On Friday, Governor Mitch Daniels directed that flags throughout Indiana and at the State House be lowered to half-staff until sunset on December 18. This is in accordance with a directive from President Barack Obama following the massacre at a Connecticut school on Friday.

From the Governor's Office:
Governor Daniels directs flags to be lowered to half-staff

INDIANAPOLIS (December 14, 2012) – Governor Mitch Daniels has directed that flags throughout the state and at the State House be lowered to h...

Read more: Flags at Half Staff in Indiana, US

Published reports today say police in Cedar Lake believe there was no plot behind a Cedar Lake man's alleged threat to “kill as many people as he could” at an elementary school within walking distance from his home on West 133^rd Avenue, and that they don't think the man was serious. A statement from Cedar Lake Interim Police Chief Gerald Smith says Friday morning – the same day of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting massacre – authorities were called to the 60-year-old man's house after it was rep...

Read more: Reports: No Plot Behind Alleged Cedar Lk Threat

The same day of the elementary school shooting massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, Cedar Lake Police say they were called to the home of a 60-year-old man who allegedly said he would enter a school and kill as many people as he could before police could stop him. It's unclear if the alleged statement was made prior to or after news reports of the mass shooting in Connecticut that same morning. Police say they were called to the Cedar Lake man's home early Friday morning after it was reported the...

Read more: More Info: Cedar Lake Alleged School Threat

Published reports say a Cedar Lake man police say had 47 guns and ammunition inside his house is facing multiple charges after allegedly threatening to “kill as many people as he could” at an elementary school within walking distance from his home on West 133^rd Avenue. A statement from Cedar Lake Police cited in the story says authorities were called to the 60-year-old man's house after he reportedly threatened to set his wife on fire after she fell asleep. The man was taken into custody...

Read more: Cedar Lk Man Arrested After Alleged School Threats

Members of Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County are collecting boxes of Jell-O to help Merry Meals provide food baskets for 500 families in need this holiday season. Their goal is to help collect 1,000 boxes of Jell-O by December 19^th.

The public can help Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County reach their goal by donating of boxes of

Jell-O at Club locations now through December 19^th. The Clubs are located in:

Valparaiso--354 W. Jefferson Street

Portage—5895 Evergreen

South Haven—723 Long Run Road, V...

Read more: JELL-O Drive for Merry Meals

Washington, D.C.  — Congressional Steel Caucus Chairman Rep. Tim Murphy (PA-18) and Vice-Chairman Rep. Peter Visclosky (IN-01) today released the below letter urging Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to clarify the Navy’s future shipbuilding plans. Murphy and Visclosky wrote that certainty regarding the Navy’s long-term acquisition strategy would help the nation’s steelmakers, which are key players in the defense industrial base, grow and create jobs.

“Our Navy’s ability to protect our shores and pr...

Read more: Pentagon Urged to Commit to USA-Made Steel

If you're a comedian in Northwest Indiana looking for your next great act, the 3^rd Annual “Beyond Safety Conference and Expo would like to hear from you. The promoter says it's looking to add a local comedian to add entertainment and laughs to an audience of over 500 safety professionals to the event, which runs February 19^th through the 20^th at the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville. If you feel you have what it takes,  email or send the type of comedy you do, list of previous experience and...

Read more: Call for Region Comedians

Organizers are reminding people that there still is time to donate to Tri-Creek Lumber and Hardware's 6th Annual Coat Drive, but only through December 29th. Nancy Panozzo of Tri-Creek Lumber says the coat drive started about six years ago "when there was interest from the community."  Panozzo says "someone found out about it and that the need was great at St. Jude's house in Crown Point."  She says then churches in town were contacted and discovered a need there too for warm, winter clothing. 

Pa...

Read more: Winter Coat Drive Continues

Indiana Conservation Officers cited three Illinois men for keeping over their limit of perch on Lake Michigan. Arturas Barkauskas 40, Arturas Ragauskas 39, and Arnoldas Pelesinas 40, all were cited when they were checked and had 58 perch in their boat. The daily limit is 15 per fishermen which put them 13 fish over the limit. Indiana Conservation Officer Bryce Klimek said that this is the third case of fishermen keeping more than their limit of perch in the last couple of weeks. With the mild...

Read more: DNR Catches Fisherman Over the Limit

The man who faced a murder charge in the beating death of his son pleaded guilty to multiple charges of neglect and death of his 13-year old son. The Times is reporting that 40-year old Riley Choate, formerly of Gary, plead guilty in Lake Criminal Court on Friday in exchange for a lesser prison sentence. According to the article, police discovered Christian Choate's severely malnourished body in May of 2011 from a shallow grave in a Gary mobile home park. 

Court documents state that Riley...

Read more: Riley Choate Pleads Guilty