Local News

Republicans strengthened their grip on the Indiana House of Representatives in the 2020 election. The final Statehouse races were called Thursday.

NORTHWEST INDIANA - It appears more people in Northwest Indiana are buying ammo at a much higher and faster rate.  

Kyle Goranson, Chief Operating Officer of Blythe's Sport Shops told the "Times," there has also been an increase of first-time gun buyers.

Customers rushed in first thing to Blythe's in Valparaiso and Griffith and bought up 80,000 rounds of 9mm ammo in 30 minutes on Tuesday.

The shipment had reportedly just arrived the night before.  When ammo shipments arrive at the stores, word spreads quickly through Facebook and by email, according to Goranson.

Today:  Dan Carden, the chief political reporter for the "Times," is on this program with his stories from Tuesday's election which include his conversation with Democrat Frank Mrvan as he waited for the returns that will eventually lead to his victory and to his next assignment: going to Capitol Hill next year as First District Congressman.   Gary Community Schools manager Dr. Paige McNulty is with us to talk about the  school district's successful community-based referendum which will lead to more opportunities and support for students and the first pay raise for Gary teachers in more than a decade.  About 60.2-percent of Gary residents who cast ballots voted "yes" in support of the eight-year tax increase initiative.    And former Indiana Congresswoman Jill Long Thompson talks about her book  "The Character of American Democracy."

EAST CHICAGO - There is a new company coming to East Chicago and with it, the opportunity for about 80 good-paying jobs.

There is a Ribbon-cutting for the new facility of Manhattan Mechanical Services at 11 a.m. Thursday at 3450 Michigan Avenue.  The company is moving from Manhattan, Illinois.

Manhattan Mechanical President Mike Uremovich  says he welcomes the move.

The company is opening a new, 20,000-square-foot facility that will serve as the headquarters.  It will feature a 50-by-200-foot fabrication shop, craft training center, and corporate offices.

Today:   Officials with NEO New Vistas, a school in Portage, and Indianapolis-based SunFunded Ed will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 5, on a solar energy array that will save the school money on their electricity bills as well as support renewable energy and "green jobs" in northwest Indiana.  One of the founders of SunFundedEd, Region native Kelly Hipskind, joins us to talk about his organization and its goals, how it has helped school districts across the state in reaching their goals, and how SunFunded is giving back to his "hometown" community.   Congressional candidate Frank Mrvan joins us to talk about his Election Night victory and how he will prepare for his trip to Capitol Hill to succeed the retiring Congressman Pete Visclosky.  Mrvan, a Democrat, defeated Republican Party candidate Mark Leyva and Libertarian Michael Strauss in Tuesday's First District congressional elections in Lake, Porter and part of LaPorte Counties.

Three of the four school referendums on the ballot in Indiana this election passed, according to results available Wednesday.

GARY - UPS will be a regular customer at the Gary/Chicago International Airport.  The company began operations at the airport Monday.

The "Times" reports UPS and the airport entered a lease agreement earlier this year that will have a jet make the round-trip between Gary and Louisville each weekday as part of UPS's Next Day Air service.

Today:  Jena Bellezza, the COO of the Indiana Parenting Institute, is with us to talk about the two recent online public forums dealing with issues like implicit bias, racism, child abuse and neglect that were part of the series that took the place of an Indiana University Northwest Annual Forum -- that would have been presented in April, had it not been cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic.  Side Effects Public Media's Jake Harper has a report on the staffing problems at the Miami Correctional Facility.    We bring back our  conversation with Gary Community Schools manager Paige McNulty on the tax referendum that is on the Nov. 3rd election ballot, and "Post-Tribune" reporter Carrie Napoleon talks about the stories she put out in print and online.  They include this week's announcement of the Akyumen Industries' plans to move its headquarters to the Midwest and open a big manufacturing facility in Gary.

Today:  We revisit our conversation of September 29th with Michelle Fajman, the director of the Lake County Election and Voter Registration office, about next Tuesday's general election.  She goes into detail on how ballots, both ones cast on Election Day and absentee ballots mailed in to her office, will be tallied and she talks about the possibility that final, unofficial totals won't be available right away. We also talk with Walter Mueller, the northwest Indiana representative for "Voters For A Green Indiana," about the non-partisan organization's "green voters guide" that is up on their website.  "Voters" is made up of volunteers who take climate change seriously and want to inform voters about candidates that accept climate science and support policies and action to reduce carbon pollution.

Today:   Franciscan Health Northwest Indiana spokesman Robert Blaszkiewicz tells us about the changes in visitor  restrictions that had to be put in place at the healthcare provider's hospitals in Dyer, Hammond and Munster on Friday because of the surge in COVID-19 cases in northwest Indiana.  We also bring back our conversation with Aaliyah Stewart, a young northwest Indiana resident who wants to establish a youth center in Gary and is raising funds toward its construction.   Seema Verma, the Adminstrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington, D.C. (and a former Hoosier healthcare consultant) talks about the open enrollment period for Medicare for 2021 that is currently underway through December 7th.  This is the only time of year when more than 60 million Americans on Medicare -- 1,280,707 in Indiana -- can review their health coverage to find new health and drug plans and new benefits and, in the process, save money.  And we have another conversation from the Welcome Project at Valparaiso University.

Today:   Municipal government finances expert and Highland town clerk-treasurer Michael Griffin is with us for an extensive conversation about the background and the issues surrounding the Lake County Council efforts to shift purchasing and IT expenses from the County Commissioners over to the Council.  It's an issue dealing with "home rule" that dates back into the 1980s, and may have to worked out between the two government bodies.  We also have Chuck Harris, the board president, and executive director Dawn Pelc, with the Porter County Substance Abuse Council about the organization's efforts to reduce the number of former jail inmates coming back behind bars because of drug-related crimes.  Many of those who return to jail don't have the education and skills to find meaningful jobs in the community, and the PCSAC works with other groups to resolve the issues with things like education, jobs and family assistance.  

On this edition of the podcast you’ll hear the latest on plans to nominate U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch, II to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the U. S. Supreme Court, Adam Pinsker report the ACLU is suing the federal Bureau of Prisons and Chris Nolte has a conversation with Jerry Davich of the Post-Tribune about his latest column featuring an interesting experiment he conducted at local political campaign rallies in the Region. All of that, and more, on this edition of “Lakeshore Update”… 

Today:  It's "Reporters Roundtable Thursday" and "Times" chief political reporter Dan Carden joins us to talk about his stories in print and posted online, including his coverage of the first Indiana gubernatorial debate from Indianapolis and his story on First Congressional District candidate Mark Leyva's comments posted on his Facebook page and reaction to them.  "Post-Tribune" columnist Jerry Davich created what he called a "psychological experiment" and later wrote about it:  he bought and wore Trump and Biden-Harris campaign T-shirts in public for one month.  Jerry talks about the reaction he got from residents at the time and of comments that were posted later to his Facebook pages.  And we complete our four-part series on young Indiana activists from the  "America Amplified: Election 2020" initiative, using community engagement to inform and strengthen local, regional and national journalism. "America Amplified" is a public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

Today:  We continue a look at the candidates running in the November 3rd general election, with the Indiana House District 19 race.  Incumbent Democrat Lisa Beck is seeking another term of office and former Representative Julie Olthoff, a Republican, is seeking a return to the position she held for two terms.  They talk about the issues, what they each want to achieve in the next General Assembly session and how they can campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have the third of the four-part series of conversations with young Indiana activists with an IUPUI student who wants to protect a street that has historic significance for Indianapolis' Black community.  And we have an "Art On The Air" Spotlight that focuses on the LaPorte County music community.

The YWCA of Northwest Indiana, which was founded in 1920, will celebrate its 100th Anniversary with a virtual Mask-Querade Gala on Saturday, October 31, 2020. “Regionally Speaking” host Chris Nolte recently spoke with Caren Jones, the executive director of the organization about the history of the organization as well as all of the festivities planned for the free event including a silent auction to support fundraising efforts for programming support live music, dancing, and building improvements and more.

Today:   We revisit our conversation with Ron Taylor with the Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction District and Valparaiso University professor Julie Peller on plastics pollution in the county, as found during a recent study, and add to it a recent "Morning Edition" segment about the history of how America got so deeply involved in plastics recycling.  Caren Jones with the YWCA of Northwest Indiana tells us the history of the organization that is now 100 years old.  A virtual gala celebrating the YW's 100th anniversary is coming up on Halloween.  We bring you another in our series of conversations with young Indiana activists, and more local conversations from the Welcome Project at Valparaiso University.

Today:  Republicans and Democrats can't seem to agree on anything these days -- but it wasn't always that way.   Forty years ago, then-U.S. Senators Birch Bayh of Indiana and Bob Dole of Kansas agreed that the country's public research and development system was inefficient and they worked "across the aisle" to fix it.  On today's program, Birch Bayh's son Chris and Joe Allen, one of Bayh's former staffers, talk about the 40th anniversary of the Bayh-Dole Act and its major importance to the U.S. economy.  We bring you the first of a series of Darian Benson's conversations on young women who are pushing for change in their Indiana communities.  And Indiana Public Broadcasting's Justin Hicks spoke with an activist who has turned one block of Main Street in Goshen into a lightning rod for political tension, and perhaps, even conversation.

On this edition of the podcast you’ll hear the latest on City of East Chicago firefighters testing positive for COVID-19, the president of the American Federation of Teachers brought muscle and money in support of a referendum to raise taxes in the Gary Community School Corp., Indiana mail-in ballots must be returned to the county election administrator’s office by noon on Election Day, November 3, if they’re going to count and Chris Nolte has a conversation with Carol Williams assistant director for the Hammond Public Library...  

What do you want to know about the candidates running for Indiana House of Representatives, District 15? Chris Chyung (D) and Hal Slager (R) will be answering your questions, on Thursday, October 15th at 6 PM. In partnership with the League of Women Voters of the Calumet Area, Lakeshore Public Radio will host an hour long debate covering the topics you want to know more about.

Today:    Julian Marsh, the executive director of the Gary Housing Authority, and his Director of Resident Services Jose Ibarra are with us to talk about the new partnership with ConnectHomeUSA with its effort to bridge the digital divide for residents in its HUD-assisted housing units around the city.  The initiative will mean residents will have access to services like digital literacy training.  "Post-Tribune" reporter Carole Carlson joins us to talk about her story of the visit by the national president of the largest teachers' union, Randi Weingarten, to Gary on Wednesday.  She praised the Gary Community Schools' $72 million tax referendum, which is on the November 3rd general election ballot.  And Craig Miller with Franciscan Health has details about the healthcare system's 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week Virtual Urgent Care service available for minor illnesses and injuries.  

Today:   We have Michael Puente's conversation aired on "Off Mic" last week with northwest Indiana political activist Ruth Needleman about the demonstrations outside Gary-Chicago International Airport over the ICE flights out of the area with planeloads of undocumented immigrants.  Indiana Public Broadcasting's Brandon Smith has another pre-Election Day feature on the Governor's race. And Carol Williams, the assistant director of the Hammond Public Library, explains how the library prepared for re-opening after the coronavirus shutdown and is dealing of the changes in programs and the reaction by patrons to what's been done so far.  The library closed for about two months in the spring but re-opened on May 26th.

What do you want to know about the candidates running for Porter County Commissioner? Southern District candidates Laura Shurr Blaney (D) and Fred Martin (R), and the Northern candidates Becky Mateja Lombardini (D) and Jim Biggs (R) will debate on October 14th at 7 PM, and they will be answering your questions. In partnership with the League of Women Voters of Porter County, Lakeshore Public Radio will host an hour long debate covering the topics you want to know more about.

Today:   Indiana University Northwest economics professor Micah Pollak is with us to talk about the recent study commissioned by I.U. with EMSI, a worldwide provider of economic impact studies to colleges and universities, that explains the economic value that IUN adds to the students and alumni of the university and to the northwest Indiana community at large.  For example: the impact of increased earnings of IUN alumni and the businesses they work for is equal to an economic boost that is similar to hosting the World Series 37 times.  We have another conversation from the Welcome Project at Valparaiso University, and Side Effects Public Media reporter Carter Barrett looks into the struggle that rural hospitals face in trying to bring in enough revenue from a pandemic-stunted economy to stay open -- and serve their communities.  Indiana Youth Institute president-CEO Tami Silverman also reviews her latest monthly column entitled "Talking Politics With Our Kids."  It's an appropriate topic in this "election season." The entire column can be found on the IYI website.

Today:  Ed Feigenbaum, the creator and editor of the "Indiana Gaming Insight" and "Indiana Legislative Insight" newsletters from Hannah News Service is on the program for an update on how Indiana casinos are doing financially these days of the coronavirus pandemic.  He also talks about some of the changes in the focuses on games in two local casinos.  Northwest Indiana financial advisor Greg Hammer talks about some of the end-of-year financial moves that investors and retirees need to make because of special money considerations they had in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.  And PNC Financial Services Group chief economist Gus Faucher explains what he brought up with attendees of two recent virtual financial sessions with local business owners.