A 56 year old man who pleaded guilty last month to murdering his estranged wife at her Portage business was sentenced today to 45 years in prison. The Times reports Frederick Cashner Junior received the minimum time called for in a plea agreement, which does not allow him to appeal the judgment, but that he is eligible to reduce his sentence by more than half. Published reports say Cynthia Cashner was repeated shot at Mystic Moon Herbal Shop on Easter, April 24, 2011.

(Photo Courtesy of the...

Authorities say a man died after falling through the ice at Wolf Lake in Hammond Wednesday night. Police Chief Brian Miller says the subject, whose identity has not yet been released, was ice skating on Wolf Lake near the old Illiana Yacht Club building, off Wolf Lake near the Indiana Toll Road.  The Hammond Fire Department Dive Team was able to free the man and bring him out, but Chief Miller says he was in the water for at least 20 minutes, and was unable to be resuscitated.

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In Hammond this morning, just blocks from the police station, Hammond Police Chief Brian Miller tells us just before 8-o'clock this morning a car struck the Calumet Tap in the 5200 block of Calumet Avenue. Chief Miller says the driver was conscious, taken to a local hospital, and they believe a medical condition might be involved, but they are still investigating.

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Response from the Region, as well as across the country and around the world, to the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting tragedy has been overwhelming. So much so, handmade snowflakes are no longer being accepted by the Connecticut Parent Teachers Association to decorate the students new school. Mark Wilkins, Senior Pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Crown Point, was able to persuade the Association to still accept snowflakes the church plans to make at an event this...

Incoming Representatives Walorski, Brooks, Messer

The new Congress has more than 80 new members, with a few new faces from Indiana. Democrats still control the Senate in the new Congress,and Republicans still control the House. Today's Freshman class includes Republicans Jackie Walorski of northern Indiana's 2^nd District, Susan Brooks 5^th District, and Luke Messer 6^th District in Indiana. Walorski will take the place of 2nd District Congressman and Indiana U-S Senator-Elect Democrat Joe...

News Release Indiana DNR:  As Hoosiers craft their New Year’s resolutions, they should take a cue from two Indiana University graduate students and a pair of Sheridan High School teachers.
 
Laura Harman and her boyfriend Nathan Haffner, both originally from Fort Wayne, resolved this time last year to visit all 24 state parks in Indiana in 2012. They completed their resolution in late December when they visited Brown County State Park, the last on their list.
 
Jesse and Abby Linville, the...

The Lake County Prosecutor's Office has charged Margarito Valdivia with murder, battery with a deadly weapon, and battery resulting in serious bodily injury, in relation to the death of his estranged wife Erica Valdivia. Munster Police report they were called to the scene on the eight-hundred block of Boxwood Drive, at 5:45 Tuesday morning, and found Erica's boyfriend standing outside the residence with a large laceration to his head. Officers were unable to gain entry to the home, but a SWAT...