Local News

The League of Women Voters of La Porte County is pleased to present Diane Gonzales, Secretary of the La Porte County Board of Commissioners for the February 13 Lunch With The League. Her program will include updates on current projects and issues in La Porte County, and she will answer questions afterwards. Join the LWV for this informative 12:00 noon program at Patrick's Grille, 4125 Franklin Street in Michigan City. The general public is invited and reservations are not required. For non-members, a donation is requested. Attendees are encouraged to arrive at 11:30 and may purchase a lunch of their

They may be gone but their service and sacrifice has not been forgotten. Yesterday, the Michigan City Fire Department paid tribute to Captain Lee Brady who died responding to call of a mayday on January 22, 1959 at the Liberty Theatre Fire. Captain Lee Brady was thirty six years old and had over twelve years of service on the Michigan City Fire Department. Captain Brady was assigned as an Assistant Fire Inspector and worked days on the Michigan City Fire Department.  His shift for the day had ended at 4:00 PM and he was on his way home when the

The Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) awarded its winter Get Active, Get Fit! prize on January 16, 2018 to Maddox Maxfield, a five-year-old from La Porte. His prize was his very first brand new bike and Spiderman helmet - his favorite superhero. Even through winter is here, it is important for children to continue being active. Sledding, building snowmen, and playing outside in the snow are all great ways to be active for 30 minutes or more each day. Maddox has stayed active this winter through the pre-school program at the YMCA. Among other community partners like the city

This past Thursday at around 8pm, the South Bend Police Department received a report of gunshots fired in the 1100 block of Clover St. Officers were dispatched to the area and located a single vehicle crashed on Hildreth St. near Twyckenham St. (this is approximately one block east of Clover). In an update, Friday an autopsy was completed for 17 year old Tysiona Crawford, the victim from Thursday’s homicide investigation. The forensic pathologist determined the cause of her death to be gunshot wound and the manner of her death to be a homicide. This remains an active and on-going investigation,

Nominations for the Governor's Century and Half Century Business Awards are now open. Chair of the House Committee on Commerce Small Business and Economic Development State Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) explained the important role local businesses play. Morris also explained why they should be recognized for their service to communities. These awards honor businesses that were founded and have continuously operated in the state of Indiana for at least 50 or 100 years. Award recipients will be presented with a commemorative certificate from Governor Eric Holcomb at the Indiana Statehouse. Applications are due February 16th. All eligible companies are

In order to accommodate an expected increase in passengers for the Women’s March Chicago on Saturday, January. 20th, the South Shore Line will have additional capacity available for Train 502’s run. In the afternoon, an eastbound passenger extra will run following the event. It will depart Millennium Station at 4:25 p.m. (Van Buren St. at 4:28 p.m.), run non-stop to Hegewisch and make all local stops terminating at Carroll Avenue, Michigan City. This train will not serve Hudson Lake or South Bend.

Governor Eric Holcomb, joined executives of the St. Joseph County Airport Authority Thursday to announce that American Airlines will restart operations at South Bend International Airport (SBN), adding two new nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). A key part of Governor Holcomb's Next Level Agenda, expanding nonstop flight options will help increase the state's connectivity to key national markets and enhance quality of place for Hoosiers. The flights, which will begin June 7, will offer twice-daily service to both Dallas/Fort Worth and Charlotte, which serve as American Airlines hubs. Tickets for both

Marquette Catholic High School announced that Congressman Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN) will speak to several social studies classes on campus on Thursday, January 25th in the Rudy Hart Theatre. Visclosky serves as Indiana's First Congressional District Representative in Washington D.C. In his 33rd year in politics, Congressman Visclosky is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and also serves as the Ranking Member on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The Gary native has long been an advocate for Northwest Indiana's steel industry.

All boys and girls ages 9 to 14 are invited to participate in the local level of competition for the 2018 Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship. The local competition will be held Sunday, Jan 21, 2018 at 1pm at the New Gym at St Patrick’s Church in Chesterton. The Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship is sponsored annually, with winners progressing through local, district, and state competitions.

The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) announced the launch of On-Ramp, an accelerator program designed to assist early career creative entrepreneurs advance their business goals and objectives. The three-day Creative Entrepreneur Course will be May 18 - 20, 2018 in Madison, Indiana, and focuses on business skills, career goals, and community engagement learning. Those who complete the course are also eligible to apply for the On-Ramp fellowship, which includes up to $2,000 of project funding. More information on the specific training, mentorship and opportunities that On-Ramp provides is available at https://www.in.gov/arts/onramp.htm. Applications for On-Ramp must be completed through the Arts Commission's online

The Lake Michigan shoreline has a sand erosion problem that's hurting commercial shipping and threatening natural habitats, but there's a new plan to help. For about 200 years, man-made structures have been interrupting the southward drift of sand along the shoreline, which has lead to the erosion of some the region's most scenic beaches. Towns along the lakefront, have worked individually to try to stop the erosion, but that's had only limited success. Now Ethan Brown with the Alliance for the Great Lakes says his group and the state's Department of Natural Resources are teaming up with north shore towns

Jim Harper has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Indiana Secretary of State. After law school, Harper completed a federal judicial clerkship in Indianapolis. He now practices law in Porter County. Harper serves on the board of a non-profit law firm that provides free and reduced-cost legal services to veterans, as well as the Hilltop House, a Valparaiso non-profit that provides early-childhood education and other services to Porter County families. In 2016, Harper was the Democratic nominee for State Senate in the 5th District. The Democratic nominee for Secretary of State will be chosen at the Indiana Democratic

The public is invited to an afternoon of romance and jazz at Michigan City’s Barker Mansion with local musicians Steve Champagne, Mary E. Rapier and David Lahm on Saturday, February 10 from 3:00 to 5:30 pm. A Victorian Romance will celebrate love in a very unique way, as this year marks the 125th wedding anniversary of Katherine and John Barker, who owned the largest freight car factory in the Midwest. For more information check out the WIMS Facebook page @wimsradio.

The Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) will once again be able to fund mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women in La Porte and Starke County who do not have the resources to pay for these services. The Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust (IBCAT) awarded a $15,000 grant for 2018 to continue HFL’s Breast Cancer Project. All Indiana residents may purchase an Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness special group recognition license plate by visiting any Indiana BMV license branch or online at www.in.gov/bmv for an annual $40 distinctive plate fee, $25 of which is a direct tax-deductible donation to IBCAT. The plate may

The snowfall affected the roadways in the WIMS listening area on Tuesday. The Westbound lanes on the Indiana Toll Road near the Michigan border were shut down for hours yesterday afternoon causing massive delays. All lanes were closed just after Chesterton. The accident involved two semi-trailers on the snow-covered stretch of the toll road. Eastbound traffic was backed up from Chesterton all the way to Gary. Also, westbound lanes of I-80/94 were closed near Cline Ave. due to a crash involving a semi tractor trailer. All lanes westbound I-80/94 were backed up from I-65 until past Cline Ave because of

In a story WIMS has been following, the St. Joseph County (Indiana) Prosecutor’s Office has given an update involving the January 11th shooting death of D’Angelo Jennings. Eighteen year old Torreay Fennessee, appeared before a Magistrate for his arraignment and bail hearing. Bond was set at $100,000 cash. Mr. Fennessee’s initial hearing was scheduled for January 30, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office previously charged Torreay Jordan Fennessee with Voluntary Manslaughter, a Level 2 Felony, with a Firearm Sentencing Enhancement. Please be advised that the charges filed against the defendant are merely accusations and that the

In a statement from the Westville Police Tuesday regarding the Westville boil water order, utility employees have the plant up and running and the first round of water samples has been sent off for testing. When these tests come back a mandatory second round of tests will be sent in. The utility workers are hopeful that the boil advisory will be lifted some time today. The police are relaying information as they get it. The advisory is for ingestion, the water is acceptable for bathing, laundry, cleaning.

The Michigan City Public Library is planning a $1.6 million, three-year remodel project that will add a Makerspace, new meeting room space and enhance computer availability.  The first phase of the project will begin in February and should conclude by August.  The cost of the remodel is spread over three years and paid for with saved and existing resources.  No bond issue or capital project funds will be expended. Phase I will begin in the Youth Services Department and include Audio-Visual and Periodical updates.  The creation of a Makerspace located in the Youth Services is included in the first phase.

On Tuesday, Governor Eric Holcomb will detail the state's plan to pilot a program aimed at teaching prison inmates in coding ahead of their release dates. Indiana will become the first state outside of California to adopt the program, known as The Last Mile, which aims to align inmates with gainful employment upon release. Indiana will first begin training women how to code at the Indiana Women's Prison as part of the pilot. Holcomb will have more details Tuesday alongside the program's founder, Chris Redlitz, and co-founder and program graduate Kenyatta Leal.

Four Winds South Bend will open on today. The state's newest casino is part of a $400 million planned investment that also includes a tribal village on the sovereign territory of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. The casino sits on 166 acres and construction began more than two years ago. The property includes 175,000 square-feet of gaming space and is the fourth Four Winds-branded casino. It is expected to eventually employ around 1,200 people. Today's ribbon cutting ceremony will include Pokagon Band Chairman John Warren, Four Winds Casino Resort Chief Operating Officer Frank Freedman and Four Winds South Bend