News

Attorney General Curtis Hill announced changes to his executive leadership team. Joan Blackwell, who has served as Chief of Staff since 2017, has been named General Counsel for the Office of the Attorney General. Previously, Blackwell worked as an attorney at Barnes & Thornburg, where she focused her practice on bankruptcy, commercial law and litigation matters; as a section chief in the Office of the Attorney General under a previous administration; and as a staff attorney to the Hon. Frank J. Otte of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Indiana. Currently, Blackwell also teaches courses at Indiana University’s Robert

Gov. Holcomb joins more than a dozen governors and hundreds of city and county leaders nationwide in officially recognizing School Choice Week in their area of governance. Gov. Holcomb has issued a proclamation declaring Jan. 20-26 as Indiana School Choice Week. Parents, schools, and other planners have organized 981 events and activities across the state of Indiana for School Choice Week. These events, which include rallies, cocktail receptions, roundtable discussions, festivals, and school fairs, aim to spark conversations about the educational opportunities parents have, or want to have, for their children. More than 40,000 events have been independently planned for

Thursday, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) reintroduced the Eastern Legacy Extension Act, a bill that would extend the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail from St. Louis, Missouri to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, including all of Indiana’s southern border along the Ohio River. The proposed extension travels through seven states: Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Senator Young previously introduced the Eastern Legacy Extension Act in the 115th Congress, and it was included in S. 47, the Natural Resources Management Act, a lands package led by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), which is

All Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) branches will be closed Saturday, Jan. 19 through Monday, Jan. 21 in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. All branches will resume regularly scheduled business hours on Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Snow expected mainly before noon. Patchy blowing snow after 9am. High temp near 26 degrees. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. A Winter Storm Watch is still in effect until 9pm tonight.

The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) approved the designation of Lydick Bog Nature Preserve in St. Joseph County during its regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 15 at Fort Harrison State Park.The action increases to 288 the number of state-designated sites protected by the Nature Preserves Act.The Shirley Heinze Land Trust acquired Lydick Bog in 2015. The bog portion of the property provides an extremely rare habitat in northern Indiana. The property is 176.46 acres total and contains approximately 85 acres of upland forest, 65 acres of wetlands, and 20 acres of former agricultural land. The property contains freshwater wetlands interspersed with

Thursday, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch along with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced that 19 rural communities received more than $10.8 million in federal grant funding. The state of Indiana distributes Community Development Block Grant funds to rural communities to assist units of local government with various community projects like: improving infrastructure, downtown revitalization, public facilities improvements and economic development. The goals of the Wastewater Drinking Water Program are to protect the health and environment, reduce utility rates for low-to-moderate income communities and improve rural infrastructure to enable long-term economic growth. Eligible Wastewater Drinking Water Program projects

State Rep. Jim Pressel’s (R-Rolling Prairie) legislation that would provide offenders the option of performing community service in lieu of paying court fees advanced to the Senate on Thursday.Currently, a convicted person who does not pay their court fees by a specified date defaults on the money owed and can be sent to jail. Pressel’s legislation would enable a court to reduce some or all of the costs owed by a person convicted of a felony or misdemeanor through community service.Pressel said courts could determine the number of hours volunteered, multiply the hours by the state minimum wage, and subtract

The Indiana State Police in Lowell will begin clearing abandoned vehicles from Interstate 65 and 80/94 in advance of the approaching weather system forecast for this weekend. Troopers will begin removing vehicles left along the roadside Friday, January 18th. Contrary to the usual practice of tagging abandoned vehicles for two hours within I-80/94 and I-65 or 24 or 72 hours for abandoned vehicles in other areas, all abandoned vehicles, regardless of allotted time, will be towed. These vehicles will be towed to reduce the risk to other drivers and to allow snow removal equipment to safely clear the roadways. All

On January 16th, 2019, at approximately 7:59pm the Michigan City Police Department was dispatched to the 200 Block of Elston St. for a complaint of Shots Fired and someone in a vehicle possibly injured. Upon arrival, Officer Cody Washluske located a vehicle parked in front of 214 Jackson St. and discovered the victim, Justin Ameer Garner age 18 in the driver’s seat wounded from what appeared to be a single gunshot to the head. Officer Washluske summoned for EMS to expedite their response, but the victim was deceased. The LaPorte County Coroner’s Office was summoned to the scene. Additional members

A new partnership between the world’s leading marine motorsport brand, Powerboat P1 and OPA Racing has created the American Power Boat Association (APBA) Offshore Championship with Michigan City set to host the penultimate round. The two promoters have released details of the race sites in the six-venue series that will see the Great Lakes Grand Prix staged over the weekend of 3/4 August as it celebrates its 11th anniversary. Michigan City joins high-profile race events in Florida, Missouri and Michigan between May and the end of September. The aim is to strengthen the future of racing in the country by

If you would like to comment on Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s (NIPSCO’s) request for an electric rate increase, you have the opportunity to do so.Consumers may:· Send written comments to the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) by Thursday, Jan. 31, and/or· Speak at either of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s (IURC’s) public field hearings in this case.The IURC public hearings are scheduled for:· Monday, Jan. 28, in Hammond (Hammond High School Auditorium, 5926 Calumet Ave.) and· Wednesday, Jan. 30, in Goshen (Goshen College Newcomer Center, 1900 S. Main St.).Each hearing starts at 6:00 p.m. local time. Consumers

In partnership with both the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the APRHF Rail Rangers provide onboard educational programs on the South Shore Line through Illinois and Indiana. Rail Rangers Interpretive Guides narrate the passing scenery to the public -- just buy a ticket at a station or ticket kiosk, grab a seat in the designated car (program takes place in one designated car on the train), and participate at no extra cost! No reservations are ever needed for South Shore Line programs, plus you can hop-on and off at any stop. These programs are presented

Cloudy, with a high near 31.  Snow is expected to start around 9pm and continue through the overnight hours. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Gov. Holcomb joins more than a dozen governors and hundreds of city and county leaders nationwide in officially recognizing School Choice Week in their area of governance. Gov. Holcomb has issued a proclamation declaring Jan. 20-26 as Indiana School Choice Week. Parents, schools, and other planners have organized 981 events and activities across the state of Indiana for School Choice Week. These events, which include rallies, cocktail receptions, roundtable discussions, festivals, and school fairs, aim to spark conversations about the educational opportunities parents have, or want to have, for their children. More than 40,000 events have been independently planned for the week

The recent opening of the new Franciscan Health Michigan City hospital also meant the transition from a location where mothers had given birth for more than a century. For many of these years, Brahms Lullaby would play hospital-wide to signal that a new life had entered the world. Three days before the hospital move, the song played for the last time as the staff celebrated the final infant born at the historic location. That baby girl, Mila Jonny, was born at 4:16 p.m., Jan. 9 to parents Melissa Anderson and Kyle Richardson of LaPorte. Four days later, Brahms Lullaby played

If you would like to comment on Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s (NIPSCO’s) request for an electric rate increase, you have the opportunity to do so.Consumers may:· Send written comments to the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) by Thursday, Jan. 31, and/or· Speak at either of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s (IURC’s) public field hearings in this case.The IURC public hearings are scheduled for:· Monday, Jan. 28, in Hammond (Hammond High School Auditorium, 5926 Calumet Ave.) and· Wednesday, Jan. 30, in Goshen (Goshen College Newcomer Center, 1900 S. Main St.).Each hearing starts at 6:00 p.m. local time. Consumers

Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) was named the top Republican, or ranking member, of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker & Family Support, which has jurisdiction over programs aimed at helping workers, children, and families thrive. The panel, previously called the Subcommittee on Human Resources, authorizes and oversees a wide range of programs and services, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Social Services Block Grant, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, the Maternal, Infant, and early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, child and family services, and foster care and adoption. Walorski will also serve as a

On January 16, 2019, at approximately 7:59pm, the Michigan City Police received a call of a deceased subject inside a vehicle in the 200 block of Jackson Street. Upon arrival an adult male was located in a parked vehicle with a single gunshot wound to his head. Members of the Michigan City Police Department Patrol Division, Investigative Division, and the LaPorte County HIDTA Drug Task Force, are investigating this unfortunate shooting/ homicide. No information on the deceased is being released at this point pending notification of family. As this is an ongoing investigation, more information will be released as the

The Indiana Department of Transportation announces the kick off of its 2019 Paint the Plow campaign, a community outreach program designed to promote safety and awareness of INDOT’s Winter Operations all year long.Each INDOT District invites art classes/programs from middle and high schools to paint an INDOT snow plow blade with original artwork to represent their school. Applications and additional program details can be found here: painttheplow.indot.in.govIn addition to being seen in full service during the winter weather months, the blades may be used at events within the school’s community to enhance public awareness, promote safety and foster greater appreciation