News

Since 2011 Neighbors’ Educational Opportunities (NEO) in Portage has provided daytime English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classes. Starting August 26, evening courses will be added, giving Northwest Indiana residents another opportunity to learn or improve their English speaking, listening, and writing.The decision to offer both day and evening ESL classes was prompted by students’ needs for flexible scheduling. NEO’s Director of Adult Education Adrienne Carrol noted that because many students work and care for their children, removing scheduling barriers is a key to successful learning. Carrol explained that while students must complete at least 12 hours of classes each week, they can do

Yesterday Attorney General Curtis Hill announced he is leading a bipartisan and public/private coalition of 51 attorneys general and 12 telecommunications companies that have agreed to adopt eight principles to fight illegal robocalls. This agreement will help protect phone users from illegal robocalls and make it easier for attorneys general to investigate and prosecute violators.The eight principles address the robocall problem in two main ways: prevention and enforcement.Going forward, these telephone companies will stay in close communication with the coalition of attorneys general to continue optimizing robocall protections as technology and scammer techniques change.The coalition includes the attorneys general from

The Governor’s Workforce Cabinet just announced the award of almost $1 million in grant money to 14 grantees. The Local Career Coaching Grant is an opportunity for K-12 representatives, post-secondary representatives, employers, and community-based organizations to collaborate on a comprehensive, career-focused solution for their community.The goal is for partners to work together to create a sustainable system for the delivery of local, state, and national career information, as well as the educational attainment levels required for those careers. The system should provide students and adults with opportunities to participate in experiential learning and training in order to make well-informed decisions

The City of Valparaiso has announced the intersection of Silhavy and LaPorte will be closed beginning at Midnight on August 26, through 11:00 p.m. on the 28th. The updated traffic patterns will include the altered timing of traffic lights in the area to minimize delay, and area businesses will remain open. Detour signage will be posted. 

The Indiana Dunes National Park reopened the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk’s beach Thursday afternoon. The beach was closed after the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) responded to a reported fish kill last week when a blast furnace failure at ArcelorMittal spilled toxic levels of cyanide and ammonia into the Little Calumet River. After the initial spill, a second smaller oil spill was also identified by U.S. Steel, who promptly cleaned the affected area. IDEM reports that there’s been no detection of cyanide or any other hazardous chemicals at any of their 12 sampling locations in the East Arm of

The Salvation Army of Michigan City, the Guardian Riders and the Michigan City Fire Department are partnering together to create a memorial program to take place in Michigan City this year, honoring and remembering those who died during the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. A 9/11 Remembrance Program and Stair Climb will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 am at the Michigan City Elston YMCA, 1202 Spring St., Michigan City. Keynote speaker will be Major Becky Simmons of The Salvation Army of Michigan City who will share her story of visiting Ground Zero in New York City

Gov. Eric J. Holcomb has announced that Matthew A. Brown will serve as director of the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings.HEA 1223, signed into law by Gov. Holcomb earlier this year, establishes the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings within the State Personnel Department (SPD) to further ensure Administrative Law Judges independence and deliver efficient service to Hoosiers.An Administrative Law Judge resolves disputes between government agencies and the people affected by the decision of the agency. The legislation provides the director of the office is responsible for administering the office, hiring Administrative Law Judges and assigning the judges to proceedings.Brown served

Indiana will launch a new 5G hub this fall to attract business, foster innovation and propel research and development in 5G-enabled advanced technologies. As one of only two metro areas in the U.S. selected for the launch of both AT&T and Verizon 5G broadband networks, and with diverse support and infrastructure assets across the state, Indiana's capital city is positioned to be at the center of global investment and advancements in 5G. The Indiana 5G Zone, which will be located within educational nonprofit Eleven Fifty Academy’s headquarters at in downtown Indianapolis, will feature a 3,000-square-foot research lab used to develop and

Since 2011 Neighbors’ Educational Opportunities (NEO) in Portage has provided daytime English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classes. Starting August 26, evening courses will be added, giving Northwest Indiana residents another opportunity to learn or improve their English speaking, listening, and writing.The decision to offer both day and evening ESL classes was prompted by students’ needs for flexible scheduling. NEO’s Director of Adult Education Adrienne Carrol noted that because many students work and care for their children, removing scheduling barriers is a key to successful learning. Carrol explained that while students must complete at least 12 hours of classes each week, they can do

Yesterday Attorney General Curtis Hill announced he is leading a bipartisan and public/private coalition of 51 attorneys general and 12 telecommunications companies that have agreed to adopt eight principles to fight illegal robocalls. This agreement will help protect phone users from illegal robocalls and make it easier for attorneys general to investigate and prosecute violators.The eight principles address the robocall problem in two main ways: prevention and enforcement.Going forward, these telephone companies will stay in close communication with the coalition of attorneys general to continue optimizing robocall protections as technology and scammer techniques change.The coalition includes the attorneys general from

The Governor’s Workforce Cabinet just announced the award of almost $1 million in grant money to 14 grantees. The Local Career Coaching Grant is an opportunity for K-12 representatives, post-secondary representatives, employers, and community-based organizations to collaborate on a comprehensive, career-focused solution for their community.The goal is for partners to work together to create a sustainable system for the delivery of local, state, and national career information, as well as the educational attainment levels required for those careers. The system should provide students and adults with opportunities to participate in experiential learning and training in order to make well-informed decisions

Chesterton Police have received questions regarding a recent Facebook post about a citizen being pulled over on I-94 between Michigan City and Chesterton by two males potentially impersonating police officers. Police did speak with the citizen about the incident and referred them to the Indiana State Police because the Indiana State Police has jurisdiction of I-94. The Indiana State Police are actively investigating the incident and will release more information when it becomes available.Police would like to remind everyone of the Indiana state laws regarding police officers and traffic stops.  A police officer MUST be in a fully marked police

Before the college football and NFL regular seasons kickoff this fall, at least two more Indiana casinos intend to allow for legalized sports betting. Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg and Tropicana Evansville both announced they will launch sportsbooks before the seasons begin in September. Pending approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission, the two southern Indiana casinos will join two northeast Indiana gaming facilities which announced plans to offer sports gambling, Horseshoe Hammond Casino and Ameristar Casino East Chicago. In May, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed a bill that legalized sports betting in the state beginning September 1. The Indiana Gaming Commission,

Crews will be milling and paving on SR 49 in Porter County until mid-September, between Division Road and SR 8. While crews are working, flaggers will direct one lane of traffic around where work is taking place. Motorists should expect delays, so seek an alternate route if possible.

On Friday, September 6th from 5 to 8 p.m., Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA) will host its first ever Back-to-School Celebration. This unique edition of LCA’s popular First Fridays program has been designed specifically with families in mind.The evening’s lineup includes plenty of activities for families to enjoy. Kids and their grown-ups can join in a dance party with music provided by DJ Alfonta Lee of Lee’s Beats. Need a break from the action? Check out LCA’s colorful summer blockbuster exhibition, The Chicago Imagists: Before and After, which runs through October 19. In the NIPSCO Art Education Studios, artists of

There will be a pair of brief, 20-minute road closures Friday morning at the SR 2 and U.S. 20 "dogbone" intersection project while crews set overhead sign structures. One will be westbound and the other eastbound, both taking place separately between 9 a.m. and noon. INDOT is telling drivers to avoid the area during this timeframe if possible, or expect delays.

Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Adam Krupp concluded his statewide listening tour last week. He traveled over 1,650 miles to talk openly with Hoosier tax practitioners about DOR operations and introduced Project NextDOR, the multi-year modernization of the agency’s current tax processing system.The tour included stops at each of DOR’s 12 district offices where the Commissioner also shared program updates and introduced INTIME, the agency’s new, 24/7 online portal set to launch on September 3. Cities visited on the tour included Bloomington, Clarksville, Columbus, Evansville, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Lafayette, Merrillville, Muncie, South Bend and Terre Haute. For more

On Wednesday, August 21, the Judicial Nominating Commission voted to reappoint Loretta Rush as Indiana’s Chief Justice. All current Supreme Court Justices—Steven David, Mark Massa, Geoffrey Slaughter, and Christopher Goff—reflected on the attributes important in a Chief Justice and told the Commission Chief Justice Rush should remain the judicial branch leader. Rush was appointed to the high court in 2012 and was first selected as Chief Justice in 2014. During the past five years, she has overseen the development of statewide e-filing, the continued implementation of a state case management system, the certification of over 100 problem-solving courts, the creation

Yesterday just after at 4 p.m., Valparaiso Police responded to Kentucky Fried Chicken, at 2402 Calumet Ave., in reference to the report of a male bleeding from his hand. It was soon learned a male had been “stabbed” by an employee who had been terminated just prior to the incident. Twenty-six year old Joshua Moser, of Valparaiso arrived for his shift at KFC, when he was advised of the decision by management. Moser soon attempted to aggressively approach a member of the management staff, with a knife in his hand, and was subdued by other employees. During this time, Moser

Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer is proud to announce that the Michigan City Sanitary District (District) will be receiving a grant of over $171,000 from the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Committee to help fund the purchase of three new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered Dump Trucks. The funds supporting this award are provided through Volkswagen’s commitments in a national consent decree. These new clean burning CNG Dump trucks will emit very low amounts of greenhouse gas, especially as compared to diesel powered vehicles. According to Michael Kuss, General Manager of the Sanitary District, the District currently operates eleven CNG