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Indiana residents in need of rental assistance should apply now to a new, federally-funded state program offering assistance on a first-come, first-served basis. People can apply online at IndianaHousingNow.org to the new Indiana Emergency Rental Assistance (IERA) program. The IERA program is designed to decrease evictions, increase housing stability and prevent homelessness by helping renters whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19 with rent and utility assistance. IERA can provide eligible renter households with up to 12 months of rental assistance. Qualifying applicants may also receive utility assistance for past due utilities (electric, gas, water, sewer, and trash), home

U.S. 41/Indy Blvd ramp to I-94 to be closed for bridge workThe Indiana Department of Transportation announces a closure for the ramp from southbound U.S. 41/Indianapolis Blvd to westbound I-80/94 starting on or after Tuesday, March 16.This ramp will be closed for a bridge deck overlay project, which will be ongoing through mid-June, 2021. A bridge deck overlay is a protective treatment done to extend the life of a bridge deck. Learn more about this treatment on our Facebook page here.Motorists should seek an alternate route. The official detour is to take the ramp from southbound U.S. 41/Indianapolis Blvd to

Friday 3/12/21 FISH FRY-ALL YOU CAN EAT from 5-7PM at American Legion Post #21 on Highway 421 in Westville. Dinner includes: HAND BREADED POLLOCK, chicken strips, French fries, creamy coleslaw, rolls and dessert. Special veterans and senior pricing: Adults-$10.00, Seniors(60yrs+) & Vets-$9.00, Kids 12 & under-$5.00, Preschoolers-Free. Limited seating available. Carry-outs available. Call 219-785-2923 to pre-order for carry-outs, otherwise first come first serve. Mask required for entry.

Blood centers across Texas are pleading with the rest of the country for help. As they reel from the aftermath of recent storms, many centers don’t have the needed blood and blood products for their hospitals.Versiti Blood Centers is hoping some of that help can come from Northwest Indiana and invites the public to blood drives scheduled from 7AM to 1PM on Tuesday, March 16 and 1 to 7PM on Wednesday, March 17 at Franciscan Health Michigan City.“It is a truly difficult situation for our counterparts down south,” said Dr. Dan Waxman, vice president of transfusion medicine and senior medical

On March 7th , 2021 at approximately 00:56 A.M. is when Sergeant Michael Oberle was working a special patrol called Violent Crime Reduction (VCR). Officers working this type of saturation patrol target areas of Michigan City for gun violence, offenses involving those individuals prohibited from possessing firearms, individuals possessing illegal firearms, those using firearms while committing a crime, “shots fired” calls for service, and narcotics eradication Sergeant Oberle was traveling west bound in the 300 block of East 11th Street when he observed a vehicle traveling towards him at a high rate of speed. He determined from his radar unit

Michigan City South Golf Course will be open for play beginning tomorrowMarch 9th at 9:00am.Groups can book a tee time at www.golfnow.com or via phone at (219) 873-1516.All greens fees will be paid upon arrival to the course. No walk-upplay will be allowed without a tee-time. Golf Carts will be availablefor use and carts will be disinfected after each use.The North Course will open May, 1st .The pre-season policy at Michigan City Golf Courses will be: The Clubhouse and restrooms will be open No food will be prepared but snacks will be available for purchase Golfers should not arrive more

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