SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Chicago Health & Fitness

HOBART | As owner of Chicago Health & Fitness, Mario Daklala has found the perfect balance between career and hobby.

It's more than money for community banks

Community banks say they are committed to offering more than financial services because they have a symbiotic relationship with the communities they serve.

No union bust in region

Union membership in Northwest Indiana is holding steady despite membership rates at their lowest level in decades in the rest of the state and the country as a whole.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Bid of History, Chesterton

Robert Zahkar and Vince Kisala's business, an in-house and online auction house, handles property from estates, of collectors or just those who need to dispose of items they no longer want or need.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Axis Construction, Valparaiso

VALPARAISO | When John Barney hired an armed forces veteran at his company, it started a trend that continues as Axis Construction grows.

Businessman opens 3rd Culver's franchise in Highland

HIGHLAND | Opening his third Culver’s franchise in Highland is both the continuation and a highpoint of Fred Terpstra’s 40-year business career.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: iCracked, across Northwest Indiana

HEBRON | If your iPhone, iPod or iPad is shattered or broken, Matt Holtman can probably fix it.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Local business provides engineering services

SCHERERVILLE | Gregory Crowley decided he wanted to be “my own boss” and in 2003 opened his company, Crowley Engineering LLC as a home-based business.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: The Sweet Spot, Valparaiso

VALPARAISO | Chad Siewin chose The Sweet Spot as the name for his new business to indicate what it sells: a combination of sports merchandise and memorabilia, trading cards and candy.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Studio 890, Chesterton

CHESTERTON | Tiffany Wallen loves watching children through the first stages of life, and she especially likes doing it through her camera’s lens.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: B.FIT.N.LIFE, Dyer

DYER | Carter Rickey learned about health and fitness only after a tragic loss and now wants to share the knowledge through his business, B.FIT.N.LIFE.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Beautiful Again, Hobart

HOBART | Ivonne Anderson believes almost everything used – clothes, accessories, purses, toys, sports equipment – can be beautiful again to someone.

Local businesswoman opens Youngest of Twelve Studio on special date

HOBART | As the youngest of 12 siblings, deciding to open her scrapbooking design business on 12/12/12 was an easy choice for graphic artist/designer Diane Arias.

Christmas tree farms offer holiday spirit, tradition

Christmas tree farms are businesses that holiday joy to both their owners and their customers.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: CrashCo Collision Centers

MERRILLVILLE | With a combined 50 years in the vehicle collision repair business, Kevin Mehok senior and junior took the risk starting their own business and the venture is paying off.

Cost of Thanksgiving dinner remains flat

Thanks to retailers, the cost of Thanksgiving dinner will stay the same as a year ago.

Fire, but no smoke: Non-smoking Crown Point woman survives lung cancer

No one could have been more surprised than Patricia Ross when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. “Lung cancer!” Ross says. “I never touched a cigarette in my life. I was shocked. Everyone was.”

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Iuccio's Pizza, Dyer

DYER | No matter how successful, selling carry-out pizza just wasn’t enough for the two owners of Iuccio’s Pizza.

New Burns Harbor apartment complex earns green certification

BURNS HARBOR | Being green is easy for residents living in In Good Company’s “Traditions” 75-apartment community, the first apartment community in Indiana certified “green” by the National Association of Home Builders.

A place for special dreams

LYNWOOD | The 16,500-square-foot facility that formerly housed Villa de Bruno has been reborn and reopened as a palace, Dream Palace.

Disconnect between job openings, job seekers evident in NWI

About one of every 11 Northwest Indiana residents remained unemployed during July, yet hundreds of jobs go unfilled.

Joint Care Center offers a dedicated focus

The anterior hip replacement surgery performed two years ago at Ingalls Hospital’s Joint Care Center changed Linda Wittig's life.

Renovations, new labs being built in cardiology unit at Ingalls Memorial Hospital’s Electrophysiology Lab

Stephen Mis’ heart had a beat of its own, but the beat was too fast and out of sync.

Lights up, costs down at Strack & Van Til chain

HIGHLAND | The 30-store Strack & Van Til chain's recent upgrade of the lights in its supermarkets to make them more energy efficient will save money as well as the environment.

Local business offers real-time captioning

MERRILLVILLE | Captioning – instantly changing the spoken word into print – is the life work of Kathy Cortopassi and a quality-of-life saver to many of those she serves.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: More green by going green

SCHERERVILLE | Sometimes just having Steve VanderWerf look at a business’ electric bill is enough to save the company money.

Consumers, retailers get burned on beef prices

The weather may be perfect for throwing a steak or burger on the grill, but high beef prices mean consumers and retailers are the ones being burned.

Restaurateur opens Highland eatery with new look, name

HIGHLAND | The owners of Highland Grove's former Gino's East restaurant have reopened the business under a new name after settling the court case brought against them by the franchiser.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Five generations of customers can't be wrong

HIGHLAND | With The Town Club Steak and Seafood Restaurant celebrating its 65th anniversary, Mark Hines looks forward to offering his customers a year of special promotions and events.

From old T–shirts to new collectibles

MUNSTER | Kathleen Raycroft calls them T–shirt blankets, but to her customers, the blankets are much more.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Not just pizza

CHESTERTON | The taste is what convinced Scott Pendleton that Villa Nova pizza would be his next venture.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Repair shop owner also restores antiques

LANSING | Since he was a high school student about 20 years ago, Rich Kostner's passion has been working on cars.

Historic low rates have homeowners rushing to the nearest lender

With interest rates at historic lows, the wave of home mortgage refinancing continues, but only for those who qualify.

SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Hobart salon uses only organic products

HOBART | After 30 years giving permanents and coloring hair, Teresa Lake's body told her it was time for a change.

MADE IN NORTHWEST INDIANA: ISO registration helps local company succeed

MERRILLVILLE | The ISO 9001: 2008 registration recently awarded to American Industrial Machinery Inc. is well worth the 18 months invested in the process, it's officials have said.

MADE IN INDIANA: Local barbecue sauce company snags contract with Sox stadium

DYER | A great product and lots of persistence is putting Hoosier Daddy BBQ Sauce in a whole new ball game.

Local grocers rid shelves of controversial beef additive

The additive known as lean finely textured beef-notoriously nicknamed "pink slime"-is being eliminated from the ground beef sold by most local grocers including Strack & Van Til, WiseWay, Jewel, Meijer, Dominick's, Kroger, and Aldi.

Local grocers rid shelves of controversial beef additive

The ground beef additive known as lean finely textured beef is being eliminated from the ground beef sold by most local grocers..

Keep'em Kozy offers pet sitting, walking

HIGHLAND | If you're worried about your dog while you work all day, lifelong animal lover Sue Wajvoda has a solution.

Mother, daughter team creates Joi Doll to inspire children

CHICAGO | The inspirational, educational and motivational Joi Doll was born when a friend suggested LaTrece Joi Russell should design a doll in her own image.

Business cleans commercial kitchen exhaust systems

DYER | Todd and David Adams decided to open a Hoodz franchise because of the negative effect the economy recently has had on the construction industry and their masonry business.

Three local barbers have been cutting for nearly 50 years

For almost five decades, Kent McCarthy, Doug Paris and Rich Richardson have talked, listened, laughed and advised as they earned their livings.

Designer milk from NWI Fair Oaks to be sold nationwide

With milk supplied by Northwest Indiana's Fair Oaks Farms, Steve Jones, CEO of Select Milk Producers Inc.'s designer products division, believes he could be creating the next billion-dollar beverage brand.

Designer milk from Fair Oaks to be sold nationwide

CHICAGO | With milk supplied by Northwest Indiana's Fair Oaks Farms, Steve Jones believes he could be creating the next billion-dollar beverage brand. Now Jones, CEO of Select Milk Producers designer division, wants to bring the designer milks the company is creating to the national market.

Local Ford dealership runs out of gas

The Hennessey River Oaks Ford dealership will close this week after 45 years in business. The family-owned car sales and service business has won Ford's President's Award five times, and the Partner in Quality award 17 times.

Local Ford dealership runs out of gas

CALUMET CITY | The Hennessey River Oaks Ford dealership at 281 River Oaks Drive will close this week after 45 years in business

Thanksgiving dinner taking a bigger slice of budget

As diners are gobbling up their Thanksgiving dinner, higher food costs will be gobbling up a larger portion of their budgets, as a survey shows that the retail cost of the typical holiday meal increased about 13 percent this year.

Thanksgiving dinner taking a bigger slice

As diners are gobbling up their Thanksgiving dinner, higher food costs will be gobbling up a larger portion of their budgets.

Keep long-term goals, local finance experts advice

Despite last week's market gains, investors looking for safe havens with large returns may come up short given current market conditions, according to financial professionals.

Keep long-term goals, local finance experts advice

Despite last week's market gains, investors looking for safe havens with large returns may come up short given current market conditions, according to financial professionals.

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