News

The public is invited to bring their “brown bag” snack and learn a little about bees in your garden during the final session presented by La Porte County Master Gardeners. This session will focus on aspects of taking care of honeybees for your garden. The last session in the Brown Bag Gardening Series on Wednesday, April 18, will feature Steve Lesniak, apiarist for Peace Bees, LLC. Get a “jump-start” on gardening this year by participating in one or all of the sessions in the award-winning Brown Bag Gardening Series, sponsored by the La Porte County Master Gardener Association. The public

The 2017 film, “The Glass Castle”, will be presented at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 15 at the Michigan City Library, 100 E. Fourth St., Michigan City, through a collaboration between the Purdue University Northwest Odyssey Arts and Cultural Events Series and the Michigan City Public Library. The screening is free and open to the public. “The Glass Castle”, based on Jeannette Walls’ memoir of the same name, recounts the unconventional upbringing Walls and her siblings had at the hands of their dysfunctional parents. The film is rated PG-13.

Yesterday at around 1:00 pm, officers with the South Bend Police Department were dispatched to the 2000 block of Western Avenue in reference to a person armed with a knife, threatening to kill a resident and others. When officers arrived, they were confronted by the knife wielding perpetrator. During the course of the incident, an officer discharged his firearm. The perpetrator was rendered aid and rushed to the hospital. Despite lifesaving attempts by medical personnel, he died. Pursuant to protocol, the County Metro Homicide Unit was activated to investigate this matter. CMHU detectives have interviewed a number of residents, neighbors

In an effort to accommodate an expected increase in passengers due to the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo and the Black Women's Expo April 6-8 at McCormick Place, The South Shore Line will offer additional capacity and an extra passenger train on Saturday, April 7, 2018. Train 606 heading west to Millennium Station will offer additional capacity to accommodate passengers heading to Chicago in the morning. Train 606 will make all regular stops to Chicago. In the afternoon, an eastbound passenger extra train will depart Millennium Station at 4:25 p.m. (Van Buren St. at 4:28 p.m.), run non-stop to Hegewisch

Indiana High School robotics teams are fine-tuning their robots after advancing to the state championship from their respective district events. Kokomo Memorial Gymnasium will be transformed for the state championship competition April 13 & 14. The teams will battle each other for a few coveted positions to represent the state of Indiana at the World Championships April 25th-28th. Going into the State Championship the IndianaFIRST district leader is TechHOUNDS from Carmel Indiana and they lead with 142 district points. Ranked second is Team THRUST from Huntington Indiana with 115 district points, and Kil-A-Bytes from Indianapolis Indiana is ranked third with

On Tuesday, at approximately 6:30pm, Porter County Multi-Enforcement Group (PCMEG) received information regarding stolen guns being inside a residence in the 1400 block of Winterpark Drive in Whispering Sands Mobile Home Community. PCMEG had been informed the guns, believed to be inside the residence, were from a burglary that occurred in Valparaiso City limits earlier that morning. PCMEG was able to secure a search warrant for the residence and located the following stolen items: 4 long guns, 1 handgun, numerous rounds of ammunition, numerous knives, jewelry, numerous prescription pills also belonging to the burglary victim and marijuana inside the residence.

Slick roads lead to a rough commute in many portions of the area on Wednesday including a major backup on U.S. 20. All lanes of US 20 are were at a standstill due to semi-tractor trailers being unable to gain traction on the icy surface. As a result, there was significant traffic backups in both directions along US 20 between State Road 39 and State Road 2.

The La Porte County Drug Task Force announces the arrest of 28 year old Steven Britzke of La Porte, following an investigation. On Tuesday March 27th, 2018 The La Porte City Police Department responded to The Blue Heron Inn on a report that Britzke who had an active arrest warrant was currently at that location. Shortly after the arrival of the La Porte Police patrol division, and detective bureau, Britzke was located trying to exit the rear of a room, and was taken into custody. Cpl. Ken Iliff of The La Porte County Drug Task Force responded to the scene,

Valparaiso-based Smith Ready Mix is planning to construct a new concrete batch plant in St. Joseph County. The company will invest $2 million to build the facility in an industrial area being developed by the county near New Carlisle. The plant is expected to open this summer and create 15 jobs. In March, the St. Joseph County Council changed the zoning of the property from agricultural to manufacturing in order to accommodate Smith Ready Mix's plans. The company also has plants in Valparaiso, East Chicago, Cedar Lake, Schererville, Chesterton, Westville and DeMotte.

Staying active is a no-brainer when it comes to improving how you look and feel, yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 44 percent of Indiana adults are getting the recommended amount of aerobic physical activity. This month the American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, is challenging everyone to get moving. Move More Month is part of the association’s Healthy For Good™ movement, which inspires people everywhere to make lasting changes in their health and their lives, one small step at a time.

In Porter County, the dates for this year’s 4th Annual Northwest Regional Sheriff’s Camp camp are August 7th-9th at the Indiana Dunes State Park from 8:00am to 4:00pm. The cost of the camp is $40.00 per camper. This year’s camp will be for ‘first timers’ as they are looking to accept those that have not attended the camp in the previous 3 years. Returning campers will be accepted based on availability. Unless food allergies are an issue; lunch, snacks and drinks will be provided each day to the campers. This is a great opportunity during the summer, and just before

The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office is now accepting applications for Merit Patrol Deputy. Applicants who successfully complete and pass the various stages of the hiring process will be ranked on a list for any future vacancies that may arise within the Merit Division of the Sheriff’s Office. The hiring process will include the following stages: application phase, physical agility testing, written examination, computerized voice stress analysis examination, background investigation, Merit Division interview panel and a Merit Commission interview. Applications can be found online by accessing the Sheriff’s Office website: www.laportecountysheriff.com or by picking them up at the front desk of the

2018 is a consequential election year. Are you registered to vote? If you want to have your say in the primary election, you must register in the next few days. Hoosiers must register by April 9th to be able to vote in the May 8th primary election. Citizens can register to vote online by using the Indiana Voters app, texting ‘Indiana’ to 2VOTE (28683), or by visiting IndianaVoters.com, and can submit an application to register in person at their local county clerk's office or any Bureau of Motor Vehicles license branch. The Indiana Voters app also allows Hoosiers to confirm

Amtrak is offering additional service between Chicago and Holland, Mich. for travelers to Holland's annual Tulip Time Festival. A special stop at Hammond-Whiting, Ind., is also added. These trains on the Pere Marquette route, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), will run on two Saturdays during the festival, May 5 and May 12, enabling same-day visits to what has been heralded as the nation's "Best Flower Festival" and "America's Best Small-Town Festival," with more than 5 million tulips in bloom. Parking at the Amtrak Hammond-Whiting station is free of charge and eastbound, Train 374, and westbound, Train 375,

The Indiana Department of Transportation announced the agency will make available at least $125 million for high-priority railroad safety projects on local roads statewide through the agency’s new “Local Trax” matching grant program. Local Trax provides state matching funds for Indiana cities, towns, and counties interested in pursuing high-priority railroad grade separations, crossing closures, and other safety enhancements at railroad intersections with local roads. INDOT will begin accepting project proposals from local agencies in May. Local Trax requires local governments to provide only 20 percent of funding for land acquisition and construction with the state providing the other 80 percent.

On Monday, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office hosted Narcan (Naloxone) training for K-9 Handlers and their K-9’s at the Sheriff’s Office Training Building. The training, led by the instruction of Doctor Johnson and her support staff from Purdue University, was attended by several area K-9 Handlers and their K-9’s. The hands-on instruction and training by Dr. Johnson and her support staff provided the K-9 Handlers with the proper technique of administering a dose of Narcan to the K-9’s. Police K-9’s, during working duties, may be exposed to potential lethal doses of opioids. By receiving this training, the K-9 Handlers

Gov. Eric. J. Holcomb, Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jennifer McCormick and Treasurer of State Kelly Mitchell are asking Hoosier students to submit applications for The 2018 Governor’s STEM Team (#GovSTEMteam). Gov. Holcomb developed the competition in 2017 to highlight Indiana’s elite high school students for their work in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The program honors four outstanding high school students for their exemplary performance in one of the STEM subjects. Winning students each receive a $1,000 college scholarship from Indiana’s College Choice 529 Direct Savings plan, administered by Treasurer Mitchell, and letterman jackets identifying them as members

Join the Health Care Foundation of La Porte for the presentation of the La Porte County Opioid Study commissioned by the HFLP through the Center for Health Policy at the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. The study addresses the burden of opioid addiction in La Porte County and make recommendations to address the community's needs and gaps related to this issue. The event is from 8-11 am on Thursday, April 19th, at PNW Westville at the James B. Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex - Great Hall. Continental Breakfast is available at 7:40am, with the presentation at

At one-time, native stocks of lake trout thrived in Lake Michigan. But today’s prized Coho and Chinook salmon, steelhead and brown trout were nowhere to be found in this Great Lake’s waters, according to a publication by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. By the 1950s, the lake trout were almost eliminated by the predatory sea lamprey, coupled with intensive commercial fishing in the 1940s and ‘50s. In the 1960s, a rehabilitation program began to eliminate the parasites, restock lake trout, and introduce Coho, Chinook, steelhead and brown trout. The experiment took, and the Indiana DNR Division of Fish and

April is Financial Literacy Month, and Secretary of State Connie Lawson is kicking things off by celebrating the one year anniversary of Indiana’s unique financial literacy curriculum. In early 2017, Secretary Lawson launched the Indiana Moneywise Financial Education Program pilot in six Indiana Counties. The program was announced at Riley High School in South Bend, and introduced an online interactive curriculum that simplifies complex financial principles and allows high school students to engage through videos, simulations, and social networking. In late 2017, the program was expanded to allow all Indiana schools to participate at no cost to the schools. Since