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Nominations for the Governor's Century and Half Century Business Awards are now open. Chair of the House Committee on Commerce Small Business and Economic Development State Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) explained the important role local businesses play. Morris also explained why they should be recognized for their service to communities. These awards honor businesses that were founded and have continuously operated in the state of Indiana for at least 50 or 100 years. Award recipients will be presented with a commemorative certificate from Governor Eric Holcomb at the Indiana Statehouse. Applications are due February 16th. All eligible companies are

In order to accommodate an expected increase in passengers for the Women’s March Chicago on Saturday, January. 20th, the South Shore Line will have additional capacity available for Train 502’s run. In the afternoon, an eastbound passenger extra will run following the event. It will depart Millennium Station at 4:25 p.m. (Van Buren St. at 4:28 p.m.), run non-stop to Hegewisch and make all local stops terminating at Carroll Avenue, Michigan City. This train will not serve Hudson Lake or South Bend.

Governor Eric Holcomb, joined executives of the St. Joseph County Airport Authority Thursday to announce that American Airlines will restart operations at South Bend International Airport (SBN), adding two new nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). A key part of Governor Holcomb's Next Level Agenda, expanding nonstop flight options will help increase the state's connectivity to key national markets and enhance quality of place for Hoosiers. The flights, which will begin June 7, will offer twice-daily service to both Dallas/Fort Worth and Charlotte, which serve as American Airlines hubs. Tickets for both

Marquette Catholic High School announced that Congressman Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN) will speak to several social studies classes on campus on Thursday, January 25th in the Rudy Hart Theatre. Visclosky serves as Indiana's First Congressional District Representative in Washington D.C. In his 33rd year in politics, Congressman Visclosky is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and also serves as the Ranking Member on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The Gary native has long been an advocate for Northwest Indiana's steel industry.

All boys and girls ages 9 to 14 are invited to participate in the local level of competition for the 2018 Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship. The local competition will be held Sunday, Jan 21, 2018 at 1pm at the New Gym at St Patrick’s Church in Chesterton. The Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship is sponsored annually, with winners progressing through local, district, and state competitions.

The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) announced the launch of On-Ramp, an accelerator program designed to assist early career creative entrepreneurs advance their business goals and objectives. The three-day Creative Entrepreneur Course will be May 18 - 20, 2018 in Madison, Indiana, and focuses on business skills, career goals, and community engagement learning. Those who complete the course are also eligible to apply for the On-Ramp fellowship, which includes up to $2,000 of project funding. More information on the specific training, mentorship and opportunities that On-Ramp provides is available at https://www.in.gov/arts/onramp.htm. Applications for On-Ramp must be completed through the Arts Commission's online

The Lake Michigan shoreline has a sand erosion problem that's hurting commercial shipping and threatening natural habitats, but there's a new plan to help. For about 200 years, man-made structures have been interrupting the southward drift of sand along the shoreline, which has lead to the erosion of some the region's most scenic beaches. Towns along the lakefront, have worked individually to try to stop the erosion, but that's had only limited success. Now Ethan Brown with the Alliance for the Great Lakes says his group and the state's Department of Natural Resources are teaming up with north shore towns

Jim Harper has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Indiana Secretary of State. After law school, Harper completed a federal judicial clerkship in Indianapolis. He now practices law in Porter County. Harper serves on the board of a non-profit law firm that provides free and reduced-cost legal services to veterans, as well as the Hilltop House, a Valparaiso non-profit that provides early-childhood education and other services to Porter County families. In 2016, Harper was the Democratic nominee for State Senate in the 5th District. The Democratic nominee for Secretary of State will be chosen at the Indiana Democratic

The public is invited to an afternoon of romance and jazz at Michigan City’s Barker Mansion with local musicians Steve Champagne, Mary E. Rapier and David Lahm on Saturday, February 10 from 3:00 to 5:30 pm. A Victorian Romance will celebrate love in a very unique way, as this year marks the 125th wedding anniversary of Katherine and John Barker, who owned the largest freight car factory in the Midwest. For more information check out the WIMS Facebook page @wimsradio.

The Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) will once again be able to fund mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women in La Porte and Starke County who do not have the resources to pay for these services. The Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust (IBCAT) awarded a $15,000 grant for 2018 to continue HFL’s Breast Cancer Project. All Indiana residents may purchase an Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness special group recognition license plate by visiting any Indiana BMV license branch or online at www.in.gov/bmv for an annual $40 distinctive plate fee, $25 of which is a direct tax-deductible donation to IBCAT. The plate may

The snowfall affected the roadways in the WIMS listening area on Tuesday. The Westbound lanes on the Indiana Toll Road near the Michigan border were shut down for hours yesterday afternoon causing massive delays. All lanes were closed just after Chesterton. The accident involved two semi-trailers on the snow-covered stretch of the toll road. Eastbound traffic was backed up from Chesterton all the way to Gary. Also, westbound lanes of I-80/94 were closed near Cline Ave. due to a crash involving a semi tractor trailer. All lanes westbound I-80/94 were backed up from I-65 until past Cline Ave because of

In a story WIMS has been following, the St. Joseph County (Indiana) Prosecutor’s Office has given an update involving the January 11th shooting death of D’Angelo Jennings. Eighteen year old Torreay Fennessee, appeared before a Magistrate for his arraignment and bail hearing. Bond was set at $100,000 cash. Mr. Fennessee’s initial hearing was scheduled for January 30, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office previously charged Torreay Jordan Fennessee with Voluntary Manslaughter, a Level 2 Felony, with a Firearm Sentencing Enhancement. Please be advised that the charges filed against the defendant are merely accusations and that the

In a statement from the Westville Police Tuesday regarding the Westville boil water order, utility employees have the plant up and running and the first round of water samples has been sent off for testing. When these tests come back a mandatory second round of tests will be sent in. The utility workers are hopeful that the boil advisory will be lifted some time today. The police are relaying information as they get it. The advisory is for ingestion, the water is acceptable for bathing, laundry, cleaning.

The Michigan City Public Library is planning a $1.6 million, three-year remodel project that will add a Makerspace, new meeting room space and enhance computer availability.  The first phase of the project will begin in February and should conclude by August.  The cost of the remodel is spread over three years and paid for with saved and existing resources.  No bond issue or capital project funds will be expended. Phase I will begin in the Youth Services Department and include Audio-Visual and Periodical updates.  The creation of a Makerspace located in the Youth Services is included in the first phase.

On Tuesday, Governor Eric Holcomb will detail the state's plan to pilot a program aimed at teaching prison inmates in coding ahead of their release dates. Indiana will become the first state outside of California to adopt the program, known as The Last Mile, which aims to align inmates with gainful employment upon release. Indiana will first begin training women how to code at the Indiana Women's Prison as part of the pilot. Holcomb will have more details Tuesday alongside the program's founder, Chris Redlitz, and co-founder and program graduate Kenyatta Leal.

Four Winds South Bend will open on today. The state's newest casino is part of a $400 million planned investment that also includes a tribal village on the sovereign territory of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. The casino sits on 166 acres and construction began more than two years ago. The property includes 175,000 square-feet of gaming space and is the fourth Four Winds-branded casino. It is expected to eventually employ around 1,200 people. Today's ribbon cutting ceremony will include Pokagon Band Chairman John Warren, Four Winds Casino Resort Chief Operating Officer Frank Freedman and Four Winds South Bend

Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) is among a group of senators calling on President Donald Trump to renew the declaration of the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency. The current declaration, issued in October, is set to expire January 23. The letter suggests there has been "too little action taken" to battle the epidemic since Trump made the declaration on October 26. Donnelly praised President Trump for making the declaration at the time, saying it will take an "all-hands-on-deck approach" to tackle the issue.

INDOT announced the kick off of its 2018 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 at https://www.in.gov/indot/3427.htm. Paint the Plow is open to all middle schools, high schools and career-technical schools across the state. Only students who are currently enrolled in the applicant school may participate in the creation, execution and completion of the

Shortly after 10 p.m. last Thursday night, the South Bend Police Department was called to the 1800 block of North Johnson Street in reference to a shooting. Upon arrival, officers discovered a 17 year old male in the home suffering from apparent gunshot wounds; he was pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim has been positively identified as D’Angelo Jennings. The St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit (CMHU) was called out to handle the investigation. Investigators interviewed several individuals and continue to investigate; this is an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to

Prison populations are dropping in most states, but a new study finds that the number of incarcerated women is not falling as fast as it is for men. Nationally the total prison population peaked around 2009. The study, compiled by the Prison Policy Initiative, shows that most states have made progress in reducing their overall prison populations over the past ten years, but incarceration rates for women have generally stayed about the same. According to Wendy Sawyer, author of the report, one reason may be that women in prison may receive harsher punishments for rule violations than men do for