States where those tactics have been tried report more people showing up at food banks and pantries. Andrew Green with Shepherd Community Center in Indianapolis says the problem is, they're already feeding as many people as they can. Supporters argue tighter rules could save the government money by forcing people to get