Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has approved pay increases ranging from three to eight percent based on their most recent job performance. The governor's office says about 90-percent of eligible state workers will be receiving raises that become effective in February. Employees who are evaluated as outstanding will receive an 8 percent increase, and Daniels office says about 5-percent are expected to be in this category. The overall average increase is three-point-one percent.

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The Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office is reminding Hoosiers to take extra care when using alternative heating sources, such as fireplaces, gas or electric space heaters, wood burning stoves, and other fuel-burning sources, to keep warm this winter. According to the National Fire Protection Association, heating equipment was the second leading cause of home fires in the U-S in 2010, with half of all home heating fires having occurred in December, January, and February. Indiana State Fire...

No one was injured, but one dog remains unaccounted for after a fire in the Oaktree Village Mobile Park this morning. Assistant Fire Chief Dan Kodicek, of the Portage Fire Department, says three people escaped the trailer without injury, and two animals in crates were also rescued in the fire that is believed to have originated in the back rear bedroom of the residence, located on the 400^th block of Bronze Avenue. Kodicek says the fire was pushed out the back of the trailer to extinguish it,...

Nwi-dot-com this afternoon reports Lake County police are searching for a suspect in a bank robbery in Winfield shortly before 11-o'clock this morning. The report says a man entered First Midwest Bank on Pike Street, displayed a gun, then fled on foot toward 109^th and Randolph, and may have entered a red passenger vehicle near 108^th and Park.

In Hammond, nwi-dot-com is also reporting that a police officer may have been shot in the leg after responding to a report of possible suspicious activity...

VALPARAISO, IN December 21, 2012 – Following a nationwide search for a new headquarter and manufacturing facility location, Urschel Laboratories Inc., the international leader in the designing, manufacturing, and selling of commercial precision food cutting equipment, today announced that its worldwide hub will remain in Porter County, Ind.
The family owned business entered into a purchase agreement for approximately 160 acres and will begin construction of a new corporate campus, including a...

In Indianapolis, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry today announced criminal charges have been filed in the Richmond Hill explosion last month that killed two people, injured twelve others and damaged about ninety homes. Curry says three people were arrested this morning, and each has been charged with felony murder, conspiracy to commit arson, and multiple felony counts of arson. Authorities say the explosion November 10 at the home of one of the suspect's ignited a fire at the home of...

INDOT Winter Weather Update – 12/21/12

As of 10:30 a.m. Central Time/11:30 a.m. Eastern time, most of the 170+ plows in INDOT's LaPorte District are on the roads. District-wide we are seeing an excess of blowing and drifting snow due to the high wind gusts. More slick spots are developing, especially on bridges, overpasses, and ramps.

To the west, roads in the northern parts of Lake County are in the best shape compared to the rest of the district. Most roads are in fair to good condition with...

Indiana Department of Workforce Development News Release (Friday Dec 21 2012) -- Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady in November at 8.0 percent. Unemployment in the Hoosier State remains lower than all surrounding states, with the exception of Ohio, and slightly above the national rate.  

While Indiana has experienced one of the strongest periods of job growth in more than a decade over the past year, private sector jobs contracted by 9,800 in November, mainly due to...

[Graphic Courtesy http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_state.htm?IN,MW ]

It may be Winter, officially as of 5:11 this morning Central Standard Time, the arrival of the Winter Solstice, but the Indiana Farm Bureau says the state continues to feel after-effects of this year's dry spell, and Indiana farmers continue to cope. As of the latest weekly Drought Monitor issued this past Tuesday, parts of the state were still below normal in precipitation – including northern counties, like Lake, Porter and L...

(Image at Connecticut PTSA  www.ctpta.org  )

A special event is happening in Lake County soon to help those who are suffering in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting tragedy one week ago today.  In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, the Connecticut Parent Teacher Student Association has but out a request for kids across the country to make snowflakes to decorate the new school they will be moving into. On January 5th First United Methodist Church of Crown Point is holding a "Snowflakes...