Local News

The city of Portage is gearing up for the Central Avenue West reconstruction.

On January 26 at 9:13 a.m., a call came into the Porter County E911 center about a "bomb threat and a possible active assailant" at Portage High School. Over the next two hours, calls came in about similar threats at Valparaiso and Wheeler high schools.

The St. John police officer accused of shooting at an off-duty Hammond police officer has resigned. Officer Philip J. Fabian's resignation was accepted by the St. John Board of Safety Monday.

Local school officials are concerned about the potential impact of property tax relief legislation.

Drivers using 77th Avenue should be on the lookout for daytime road closures. 77th will be closed between Calumet Avenue and St. John Road on Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for utility work.

Efforts to build a continuous bike trail from Chicago to Michigan are facing some challenges. The Marquette Greenway Trail got a major infusion of funding last year through the federal RAISE program and the state READI program.

The board that oversees the South Shore Line has a couple new members.

A Region lawmaker wants to make sure hospitals serving low-income residents don't see a gap in their funding. State Senator Eddie Melton (D-Gary) said hospitals are reporting an impact to the payments they get from the federal Disproportionate Share Hospital program.

The Indiana Toll Road is looking to prevent wrong-way drivers in Hammond. The Toll Road says it installed a wrong-way driver detection and alert system last month on the eastbound exit ramp to Calumet.

Hammond, Gary and East Chicago are getting federal funding to help reduce traffic fatalities. The cities have been awarded grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.