Local News

The inaugural Indiana State of Our Health Summit was held in Indianapolis.  The event also kicked off a statewide tour to raise awareness about Indiana’s poor health rankings.

NORTHWEST INDIANA - If you've ever been curious about what's outside your window on a South Shore train ride between Millenium Station in Chicago and South Bend, there is an organization with members that volunteer on the weekends in the summer to help educate and inform.  Robert Tabern, Executive Director of the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation says there are a lot of places and things of interest between Northwest Indiana and Chicago.

NORTHWEST INDIANA - Gasoline prices are starting to shoot up in Northwest Indiana.  That's according to GasBuddy head of Petroleum Analysis P atrick DeHaan who spoke to Lakeshore Public Radio on Wednesday.  

"Gas prices across most of Northwest Indiana are going up to $2.89 a gallon whereas outside Northwest Indiana, the rest of the state is looking at an increase to $2.79," DeHaan says. "Of course this time of year Northwest Indiana makes the switch to reformulated gasoline whereas the rest of the state doesn't have to so."

Today:   It's Reporter's Roundtable Thursday and we have on the program: Meredith Colias-Pete from the "Post-Tribune," Jon Gard of the LaPorte "Herald Argus" and Michigan City "News-Dispatch," and Joseph Pete from the "Times of Northwest Indiana."  They talk about the stories they had in print and online for their newspapers.  Lakeshore Public Radio's Sharon Jackson is also on the program with her story of a Highland teacher who uses art to enhance the school's STEM curriculum.

Today:  we find out the latest in a semi-annual report from PNC Financial Services Group from a survey of small- and mid-sized Indiana businesses owners and executives on the Hoosier economy -- how it's going and what needs to be improved.  They mention the lower percentage of qualified employees that can be hired in Indiana.  Kurt Rankin is a vice president and economist with PNC.

We have the latest edition of "Green Fleet Radio," supported by South Shore Clean Cities.  Host Carl Lisek talks with Therese Haller of the Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction District.

Today:  Northwest Indiana financial advisor Greg Hammer joins us again, this time to offer some wise financial advice on how to best use a 2017 income tax refund.  He says the average taxpayer got a refund of several hundred dollars and some get back one thousand dollars or more. 

We bring you another conversation from the Welcome Project at Valparaiso University.  This conversation is from a woman who recalls her family life in Gary and how her mother hesitated to move out of the home in which she lived with her husband and raised her children.

Todd Zeiger of the Indiana Landmarks northern regional office was on "Regionally Speaking" on Monday to talk about the May 5th "Logs to Lustrons" architectural tour in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.  There will also be an accompanying talk to be held the evening before, entitled "Logs, Glass and Metal: A Century of Architectural Legacy."   It will be held in the National Lakeshore's Portage Lakefront Pavilion.

Today:  an extended conversation with State Senator Eddie Melton (D-Merrillville) about the 2018 General Assembly session just ended, a look at the upcoming short, special session next month, and a peek at what Melton may bring to the Legislature in 2019.  We also note what the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus has a  series of town hall meetings this month, including this coming Saturday in East Chicago.

The Environmental Protection Agency visited East Chicago, Indiana, Saturday, to update residents on contamination cleanup.

EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp and U.S. EPA senior advisor Albert Kelly attended the briefing and listened to public comment.

Residents heard updates from the on-site remediation coordinators and participated in, sometimes heated, Q&A sessions. Those comments were heard loud and clear, says Kelly.

On this edition of "Lakeshore Update," we'll get the latest on the East Chicago demolition of the West Calumet Housing Complex, Sharon Jackson will get us more information about Money Smart Week during Northwest Indiana’s about financial literacy month, and Chris Nolte speaks with the Democratic District 1 Senate candidates Frank Mrvan and Father Mark Kurowski about the upcoming Democratic primary election. All of that, and more, on this edition of "Lakeshore Update."

Indiana’s black state legislators will hold a series of town halls around the state, beginning this weekend.

This is the third year for the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus’s town halls. Caucus Chair Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) says the events help lawmakers tell constituents about the results of the legislative session and give citizens an opportunity to connect with their government.

Today:  on this Reporters' Roundtable Thursday, we bring in "Post-Tribune" reporters Greg Tejeda and Carole Carlson to talk about the stories they worked on and presented in print and online this week.  We also have Lakeshore Public Radio's Sharon Jackson's conversation with Dian Reynome about "Smart Money Week" coming up later in April -- and a special feature from Network Indiana about Robert F. Kennedy's speech in Indianapolis that may have saved the capital from being another riot-torn city in 1968.

Today:  we revisit our conversation with northwest Indiana native and photographer Guy Rhodes.  He was fortunate to be able to go to South Korea to photograph members of the U.S. Winter Olympics team.  He's posted several of his photos in U.S. media during the Olympics as well as on his web site.

We also bring you another edition of "Green Fleet Radio," supported by South Shore Clean Cities.  Carl Lisek's guest today is the director of the Port of Indiana - Burns Harbor, Ian Hurt.

NORTHWEST INDIANA - Average retail gasoline prices in Northwest Indiana have risen just under 9 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.66/g Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 314 gas outlets in the Region. This compares with the national average that has increased just over 4 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.65/g, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, says this week is basically a continuation of the trend consumers have been seeing for the past couple of weeks.

Today:  Ed Feigenbaum, the editor and publisher of "Indiana Gaming Insight" and "Indiana Political Insight" newsletters, joins us to review how Indiana casinos -- including the Northwest Indiana boats -- did in February. (Spoiler Alert: they're all hoping for a better month of March.)  Ed also talks about the 2018 General Assembly session, its successes and its failures -- especially in the final hours of the regular session.  Lawmakers are preparing for a short, special session in May.

Lakeshore Public Radio conversations with candidates for public office in the May 2018 primary election began on Monday with the two Democratic Party candidates for Indiana Senate District 1.  Veteran incumbent Senator Frank Mrvan (D-Hammond) and his challenger, Fr. Mark Kurowski, came into the "Regionally Speaking" studio to talk about the reasons for running (or seeking re-election) and about the issues that affect Northwest Indiana residents.  The conversation became spirited at the end, as you can hear for yourself.

Today:  We begin our conversations with candidates for public office in the May 2018 primary election, with the two Democratic Party candidates for Indiana Senate District 1.  Veteran incumbent Senator Frank Mrvan (D-Hammond) and his challenger, Fr. Mark Kurowski, are in the studio to talk about the reasons for running (or seeking re-election) and about the issues that affect Northwest Indiana residents.

Lawmakers worked on a controversial school financial management bill this year, but it died in the last minutes of the regular session. The mayor of Gary says lawmakers should avoid more community specific mandates during the special session.

NORTHWEST INDIANA - April is Parenting Awareness Month Indiana and the Indiana Parenting Institute is marking the occasion with it's annual annual Kickoff Breakfast.  It's from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, March 30th at the IBEW 697 headquarters in Merrillville.  

Jena Bellezza, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Branding, says the guest speaker is Dr. Lori Desautels [DE saut-els], of Butler University, who will be speaking on Educational Neuroscience and its application when working with youth who have had, or are currently experiencing, adversity and trauma.

We turn on the faucet and expect the water to flow freely, but it isn't always that simple a procedure.  The flow is oftentimes interrupted by leaks in antiquated pipes.  Water utilities may not make regular inspections of their piping to search for these leaks.

Today:  on this Reporter's Roundtable, we bring in "Times of Northwest Indiana" reporters Giles Bruce and Carmen McCollum to talk about the stories they covered in print and online for the newspaper.  We also bring you an extended conversation with State Senator Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso) about the efforts to improve the state's water infrastructure improvement.  Besides his work in the Indiana General Assembly, Charbonneau participated in a recent Great Lakes states policy workshop on the issue.

GARY - Seeing the impact bullying has on so many kids, Gary Author Adra Young, wrote a book of realistic fiction called "The Misfits."  Realistic fiction is a genre consisting of stories that could have actually occurred to people in a believable setting. The stories resemble real life, and fictional characters within these stories react similarly to real people.

Young says her latest book was released in March of 2017 and she has sold about one thousand copies of "The Misfits."