The 2013 South Shore Air Show has been canceled. President and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, Speros Batistatos says due to the sequester they will not be able to hold the airshow. Batistatos says in the meantime they will continue to assist and promote other great regional events, and focus on their 30^th anniversary, will a great deal of special events in July. As for the possibility for the air show to come back in 2014, he says it is too early to say at this time, but it is on their minds.
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Read more: 2013 South Shore Air Show Canceled Due to Sequester

An investigation continues into the death of a man found dead due to a gunshot, whose body was pulled from a home whose garage was on fire Sunday. Gary Police Public Information Officer Corporal Gabrielle King says officers were dispatched to the five-hundred block of Taft Street, initially for a fire, and then for shots fired, and arrived at the scene to find the garage fully engulfed in flames. Corporal King says fireman later located a body, and an autopsy was performed Monday on the man whose has not yet been identified, with the cause of death being due to a gunshot.
Corporal King says anyone who may have been in the area around 7pm, or shortly thereafter, on Sunday, is asked to please contact the Gary Police Department, and ask for Detective Lorenzo Davis, at 881-4738.
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Read more: Gary Police Seek Help in Sunday's Taft Street Death

Indianapolis, IN - Governor Mike Pence shared the progress of his legislative agenda on higher education at the Kent Weldon Conference for Higher Education today. Pence told participants that Indiana must address the demand for a more educated workforce in order to compete for jobs in the future.
 
Opening address at the Kent Weldon Conference for Higher Education
Governor Mike Pence
April 2, 2013
 
As prepared for delivery:
 
Getting Kids to College and through College
Making College More Affordable and Indiana More Prosperous
 
Thank you, Teresa, for that kind introduction. And thank you all for inviting me to kick off your conference today.
 
College Affordability and the Economy
My focus since even before my first day in office has been jobs. Indiana is in a strong position compared to many of her neighbors, but our economy is still struggling. Unemployment remains above 8 percent, and that must change.
 
At the same time, employers I talk to tell me that they have jobs open, but they can't find qualified employees.
 
The solution to these two problems is the same: education. We must recognize that education is critical to our success in job creation. Our state's education system, and particularly its higher education system, will play a key role in Indiana's economic development, because they will provide the well-qualified employees companies need to be successful.
 
If we want to get Indiana's economy moving again, we have to continue to push for students to pursue higher education.
 
In today's economy, higher education is more important than ever. Bridging the skills gap is now the biggest hurdle we have when we're trying to convince companies to relocate to and expand in Indiana.
 
Our business climate is competitive with any state in the nation, but employers need assurance that if they open that new office or manufacturing site in Indiana, they'll be able to fill it with a workforce ready to meet the demands of the modern economy.
 
Those demands are constantly increasing. Complete College America tells us that in 2020, 58 percent of jobs in Indiana will require a college degree or career credential. In Indiana, only 36 percent of Hoosiers have an associate's degree or higher. That's a 22 percentage-point skills gap that we need to close in seven years.
 
It is well known that higher education is the key to job opportunities and a high income trajectory. So why do about 1,000,000 Hoosiers have at most a high school diploma?
 
Cost is a major hurdle for many students. Today, Indiana is ranked 45th in the nation in terms of the state's cost per four year degree, with an average cost of $85,833 per four year degree awarded. The national median is $68,140.
This is due, in part, to the fact that students are not progressing toward on-time graduation
 
The statewide on-time graduation rate for all Indiana public college students was 23 percent last year, and only 13 percent of our 21st Century Scholars graduated on time. The national average for on-time graduation is about 31 percent.
 
Legislative Agenda on Higher Education
My administration is already working on this problem, with input and ideas from the leadership of many of the state's higher education institutions. We are focused on three main goals:
 

1. Making college more affordable by focusing the state's funding on programs that decrease the cost of degree completion. 
2. Rewarding Hoosier college students who graduate early or on time. 
3. Rewarding colleges and universities that increase on-time degree completion and provide clear pathways for students to finish their degrees on time.

 
We have legislation currently moving that will help address these issues. In fact, just yesterday, the House passed Senate Bill 532 with bipartisan support. The bill allows the Indiana Secondary Market for Education Loans to provide direct loans to Indiana students to satisfy financing gaps created by the increasing costs of higher education and the shrinking pool of federal dollars available to students. The bill also allows ISM to provide financial education programs to students that will help them make responsible decisions about how to pay for higher education.
 
Indiana Secondary Market's view is that the best student loan is the one a student doesn't have to take. I agree. And that's why we're supporting another bill this session that will help increase on-time graduation rates and reduce the costs students incur by having to extend their time in a higher education program by another year or more.
 
House Bill 1348 has passed the House and is now pending in Senate Appropriations. The Senate Education Committee members gave the bill unanimous support last week.
 
We had a lot of great input on this bill from Commissioner Lubbers and the Commission on Higher Education, particularly in reforming student financial aid to incentivize students to stay on track so they can graduate on time.
 
This bill requires public colleges and universities to commit to on-time degree pathways for each student seeking an associate or bachelor's degree. Many institutions here today are already doing this, and I commend you for your efforts to give your students a clear path to graduation. But we have to ensure all students enter higher education with a plan for obtaining a degree and not for merely accumulating credit hours. Because we know that it is a degree that provides currency in the marketplace.  
 
We believe that if the students do their part and complete the classes in their degree maps, but they reach a point where they cannot take a class because the institution does not offer it when the student needs it, the institution should either make another course available or bear the cost of the extra class instead of the student.
 
If students do everything they need to do to make progress toward gradation, they should not be forced to extend the time it will take them to graduate because a required class is unavailable. Each year a student remains in higher education, it costs the student $50,000 and it deprives our state of a productive member of the workforce.
 
We also believe we should reward college students for on-time and early graduation by reallocating a portion of existing student grants to return a portion of the cost savings the state recognizes to the student. So we've included some incentives that go straight into the student's pocket -- $1500 for early graduation from a bachelor's program and $1000 for graduating on time. For an associate degree, students will get a bonus of $1250 for graduating early, and $750 for graduating on time.
 
We also have House Bill 1005 on remediation moving. This is another agenda bill designed to help control the cost of higher education by ensuring high school students enter college prepared for college coursework.
 
Many of you are painfully aware that about one-third of our high school graduates require some form of remediation after high school. We know these students will take longer and spend more to obtain degrees due to the extra time and cost of postsecondary remediation, but that's IF they continue on to complete a degree at all.
 
According to Complete College America, of the 46.4 percent of two-year college freshmen in Indiana who required remediation, only 9.2 percent will graduate within three years. Of the 12.4 percent of freshmen students enrolled in four-year programs who required remediation, only 41.2 percent graduate within six years.
 
We must do better. When we hand students a high school diploma, they and their families assume it indicates they're ready for postsecondary coursework. And yet one of every three students who arrive at one of our colleges or universities learns they have to take remedial classes that don't count toward a degree just so they can be ready to take credit-bearing courses. And then we wonder why so many students have trouble graduating within four years.
 
We have to continue to demand high standards and accountability in our K-12 education system. It's the right thing for our kids, and it's the right thing for our state. And that's why our administration supports House Bill 1005, which is a bill that will significantly reduce the number of students who require postsecondary remediation. It will provide K-12 educators with tools to identify in high school those students who are at risk of requiring remediation - and provide them with the opportunity to get the extra help they need before they graduate and head to college or the workforce.  
 
Conclusion
Companies are already being drawn to Indiana because they know they will find a workforce here that has a strong work ethic. Hoosiers work hard and take pride in a job well done. But workforce matters and having access to well-educated employees can make or break a company's decision.
 
Just recently, I joined executives from GEICO as they announced their decision to bring as many as 1200 new jobs by 2016. The key to their decision to locate in Indiana was our strength in insurance education, with programs at Ball State University, Indiana State University and Butler University, as well as outstanding business programs at many of our other institutions of higher education. GEICO was attracted by Indiana's skilled workforce.
 
Ultimately, getting more students to college and THROUGH college is good for them and good for the whole state.
 
I want Indiana to be the best place to get a job and the best place to grow a business. As we look to the future, both of those goals depend on more Hoosiers seeking and completing a college degree.
 
Thank you for your partnership as we tackle this challenge. We look forward to continuing to work together with you to help Indiana be the very best it can be.
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Read more: Pence on Legislative Agenda for Higher Education

Four people are charged in the death of a 14 year old Merrillville boy, who was shot in the head Wednesday evening at his home in the 75-hundred block of Marshall Street, and who died Friday, just before midnight, at a Chicago hospital. 22 year old Anthony Addison, 21 year old Joshua Addison, 18 year old Kevin Brown, and a 16 year old are charged with murder, and criminal gang activity in the death of Depree Mims. Authorities say the shooting was gang related. A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow at 2pm, at the police department.
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Read more: Four Charged in Death of Merrillville Teen

A one-vehicle crash that had both I-80/94 ramps to Ripley Street closed for a time Monday morning is under investigation. Authorities say a 52 year old Michigan City woman had to be airlifted for multiple injuries after striking a concrete barrier, between the north and southbound lanes of Ripley Street, just before 10am.
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Read more: Woman Airlifted for Injuries After Crash on I-80/94

(Photo Courtesy of the Times)
It has been over a year since the shooting death of a cashier at the Lucky Mart Foods in Merrillville, and now a second individual has been charged in connection in that incident in March of 2012.  Published reports say 22 year old Donvell Edwards, of Merrillville, has been charged with murder, murder in the perpetration of a robbery, and robbery. The Times reports the charges against Edwards follow those against Jeremy Blue, who is awaiting trial.
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Read more: Merrillville Man Charged in Fatal 2012 Robbery

The fate of the 2013 South Shore Air Show is scheduled to be announced this morning at a press conference. The South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority will discuss its fate at 10:30 this morning, in the theater, at the Indiana Welcome Center. A number of air shows across the nation have been canceled due to the sequester cuts.
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Read more: Fate of South Shore Air Shore Announced this Morning

INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE: The National Park Service is planning six prescribed fires this spring at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Approximately 600 acres will be burned.  Fire is used as a tool for the park’s long term restoration efforts.
Two fires are planned near the city of Portage.  One prescribed burn is planned for 196 acres in the Tolleston Dunes area just south of U.S. Highway 12 between County Line Road and Stagecoach Road.  Additionally, a 100 acre prescribed burn is planned for West Beach, east of County Line Road between Oak Street and the entrance road leading to the West Beach parking lot. These fires will reduce the non-native plant species and provide suitable habitat for native plants.
Near Gary, three fires are planned for the Miller Woods area. Fires here will be used to reduce an over accumulation of dead and downed vegetation, and help improve habitat for the federally endangered Karner Blue Butterfly. A 66 acre burn is planned for the area north of U.S. Highway 20/12 starting at Virginia Street going east to the railroad tracks. A second burn is planned for 32 acres north of U.S. Highway 20/12 and east of Interstate 65/90. A small ten acre burn is planned around the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education as well.
Near Porter, Indiana, the Mnoké Prairie is set for a prescribed fire. This 193 acre areanorth of US 20 and Beam Street is being burned to help restore the prairie to its natural state. A second burn is planned for 190 acres south of U.S. Highway 12 between Teale Rd. and Hadenfeldt Rd.
Near Beverly Shores, one 169 acre prescribed burn unit between East State Park Rd. and Derby Avenue, North of Beverly Drive and south of Lake Front Drive is planned.
The prescribed fire program at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is conducted by trained and experienced National Park Service fire personnel. Smoke dispersal is a primary concern and park staff will do everything possible to limit smoke in the area by monitoring wind and atmospheric conditions prior to ignitions.  However, smoke drifting in and around park lands and roadways is possible.
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Clear management goals and objectives have been established for each burn unit. Before burning, a designated set of conditions must exist including ideal air temperature, wind speed and direction, and relative humidity. Weather conditions will be monitored throughout the duration of the burn to ensure the fire is completed safely.
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Read more: Prescribed Fires Planning for IN Dunes Nat Lakeshore

Investigators suspect two vacant house fires in Hammond, with no working utilities in either home, were started intentionally early Monday, not connected. The Times reports the first fire took place in the 57-hundred block of Erie Street, just before midnight, and a second house fire took place around 3am, in the 700 block of Sibley Street, less than a mile away.
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Read more: House Fires in Hammond Intentionally Started

Michigan City mayor, Ron Meer has proclaimed April "The Month of the Military Child" in the city.  Mayor Meer says, "each day when we wake up, we should think about and give thanks to all of our military men and women who are serving to protect our lives and our freedoms" and to also, "think about the sacrifices and the lives they have to leave behind, mainly their children."

The mayor says that children of our brave men and women serving in the United States military face challenges and stress presented by frequent moves, parental deployments, and other life traditions and adds, "in a way, military children serve our country right alongside their parents."

Throughout the month of April, Mayor Meer is asking the residents of Michigan City to "purple up" and wear something purple as a small way of recognizing and supporting "our military children."
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Read more: Region City Mayor Asks Residents to Purple Up