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Soon after taking the oath of office for the 116th Congress, U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) have introduced “No Budget, No Pay” legislation.The legislation requires Members of Congress to pass the annual budget resolutions and all appropriations bills by the start of the fiscal year, October 1, otherwise Members will not be paid, with retroactive pay prohibited. This bill prohibits the payment of any pay to any Member of Congress: if Congress fails to approve a concurrent budget resolution on the budget by the start of a federal fiscal year on October 1, and

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is issuing a call for volunteers to help students express creativity through history. Volunteer judges are needed for the 2019 National History Day in Indiana (NHDI) contests, including a regional event, Saturday, Feb. 23, at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN.NHDI is a yearlong program in which students in grades 4 through 12 research a historical topic of their choosing and create projects in the form of documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances and websites. This year’s theme is “Triumph & Tragedy in History.”At each regional contest, judges work in teams to interview students about their

Purdue Extension is offering an introductory course on preparing grant proposals. The workshops will be held this spring at Purdue Extension, La Porte County, 2857 W. State Road 2, Suite A, in La Porte on Tuesday, February 26th and Tuesday, March 26th.The Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing Workshop teaches grant writers of all skill levels how to prepare and submit a professional proposal. The two-day interactive workshops take place from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM local time on both days listed above. During the workshop, participants develop their ideas into written proposals. They learn about how to find funders as

Investigators have been working diligently on the tragic Homicide that took place Monday afternoon. Police, Fire and EMS responded to 6800 block of N. Meer Road after receiving a frantic 911 call from a distraught relative of the family residing at the residence. It was soon discovered three people found inside of the home had been shot and were deceased. The deceased were identified as 71-year-old Barbara Evans, 73-year-old Walter Evans, and 48- year-old Tammy Evans. The residence was secured and processed for evidence. Some of the evidentiary items collected were a handgun, spent bullet casings and a handwritten note.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and the Israel Innovation Authority have issued the first call for proposals as part of the organizations’ collaborative effort to propel innovation through private sector partnerships, inviting Indiana and Israeli businesses to submit joint research projects focused on developing high-tech solutions in agbiosciences and cybersecurity. Indiana companies interested in this opportunity are invited to submit expressions of interest and high-level project proposals by Thursday, Jan. 31. Following the Jan. 31 deadline, finalist companies will be matched, if not already paired, and asked to submit full, bilateral proposals by May 7. The IEDC and Israel

LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office Announced in the coming weeks, all the 2018 statistics will be compiled and eventually released. However, an early figure has already been tallied. In 2018, Deputy Gabriel Struss led all deputies with fifty-five (55) operating while intoxicated (OWI) arrests.

Elementary & Middle School Girls Basketball Clinic:The Michigan City High School Wolves Girls Basketball team will hold a mini clinic for girls in grades K-8 at the Wolves Den Gymnasium on Saturday, January 12th from 10:00 - 11:30am. The clinic is free and no advance registration is required; parents will be asked to complete permission slips at the door.  MCHS Mini Cheer Camp:The Michigan City High School Cheerleaders will host a "Mini Cheer Camp" that will conclude with a performance at the MCHS Wolves Boys' Basketball game on January 31. The camp is open to students in grades K-6. It

An unfortunate murder suicide has left three dead in the 6800 Block of Meer Road after a reported 911 call came in on January 7th at 1:57pm, from a distraught relative. The tentative information received along with a preliminary investigation revealed the suspected murder of two adult residents of the rural Michigan City home along with the suicide of the suspected adult perpetrator who is also related to the victims. During the course of the initial investigation we were assisted by the LaPorte County Sheriff's Department, Trail Creek, and Long Beach Police along with the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office, Michigan City

The Greater La Porte Economic Development Corporation (GLEDC), in partnership with the City of La Porte, the La Porte County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, The La Porte Urban Enterprise Association and the Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce is happy to announce the hiring of Angela Rose as the Downtown Coordinator in the City of La Porte. Mrs. Rose grew up in La Porte and attended La Porte High School.  After graduating in 2009, she attended Ball State University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and Development in 2013.  Furthering her education, she obtained a

The Indiana Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology (DHPA) is once again asking the public for photos for its annual Historic Preservation Month photo contest. DHPA works to preserve buildings and the built environment, and is looking for photos to celebrate that effort. Specifically the division is interested in photos of something that has been preserved, is in the process of being preserved, or desperately needs to be preserved. The subject in the photo must be in Indiana and at least 50 years old. The image must show something that was designed and/or built. Send an 8x10 inch matted image,

Talk to a Lawyer Day is Monday, January 21 from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the Michigan City Public Library. Need legal answers? The Indiana State Bar Association, the NWI Volunteer Lawyers, Inc., the Pro Bono Committee of the First Judicial District, and local bar associations will sponsor this walk-in site open for anyone who needs legal help but can't afford an attorney. Volunteer attorneys will provide referral information if further legal assistance or social services, etc. are needed. No appointment necessary. The project, in its 15th year, honors the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his dream of access

Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. is conducting a voluntary recall of 80 lots of Amlodipine Valsartan Tablets USP, Valsartan HCTZ Tablets, USP and Valsartan Tablets USP to the consumer level due to the detection of trace amounts of an unexpected impurity found in the finished drug product.   The impurity detected in the finished drug product is N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), which is a substance that occurs naturally in certain foods, drinking water, air pollution, and industrial processes, and has been classified as a probable human carcinogen as per International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classification. To date, Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. has

Mayor Ron Meer would like to inform residents about the installation of digital signs in Washington Park.  The City of Michigan City recently received a $50,000 grant from ArcelorMittal for the final phase of the Lakefront safety upgrades.  With this grant, the City was able to purchase six Digital Warning Signs that will be placed at the entrance to the pier and on the lifeguard tower.  These signs will serve the purpose of notifying residents and visitors to Washington Park and our lakefront of potential dangerous lake conditions.In 2016, Mayor Ron Meer implemented the Lakefront Safety Committee as a part

With the U.S. government closed for business for the 21st time since 1976, this time with a partial shutdown, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on the States Most & Least Affected by the 2019 Government Shutdown to add some hard data to all the rhetoric.WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of five key metrics, ranging from each state’s share of federal jobs to federal contract dollars per capita to the share of families receiving food stamps. Indiana came in as one of the least affected states at #47 out of 51 Indiana.

To accommodate passengers attending the Chicago Bears postseason game at 3:40 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019, at Soldier Field, the South Shore Line will run an extra eastbound and extra westbound train, with additional select stops at the 18th St. Station.Westbound service:An Extra train will depart Carroll Avenue Station at 11:40 a.m. and make all local stops, including 18th St. Station, and terminate at Millennium Station. It will adhere to the following schedule:11th St. Michigan City (11:44a); Dune Park (12:01p); Ogden Dunes (12:10p); Miller (12:17p); Gary Metro (12:24p); East Chicago (12:38p); Hammond (12:43p); Hegewisch (12:50p); 18th St. (1:18p); Museum

The Indiana House of Representatives and the Indiana Division of The Salvation Army have joined together to increase awareness of child hunger. House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-88) and House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-80) joined Salvation Army officials at the Statehouse Thursday to kick off a drive to donate food and backpacks. Indiana House members are collecting non-perishable food items and new or gently-used backpacks until March 6 when the lawmakers plan to fill the backpacks with the collected food items to allow the Salvation Army to distribute them to schools across the state. The Indiana House also has launched

The Indiana Department of Transportation has announced the launch of the Trucks Park Here system, a multi-state, regional effort to make interstate travel safer by creating a network of safe, convenient parking areas for truckers with the ability to collect and share real-time parking availability with drivers through dynamic message signs, smartphone applications, and traveler information websites.Although access to safe and convenient parking areas for trucks is essential for a robust freight transportation network, truck drivers consistently have difficulty finding areas to safely rest. Drivers who have not located parking before reaching their hours of service limits are often forced

Thursday, the President signed U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) bipartisan legislation to increase oversight of taxpayer dollars spent by federal agencies into law. The Good Accounting Obligation in Government (GAO-IG) Act requires federal agencies to report on open and unimplemented recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (IG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO).Examples of recommendations that currently remain open and unimplemented:In 2013, GAO published recommendations to improve wait times at the VA so veterans can have timely access to medical care. In 2015, GAO found that the Department of Justice could do more to measure progress

Radon, a radioactive gas that occurs naturally in most soil, is the second-leading cause of lung cancer and the number-one cause among non-smokers. It is responsible for more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. each year, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates.January is National Radon Action Month, and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is urging homeowners to test their homes for radon because this tasteless, colorless and odorless gas can build up in homes without residents’ knowledge.ISDH and the American Lung Association are partnering to provide county health departments throughout Indiana with free radon

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announces that the ramp connecting southbound State Road 912 (Cline Avenue) to eastbound I-80/94 is closed for up to a week due to a spill.Wednesday, a truck from a private company spilled a substance onto the roadway, creating a slick surface. A cleanup company contracted by that company has reported to the scene and has started the cleanup process. The substance itself does not create an environmental hazard or danger to the public.Motorists may still travel both northbound and southbound on Cline Avenue and can even use the ramp connecting southbound Cline Avenue to