In the News
The City of Valparaiso has kicked off a major sewer and stormwater separation project, supported by a $960,000 grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency with support from Congressman Frank Mrvan. This $1.5 million infrastructure improvement aims to reduce flooding, protect Salt Creek, increase stormwater capacity and enhance overall stormwater management in the city’s downtown area. The project is estimated to remove an estimated 13 million gallons of stormwater from the combined sewer system annually.
In Portage, officials are celebrating the completion of a project they say will reduce excess flow and the risk of sanitary sewer overflows near wetlands and residential areas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Chicago District, Indiana U.S. Representative Frank J. Mrvan, and city of Portage held a ribbon-cutting Tuesday July 29, 2025. A news release says the project rehabilitated more than 1,900 feet of existing sewer infrastructure. The event was held at American Legion Post 260 on Mulberry Avenue.
Federal and local officials cut a ribbon this week to mark the completion of the second phase of a $3.5 million sewer rehabilitation project in Portage.
Under the guidance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Grimmer Construction, of Highland, relined or replaced more than 1,900 feet of existing sewer infrastructure located just east of Willowdale Road between Stone Avenue and Central Avenue.
If the Trump administration truly wants to bring manufacturing back to its “glory days,” it’s going to have to invest in workforce development and allow the decisions on how to train people to occur at the local level.
U.S. Representatives Frank Mrvan and Nikki Budzinski hosted a roundtable July 30 with regional leaders of organized labor, higher education and nonprofit organizations.
They gathered to discuss the federal government’s role in strengthening the workforce through education and training initiatives.
U.S. Reps. Frank Mrvan, Gary’s representative in the U.S. House, and Nikki Budzinski, D-Illinois, hosted a workforce development roundtable Wednesday in Gary focused on expanding federal investment in job training and education.
Held at the United Steelworkers Local 1066 union hall, the discussion brought together union leaders, educators, and nonprofits from across Northwest Indiana to examine barriers to employment and explore how training and education can better align with the region’s evolving economic needs.
Lawmakers hosted a workforce development roundtable on Wednesday.
It happened at one of the United Steel Workers posts in Gary. The conversation was led by Indiana Congressman Frank Mrvan and Illinois Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski.
The roundtable encouraged an open conversation with organized labor groups like the Steel Workers Union, college programs and non-profits.
The discussion was designed to allow these groups to express their concerns when it comes to the local trade business and hot topic apprenticeship programs.
Leaders from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District, the City of Portage, and U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan (IN-01) gathered July 29 to celebrate the completion of the Portage Interceptor Rehabilitation Project – Phase II.
The $3.47 million project, completed under Section 219 of the Water Resources Development Act, rehabilitated more than 1,900 feet of existing sewer infrastructure to reduce excess flow and the risk of sanitary sewer overflows near wetlands and residential areas.
When U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Portage officials cut the ribbon Tuesday for a newly completed project, the evidence of that work was nowhere in sight.
“There’s nothing flashy about it,” Corps of Engineers Col. Kenneth Rockwell said. He is commander of the Corps’ Chicago district.
But then, sewers belong underground. They should be unseen and not heard — nor smelled.
In Portage, officials are celebrating the completion of a project they say will reduce excess flow and the risk of sanitary sewer overflows near wetlands and residential areas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Chicago District, Indiana U.S. Representative Frank J. Mrvan, and city of Portage held a ribbon-cutting Tuesday July 29, 2025. A news release says the project rehabilitated more than 1,900 feet of existing sewer infrastructure. The event was held at American Legion Post 260 on Mulberry Avenue.