Randy Wilkening

Portage Mayor Austin Bonta presided over his first city council meeting Tuesday. "What I could say is that the first two days has been like drinking out of a fire hose, but I absolutely love it," Bonta said during his first mayor's report. "It has just been such a joy."

The Portage police and fire departments are recruiting new members, even as their current ones face some challenges.

A two-year-old Portage girl is dead, after police say she shot herself with a gun she found in her home. The Times reports it happened at the Oak Tree Village mobile home park Tuesday morning.

The Portage Fire Department had another record year for calls. It responded to 6,137 calls in 2022, a slight increase from the year before.

When a fatal six-vehicle crash happened in Portage last month, firefighters were quickly forced to put their training into practice. Portage Fire Chief Randy Wilkening says his firefighters had just completed an extrication class with Precision Towing, when they were called to the wreck at Willowcreek and Lute on November 8.