(La Porte County, IN) - A complaint alleging harassment has been filed against La Porte County Auditor Tim Stabosz.

Monique Thomas, Human Resources Director for La Porte County government, alleges in her complaint that Stabosz repeatedly called and texted her since April 15 regarding a report of high turnover in his office since he became auditor in 2021.

In the complaint, Thomas said Stabosz wanted to know if she leaked the number “13 employees,” which was the amount reported on a local radio talk show as the number of workers that have left his office during his tenure.

In her complaint, she alleged Stabosz also came to her office wanting to know who gave out the figure.

Thomas also said Stabosz during one conversation was accusing her of lying and the reported figure is “making him look bad,” according to the complaint.

In one phone call, Thomas said she hung up on Stabosz, who responded by texting several messages to her.

“As HR Director, I should not be used in his political antics,” she said in her complaint filed Thursday with the La Porte County Commissioners and La Porte County Council.

In her complaint, Thomas said she has blocked him from contacting her on her personal phone and directed him to call her on her work phone should he have any employee related concerns.

"He’s irrational and this type of behavior should not be tolerated towards any employee as far as I’m concerned," she said. 

Stabosz and Thomas were at odds with each other previously over her hiring as HR director, which led to a heated exchange between them during a La Porte County Commissioners meeting earlier this year.

Currently, Stabosz is seeking the Republican Party nomination for county commissioner in the May 7 primary.

Attempts to reach Stabosz for a response, so far, have been unsuccessful.

(La Porte County, IN) - A man nearly died from a drug overdose Thursday afternoon outside a store in the Rolling Prairie area.

According to La Porte County Police, emergency responders were called to Dollar General on 450 East.

A witness spotted a driver pull into the parking lot and found him slumped over the wheel of a vehicle with his lips turning blue.  Police said Cesar Perez, 30, woke up after given a dose of Narcan, which reverses the effects of heroin and other opoids.

The La Porte area man allegedly told officers he thinks he took some fentanyl.

Police said a small amount of suspected drugs found in the vehicle were tested but the results came back inconclusive.

Perez, who had a small amount of alcohol in his bloodstream, was arrested for operating while intoxicated because investigators believe he was driving while impaired on drugs.

(Michigan City, IN) - The ankle bracelet of a work release offender reportedly helped authorities tie him to a burglary of a Michigan City manufacturing company.

Pedro Lopez, 20, of La Porte is still being held in the La Porte County Jail after being taken into custody on April 12th. He is accused of breaking a window in late November to enter Midwest Wheelcoaters at 800 Royal Road on the city’s northeast side, where an undisclosed amount of money was taken from an office therein along with a laptop computer.

Lopez, who formerly worked at the company, was wearing a GPS monitor on his ankle as required under his six-month sentence with La Porte County Community Corrections for a Resisting Law Enforcement conviction, according to court documents.

Once he was located several weeks later, Lopez reportedly denied committing the burglary. However, police said, the satellite tracking device monitoring his whereabouts continuously placed him at that location during the time it was believed the burglary occurred.

In addition, money was found inside a vehicle belonging to Lopez after police responded to a report of a vehicle traveling on railroad tracks close to the burglary's location, found abandoned once authorities arrived.

(Michigan City, IN) - A Michigan City dog owner is facing criminal charges for injuries inflicted onto a man and woman along with their four-year-old son by his pet. 

Deandre Burnett has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of Dog Bite Liability, the most serious count being a Class A misdemeanor which could bring an up to one-year jail sentence.

According to police, it was late February when a man and his four-year-old son were walking to the family car parked in the driveway of their home in the 600 block of South Ashland Avenue, only to come across a pack of dogs fighting in the middle of the street.

One of the dogs then began attacking the boy.

In response, authorities explain, the man struggled to remove the dog’s mouth from his son’s face before his wife came out and tried to drive away the animal.

The husband and wife were treated and then released from a hospital for injuries suffered during the attack. However, the boy remained in the care of a doctor for injuries to his face, head, arms, and body amid concerns that the boy’s injuries were extensive enough to possibly result in permanent scarring.

Police noted that the dog, considered by a veterinarian to be a significant risk to public safety, was euthanized.

According to court documents, four dogs belonging to Burnett were let outside his home during the night and somehow made their way through a gate of the fenced-in yard.

(La Porte County, IN) - Volunteers instrumental in carrying out the mission of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service are being celebrated this week, with individuals lending their time of all sorts across the country being in the spotlight during the 50^th anniversary of National Volunteer Week, April 21st-27th. 

Volunteers are involved in every aspect of the Extension Service, including determining the needs of the local residents, planning and implementing programs to address these needs, securing resources, and evaluating programs in areas of 4-H, Ag & Natural Resources, Community Development, and Health and Human Sciences, per Kelsey Guadarrama, Director of La Porte County Purdue Extension.

"We are appreciative of all of our volunteers that spend hours to help develop our local community," she said.

Guadarrama said the work of volunteers is in areas like 4-H Youth Development, Health and Human Services, Ag and Natural Resources, and Community Development.

In La Porte County, 241 adult volunteers are serving as club leaders, project leaders, committee members, and in advisory capacities for the 4-H Youth Development Program. Volunteers spend numerous hours working on tasks such as helping a child with a 4-H project, leading a project to serve the community, or helping organize an event at the county fair.

"We thank you for your commitment to our future generations," she said.

She said the local Master Gardener Association has 54 members who have provided over 2600 hours of Volunteer & Educational hours. The Extension Homemakers have roughly 85 members who have logged over 26,000 hours in helping the community, and members of La Porte County Row Crop Food Producers Association have volunteered over 600 hours teaching local youth the importance of agriculture, farming, and where their food comes from.

People interested in joining the team of Extension Volunteers are invited to contact the LaPorte County Extension Office at 219-324-9407 or online via https://extension.purdue.edu/county/laporte/ or laporteces@purdue.edu.

Free trees and other environmentally-related things will be available in Michigan City next month.

According to the Michigan City Sustainability Commission, the MCSC has partnered with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and the tree board to host the third annual Earth Month Extravaganza.

The free all-ages event is scheduled for May 4th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Krueger Memorial Hall, located at 801 Liberty Trail.

In addition to free trees, people can learn from over 20 environmental organizations to be present during the event and participate in activities like guided hikes, a fossils hunt, games, and crafts.

For more information, contact Andie Jahnz-Davis at Andie.goinggreen@gmail.com.

(New Carlisle, IN) - It appears an Amazon data center is coming to the immediate area, as Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has announced that Amazon Web Services plans to invest $11 billion on constructing a data center along Indiana 2 in New Carlisle.

Over 1,000 jobs are expected to be created from what the governor described as the largest investment in state history.

“Indiana’s long-term economic strategy is paying dividends for Hoosiers as we cultivate the growth of critical sectors like technology infrastructure. Amazon has long been an important economic partner in Indiana, and we are excited to welcome AWS,” Holcomb said.

Holcomb was accompanied by representatives from AWS in today’s announcement.

“This significant investment solidifies Indiana’s leadership position in the economy of the future and will undoubtedly have a positive ripple effect on the town of New Carlisle, the north-central region, and the state of Indiana for years to come,” he said.

AWS operates cloud servers across various industries including automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, and the public sector. Clients range from small businesses to large corporations and the federal government.

Roger Wehner, AWS Director of Economic Development, said the investment will include workforce development and educational initiatives, which are common in areas where the company operates.

“We are thrilled to be expanding our operations in Indiana through this planned $11 billion investment, which will create numerous well-paying job opportunities and tap into the state’s burgeoning tech sector while contributing significantly to the state’s growing economy,” he said.

Construction is expected to occur over a several-year period.

(La Porte County, IN) - Another man headed back home through La Porte County from Michigan was allegedly caught with a large amount of marijuana.

Demar Garrison, 45, has been charged in La Porte Superior Court 1 with Level 5 felony Dealing in Marijuana and could face an up to six-year sentence.

According to court documents, he was in a westbound rent-a-car on April 17 when he was stopped by La Porte County Police for tailgating on Interstate 94 outside of Michigan City. There was an overwhelming smell of air freshener emitting from the vehicle, seemingly to disguise any odor of marijuana.

Information about the vehicle entered into a license plate reader database showed that he had traveled the previous day from Racine, Wisconsin, where he lives, to Grand Rapids, Michigan. There was also evidence the marijuana was possibly linked to a dispensary.

With help from a K-9 dog, nearly a dozen one-pound packages of marijuana were located in the trunk, along with more than three pounds of THC cartridges and THC edibles. Authorities noted that all of the illicit materials were contained inside a large odor-proof duffle bag commonly used in bulk marijuana smuggling.

Marijuana is legal in Michigan to purchase from dispensaries, but remains illegal to sell or possess in Indiana. 

(La Porte, IN) - An arrest has been made for the break-in of a pizza parlor in La Porte, as Dontrell Rice, 35, of Gary has been charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Burglary.

According to court documents, in October he allegedly obtained key codes from an employee at Marco’s Pizza to enter the building at 1505 Lincolnway and open a safe.

The burglar, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and mask, also reportedly broke open the cash register possibly with a hammer or crowbar. Whether the safe and cash register contained any valuables was not disclosed.

The employee told investigators she was acquainted with Rice, who allegedly removed the key codes from her cell phone without her knowledge.

A warrant was issued for his arrest several weeks following the incident.

Rice was taken into custody on the allegations on Friday and could face an up to six-year sentence on the Level 5 felony charge. Likewise, he also has charges of Resisting Arrest among other counts from January still undecided in La Porte Superior Court 1.

(North Aurora, IL) - A longtime local provider of milk in thick glass bottles at select grocery stores and throughout the Midwest has a potential buyer not long after filing for bankruptcy.

Oberweis Dairy, based in the western Chicago suburb of North Aurora, announced on Tuesday that it had received a stalking horse bid to purchase a substantial amount of its operating assets under section 363 of the bankruptcy code. The bid is from Brian Boomsma, a prominent Chicago area business owner and founder of Dutch Farms in 1987.  Chicago-based Dutch Farms is a provider of milk, eggs, cheese, deli meat, and bakery products to supermarkets in the Chicago area, including Northwest Indiana.

A stalking horse bid is the first bid offered to a bankrupt company before a public auction takes place and serves as the reserve bid to keep competing parties from underbidding the initial bid.

His offer to purchase the company is still subject to approval in bankruptcy court.

”We are thrilled to have a business leader like Brian Boomsma interested in investing in Oberweis and enabling the company to continue to move forward and prosper,” said Oberweis President Adam Kraber.

His plan is to continue operating and grow the firm, whose beverages, in one-quart and half-gallon glass bottles, include whole and chocolate milk, along with eggnog.  The milk is offered in stores like Al’s Supermarket in LaPorte and Michigan City and Barney’s Supermarket in New Buffalo, Michigan.

Kraber said he expects a Chapter 11 reorganization of the company under the bankruptcy filing to be completed in late June. He placed a similar timeframe on the company moving forward under new ownership. The intent of filing for bankruptcy was reportedly for the company to keep operating as it normally does while seeking debt relief and new ownership.

“We continue to be grateful to our loyal customers, vendors, and committed employees who have supported us through this process,” he said.

Oberweis, which was founded in 1927, listed more than $4 million in debt to creditors on its bankruptcy papers then after the filing revealed plans to lay off more than 100 workers.

Family members of former Illinois State Senator Jim Oberweis own the company, which alongside its traditional dairy products also makes ice cream.

According to the company’s website, Peter J. Oberweis was a dairy farmer in Aurora nearly a century ago when he began selling extra milk to his neighbors from the back of a horse-drawn wagon. That same year, he became co-owner of Big Woods Dairy, bought the remaining interest in the company, and renamed it Oberweis Dairy.

In 1951, his son, Joe, opened the company’s first ice cream store in Aurora after perfecting his recipe and process for producing super-premium ice cream.

In the 1960s, one of his sons, John, became part of the family business and ran it until his death in 1986.  The family then opened a second ice cream and dairy store in 1991, about 25 miles away in Glen Ellyn. Four years later, production moved to a new facility, which is also home to its corporate headquarters and a dairy store in North Aurora. There’s now an Oberweis ice cream and dairy store as close as Schererville, IN.

Oberweis products are available at stores throughout much of Illinois and Indiana, along with parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Iowa. The company also offers beef, chicken, pork, and seafood while providing the option of home delivery.

(La Porte County, IN) - An arrest has been made for the death of a homeless individual who was struck by a fleeing motor vehicle in La Porte County.

Troy Slack, 48, has been charged with Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Crash. He was being held on $20,000 bond after being booked Tuesday into the La Porte County Jail.

Keith Eastwood, 67, was found dead at about 6 a.m. on Monday on the shoulder of U.S. 6 by a motorist outside Westville.

According to court documents, the part number from a passenger side mirror recovered from the accident scene revealed itself to belong to a 2007-2014 GMC vehicle product. A nearby Flock camera on U.S. 6 at the La Porte/Porter county line, capable of reading license plates and recording information from all passing vehicles, was later searched.

Per authorities, a westbound GMC Yukon passed the camera about five hours before the body was discovered, along with another Flock camera roughly 15 minutes later on U.S. 6 at Indiana 149 in the village of South Haven near Portage.

The next day, police reportedly discovered that no other Flock cameras nearby detected the vehicle after that period, which led to a search of the immediate area.

A 2007 GMC Yukon missing its passenger side mirror was later found parked outside a home about 30 minutes later. The vehicle also had fresh damage consistent with hitting a person while traveling in the same direction.

Police knocked on the door of the residence and were told Slack was sleeping upstairs. From there, according to court documents, Slack woke up, came downstairs, and told his mother “I am in trouble.” He also told officers that  Eastwood was in the roadway and he tried to avoid him before panicking due to not having insurance or a license plate on the vehicle he was in the process of purchasing.

In addition, he claimed to have learned that the man he struck died after reading a social media post about the collision.

He could face anywhere from a 2 to 12-year sentence on the Level 4 felony charge.

(La Porte, IN) - La Porte Police arrested an individual suspected of dealing heroin and methamphetamine in a traffic stop.

Kayla Shaffer, 29, was charged in La Porte Circuit Court after she was allegedly caught with the drugs on Sunday. Per authorities, she was a passenger in a Jaguar sedan that was stopped due to not having working license plate lights. With help from a K-9 dog, Shaffer was found with 5.3 grams of methamphetamine and 3.9 grams of heroin in her bra.

A notebook used as a ledger, with names and dollar amounts, along with $548 in cash was reportedly recovered from her pink backpack.

The La Porte woman could face anywhere from a 2 to 12-year sentence on each of the two Level 4 felony Drug-Dealing counts. She is currently being held in the La Porte County Jail on $25,000 bond.

(Westville, IN) - A correctional officer at the prison in Westville allegedly took money from an inmate to bring contraband into the facility.

Ashley Watson, 30, has been charged with Bribery when, according to court documents, the Merrillville woman received two mobile payments for a combined $3,000 earlier this month.  One of the payments was allegedly from the mother of an inmate.

Watson reportedly admitted to accepting money from an inmate but claimed she never brought contraband into the prison.

Authorities said she gave only a basic description of the inmate and was also advised that stealing money from inmates can be dangerous.

Her response was, allegedly, "What are they gonna do?"

She was being held in the La Porte County Jail on $15,000 bond.  Watson could face anywhere from a one to six-year sentence on the Level 5 felony count. 

(La Porte, IN) - A local businessman is pushing to have a once-scenic view restored, as Dean White is now petitioning the La Porte County Commissioners to remove the trees and brush from a site located at Pine Lake Avenue and Waverly Road in La Porte.

He told the La Porte County Council last night that there used to be a stunning view of Stone Lake and its wetlands from that location, but now it’s blocked.

“Over time, this scenic vista has become obscured by overgrown trees and brush,” he said.

White said restoring the scenic view would enhance the “natural beauty of our community” and add to the local tourism economy. He also felt property values and quality of life would also be given a boost. Currently, White explained, he’s gathering signatures on a petition requesting the commissioners to restore the view after some members of the governing body seemed opposed to the strain it could mean on taxpayer resources.

He told the county council any support it could lend for having the work performed would be appreciated.

(La Porte, IN) - Solving problems with school bus transportation is a top priority in La Porte right now as, like many communities nationwide, the community is struggling with a bus driver shortage.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Peggy Hinckley said she wants a solution to delays and other problems created by a lack of bus drivers by the start of school in the fall. She believes part of the answer is going from two to three student pick-up and drop-off times, with schools opening and closing at different times to account for the change.

Hinckley proposed that smaller vehicles may also have to be added to run routes in rural outlining areas of the district as a time saver for the buses. She explained that action on some sort of solution is required now because the number of bus driver applicants from year to year is not going back up.

“We’re going to have to figure this out. I think it’s going to be a combination of three-tiered and some individuals' vehicles. We’ll figure it out but we have to solve this,” she said.

Hinckley said the bus driver shortage is even more challenging here because of La Porte being the second-largest school district in the state by land mass. She said solving the transportation issue will give parents peace of mind their child is not going to be late for school or even left behind at a bus stop and will help with efforts to increase enrollment.

(Kingsford Heights, IN) - A municipality in La Porte County is in the process of trying to clear up major confusion in its financial ledgers.

Kingsford Heights Clerk-Treasurer Jeana Blake resigned after Deputy Clerk Lynne Spevak was let go by the town council earlier this month. Rosalie Jacobs, a former longtime clerk-treasurer in the community of about 1,400 residents, came out of retirement to straighten out the bookkeeping mess as interim clerk-treasurer.

For now, town hall is closed, except on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., to allow Jacobs to focus on getting the records back in order as quickly as possible.

“The town is sort of in a mess right now,” said Town Councilwoman Evelyn Ballinger.

Ballinger explained that the town is relying on bank statements to keep functioning, but the amount of money on hand from day to day is sort of up to guessing due to sloppy record-keeping regarding incoming and outgoing funds.

“The bank tells us one thing, but we don’t know if that’s correct because we don’t know what bills have been paid or what we actually have. So, that’s where we’re at,” she said.

The problems in the clerk-treasurer’s office have been ongoing since Jacobs's retirement about 12 years ago, per Dennis Francis, a longtime former town marshal in the community.  He also served multiple terms on the town council and was council president the previous four years. Francis said the town has encountered issues such as bills not being paid on time and payments written out to the wrong vendors because of performance issues with the clerk-treasurer’s office.

In 2016, he said, the IRS fined the town $6,000 for not submitting about $40,000 in payroll taxes from the earnings of municipal employees.

Francis explained that it also costs taxpayers much more when the state comes in every two years to audit the books if additional time is required to sort through financial records and get them back in order.

“Our last audit, they were here for about eight weeks. It cost us close to $50,000 the last audit,” he said.

Francis, who didn’t seek reelection to the town council last year, blamed the problem on a state law requiring clerk-treasurers to be elected and live in the community they serve. He said the position should be hired and filled by someone from outside the community if necessary, especially in small municipalities where someone with the necessary accounting skills can be very difficult to find. The former town marshall noted in turn that he had spoken with state lawmakers to have that law changed.

“We just blame the people that put the people put into office. It all comes down to getting somebody in the office who is qualified.  Otherwise, you destroy community. You hurt the citizens and that’s where we’re at right now,” he said.

The newly elected Blake along with Spevak, both members of the Democratic Party, had been in the office since the first of the year. Ballinger said Jacobs was hired for 30 days, which is the period of time Democratic Party precinct committee members from the town have to appoint someone to fill the remainder of Blake’s term. Right now, Francis says, there’s no guarantee whoever fills the opening will do any better than the previous clerk-treasurers.

“What happens four years from now? What happens three years from now? You put somebody who is not qualified in there, it just destroys everything,” he said.

(La Porte County, IN) - A pedestrian killed by a hit-and-run vehicle on Monday near Westville has been identified as homeless.

Keith Eastwood, 67, was hit on U.S. 6 just west of the town limits.  His body was discovered by a motorist at about 6 a.m. between the westbound lane and a ditch, according to La Porte County Police.

“Judging by the condition and temperature of the body, he had not been dead for very long,”  said La Porte County Coroner Lynn Swanson.

Swanson said the investigation showed Eastwood stayed off and on with friends in Hobart.

In March, she said Eastwood went to a hospital in Elkhart to have a head injury looked at following an apparent accident of some sort.

“He kind of just traveled around wherever he could get rides,” she said.

Swanson said a sister living in Chesterton revealed he was homeless for quite some time and an alcoholic, who turned down offers of help.

“He just wanted to live his life the way he had been living it,” she said.

Swanson said a blood test was taken to determine if he had any alcohol or drugs in his system but the results won’t be known for a couple of weeks.

La Porte County Police Capt. Derek Allen said efforts were still being made to try and identify the driver.

Anyone who may have been traveling on U.S. 6 prior to 6 a.m. and has further information or residents with video surveillance systems in the area are encouraged to contact Chief of Detectives Capt. Andy Hynek at (219) 326-7700 extension 2401 or at ahynek@lcso.in.gov.

(Michigan City, IN) - Another juvenile allegedly caught with a gun in Michigan City has been charged as an adult.

The latest case involves a 17-year-old boy with a prior firearms-related offense in juvenile court, allegedly having a handgun converted so as to be able to fire it like a machine gun.

La Porte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan said his more aggressive stance in recent months is aimed at helping to reduce gun violence among youth in Michigan City.

“We can’t deal with everything involving youth and guns, but we can at least make a small step. This is part of that small step,” he said.

Brandon Haynes has been charged in La Porte Superior Court 1 with Dangerous Possession of a Firearm and Possession of a Machine Gun, both Level 5 felonies.

According to court documents, on April 19th Haynes was a passenger in a vehicle being followed by police, due to suspicious activity in a known drug neighborhood, to a gas station at 1204 Franklin St.

Another young person in the vehicle took off running and, during a foot chase, dropped the gun he was carrying in his hand. Per authorities, the gun belonged to Haynes, who was adjudicated in juvenile court for Dangerous Possession of a Firearm in 2022.

Haynes could face anywhere from a one-year to six-year sentence on each count.     

(Michigan City, IN) - Major upgrades will begin soon at a park in Michigan City as, according to park department officials, Water Tower Park will be renovated thanks to slightly more than $1 million in grants.

The project will include the installation of new inclusive play equipment, a steel slide for those with cochlear implants, a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round, ground-level tactile play panels, a new picnic shelter, an ADA-accessible drinking fountain, a new basketball court, and an off-street parking lot with 12 parking spaces. Three of those spaces will also be ADA-accessible. 

In addition, an ADA-accessible route will be constructed connecting the parking lot to the drinking fountain, picnic shelter, and all play areas.

The project will include repairs to the fencing on the east ball diamond and removal of the fencing and backstop on the west diamond, which will serve as the new parking lot.

The Michigan City Park Department will use Community Development Block Grant funds of $775,000 and a federally funded Land and Water Conservation Fund grant of $250,000 for the improvements.

Construction will begin the first week of May and should be completed by Labor Day, officials said. For more information, contact the Parks & Recreation Department at 219-873-1506 or at www.emichigancity.com

(La Porte County, IN) - La Porte County Police are investigating the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a vehicle which then fled the scene.

Just after 6 a.m. earlier today, emergency responders were called to the 11000 block of West U.S. 6 near Westville by a motorist who located a man's body reportedly lying off the westbound lane near a ditch.

U.S. 6 was closed for over three hours to allow for an investigation of the scene.  The identity of the man is being withheld until family members are located and notified about the death.

Anyone who may have been traveling on U.S. 6 prior to 6 a.m. and has further information or residents with video surveillance systems in the area are encouraged to contact Chief of Detectives Capt. Andy Hynek at (219) 326-7700 extension 2401 or at ahynek@lcso.in.gov.

La Porte County Coroner Lynn Swanson said the victim was in his 60s.

(Merrillville, IN) - In celebration of Earth Day, NIPSCO announced 21 nonprofit organizations that had won the 2024 Environmental Action Grant, to be used to support their environmental restoration projects and education efforts across northern Indiana.

Funding is provided by NIPSCO and the NiSource Charitable Foundation.

“We are honored to partner with these organizations and contribute to their innovative restoration and education projects across northern Indiana,” said Rick Calinski, NIPSCO Director of Public Affairs and Economic Development.

This year’s projects focus on native habitat restoration, wildlife research, youth nature programming, pollinator projects, water quality monitoring, rainscaping education, and woods worker safety training.

Many funded projects and programs include community engagement components, encouraging residents to give back and experience nature through stewardship and fellowship.

This year’s grant recipients include:
•The Nature Conservancy in Indiana, Festival de la Monarcha, East Chicago
•Saint Mary’s College, Campus Canopy Project’s Living Exhibition
•LaPorte County Park Foundation, Habitat Restoration Project
•Indiana Audubon Society, Chasing Melody, Lake and Jasper Counties
•Blue Heron Ministries, Lupine Meadow Expansion at Headacres Farm, Steuben County
•Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center, Nat’s Nature Club
•ACRES Land Trust, Lee Family Perfect Lake Nature Preserve Habitat Restoration, Steuben County
•The Outlet Youth Center, Youth Programming, Fulton County
•The Morning Bishop Theatre Playhouse, Summer Youth Environmental Education, Gary
•Indiana Land Protection Alliance, Safety and Woods Worker Training Course
•Sisters of the Holy Cross, Pollinator and Monarch Waystation Habitat Establishment
•Town of Chesterton, Coffee Creek Park Pond Improvements
•DeKalb County Soil and Water Conservation District, Invasive Species Education and Removal
•East Chicago Sanitary District-Stormwater Dept., Rain off McShane, Rain Barrel Project
•Monarch Joint Venture, Cedar Swamp Pollinator Project, Steuben County
•Little River Wetlands, Native Habitat Restoration, Allen County
•Noble County Public Library, Rainscaping Education
•Speaks for the Trees and More, Summer Nature Camp, Allen County
•St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative, Flow the St. Joe
•NICHES Land Trust, Sustainability Outreach
•Augsburg Lutheran Church, Pollinator Habitat, Porter.

In its ninth year, NIPSCO’s Environmental Action Grant has helped 143 environmental restoration and education projects come to fruition across northern Indiana, donating $577,700 to date. This year’s grants provide between $500 to $5,000 to each organization selected, for a total of $78,700 awarded.

In addition to its Environmental Action Grant program, NIPSCO works to establish early successional habitat on rights of way, forges partnerships with community organizations for restoration efforts, and supports the planting of thousands of trees in northern Indiana each year. As a result, NIPSCO has been recognized as a Tree Line USA utility by the Arbor Day Foundation.

To learn more about what NIPSCO is doing to support the environment, visit NIPSCO.com/Environment.

(La Porte County, IN) - A stretch of U.S. 6 is closed after a pedestrian was found deceased this morning in the Westville area.

Just after 6 a.m., emergency responders went to the 11 thousand block of W. U.S. 6.  A woman discovered a person described as a pedestrian who appeared to have been struck by a hit and run vehicle.

Soon, the male individual was reported to be deceased.

A representative from the La Porte County Coroner’s Office was called to the scene.  We’ll provide more details once they’re released by local authorities.

(La Porte, IN) - An Indianapolis woman whose personal ministry is to give proper respect to the deceased is coming to La Porte County this week.

In 2009 Linda Znachko founded He Knows Your Name, a nonprofit that provides proper burial for unclaimed remains.

Surprisingly, perhaps, it is quite a problem.

Znachko says she has buried 50 infants over the past 15 years. Most of them are miscarried or stillborn in the hospital. But in the past two years, she has buried almost 700 adults. Most of her work has been done in Marion and Hamilton Counties, but she has helped people across the country give a proper burial to a loved one.

According to Znachko, many people assume that unclaimed remains are homeless or unidentified. But in reality, she says often family members simply don’t claim them from hospitals, coroner’s offices, or funeral homes.

Znachko says cremation is up over 60% over the last five years. Often the ashen remains are neglected. “I’m not looking for someone to blame,” she explained, “but I think funeral homes need to do a better job teaching people that when they choose cremation, that is not the final and only decision. The next decision is: who’s picking up? And then the next decision is: now how are we going to lay this person to rest?”

In Znachko’s experience, the task of laying remains to rest sometimes falls through the cracks. She said, “Coroner’s offices are government-run—they don’t have budgets for this kind of thing, generally. And funeral homes are business owners. They don’t want to get sued.”

Znachko works a lot with death, but her message is pro-life. “What I’ve realized is that as we talk about being pro-life, we have to be pro-life from birth to tomb and everything in between," she says. "Whether you die young from a tragedy or old from old age, or you die alone in your apartment, or you die at a nursing home, or with your family, or whatever, there’s a beginning and there’s and end. We celebrate the one, and we celebrate the other.”

Znachko’s ministry gained momentum after an abandoned infant was found dead in an Indianapolis park in 2014. She gave the baby a name, Amelia, and a final resting place. Thanks to legislation and advocacy, Znachko said, “We have not had a deceased baby found in the state of Indiana in nine years since her finding.” Znachko works closely with Safe Haven Baby Boxes, the newest of which was just installed in La Porte. To date, 43 babies have been safely surrendered in a baby box.

Znachko will be sharing her message in La Porte County this week. She’ll be the featured speaker at the Right to Life of Northwest Indiana Spring Gala on Thursday evening at the Heston Event Center.

(Berrien County, MI) - A vacant elementary school in Berrien County, Michigan may be turned into affordable housing. That’s according to a report from Moody on the Market.

A bid of $385,000 has been received by the River Valley School District for Chikaming Elementary School just north of Three Oaks. The building has been empty since a consolidation last year.

The buyer is Rob Buono, Chicago bussinessman and owner of nearby Granor Farm, a certified organic farm. He says he intends to convert the property into affordable apartments.

A similar proposal to construct housing on school property is under consideration in New Buffalo.

(La Porte County, IN) - The local Sheriff’s Department is passing along a fraud warning from the FBI.

They call it “smishing” – a combination of short message service, or texting, with phishing, which usually happens over the internet.

In this particular scam, folks receive a text allegedly from a toll road collection service claiming that they owe unpaid tolls.

According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, over 2,000 reports of this scam have come to them since early last month. They believe the scam is moving from state to state and may be affecting Hoosiers.

If you receive one of these texts, the following is suggested:

1. File a complaint with the IC3, www.ic3.gov, be sure to include:
   1. The phone number from where the text originated.
   2. The website listed within the text
2. Check your account using the toll service's legitimate website.
3. Contact the toll service's customer service phone number.
4. Delete any smishing texts received.
5. If you clicked any link or provided your information, take efforts to secure your personal information and financial accounts. Dispute any unfamiliar charges.