Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas

Financial arrangements for the planned Grand Gardner Hotel are being finalized by the city of Valparaiso. Urschel Development plans to re-purpose the 1899 Gardner School that for decades housed the Boys & Girls Club into a 58-room hotel, bar and event venue.

The city of Valparaiso may soon be adding land for a new gas station and future industrial development. The city council heard a pair of annexation requests Monday.

Valparaiso is looking to redesign part of McCord Road.

Last week's Valparaiso mayoral election will leave a vacancy on the Valparaiso Community School Board, and some community members already have ideas of who should fill it. Jon Costas will have to give up his school board seat when he returns to the mayor's office in January.

Republican Jon Costas will have to work with a majority Democrat city council when he returns to the mayor's office. Costas was victorious over Democrat Hannah Trueblood with 58 percent of the vote.

Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas easily secured the Republican nomination to get his old job back. He defeated Art Elwood by a margin of 83-to-17 percent.

Valparaiso's outgoing school board president is being recognized as a steady hand and a financial "wizard." Karl Cender attended his final board meeting Thursday, after 12 years of service.

Valparaiso's former mayor will soon be joining the city's school board. Jon Costas was unanimously appointed to the school board by the city council Tuesday.

Two Valparaiso School Board candidates made their case to the city council Monday. They were asked to weigh in on the recent property tax referendum and the potential breakup of Porter County's special education cooperative, among other issues.

Today: an extended conversation with Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas. The mayor talks about the status of the city's U.S. 30 corridor project, other…