News

La Porte Hospital colleagues from the Birthing and Family Care Center and Wellness Outreach are pleased to invite the community to “’Tis the Season! A Jolly Family Affair” from 5:30-7 p.m., Dec. 3 in the hospital’s main lobby, 1007 Lincolnway, La Porte. The event is a great opportunity for all the babies born at La Porte Hospital in 2019 to reunite with the OB staff and each other to celebrate baby’s first holiday season. Families from across the community are welcome as well. All activities are free! Activities include photos with Santa (a link will be made available to download

To accommodate passengers attending the Chicago Bears vs. Lions home game at noon on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, the South Shore Line plans to stop select trains at Metra’s 18th Street Station, which connects passengers directly to the Soldier Field entrance via a pedestrian walkway. In addition to our regular service to nearby Museum Campus/11th Street, the following trains will also serve 18th Street Station on Nov. 10: Westbound: Train 502 will arrive at 18th St. at 9:07a; Tr 504 at 10:10a; and Tr 606 at 11:04a. Eastbound: Train 507 will depart 18th St. at 4:49p, and Tr 509 will depart

Congressman Visclosky announced today that he will not seek re-election next year in the following statement. “On November 6th, 35 years ago today, I was elected to serve as Indiana’s First District U.S. Representative. Today, I announce that I will not seek re-election in 2020. “For my entire career I have worked to build support for our domestic steel industry and organized labor, secure investments in transformational projects and improve our quality of place to benefit the only place I have ever called home. “For the last 35 years our office has vigorously advocated on behalf of thousands of constituents for assistance on

Steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal and Purdue University Northwest (PNW) are partnering with Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill., on a research project funded under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) High Performance Computing for Manufacturing (HPC4Mfg) Program. The research project, “Application of High-Performance Computing (HPC) to Optimize Reheat Furnace Efficiency in Steel Manufacturing,” will focus on improving steel reheat furnace efficiency by simulating furnace and process phenomena and developing databases of criteria for optimized furnace operation. PNW’s Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS) will conduct computational modeling to simulate reheat furnace operation under a variety of conditions, to balance

Veterans/Active Duty Military Ride Free On South Shore LineIn honor of Veterans Day, the South Shore Line invites all active duty military personnel and veterans to ride for free from Nov. 8-11, 2019. At the time of fare collection, passengers are to inform train personnel of veteran or active military status in order to take advantage of the free passage; no identification will be required. On Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11, trains will follow the regular weekday train schedule. As a reminder, up to three children age 13 and younger always ride free on all daily off-peak, weekend and holiday

High school students can apply for 2020 Young Leaders AcademyApplications are now being accepted for the 2020 Young Leaders Academy program for high school students, conducted by the Leadership Institute at Purdue Northwest (PNW). The former SLYCE program has been redesigned with a more robust curriculum that includes action-based learning and brings PNW faculty and staff into the classroom with youth participants.Sheila Matias, executive director of the Leadership Institute at Purdue Northwest, said schools and parents are encouraged to invest in youth leadership because it offers a three-for-one investment.Important background about the Young Leaders Academy at PNW includes:The Young Leaders

In the 2019 General Election on Tuesday, Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer and Damon Carnes narrowly lost to Republican candidate Duane Parry. Parry, with only a 76 vote margin, had just under 30% of the vote while Meer had around 28 1/2% and Carnes had nearly 27% of the vote. Jim Larocco finished with just under 15% of the vote. Meer was first elected in 2011. Parry is the first Republican mayor to hold the office in 44 years. Democrats retained control of the Michigan City Common Council as Council President Don Przybylinski, who will serve his third consecutive term

On November 3, 2019, at 8:53am, officer Zanda Chavez  of the Michigan City Police Department was dispatched to the 1500 block of Kentucky St.  in reference to an accident. Upon arrival Officer Chavez observed a gray Nissan Altima that had crashed into a wall at the PowerDrive building located at 1502 Kentucky. Upon preliminary investigation she located a male subject later identified as 21-year-old Donavin Worland of Michigan City. Immediately it was determined that the driver was deceased and Michigan City Fire, EMS, and the Coroner were notified. Upon further initial investigation it appears that the vehicle was traveling from

Michigan City, Indiana November 3, 2019 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Scott King, partner in the Merrillville, Indiana law firm King, Brown & Murdaugh issues the following information: “Yesterday I met with Mayor Ron Meer at his home and was proud to be retained to represent him in defense of the politically driven accusations that appeared late last week.  My preliminary review of the charges demonstrates that they are poorly drafted and, I believe, subject to a Motion to Dismiss as soon as a Judge assumes jurisdiction of this case.  I firmly believe that none of the charges can be sustained

Bolt for the Heart is pleased to announce a donation of 13 AEDs (automatic external defibrillators) to the LaPorte County Sheriffs Department on November 7, 2019 at 9:00am (CST) at the Franciscan Health Michigan City main entrance. AEDs provide an electrical shock to the heart in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest. The LaPorte County First Responders are committed to ensuring all of their patrol cars are equipped with life savings AED’s. “This is a tremendous initiative by LaPorte County and the surrounding community police departments. The first responders in the area estimate a need of approximately 130 AEDs.

Saturday morning at approximately 3:00 a.m., Trooper Alaa Hamed observed a white 2011 Audi traveling at an extremely high rate of speed on I-80/94 east bound at the 1 mile-marker.  Trooper Hamed was patrolling in an unmarked black Dodge Charger.  The vehicle passed Trooper Hamed as he used his radar to clock the Audi traveling at 142 m.p.h.  The speed limit on this interstate is posted 55 m.p.h.  After activating his emergency lights, the vehicle pulled over at the 5 mile marker.  While speaking with the driver, Trooper Hamed asked him the reason for the high speed.  The driver, identified

Saturday morning at approximately 4:17 a.m., Trooper Alaa Hamed was patrolling I-80/94 in an unmarked police car when he stopped for what he believed was a disabled vehicle.  The vehicle was parked on I-80/94 east bound at the 13 mile-marker on the right shoulder.  The vehicle did not have any lights on.  Trooper Hamed pulled in behind the vehicle, stopped and then activated his emergency lights for safety.  Upon doing so, the vehicle turned on its lights and pulled away at a high rate of speed.  As the vehicle sped away, items were being thrown out of the driver’s window. 

Michigan City Police Chief Dion Campbell announced his assistant chiefs Friday. Chief of Operations is Dave Cooney and Chief of Services is Jillian Ashley. 

Franciscan Health now supports Health Records on iPhone, which brings together hospitals, clinics and the existing Apple Health app to make it easy for patients to see their available medical data from multiple providers whenever they choose. Previously, patients’ medical records were held in multiple locations, requiring patients to log into each care provider’s website and piece together the information manually. Apple worked with the healthcare community to take a consumer-friendly approach and created Health Records based on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), a standard for transferring electronic medical records. Now, patients can have medical information from participating institutions (including

Yesterday just before 7:30 a.m., a single vehicle crash resulted in the death of a Lansing, Michiganman. Preliminary investigation shows that a white bobtail tractor was westbound on I-94 at the justwest of the S.R. 249 exit in Portage. The investigation shows that for an unknown reason, the truckleft the roadway, striking a guardrail face prior to impacting a tree. The vehicle came to rest in thenorth ditch. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders observed the driver trapped inside of the cabof the truck. The driver was unresponsive and declared deceased by the Porter County Coroner, as aresult of

Dermody, Prince, Tallian, Stahura highlight first Leadership in Action Seminar PORTAGE, Ind. – The Leadership Institute at Purdue Northwest (PNW) invites community members to join current participants and alumni of the Leadership Northwest Indiana program in an engaging discussion with regional leaders from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Leadership Institute at Purdue Northwest, 6100 Southport Road, Portage. The first Leadership in Action Seminar Series event will begin with lunch, followed by a panel discussion featuring: Thomas Dermody, mayoral candidate for the city of La Porte; Jerome Prince, expected to be mayor-elect of the city of Gary;

The Michigan City Street Department will begin Fall Leaf Pickup on Monday, November 4,2019 Beginning on Monday November 4, 2019, Michigan City Street Department will be picking up leaves in all areas of the city.  Leaf pick-up will occur daily, Monday through Saturday, 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 citizens have branches that need to be picked up, you are asked to please call in your requests to the Central Service Department at 873-1500. Keep branches separated from

The 2018 payable 2019 property tax bills were printed and mailed April 15, 2019.  Only one bill is mailed for the taxes with two coupons attached to that bill.  The spring installment was due by May 10, 2019, and the fall installment is due by Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Payments can be made at either the Treasurer’s Office in LaPorte or Michigan City.  Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Closed November 11 for Veteran’s Day Payments may be made in person at the Treasurer’s office 555 Michigan Ave La Porte. Payments can be mailed to

Construction of the new La Porte Hospital began earlier this year and is already making a difference in the area.  For La Porte County, and the aging of the current La Porte Hospital facility, a new era of healing and wellness dawned in 2016 when hospital officials sold the hospital to Community Health Systems of Franklin, Tennessee and they committed to invest in a new state-of-the art hospital for La Porte County and surrounding areas. In that short time, the organization has re-focused efforts on providing quality, advanced medical care close to home while designing what will be the area’s

 Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) Drill Team hosted and won a military drill meet on Saturday, October 26th at MCHS.  The Wolves defeated 5 other schools in the competition which featured eight different events.  5 schools from Chicago were unable to participate due to the Chicago teachers strike.  MCHS was led by Cadets Major Thomas Mizer, 2nd Lieutenants Jessica Wilhelm and Julia Ringstad, and Sergeant Josh Wilhelm, who commanded their units to first place finishes.                 “This was a good way for us to start our drill season,” said Senior Marine Instructor