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The Indiana State Department of health updated their weekly COVID county advisory level map on Wednesday. Porter County has moved from a metric score of 1.5 yellow advisory to a metric score of 2 with an orange advisory. Lake and St. Joseph Counties remain at a score of 2 with orange advisories. Jasper County has moved from a score of 2 orange advisory to a score of 2.5 with an orange advisory. La Porte and Starke counties remain at a score of 2.5 with an orange advisory. Newton County remains at a score of 3 out of 3 with a

Knights of Columbus Council #5929, based out of St. Patrick’s and St. Anne’s Parishes in Chesterton and Pine Township, has made a $6,000 donation to update the St. Patrick’s school antiquated computer lab for the 2021-2022 school year.  Knight Dwight Noble (right) presented the check to St. Patrick’s principal Richard Rupchich (left) on Tuesday. “Being a Knight is all about Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism,” Dwight Noble said. “The school came to us with a plea for help, and our council united and responded in a big way!” The Council #5929 of the Knights of Columbus have resumed meeting in

The Valparaiso Fire Department recently swore in three firefighters in a special ceremony at City Hall. The new firefighters are Caila Vale, Will Phillis and Colin Mancera. The City of Valparaiso says that with the addition of more firefighters this year, the department will have four firefighters on each engine for emergencies. This puts the department in the top 20 percent nationwide for departments their size, according to the press release.

A crash on I-65 sent one person to the hospital Tuesday afternoon. At 1:45 p.m., a state trooper responded to a crash on I-65 southbound at the 246.8 mile-marker. Preliminary investigation showed that a 2010 Ford Focus was traveling southbound in the far left lane when the driver, 36-year-old Jaime L. Wheeler, of Wheatfield, lost control of the vehicle on the wet roadway. The Ford then struck the trailer of a semi that was traveling in the center lane. The Ford was wedged under the trailer resulting in injuries to the driver, who was transported to the Franciscan Health Hospital

NiSource, one of the largest fully-regulated utility companies in the United States, announced the launch of the Columbia Gas and NIPSCO mobile apps by its operating companies. The apps are now available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.  The mobile apps closely mirror the functionality available on the respective operating company customer-focused websites, including bill payment, managing enrollments (e.g., Paperless Billing, AutoPay and Budget Plans), examining usage, reporting an electric outage (NIPSCO only) and viewing bill history. The mobile apps also include the newly released start, stop and move service feature. Jennifer Montague, senior vice president

The La Porte County Health Department (LPCHD) has received confirmation from the Indiana State Department of Health that a pool of mosquitoes submitted for testing has tested positive for West Nile Virus. This is the first positive identification of West Nile Virus in La Porte County this year. The La Porte County Health Department stated the following, “The species most likely to transmit the virus are those that prefer to breed in containers therefore it is important to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes that may potentially carry viruses. Avoid leaving standing water in yards and around homes. Clean birdbaths and

A Hobart man has been charged in a fatality crash that occurred on June 13, at 6:28 PM, deputies were dispatched to the area of US 20 and Pinetree Drive, reference a personal injury crash. Deputies arrived and found one of the involved drivers trapped inside his vehicle and unresponsive. That driver, 19-year-old Malachi R. Young of Michigan City, was pronounced dead at the scene. Given the circumstances and dynamics of the crash, the Sheriff’s Office Fatal Alcohol Crash Team (FACT) was activated to assist with the investigation. Following their initial response, FACT members continued investigating the crash.  As a

Faculty members from Purdue University Northwest (PNW) will present a series of interdisciplinary lectures and discussions this fall on critical race theory, racism and teaching evaluations, ethics of protest, and who is hurt by racism. In its second year, the successful free, educational series, “Race, Racism, Anti-racism,” will feature four lectures presented by PNW faculty members from the College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences. Karen Bishop-Morris, associate professor of English at PNW, will act as moderator for the series. This series fosters dialogue to contribute to the deeper understanding of race, racism and race relations within the United States and

In Lake County, during the overnight hours of approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21 to 5 a.m. Wednesday, three lanes of westbound I-80/94 will be closed for bridge painting between mile marker 4.9 and 3.0 (Kennedy Ave). Closures will start with one lane around 8 p.m., two lanes after 10 p.m. and three lanes after 3 a.m.  The schedule is weather dependent and subject to change.

The Indiana State Police is reminding the public that farmers will begin harvesting this year’s crops which means more slow-moving agricultural equipment will be traveling on Indiana’s rural roads and highways. Police want to remind everyone to stay alert and be courteous to ensure we all get home safely. In 2019 in Indiana, farm equipment vehicles (other than trucks) were involved in three accidents, with one fatality, according to the National Highway Traffic Administration. Farm equipment during harvest season could include tractors, combines, grain carts, grain wagons and large trucks hauling agricultural products. These vehicles are wide and sometimes take

The Michigan City Police Department is looking for members of the community who would like to experience the inner workings of what it is like to be a police officer. Beginning Thursday, Oct. 7, from 6pm - 8:30 pm, they will be sponsoring an opportunity for members of the community to become closely acquainted with the roles and responsibilities of the Police Department. The Michigan City Police Department Citizen's Police Academy (MCCPA) brings the police and the community together in a setting that offers a sample of police training to each participant. Academy Participants will receive two and a half

Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) TRIO program was awarded renewed grants from the U.S. Department of Education for its federally funded Educational Talent Search programs to continue serving first-generation and economically disadvantaged college students. The pre-college programs provide counseling, aptitude assessment, career exploration, financial assistance information, college visits, college application help and more at the Hammond and Westville campuses. The program coordinators service students in Lake, La Porte, Porter, and Starke counties. The new five-year grant cycle for September 2021 to August 2026 awarded around $2 million for Hammond and $1.8 million for Westville. The grants are increased from $1.2 million and $1.5 million, respectively, in

Hundreds of residents participated in this year’s Northwest Indiana Walk to End Alzheimer’s – both in person in Lake County on Sept. 12 and Porter County on Sept. 18. Other participants watched an online ceremony and walked from home in their own neighborhoods. Participants raised $91,077 to support the care, support and research programs of the Alzheimer’s Association – exceeding this year’s goal of $85,000. This was the first year the event was held in Porter County. Fundraising will continue through the end of the year, and those who didn’t participate can still donate to the Walk at act.alz.org/nwindiana. The final

The South Shore Line, in partnership with Indiana Operation Lifesaver, is once again participating in National Rail Safety Week this week. Their teams will continue to spread awareness of rail safety to the surrounding communities where they operate. On Thursday, South Shore representatives will be present at Millennium Station throughout the morning commute, distributing educational materials about train and grade-crossing safety, answering any questions, and listening to commuters' safety concerns. The blitzes are part of their ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the importance of safe behavior around their trains and tracks. The rail safety programs include free presentations by

The Valparaiso Police Department is seeking assistance in the search for 33 year old Nicole J. Narug, of Valparaiso. Nicole was last seen on Wednesday, September 15 at approximately 12:00 p.m. in a 2000 block of Calumet Ave.  Nicole was further contacted by phone on this day at approximately 1:30 p.m.   Police say Nicole has medical needs that require medication, and it is unknown if she has doses of the medication in her possession.  Nicole is described as a white female, 5’7, 161 pounds, with brown hair, and blue eyes. There is no current clothing description available on Nicole.   If

On Friday the La Porte Police Department congratulated CPL. Joe Toth on his retirement from the LPPD. Over the last 20 years, Toth served in the detective bureau, as well as an Emergency Response Team Leader and as a day shift supervisor.  The La Porte Police Department said on their Facebook page, “You would be hard pressed to find a more respected, caring and harder working police officer. The void left by his retirement will be felt for sometime and we are better as a community for having had him serve with LPPD. Thank you, Joe, for your many years of

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development recently released the state’s unemployment report for August. Indiana’s unemployment rate remains unchanged at 4.1 percent for August, and the national rate is 5.2 percent. The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force. Indiana’s labor force had a net decrease of 2,499 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 813 unemployed residents and a decrease of 1,686 employed residents.  Indiana's total labor force,