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INBiz, the state of Indiana’s one-stop business portal, launched in 2016 allowing Hoosier businesses to connect with numerous state government offices on one website. The one-stop concept has helped businesses stay in compliance with state law by putting numerous reporting requirements on one website. This year, the Attorney General’s unclaimed property reporting requirement joined INBiz. As a result, they collected nearly an additional $40 million because more business owners were aware of the filing requirement. INBiz has teamed up with the Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to provide Hoosier entrepreneurs and small business owners with business development advice as

Wagging tails and the occasional bark punctuated Franciscan Health’s third annual Pet Therapy Recognition Luncheon on Dec. 17 at Franciscan Health Crown Point’s Marian Education Center.With 24 people and 14 dogs in attendance, the event has grown from its first year when the pet therapy program began with six dogs. Today, 29 dogs are participating in the program with an additional four completing their training to join next year. Dogs must be certified by Therapy Dogs International or Alliance of Therapy Dogs to participate.The therapy dog program is currently at Franciscan Health Crown Point and Michigan City and will expand

Four Michigan City High School juniors are among the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) " Rising Stars of Indiana" Class of 2020. Each Indiana high school was invited to recognize up to four students currently in the 11th grade, based on their academic achievement. Representing Michigan City High School are Elliot Jasicki, Robert Lemon, Sara Poulin, and Megan Steinhiser. “We’re very proud of these four outstanding students," said Michigan City High School Principal Candy Van Buskirk. "They embody academic excellence and are involved in numerous activities at school and in our community. They truly are rising stars -- and

Michigan City Central Service Departments will be closed on New Year’s Eve, Monday, December 31, 2018 and New Year’s Day, Tuesday, January 1, 2019. Central Services will resume their regular schedule on Wednesday, January 2, 2019. Michigan City Transit Department will be closed on New Year’s Eve, Monday, December 31, 2018 and New Year’s Day, Tuesday, January 1, 2019. A regular schedule will resume on Wednesday, January 2, 2019.

The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest has been selected to receive a grant from ArcelorMittal in the second year of its special community investment initiative, “Building Resilience: Investing in Nonprofit Sustainability.” The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest is one of 14 nonprofit organizations nationwide that were awarded a total of $325,000. The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest will focus the use of its portion of the grant funds on developing a strategic plan for the organization. ArcelorMittal received more than 55 applications for this year’s grant initiative.

Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.6 percent for November and remains lower than the national rate of 3.7 percent. With the exception of one month when it was equal (October 2014), Indiana's unemployment rate now has been below the U.S. rate for more than five years. The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force. Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 2,216 over the previous month. This was a result of a 2,122

The Indiana State Police is investigating a crash involving a pedestrian that occurred on Tuesday December, 25, 2018 at 7:21 PM. The crash occurred on Interstate 80 at the 1.5 mile marker on the westbound side. This is in between Calumet Avenue and Indianapolis Boulevard. A 2007 Gray Chevrolet HHR, being driven by a 58 year old woman from Chicago, Illinois, struck a male pedestrian who had been walking in the roadway. The male pedestrian’s identity is being withheld at this time due to the extent of his injuries and pending criminal investigation. He was transported by Hammond EMS to

Mayor Ron Meer has a vacancy to his appointment on the Michigan City Redevelopment Commission and will be serving in that capacity for 2019. “Michigan City is at a crucial time in its’ history. The Redevelopment Commission will be directly involved in major projects, such as NICTD Double Tracking, the retirement of the NIPSCO Generating Station and the development of the former Michigan City Police Station and the News Dispatch properties. These projects will have a substantial impact upon Michigan City’s future and growth and I believe it is important that the residents are represented by their elected official” said

A small bar of gold has found its way to The Salvation Army of Michigan City this season – slipped into one of the red kettles. Valued at roughly $1,260, the bar is one ounce of fine gold. It was found in a kettle that was stationed at the Big R store on south Franklin Street, and was dropped into the kettle sometime on Thursday. The gold was wrapped in small piece of paper that simply said, “Love weighs more than gold,” which Major Becky Simmons says reflects the love and support The Salvation Army receives from the community throughout

Two outstanding La Porte County students have been named recipients of full tuition, four-year scholarships as Unity Foundation of La Porte County 2019 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.Lily Carmel and Abigail Roberts will receive tuition to an accredited public or private Indiana college or university of their choice, and an annual $900 stipend for required books and equipment.Lily Carmel will graduate with academic honors from New Prairie High School, having taken several advanced placement and honors courses. She has demonstrated leadership and initiative through her consistent involvement in school, community, and faith related activities. She is an active member of the

To accommodate passengers attending the NHL Winter Classic at noon CST on Jan. 1, 2019 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins, the South Shore Line will operate a morning eastbound extra and an afternoon westbound extra. The NHL will provide free shuttle bus service for passengers between South Bend Westmoor St. (just west of the South Bend International Airport) and Notre Dame Stadium. Busing will be available to passengers on the extra trains and EB Train 503 and WB Train 508.

Two outstanding La Porte County students have been named recipients of full tuition, four-year scholarships as Unity Foundation of La Porte County 2019 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.Lily Carmel and Abigail Roberts will receive tuition to an accredited public or private Indiana college or university of their choice, and an annual $900 stipend for required books and equipment.Lily Carmel will graduate with academic honors from New Prairie High School, having taken several advanced placement and honors courses. She has demonstrated leadership and initiative through her consistent involvement in school, community, and faith related activities. She is an active member of the

Michigan City Area Schools has announced plans for a snow makeup day (for the day school was canceled on November 26). The district will make up this day on Presidents' Day, Monday, February 18, 2019. This will be made up as an "eLearning" day, so students will not report to school buildings on that day. Instead, they will log in from home on February 18 to complete assignments. For more about eLearning, visit: https://educateMC.net/eLearning

Michigan City’s Mayor Ron Meer won the inaugural “Battle of the Mayors,” which pitted Meer against Mayor Mark Krentz in a showdown in support of The Salvation Army. Each mayor manned a kettle on Thursday for a 10-hour shift – Meer at the Al’s Supermarket location in Karwick Plaza, and Krentz and the Kroger store in La Porte. Meer took the victory by raking in $3,631.50 compared to the $2,589.64 brought in by the La Porte team. But everyone agrees that the real winner here is both Salvation Army locations and the communities they serve. The funds raised during this

Four Michigan City High School juniors are among the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) " Rising Stars of Indiana" Class of 2020. Each Indiana high school was invited to recognize up to four students currently in the 11th grade, based on their academic achievement. Representing Michigan City High School are Elliot Jasicki, Robert Lemon, Sara Poulin, and Megan Steinhiser. “We’re very proud of these four outstanding students," said Michigan City High School Principal Candy Van Buskirk. "They embody academic excellence and are involved in numerous activities at school and in our community. They truly are rising stars -- and

NIPSCO announced three new Indiana-based leaders within the gas operations and electric engineering and project construction areas – effective Jan. 1, 2019. Dan Douglas has been named senior vice president of NIPSCO gas, based in Merrillville, Ind. reporting to Pablo Vegas, executive vice president and president for gas utilities across NiSource. Reporting to Douglas, Steve Sylvester has been named general manager and vice president of NIPSCO Gas, based in Merrillville. Jim Zucal, vice president of electric engineering, projects and construction responsible for major projects, transmission and distribution engineering, transmission system reliability and development and infrastructure modernization project support, will also

Wednesday, Attorney General Curtis Hill confirmed his office’s investigation into USA Gymnastics and filed limited objections to the organization’s requests to continue the services of two consulting firms, Alfers GC Consulting LLC and Scramble Systems LLC. The limited objections request the court deny USA Gymnastics’ motions if the consulting firms do not agree to: 1) comply with all laws and rules regarding the reporting of suspected child abuse; 2) monitor and promote compliance with the policies designed to protect and promote athlete welfare; and 3) work toward full implementation of the recommendations contained in the Daniels Report. (The “Report to USA

The Unity Foundation of La Porte County has received a grant of $1,000,000 as part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s seventh phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative. With GIFT VII, the Endowment is making up to $125 million available to help Indiana community foundations strengthen the towns, cities and counties they serve. The Unity Foundation can use this matching fund grant to build our financial assets and support our charitable activities. The Unity Foundation will designate these funds to support the growth of our unrestricted endowments, which over time will provide flexibility to help the foundation to

State Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) encourages students who want to learn more about state government to participate in the Indiana House Page Program during the 2019 legislative session.According to Pressel, those who are between the ages of 13 to 18 can spend a day at the Statehouse in Indianapolis helping staff and local legislators, touring government offices, and learning about the legislative process.Pressel said student pages receive an excused absence from school and groups can participate together. For more information and to sign up, visit www.indianahouserepublicans.com/pageprogram or call 800-382-9841.The 2019 legislative session begins Thursday, Jan. 3, and must conclude by April

In a story WIMS has been following, on Tuesday at at around 9:45 p.m., members of the Michigan City Police Department Patrol Division, Investigative Division, the LaPorte County HIDTA Drug Task Force, and Fugitive Apprehension Street Team, took a 16 year old suspect from the unfortunate shooting homicide into custody without incident. The suspect is being held at the LaPorte County Jail pending a Probable Cause hearing.