News

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the Indiana State Hemp Plan for commercially growing and processing hemp. In Indiana, hemp processing and production are regulated through the Office of the Indiana State Chemist (OISC). The approved hemp plan takes OISC’s pilot hemp program and transitions it to a commercial hemp production program. Previously, hemp growers needed a research proposal and to be associated with a university researcher to apply for a license. Under this newly approved plan, farmers will not need a research component to be licensed. For the 2021 growing season, applications will open in November 2020. Applications

More than 1 million Hoosiers have requested an absentee ballot or voted early in the 2020 General Election, according to Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson. As of Thursday, 553,270 absentee by-mail ballots have been requested across the state, and 477,217 voters have voted at an early voting location, with a total of 1,042,319 ballots requested or submitted. In the 2020 Primary Election, a total of 640,225 Hoosiers voted absentee in-person or by-mail.  In 2016, during the entire period of absentee voting for both in-person and by-mail, 977,239 ballots were submitted. The increased volume of absentee ballots means that final

NIPSCO says it has seen a recent uptick in customer reports of scammers calling homes and businesses posing as NIPSCO employees. As the holiday season approaches, NIPSCO expects scam attempts to continue to rise—an issue impacting many energy companies around the U.S. 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 a prepaid card. If customers are unsure of

.On May 31st, 2020, the City of Michigan City experienced a gathering of over 1000 people in front of the Michigan City Police Department to protest social injustice issues stemming from the death of George Floyd. A protest of this magnitude had never occurred in Michigan City and the potential for violence and extensive property damage was high. Across the country, similar protests occurred which resulted in officers and civilians sustaining various injuries, including death, along with substantial property damage. The protest in Michigan City ended with one assault on an officer and no injuries to civilians. Property damage was

Dear Business Owner _________________ Recently,  a number of complaints have been lodged with the LaPorte County Health Department about  lax adherence to the county and state mask mandate in certain businesses in our county. The widely respected Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts that if 95% of Americans just wore masks (the level in Singapore) then nearly 100,000 lives could be saved between October 1, 2020 and the end of the year.  A review of 172 studies in the respected British Medical Journal The Lancet found that face masks significantly reduce virus transmission. This is a nominal request to make of you, your employees and your customers.   While

Congratulations to 34 year veteran Sgt. Ken Havlin for being selected recipient of the Exchange Club “Public Service and Safety Award!” Exchange Club Committee members chose Sgt. Havlin after reviewing a nomination letter from Captain Mark Swistek which highlighted a stellar career of Public Service! We celebrate Sgt. Havlin’s achievement and send a big thank you to the Exchange Club for supporting the Michigan City Police Department!!

Angela Rose, Director of Downtown La Porte, Indiana, has announced her resignation and acceptance of a position with the City of South Bend. Rose made the announcement to the Executive Director of LEAP, Bert Cook, on Thursday, October 8th. “Angela Rose did a tremendous job representing the interests of Downtown La Porte during her time here. She was an integral part of the LEAP Team and will be sorely missed. We wish her the best of luck in her new position and have no doubt she will do great things for the City of South Bend,” said Bert Cook, Executive

Councilwoman for the 5th Ward Sarah Brown will be stepping down from her position in the coming weeks, according to City of La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody. Brown, who was elected in 2019 and has served in the seat since January of this year, will resign effective November 5. “Due to unforeseen circumstances I am announcing my resignation from the La Porte City Council," Brown said. "My family and I are moving within LaPorte; however, we will reside outside the 5th Ward so I will no longer meet the requirements of the position. I want to thank everyone for their

Michigan City Area Schools say they had a successful first day “back to school” as they transitioned many students back to in-person classes, and others to new classrooms online or in their virtual academy. MCAS is closely monitoring the community spread of COVID-19. MCAS now has a COVID-19 Data Dashboard for the district, which will be updated each Friday to report cases in the district, at each school. A copy of the Data Dashboard and the Decision-making Matrix can be found at: educateMC.net/COVID . MCAS also wants to share with you some specific information about the actions they will take

On Saturday, October 24, 2020 the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is sponsoring the 19th nationwide “Prescription Drug Take Back” initiative.  The “Take Back” initiative seeks to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft through proper disposal of prescription drugs. Collection sites will be set up nationwide for expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs which will be properly disposed of without threat to the environment.  This program is for liquid and pill medications.  Vaping pens without batteries and vaping cartridges will also be taken.  Needles, new or used, WILL NOT be accepted for disposal.  This service is free and anonymous with no questions asked. This initiative

Due to continued COVID-19 impacts in the South Shore Line service area, the SSL announces that it is modifying its existing free ride promotion to feature WEEKEND WESTBOUND TRAINS only.  The weekend westbound free rides will be in effect from Nov. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020. The free rides apply to all SSL stations, and passengers can simply board applicable weekend westbound trains with no ticket purchase necessary. Passengers will be responsible for paying all applicable fares on weekday trips and weekend eastbound trips effective Nov. 1. As a reminder, passengers may continue to take advantage of free rides on all

The Michigan City Street Department will begin Fall Leaf Pickup on Monday, October 26,2020Street Department Superintendent Shong Smith is announcing that beginning on Monday October 26, 2020 , the Michigan City Street Department will be picking up leaves in all three areas of the city. Leaf pick-up will occur daily, Monday through Friday and Saturday as needed, until all leaves are picked up. All residents are encouraged to rake, blow, and/or place their leaves near the street curb along the front of their property.If residents have branches, they will be picked up along with your leaf piles. Please keep branches

Valparaiso Police stated that October is being celebrated as the first National Pedestrian Safety Month. The new initiative is geared to bringing awareness to the safety of those non-motorist we share the roadways with, who may be walking along our sidewalks and paths, or riding in the bike lane. As darkness arrives earlier in the evening, pedestrians are 30% more likely to be involved in a fatality crash between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. from September to February, according to a recent NHTSA statement.  VPD says to please be careful and look closely for pedestrians along your

In St. Joseph County, officers were dispatched to a two vehicle crash that occurred at State Road 23 and New Road at approximately 10:08 Monday morning. Initial indicators are that a Chrysler Town and Country minivan was traveling northbound on State Road 23 with the right of way. This is a 2-way stop intersection where east/west traffic is required to stop and north/south bound traffic is not required to stop. A maroon F-150 pick-up was traveling eastbound on New Rd, with a stop sign. The collision occurred between the two vehicles in the middle of the intersection, involving the front

Mayor of La Porte, Tom Dermody said that five juveniles were arrested Sunday night after  damage was done in Patton Cemetery. Dermody said the juveniles drove over flat tombstones and wrecked flower plants and plant hangers. He also said there may be a lead on a juvenile vandalizing cars. Mayor Dermody thanked all residents in the Scott Street Area as well as the Police Department for their help.

Due to the La Porte County Courthouse construction project, 4th Street will be closed to west bound traffic from October 20th to October 28th.   Michigan City Transit will temporarily relocate the bus stop and transfer area at the Michigan City Library to Pine Street between 4th and 5th Street.

The Salvation Army of Michigan City has launched its annual Christmas assistance application process to assist local families this holiday season.  However, this year Christmas applications will be accepted online. Applications can be found at www.samichigancity.org.  Visitors to the site should scroll down near the bottom of the page and click on “Apply Online.” Any local family in need of help can request assistance of toys and/or food for Christmas.  All families who apply to The Salvation Army of Michigan City will receive food assistance; and families with children ages 12 and under will receive Christmas gifts. Official documentation showing

Attorney General Curtis Hill announced that Indiana has joined with other states and the federal government to reach an agreement in principle with a Utah-based medical device manufacturer to settle allegations that the company offered unlawful kickbacks to health care providers in order to induce them to purchase its medical devices. Merit Medical Systems (Merit) will pay the states and the federal government $18 million – $5.58 million of which will go to Medicaid programs – to resolve civil allegations that Merit’s unlawful promotion of its medical devices caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs. As

In preparation of Halloween, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office initiated Operation Scare and Beware, which was a County-wide compliance check of all Sexually Violent Predators and Offenders Against Children.  The operation was conducted this past Thursday with deputies from the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office, investigators from the La Porte and Michigan City Police, Michigan City Fugitive Apprehension Street Team (FAST), La Porte County Drug Task Force, Indiana State Police, Trail Creek Police, Indiana Department of Corrections Parole Agents and United States Marshals Service participating in the sex offender compliance check.  All 104 of the classified and registered Sexually

Thursday, Governor Eric J. Holcomb signed an executive order 20-46 extending the adjusted version of the Stage 5 Back On Track Indiana plan and extending the state’s face covering mandate until Nov. 14th.