Hammond Academy's Cody Glass

Hammond Academy's Cody Glass has made one trip to the Dominican Republic to play baseball and is planning for a second this summer.

Vany Madrigal, Highland girls tennis

Highland's Vany Madrigal is finishing off a remarkable career for the Trojans. The defending state champion in doubles will play college tennis at Wright State. Her academics are just as good as her tennis game, too.

What has Northwest Indiana done to attract tourists?

Josh Fedorchak, 10 of Valparaiso competes in the 8-12 year-old division durng Mommy's Little Piggy Eating Contest at the Indiana Welcome Center last December. Contestants ate as many mashed potatoes as possible while staying as clean as possible without their hands touching the food. The con…

Danny Pobereyko, Bishop Noll pitcher

Bishop Noll's Danny Pobereyko has a 5-1 record for the Warriors. His 1.58 ERA is backed up by 54 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings.

062411BBMRAILCATS, RailCats beat the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

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CROWN POINT Local farmer's markets are picking up in popularity throughout the region with the Crown Point, Valparaiso, Chesterton and more communities offering the open-air markets to vendor and consumers alike. Shoppers persue vendor's offerings on Crown Point's Main Street.

Industry ready for another productive year

021512CLEANCITIES

One of the Nipsco-owned Think City electric cars sits on display at Avalon Manor as guests attend the 2012 Annual South Shore Clean Cities Meeting.

NWI home sales have a spring in their step

A home for sale is shown in Valparaiso. Single-family home sales in Northwest Indiana increased 23.3 percent in March, marking their 21st consecutive monthly increase on a year-over-year basis, according to sales figures from the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors.

Prep Baseball, TF North vs TF South

T.F. South's Peyton Padjen tags T.F. North's catcher Mike Steele out at second base at the U.S. Steel Yard. Padjen has played with an injured left pinky suffered in a game against Lincoln-Way North.

Former Indy airport CEO reboots at Gary

A ground crewman guides an Allegiant airlines jet at Gary-Chicago International Airport in April.

Megan Tymorek, Chesterton

Chesterton's Megan Tymorek said this has been one of the coldest springs in her four-year career. She has said the frost has been so extreme that often she can't feel the ball in her hands when throwing movement pitches.

Ashley Yoways, Hanover Central

Hanover Central's Ashley Yoways gets a base hit in the fifth inning of last week's game against Chesterton. The Wildcats had not yet held an outdoor practice when they played the Trojans. The extreme cold has moved most softball teams into the gymnasium.

ISTEP-Plus likely to be around for awhile

A student places his hands on his head after finishing a math exercise in 2011. Some change in the state's standardized ISTEP-Plus test was expected in the 2014-15 school year following Indiana's adoption of the Common Core State Standards. That change is not likely because of the legislativ…

Chesterton's Joe Troop

Chesterton's Joe Troop wins the 400-meter dash at last year's Portage Sectional. Troop aims to cap his track career with a state title in the event this season.

Brenna Boyle, Andrean

Brenna Boyle played shortstop for Andrean's Class 3A state championship team last spring, hitting .309 with five home runs and 30 RBIs. Now, with the graduation of star pitcher Nikki Steinbach, Boyle is one of several 59ers who might be called upon to pitch. When she gets to Valparaiso Unive…

Jamard Owens, Merrillville

Merrillville's Jamard Owens hits a free throw against Michigan City in the sectional semifinal. The senior started his first varsity game in February. The Pirates offense has been clicking ever since. Merrillville will play Carmel in today's Class 4A Northern Semistate.

Jake Raspopovich, Merrillville

Munster's Drew Hackett passes around Merrillville's Jake Raspopovich in the first half of Merrillville's 55-52 win at the Class 4A Michigan City Regional on Saturday. The football-tough attitude of the Pirates will be taken into today's Lafayette Jeff Semistate, where Merrillville plays defe…

Portage's Mackenzie Barcelli

Portage's Mackenzie Barcelli will try to help the Indians win the program's second state title today.

Andrean's Ruberry is happy with the way his 59ers steal the ball

Andrean's Matt Ruberry steals the ball against Merrillville earlier this year. The 59ers take their 49-point defensive average into Saturday's Class 3A Plymouth Regional against Lew Wallace, the state's highest scoring team at 79.43 points a game. Andrean must lock down to advance to the cha…

Tough defense pushes Andrean's Gonzalez

Andrean's D.J. Gonzalez, right, puts a body on Merrillville's B.J. Jenkins in a game earlier this year. The senior has helped lead the 59ers to one of their best years in terms of defensive average in school history. With an average at 49 points a game, it is hard to hit a shot or get into t…

Malouhos fills many roles for Boone Grove boys basketball team

Daniel Malouhos, right, has played a variety of roles this season for Boone Grove, which faces Fort Wayne Luers on Saturday in the Class 2A North Judson Regional.

Britton plans a new beginning for Crown Point's softball program

Ginger Britton, right,took over the Crown Point softball program after coach Brett Crutchfield was put under investigation in April. He resigned from the school in May. Britton had her first practice on Monday as the first day of softball opened under the IHSAA's spring sports calendar.

Earl Smith at his desk

Gary city athletic director Earl Smith Jr. is retiring after 56 years in the school corporation.

Porter County's festive life

Skyler Bobbitt, 5 of Crown Point, sports a butterfly face painting she got from Brittany Writt, of North Judson, during the 34th Annual Popcorn Festival.

Porter County's festive life

The Valparaiso High School marching band heads down Morgan Boulevard last September during the Popcorn Festival parade at the 34th Annual Popcorn Fest.

Snapshots of everyday life

Kids from the South Haven Boys & Girls Club's Kidstop program play at the South Haven Elementary School playground last May.

Susan MiHalo

Susan MiHalo, of Ogden Dunes, is past president of Save the Dunes.

Police believe McCowan's father may have helped in cover-up

Joseph Elliott McCowan is sworn in as a Crown Point police officer on April 30, 2008, at City Hall.

Sequester may shut Gary control tower

Air traffic ontroller Robert Junger, of Brookfield, stands in the traffic control tower at Gary/Chicago International Airport in September 2007. The traffic control tower may be shut down due to federal sequestration budget cuts.

Local development exceeds pre-recession levels

Bill Hanna, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority president and CEO, speaks about the Marquette Plan, lakefront and regional development, during a luncheon last July for the Times Editorial Advisory Board.

Local development exceeds pre-recession levels

Strack & Van Til President Dave Wilkinson hands out shovels as store employees join Cedar Lake town officials for a groundbreaking on a new store at Parrish and 133rd Avenue. Later in the year, Strack & Van Til purchased all but one of WiseWay's stores.

Hobart going back to the future, focusing on Lake George

Large rocks line the shore of Lake George in Festival Park, part of the $1.7 million renovation project on the lake's dam.

Gary working to rebuild city, image

On the steps of Gary City Hall, Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson delivers a brief overview of the accomplishments of her administration in her first 100 days in office. Businesses interested in moving to the city or expanding there shouldn't fear the reception they'll get at City Hall, Gary Chambe…

Lake Station mayor focuses on quality of life

The flood-ravaged Riverside Mobile Home Park was cleaned up last summer as crews worked for weeks to remove trailers and debris. Lake Station plans to turn the area into a city park.

Hebron continues to make improvements

Hebron's downtown Main Street has seen infrastructure improvements that add an 1800s theme.

Focus on college and career ready students

Local techers and administrators gather at a two-day conference by the College & Career Acceleration Summer Institute at Hobart High School. High school leadership teams there heard about the movement to ensure every student in Northwest Indiana is college and career ready, as outlined i…

Industry ready for another productive year

Work continues on a new stack, at NIPSCO's R.M. Schahfer generating station in Wheatfield in this December 2011 photo. Construction projects at the plant were expected to generate more than 900 trade jobs. NIPSCO is investing about $500 million in environmental improvements at the plant.

One Region is bringing three counties together

Denise Dillard, vice president of government and external affairs with Methodist Hospitals, speaks during a One Region health care symposium at Avalon Manor.

One Region is bringing three counties together

About 50 health care administrators participated in an April health care symposium to address the issue of readmissions focusing on the region's aging population and how quality care is to be maintained in a period of rising costs.

Merrillville's Amy Govert

Merrillville girls basketball coach Amy Govert celebrates a basket during the second half of the regional semifinal game against Lake Central. The Pirates won to advance to the regional title game.

Munster's Drew Hackett, Valparaiso's Justin Osburn and John Mosser

Justin Osburn, left, shown guarding Munster's Drew Hackett, has provided a huge spark for Valparaiso this season.

Andrean's Crandol signs on at South Suburban College

Andrean senior Katie Crandol signed her letter of intent to play softball at South Suburban College. The cancer survivor said that having a chance to play college softball is a "dream come true." Especially with all that she's faced the last two years.

Hammond continues to see new projects, developments

A Gibson rail yard worker walks near a new rail line and rail cars to serve the Potash Corp's transfer location in Hammond last spring. Potash's multimillion-dollar investment includes rail lines and a warehouse.

Arthur Haggard, Bowman Academy

Bowman Academy junior Arthur Haggard went from a guy off the bench for last year's Class 2A state finalist to a starter on this year's Eagles' team, which is extremely young but has now won six in a row. Haggard had 10 steals in a big win at Fort Wayne Luers last Saturday.

Karen Freeman-Wilson

Karen Freeman-Wilson is mayor of Gary.

Boone Grove's Nicole Malouhos

Boone Grove's Nicole Malouhos is averaging 9.16 points per game for the Wolves, who have a first-round bye in the Class 2A Hebron Sectional.

Boone Grove's Sarah Steinhilber

Boone Grove's Sarah Steinhilber has scored in double figures four times this season, including 10 in a sectional semifinal win over Winamac.

Jeremy Truchan, Wheeler

Wheeler's Jeremy Truchan drives the lane against Noll's Jalen Hord in a game this season. Truchan is averaging 16.8 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals a game.

Skyler Moss, Andrean

Skyler Moss, right, played a little lost last year, his first season at Andrean. After moving over from Portage, he said the new school seemed a lot tougher in many ways. After recovering fully from a knee injury, Moss is averaging a double-double for the undefeated 59ers this season.