News

All first responder and law enforcement vehicles in Starke County will have picture communication boards, according to a social media statement from Starke County Sheriff Jack Rosa. Through a grant provided by the Autism Society of American and Today’s Champions, the Autism Society of Indiana purchased the boards. The communication boards will give police, fire fighters and EMS providers a way to communicate with a person who may be nonverbal, have limited English skills, have autism or other disabilities or mental health issues. All participants also received a training video on how to implement the communication board, according to Rosa.

The Michigan City Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) announced Carly Levandoski as the Ambassador of the Quarter for the Fourth Quarter of 2022. “I am honored to be the Ambassador of the Quarter!” stated Levandoski. “Whether working as an ambassador or with a client, I remember the line from Mary Poppins, ‘In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and-snap! —the job’s a game!’ I try to make work fun and get satisfaction out of helping others.” The Ambassador of the Quarter is given to an individual who has shown dedication to

The Rotary Club of Michigan City is pleased to announce it is accepting nominations for the 2022 Paul J. Alinsky Award. This award is presented in honor of Paul Alinsky, who was a past President of the Rotary Club, past Chairman of the Board for the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce, and founder of Sentinel Alarm Company. Paul passed away in 1997 and the award was created to keep his memory alive. It is presented annually to a person from the Michigan City community who exhibits dedication to community service, as well as excellence, passion and innovation in their vocation

Every year, Indiana DNR sends out the Deer Management Survey to gather observations and opinions from both deer hunters and non-hunters interested in deer management. The survey responses are used to improve deer management. The survey is scheduled to be sent out during the first week of February. The Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife said on its Facebook page the survey will be sent to all individuals who have an email address in their online license system and/or those who have checked in a deer in the past five years. Individuals who wish to receive the survey, but

Indiana Conservation Officer Trevor Bolt has been selected as the 2022 District 1 Officer of the Year. District 1 includes St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, Kosciusko, Fulton, Miami, and Wabash counties. Bolt is assigned to Marshall County where he has served since 2017. In addition to his normal duties as a field officer, Bolt serves as a division defensive tactics instructor. The district award puts Bolt in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is presented to the top overall conservation officer in the state and is selected from the 10 district winners. The Pitzer Award is named after Conservation Officer

A teen from Ohio has been arrested in connection to multiple threats that were called into Valparaiso High School over the past few weeks. The Valparaiso Police Department released the following statement on its Facebook page: "Over the last few weeks, the Valparaiso community has been alerted to potential threats within Valparaiso High School, with reports of possible violence called in on January 9, 17, and 26. The threats, communicated by phone, have interrupted school days by panicking our students, staff, and parents. Although it has been difficult to read about these events or receive communication from concerned children within

More than 100 students in La Porte County Career and Technical Education programs will receive certificates for completing a course in the use of fire extinguishers thanks to lessons provided by Fire Science students at the A.K. Smith Career Center. With the help of their instructor, retired Michigan City Fire Department Captain Rob Schaffer, the Fire Science students created a presentation and demonstration for the proper use of fire extinguishers and invited all of the career tech classes to attend a session. This included a hands-on experience using a fire extinguisher – and in most cases, it was their first

VOICE, Indiana’s statewide youth empowerment program, and the Indiana Department of Health hosted a Youth Day of Action Wednesday at the Indiana Statehouse to highlight actions that can be taken to lessen the impact commercial tobacco products have on young Hoosiers. Chief Medical Officer Lindsay Weaver, MD, FACEP, peer educators, and youth advocates from around the state were in attendance. Local VOICE groups and young people from across Indiana came together at the Statehouse to “Link Up” (the theme of the day) with their local representatives and other adult advocates to work towards preventing youth tobacco use. Each VOICE group

Dan Barriball of Chesterton, who has volunteered more than 1,200 hours for Indiana Dunes State Park during the past five years, received a national award as the 2022 Outstanding Interpretive Volunteer of the Year at the recent National Association for Interpretation (NAI) conference. The annual award is presented to an NAI member who has worked five or more years as a volunteer interpreter, whose educational background is not in interpretation, and whose current volunteer duties are in frontline interpretation or administration of an interpretive program. To be nominated, the individual “must demonstrate a mastery of interpretive techniques and program development

Mayor Matt Murphy of Valparaiso has announced that Frank Dessuit was named to the Valparaiso Redevelopment Commission. “Frank is an active community leader with diverse interests and experience. He will be an excellent addition to the Redevelopment Commission,” said Mayor Murphy. Dessuit is retired after 41 years of service with NIPSCO where he worked primarily with electric grid computer systems. He also volunteered as a basketball coach and managed the intramural sports program for Washington Schools for 20 years. Today he works part-time at BucherTech, serves on the Washington Township School Board and is an active volunteer with Grace Chapel.

Indiana State Police are investigating an officer involved shooting that took place Tuesday in Gary in which a man sustained fatal gunshot wounds, according to a press release from the ISP. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Indiana State Police were requested by Chief Jerry Williams to investigate an officer involved shooting that took place at the 1500 block of Chase Street in Gary. Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division Lowell Post and Crime Scene Investigators responded to the scene. Preliminary investigation shows that at around 3:00 p.m., patrol officers with the Gary Police Department responded to 911 hang up calls

MICHIGAN CITY, Indiana – Franciscan Health Michigan City in December performed the first patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure procedure in the hospital’s history, thanks to the addition of a new interventional cardiologist to the Franciscan Physician Network. Interventional cardiologist Kamal Sadat, MD, and his team performed the procedure via a cardiac catheterization technique on Dec. 1 without having to do cardiac surgery. Dr. Sadat joined the Franciscan Physician Network at the Franciscan Health Heart Center Michigan City in the fall of 2022. For many patients born with a PFO – also known as a hole in the heart -- the

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) presents its annual Homecoming celebration with a week’s worth of activities for the campus community, alumni and public through Feb. 3. Homecoming is one of PNW’s most anticipated spring semester festivities. Philanthropy, student life, networking, and sporting events capture the spirit and energy of the metropolitan university and its Pride Athletics teams. The celebration kicks off today (Wednesday) with “Decorate the House,” in which the PNW community is invited to brighten up its campuses with creative designs on designated office and building windows. The PNW community also actively supports its students during Homecoming through the Chancellor’s

Vice President of Unity Foundation, Shannon Walker, of La Porte County has been selected as a member of the 2023 class of the Mutz Philanthropic Leadership Institute. Launched by Indiana Philanthropy Alliance in 2021, the Mutz Institute provides a leadership training experience to skill-up professionals serving in board and executive roles at foundations, corporations and social impact organizations across Indiana. Walker successfully completed a competitive application process to gain one of 23 spots statewide in this year’s 10-month cohort. Walker earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Public Relations from Franklin College and a Master of Science in Technology,

Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) online bachelor’s and master’s nursing programs offered by the College of Nursing earned recognitions in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Online Program rankings, released Tuesday, Jan. 24. PNW’s nationally recognized RN-to-BSN program ranked 42 among Best Online Bachelor’s Programs. The university says “The program offers busy nursing professionals an accelerated and convenient degree option to earn additional skills and credentials in order to advance their careers.” “Our online RN-to-BSN program rankings represent our nearly 15 years of experience,” said Lisa Hopp, dean of the College of Nursing at PNW. “Our faculty design courses that represent

The Indiana DNR announced the Fish of the Year award winners for 2022. Each year anglers from around the state submit their biggest hook-and-line catches from Indiana waters hoping they will top the list for their species. Winning entries for Fish of the Year are determined by the total length of the fish. Participants are required to submit information about their fish, including where they caught it and the bait they used. They must also include a photo documenting the measured length of the fish. In 2022, 71 anglers submitted entries for 55 different species. Submissions included numerous entries for

The DNR Division of Law Enforcement has announced that Indiana Conservation Officer Tim Janowski has been selected as the 2022 District 10 Officer of the Year. District 10 includes Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, Jasper, Starke, and Pulaski counties. Janowski is assigned to Lake County where he has served since 1998. In addition to his normal duties as a field officer, Janowski has served as a field training officer, public safety diver, boat accident investigator, background investigator, and passenger-for-hire inspector. The district award places Janowski in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is presented to the top overall conservation officer

A Michigan City Man was arrested Friday for allegedly stealing wire and selling it, according to Indiana State Police. The Indiana State Police Criminal Investigation Division Lowell Post was requested In early December of 2022, to investigate a theft that had allegedly occurred at the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD). The NICTD Police Department had requested the assistance in investigating a theft of wire that they believed was a theft by an employee of NICTD. During the investigation, it was determined that an employee was on video removing a spool of wire from a storage area without authorization.  The

Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) is hosting the first Nonprofit Excellence Symposium, Leaders Learn, on Friday, Jan. 27. The Symposium, held at HFL’s Conference & Learning Center, is a one-day event welcoming more than 40 La Porte County nonprofit leaders to learn from experts and each other, network, share best practices, and grow as leaders. La Porte County’s nonprofits provide a range of needed services for residents of all ages, from prenatal care to senior support. HFL’s mission is to empower La Porte County residents to live healthy and well. HFL advances its mission through strategic thought leadership, grantmaking,

Horizon Bank has announced a partnership with Valparaiso University for a 16-week internship program for university analytics students. The program will provide students with the opportunity to work on a real-world analytics project for the bank, while also giving them the chance to learn about the challenges and opportunities involved in the data science space. "We are excited to partner with Horizon Bank for this program," said Valparaiso University President José D. Padilla. "Our students will have the chance to work on a real-world analytics project for a leading community bank and apply their analytical skills to solve business challenges.