News

Bipartisan Caucus Will Focus on Increasing Presence of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) this week launched the first ever Women in STEM Caucus, alongside co-chairs Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), and Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.). The bipartisan House caucus was founded to increase the presence of women and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM. The caucus currently has 13 members from both sides of the aisle.  “STEM education is a driving force behind our nation’s 21st century economy, strengthening our workforce through hands-on learning, technical training,

LaPorte County officials today announced they have reached agreement with state officials on a $1 million Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) performance-based grant to support the connection of LaPorte County’s $6 million rail spur at Kingsbury Industrial Park (KIP) with the CSX mainline that is adjacent to the park’s southern border. The agreement to connect the KIP rail spur with the CSX mainline was approved at Wednesday’s county Redevelopment Commission meeting. “With this increased connectivity, KIP, which was previously designated by CSX as a ‘Select Site’ for prospective developers will be one of the few industrial parks in the nation

UPDATE from Michigan City Area Schools-Due to Illness on all levels Staffers and Students. All Michigan Area Schools will be on an e-learning day both Thursday 01/30/2020 and Friday 01/31/2020. Sports will be played ona case by case basis. According to Betsy Kohn all schools and areas will get a deep clean. School will be back open on Monday 02/03/2020

In conjunction with the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Porter County Health Department has identified an individual traveling through Porter County as potentially infected with the novel coronavirus. Final diagnosis awaits the results of laboratory tests to be performed by the CDC. Out of an abundance of caution, the individual has been placed in isolation and is currently under active medical supervision. In the interim, all applicable protocols have been implemented. Updated reports will be released as further information becomes available. Information on the novel coronavirus is posted on the Health

La Lumiere School and their national powerhouse basketball program will be hosting “Hometown Hero’s” at their game against Lake Forest Academy on February 8th beginning at 2:00 PM. The special event is for ALL police, fire, EMS, E-911, military personnel and any other first responders. All first responder guests will receive free admission and also be recognized during halftime. Any first responder planning to attend is asked to RSVP with Athletic Director Matt Marvin ( mmarvin@lalumiere.org ).

With the support of two generous gifts, the project to renovate Bauer Field, Valparaiso University’s baseball field, is off to a strong start. The two gifts total $550,000 and will provide the resources to install synthetic turf on the infield and down the foul lines. The total project will be done in two phases and, when completed, will transform Bauer Field into a quality Missouri Valley Conference facility. Lead gifts have been received from Valpo alumni Lynn Scheutzow ’74 Young and Carl Young ’73 and the Deetjen family. The renovation is scheduled to be completed in two phases, with a

As the annual Christmas Campaign comes to an end, The Salvation Army of Michigan City is happy to announce that 98.8 percent of its $200,000 goal was met this holiday season. The Salvation Army of Michigan City sets a campaign goal every Christmas season which raises money through red kettles, online/mail-in donations and sponsorship dollars. These funds help serve needy families during the holidays, but also help The Salvation Army operate throughout the year, Simmons said. Also supported by donations through the Christmas Campaign is the Pathway of Hope program, the newest implementation by the local Salvation Army. This program

The South Shore Line will be offering select weekday train stops at McCormick Place for the Chicago Auto Show Feb. 8th-17th, in addition to regular weekend service.Further, the SSL will offer free rides on all westbound weekend and off-peak weekday trains through Feb. 17. The free westbound rides apply to all SSL stations, and passengers can simply board applicable westbound trains with no ticket purchase necessary. Passengers will be responsible for paying all applicable fares on eastbound trips. Reminder that kids 13 years and younger ride free on off-peak weekday and all weekend trains.An eastbound passenger extra will run Saturday,

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), in partnership with the Truth Initiative, announced a text message program to help Indiana teens and young adults who want to quit vaping.The This is Quitting program was created with input from teens, college students and young adults who have attempted to or successfully quit e-cigarettes. Hoosier youth who need help quitting vaping can text “Indiana” to 88709 and receive age-appropriate recommendations about ways to quit. The program is part of a three-pronged approach directed by Gov. Eric J. Holcomb to reduce youth vaping that focuses on prevention, education and cessation.Since its launch

In the early morning hours of Sunday, La Porte City Police, were dispatched to the area of F and 4th Streets in regards to a shots fired call. Upon arrival, Officers located the victim, a juvenile, who had sustained a non-life threatening injury and was transported to the La Porte Hospital. Officers also spoke with several witnesses at the scene. A suspect was quickly developed and was located. The suspect, also a juvenile, was taken into custody and a firearm was recovered. It was also learned that the victim and suspect knew each other and there was never a threat

On Tuesday January 14th, 2020 at approximately 2:25 P.M.; a suspect entered the La Porte Community Federal Credit Union located at 1315 Southwind Drive in Michigan City, Indiana. The suspect approached a teller and supplied a note demanding money. The suspect obtained anundisclosed amount of United States Currency and left the area. Several agencies responded to the scene to include the Michigan City Police Department, (Investigative Division and Patrol Division), La Porte County Sheriff’s Department, and La Porte County Drug Task Force. Officers searched the area and followed up on initial leads but were unableto locate the suspect. The suspect

At approximately 12:43 this morning, the South Bend Police Department was called to the 600 block of South Liberty, South Bend, on a shooting. Upon arrival of uniformed officers on the scene, they discovered a male inside the home who appeared to have been shot. Medical personnel responded and pronounced the man deceased at the scene. The deceased has been identified as Huey Hudson, Jr., age 28, of South Bend. The St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit (CMHU) was activated to investigate, per protocol. No one is in custody in the case at this time, and investigators are continuing to

The Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) takes great pride in offering scholarship awards to students in the La Porte community, a tradition started by the La Porte Hospital Foundation in 1983.  In addition to multiple scholarships available through HFL, scholarship opportunities funded by the La Porte Hospital Auxiliary will also be accessible through the same application process. A total of $100,000 will be awarded in 2020. The application for these scholarships will be open January 24 through March 20. Applications must be submitted through HFL’s online grant portal prior to midnight on Friday, March 20. To access the application or

Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.2 percent for December and remains lower than the national rate of 3.5 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 increase of 1,948 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 3 unemployed residents and an increase of 1,951 employed residents. Indiana's total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.38 million,

Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) Neeti Parashar, professor of Physics, and Jim Dolen, assistant professor of Physics, have been awarded a multiyear grant of approximately $526,000 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to work on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland, and at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill. These are world-class facilities to pursue particle physics research.PNW is the only undergraduate Physics department in the United States to be a full contributing member for these experiments at both CERN and Fermilab. Parashar and Dolen have worked for years to

On Thursday, February 6, Bentwood Tavern in New Buffalo, Michigan will host a Give-Back Dinner to benefit Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA) in Michigan City, Indiana. Bentwood Tavern has generously agreed to donate 50% of all food and beverage revenue from the evening to support LCA’s mission. LCA is a non-profit agency working to eliminate barriers and provide people of all ages with access to compelling art exhibitions and programs. The organization’s core offerings include -The offering of three major art exhibitions per year. Admission is free and open to all, seven days a week. -Student Learning Tours bring

With an emergency need for blood, Franciscan Health will host an additional Versiti Blood Center of Illinois blood drive at its Michigan City hospital on Jan. 28. This drive is in addition to upcoming drives at the Franciscan Health Munster and Crown Point hospitals in February. The upcoming blood drives are as follows: * 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 28 at Franciscan Health Michigan City, 3500 Franciscan Way, in the Blessed Maria Theresia Bonzel Community Room. * Noon to 4 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 6 at Franciscan Health Munster, 701 Superior Ave., in the St. Claire Conference Room *

Legislation co-authored by State Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) that would prohibit holding a hand-held electronic device while driving passed out of the House Roads and Transportation Committee Wednesday. Pressel, a member of the committee, said nine Americans are killed each day as a result of distracted driving. It is also one of the top killers of teenagers, responsible for more than 58 percent of teen crashes. He said while Indiana has a law that prohibits texting while driving, it is difficult to enforce and drivers continue to use their devices including scrolling through social media feeds and playing games.

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) has launched a new pilot program aimed at reducing serious injuries to children caused by abuse or neglect with support from a new federal initiative. Through the Child Safety Forward grant, ISDH has partnered with the Indiana University School of Social Work to conduct the pilot program in Clark, Delaware and Grant counties. Working through the local Child Fatality Review teams, ISDH will also collaborate with the Indiana Department of Child Services to help identify cases for review. The U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime is providing $750,000 over three

Some Indiana lawmakers are continuing their push to relax the state's marijuana laws. At a news conference on Thursday, Senate Democratic Chair Karen Tallian promoted Senate Bill 114, which would decriminalize possession of less than one ounce of marijuana an amount that currently carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of one-thousand dollars. Republican State Representative Jim Lucas introduced a similar decriminalization bill in this session (HB 1048). However, he believes legalization is an uphill battle given opposition from Governor Eric Holcomb and other top leaders. According to data from state prosecutors, marijuana accounted