Lawmakers want answers from ISTEP+ test vendor

INDIANAPOLIS | The company that administers the annual ISTEP+ standardized test in Hoosier schools will be asked to explain why its online system repeatedly crashed during the April-May student exam period.

Pence orders cuts in Calumet Township spending

INDIANAPOLIS | Griffith leaders were ecstatic Friday after Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed into law mandatory reductions in Calumet Township spending and a path for Griffith to exit the township if its excessive spending continues.

EDITORIAL: Lake County legislation does much, but not all

Senate Bill 585 brings some necessary reforms to Lake County -- changing the makeup of the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority; requiring studies of the need for a trauma center, an academic medical center and a new port in Gary; and more. Left undone is the income tax necessary to …

Senator drops plan to direct Lake income tax spending

INDIANAPOLIS | A controversial plan to have the General Assembly decide how revenue from a Lake County income tax could be spent likely is dead.

Lawmakers still divided on lifting Lake levy freeze

INDIANAPOLIS | A House-Senate conference committee, made up mostly of Northwest Indiana lawmakers, remained far apart Tuesday following more than an hour of discussion on whether the General Assembly should lift the Lake County property tax levy freeze.

Senator faces decision on lifting Lake levy freeze

INDIANAPOLIS | The decision on whether the Lake County property tax levy freeze is lifted, even if the county doesn't enact an income tax, is now in the hands of state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso.

Fate of Lake income tax back in county's hands

INDIANAPOLIS | State lawmakers have decided for now to leave the debate over a Lake County income tax to the County Council, but plans for Gary airport board reforms and studies of a Steel City port and trauma hospital are in danger following a contentious House committee hearing.

No consensus yet in Lake income tax debate at Statehouse

INDIANAPOLIS | Legislation intended to entice the Lake County Council to finally enact an income tax is likely to be approved next week by the House Ways and Means Committee, but it's not yet clear what might be in it.

Portage blessed with location, access

Longshoremen unload pieces of the world's most powerful crawler crane from a ship last July at the Port of Indiana in Portage. Shipping and industry are a key part of life in Portage.

Portage blessed with location, access

The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk, shown during calm waters last September, is a popular spot during high winds, when waves are spectacular.

NWI economy may catch recovery wave

Longshoremen unload pieces of a crawler crane from a ship at the Port of Indiana in Portage. Northwest Indiana could begin to feel the effects of the national economic recovery in six months, with the NWI Leading Index forecasting weak but positive growth ahead, according to Micah Pollak, an…

Grow economy through investment, collaboration

Shipping is a vital part of Northwest Indiana's economy, as this September photo of the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal shows.

Senate panel backs Gary economic development studies

INDIANAPOLIS | Legislation that may someday boost Gary's economy and create jobs in the Steel City won unanimous approval from a Senate committee Wednesday.

Rogers rolls the dice for Gary land-based casino

INDIANAPOLIS | State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, is betting she can make Gary economic development legislation more palatable by rolling her proposal for a land-based casino into another gaming measure moving through the Senate.

A Delicate Balance

Marquette Park in Gary

A Delicate Balance

ArcelorMittal in East Chicago

A Delicate Balance

The Lake Michigan shoreline along Marquette Park in Gary.

Chaplain at Port of Indiana ministers to 'invisible population'

For 29 years, Marshall Bundrun has ministered to seafarers as chaplain at the Port of Indiana.

Chaplain at Port of Indiana ministers to 'invisible population'

Marshall Bundrun holds copies of the Bible in various languages as well as a digital version on CD Tuesday at the International Seafarers Center. In addition to traditional ministerial duties, he serves as chauffer, assisting workers from around the globe with transportation to shopping, hea…

Chaplain at Port of Indiana ministers to 'invisible population'

A small red cross hangs in the window of the Interntaional Seafarers Center in the Port of Indiana where for 29 years Marshall Bundrun has ministered to ship workers as chaplain at the Port and helped them navigate on shore.