A second South Haven home this week has been destroyed by fire. The Times is reporting that fire broke out just before 2 pm Wednesday afternoon in a detached garage in the 300 block of Brook Drive with the fire quickly jumping to the ranch-style house. The homeowner along with his brother and son were at home when the fire broke out and reported not hearing anything before seeing smoke at the garage, some 10 to 15-feet behind the home. According to the article, fire crews from South haven,...

Income taxpayers in Indiana will get 111 dollars next year, paid as a deduction from a Hoosier's 2012 income taxes. Governor Mitch Daniels made the announcement today, saying taxpayers who owe the state will pay less, with those getting a refund receiving a bigger one, that according to an article in today's Times. Published reports say joint income tax filers will receive a 222 dollar automatic taxpayer refund.

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Fire officials say a fire at a tattoo businesses in Valparaiso is believed to be accidental in nature. Daniel Lamb, Assistant Fire Chief of the Valparaiso Fire Department, says they were called out just after 11:30 last night, and arrived at the scene, on the 16-hundredth block of Lincolnway, at Suite 160 C, to find fire coming out of the front windows. Lamb says the fire apparently started in a couch by the front windows, due to an overly warm power cord from a neon sign that was against the...

Authorities have arrested and charged a Michigan City man with three-counts of felony child molestation. Michigan City Police report a detective was assigned to the case of an alleged molestation of a nine year old boy back in June, and with the assistance of the FBI, new information was gathered and previous allegations of similar instances were reportedly substantiated, and the suspect was charged based on repeated acts of molestation with multiple child victims. Police say additional charges...

Motorists can now use the new State Road 49 overpass at Vale Park Road. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at 11 this morning, and Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas says they are delighted to have it finished, and that this is something the people can be proud of. Mayor Costas says this project is important to the city because there had been many injuries, and even a few deaths at this location, but the new intersection, with its roundabouts, will increase safety and they anticipate fewer accidents...

Authorities are reminding hunters to always clearly identify their target and what is beyond, before firing, after a hunter was injured by his hunting partner yesterday. Indiana Conservation Officers say a 39 year old Lake Village man was struck in the right eye with a lone shotgun pellet, after his hunting partner, a 46 year old Hebron man, allegedly failed to notice the man had changed his location in the field at the Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area in rural Newton County, and fired a...

The fog rolled in extra thick this morning, and many schools canceled classes on this day before Thanksgiving... several in northwest Indiana and some others just to our south in northern Indiana. We have a list at the Cancellations link here at our website .  We've also had word of hundreds of flights delayed or canceled at airports in Chicago and Indiana.

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[Charts/Indiana Department of Workforce Development]

Indiana's Department of Workforce development says significant job gains in October resulted in a drop in Indiana's unemployment rate, from eight-point-two to eight-percent. State officials say Indiana nearly doubled the national rate of job growth last month, adding 77-hundred private sector jobs, marking the largest monthly gain since May. The report also shows private sector employment in the Hoosier state is now at 96-percent of the 2007...

Hobart's historic Brickie Bowl may soon be in the hands of the city. The famed football stadium is no longer is used for high school football games, but is still owned by the school. Today's Times reports the mayor and school board president have been in talks about a possible "property swap" that would give the beloved bowl to the city of Hobart in exchange for city-owned property off 10th Street. Brickie Bowl is right next to the city's new Police, Courts and Community Building off Fourth...

In Valparaiso last night, the vote was reportedly six-to-nothing by the plan commission recommending approval to rezone a 118-acre area of land on the east side of the city for a business park and what's been described as a luxury apartment complex in Washington Township. Specifically the property is north of Evans Avenue, south of Vale Park Road, east of State Road 49, and west of Bartz Road. The report says the developer submitted a revised proposal that included a hundred fewer apartment...