Margaret Uzelac

As self-storage facilities pop up around Northwest Indiana, Merrillville officials are considering whether it's time to slow their development.

A longtime Merrillville town council member has died. Donald Spann passed away suddenly Friday at his home, according to a town press release. He was 71. Spann represented Ward 1 for more than a decade, but was not seeking reelection this year.

The Merrillville Town Council narrowly voted this week to close the town court, but a number of questions remain. In a four-to-three vote, council members passed an ordinance to start transferring the caseload to the Lake Superior Court system, without setting a specific closure date.