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The Indiana Department of Health announced Monday that 12,384 people have received a free COVID-19 vaccine at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including 4,169 who were vaccinated on Sunday. The clinic continues through Monday night. All appointments are booked.As of Monday, 1,113,856 first doses of vaccine have been administered in Indiana, and 703,808 individuals are fully vaccinated.Additional vaccination clinics are planned March 12-13 at Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg and March 26-27 at the University of Notre Dame. All appointments are full at Ivy Tech, but limited appointments remain at Notre Dame. A clinic also is being planned in Gary

Applications are now open for residents looking to improve their sidewalks, according to City of La Porte Engineer Nick Minich. The sidewalk repair program, which is a 50/50 matching grant, gives residents a chance to have sidewalks and curbs near their home repaired with up to $2,000 in assistance from the City. "Our engineering team has a long-term plan to remove all ADA deficiencies in City sidewalks, but this is going to take us some time to complete," Minich said. "Residents are also able to pay for sidewalk improvement projects themselves, but it can be costly. This program gives residents

In a unanimous decision, the Laporte County Democratic Party held a caucus to elect a new slate of officers to lead the party forward: Chairman Vidya Kora, Vice Chair Laura Cutler, Treasurer Linda Simmons, and Secretary Sean Quinn.Dr Kora, a former two term Laporte County Commissioner and local physician served as the chair of the LaPorte Country Democratic Party from 2000 to 2008 and stated, “I am happy and excited about working with this new team at the Laporte County Democratic Central Committee.” Laura Cutler, a local business owner in LaPorte for over 18 years, is in her 2nd term

The Indiana State Police has become aware of eight confirmed cases which have occurred throughout the state of Indiana recently exhibiting similar fraudulent activities. All the cases have the following elements: Person wants to purchase an ATV, side by side, lawn mower, dirt bike, etc. over the phone.Provided driver’s licenses and credit cards are fraudulent.Credit card transactions might be declined, additional credit cards may be used for the entire purchase, or charges may be disputed later by actual credit card owner.Suspect's story is often that they are buying the vehicle for someone else, who is not present.Suspect usually brings a

Purdue University has been named a 2020-21 Top Producer for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, highlighting the university’s dedication to international education and research.Each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship program for international educational exchange. The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes the lists annually. For 2020-21, The Fulbright program extended 12 offers via the U.S. Student Program, including a combination of English teaching assistantship grants and research assistantship grants. Students at Purdue apply through the National and International Scholarships Office, which

Passengers are advised that the City of Chicago has downgraded the State of Indiana’s travel status from “orange” to “yellow” in its Emergency Travel Order, effective Feb. 23, 2021.  The previous orange status had required Indiana visitors coming into Chicago to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival, or have evidence of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arrival, or be fully vaccinated.  With the revision to the Emergency Travel Order, Indiana residents traveling to Chicago are now advised to avoid non-essential travel and maintain masking and social distancing. A quarantine or pre-arrival test is no longer required. A

Attorney General Todd Rokita today announced agreements with six Indiana motorcycle dealerships that allegedly charged excessive document-preparation fees to more than 1,700 Hoosier consumers over a two-year period. The agreements call for the dealerships – located in Plainfield, Bloomington, Lafayette, Michigan City, Kokomo and Valparaiso – to send $100 restitution checks to each consumer who purchased a vehicle from the dealerships during the relevant dates. The dealerships will pay a total of $174,000 in restitution.   “I will do all I can to put money back into the pockets of Hoosiers who fall victim to deceptive business practices,” Attorney General

Individuals interested in a career as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) need look no further than a new class in Valparaiso.  Northwest Health Emergency Medical Services will be hosting an EMT-Basic Course from April 12 to July 21. The class will be held in Valparaiso every Monday and Wednesday evening starting April 12, from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm.  Graduates will receive their National Certification EMT-Basic and be eligible for hire as an EMT, where they can make a positive impact in their community. The cost of the course is $1,000 and payment plans are available. To register or learn

The Indiana State Board of Education (Board) highlighted a new guide to help local schools apply for flexibility from certain state requirements. As part of Indiana’s new Performance Based Accreditation System, created with the enactment of House Enrolled Act 1003 during the 2020 legislative session, additional flexibility is now available to all public schools and state accredited non-public schools. The Board unanimously approved flexibility waivers for Pike County School Corporation in Petersburg and MSD North Posey County Schools in Poseyville. This action waives the schools’ requirement to complete a corporation Annual Performance Report and allows the districts to count instructional

Calls from scammers to homes and businesses posing as NIPSCO employees are on the rise— an issue impacting many energy companies around the United States. With this uptick in scams, Nipsco is warning customers to be aware of scammers that might attempt to target them by impersonating a NIPSCO employee. Recent and common reports from NIPSCO residential and business customers state that they have received calls and texts from people claiming to be NIPSCO employees and demanding payment to avoid their service being disconnected. However, the company wants to emphasize that NIPSCO does not call and demand immediate payment via

Visit the food bank Tuesday, March 9th 10 a.m. until Noon at First Church of God in LaPorte. 2020 E. Lincolnway, LaPorte, IN 46350 Assorted food items are offered free of charge. All items are pre-boxed and pre-bagged. First come, first served, while supplies last for those in need of food assistance. One box per household. Distributions are drive-thru.

On March 3, 2021 at 10:19 p.m., Valparaiso Police responded to the 3700 block of Oakgrove Dr. to the report of a disturbance in which a male had sustained a gunshot wound.  Upon arrival, officers located a 19 year old male outside of a nearby residence with such an injury.  The male was provided immediate treatment by police on scene, and later transported to Northwest Health—Porter for further treatment.  The male later succumbed to his injuries while at Northwest Health—Porter, that he sustained as a result of a gunshot wound to his chest. The investigation has indicated there is no

Michigan City Police Department today announced that officers will be cracking down on dangerous and impaired driving in March as part of a statewide enforcement campaign. From February 26th through March 21th , 2021, officers will be conducting high- visibility patrols showing zero tolerance for those driving aggressively, over the speed limit, or under the influence. The overtime patrols are funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through an Indiana Criminal Justice Institute grant.“Dangerous and impaired driving continues to be a problem, especially around high- risk events like St. Patrick’s Day and the NCAA Tournament, ” said Chief

Wednesday morning at 12:45 a.m., Trooper Dennis Griffin was patrolling I-80/94 near Cline Ave. when he observed a black 2010 Volkswagen traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed. Using the in-car radar, Trp. Griffin checked the Volkswagen’s speed at 96 mph. The posted speed limit is 55 mph on I-80/94 in this area. As Trp. Griffin caught up to the vehicle, he was directly behind the vehicle and paced the car at 100 mph as the Volkswagen began to make unsafe lane movements. A traffic stop was initiated, but the driver failed to stop and accelerated away from the

Horizon Bank has awarded Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana with a $10,000 grant to build an affordable home in Lake Station.    Horizon Bank Regional President, Northwest Indiana, Steve Kring remarked, “The pandemic has magnified many issues facing families today.  That is why Horizon is so excited and proud to partner with Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana to make one family’s dream of owning a home come true.   It feels great to be part of something special like this and we are all looking forward to seeing the family’s reaction when they get the keys to their new home.”

Since ISP-Fort Wayne first posted this Child Safety Kit Scam Alert last week, the Fort Wayne Post has received two more complaints of this active scam. Facebook consumers are warned NOT to provide any personal information to the associated #ChildSafetyKit Facebook link. The latest complaints have advised that *after providing the requested personal information to the link, a follow-up phone call from an unknown phone number was received. An unidentified female scheduled an in home visit to go over the services offered. Two unidentified well dressed adult males showed up to the complainant's house, and then attempted to sell an

The Indiana Department of Transportation will be transitioning from merging early to merging late with more widespread use of zipper merges in work zones this construction season.  What is a zipper merge? Zipper merges are used when a lane is closed ahead due to road construction or maintenance work. Zipper merges are designed to keep traffic moving by allowing drivers to use both lanes until reaching the merge point. How does a zipper merge work? Zipper merges work exactly as they sound – like a zipper! As drivers see “lane closed ahead” signs, they should stay in their current lane

Coming on the heels of a most challenging year for Lakefront Career Network, the young professionals’ chapter of the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce is looking to boost membership and excitement in 2021. A survey was recently developed by the Lakefront Career Network executive committee, seeking input from existing LCN members, as well as potential future members. The survey link has been distributed to nearly 260 existing members, but those who are not yet on the network mailing list are invited to provide input by visiting https://tinyurl.com/5dnszh9h. “The Michigan City Chamber of Commerce is committed to providing opportunities for younger members

The Indiana State Department of Health announced today that Hoosiers 55 and older are now eligible to register to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The AARP Indiana team is pleased to see the progress the state is making, and that older Hoosiers continue to be prioritized during vaccine rollout. Please see AARP Indiana State Director Sarah Waddle’s full statement below: “The State of Indiana continues to make great progress in making vaccines available to the public at large. COVID-19 is devastating to older Hoosiers, and for that reason, we are contented and glad to see that they are still being prioritized

La Porte Police Chief Paul Brettin and Mayor Tom Dermody welcome new officer Jordan Petty of Saint John on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in La Porte. Petty will attend the South Bend Regional Police Academy in April. Check out the WIMS FACEBOOK page for the picture as well