In the News

U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, is hosting seven community forums next week, and a Jan. 30 online forum, to hear about issues directly from his constituents and to highlight how his office may be able to help with a variety of federal government concerns.

The hour-long sessions with the two-term congressman are free and scheduled for locations across Indiana's 1st Congressional District of Lake, Porter and northwest LaPorte counties.

Hanover Central Middle School students Mason Burdan and Joshua Mola understood each other’s skill sets well enough to produce an award-winning app.

U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, said Tuesday the students won the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Indiana’s First District.

Called “The Dark Forest,” the students’ software application, or app, takes gamers into a cabin in the woods where they must quickly close doors and windows to keep monsters out before sunrise.

Today, Congressman Frank J. Mrvan announced Mason Burdan and Joshua Mola of Hanover Central Middle School are the winning team of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Indiana’s First Congressional District.  Mason and Joshua used JavaScript to create their winning application, “The Dark Forest.”  Their application is a game designed for players to collect points under time restrictions while facing obstacles.

Two Hanover Central Middle School students were paid a surprised visit by U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, on Friday, as he revealed the duo were winners of a competition sponsored by Congress which promotes computer science.

The Congressional App Challenge is an annual competition for middle school and high school students to create an original app or computer program, with one winner coming from each congressional district.

Two students from Hanover Central Middle School entered the 2023 Congressional App Challenge with the guidance of computer science teacher, Mrs. Suzanne Demmond. 30 teams submitted entries to the Congressional App Challenge in District 1, which includes Lake, Porter, and LaPorte County, Indiana, and Hanover’s very own Mason Burdan and Joshua Mola won the challenge. This resulted in Congressman Frank Mrvan visiting Hanover Central Middle School to surprise the boys with the good news. 

Hammond officials and faith leaders braved subzero temperatures Monday for the city's annual Martin Luther King Day March. During the celebration that followed at the Civic Center, Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. noted that this year's march was the smallest he'd ever seen, but he resisted calls to cancel it.

"When I'm walking from Freedom Plaza to the Hammond Civic Center, I try to keep in mind all the pains that so many people went through, to make sure that our country was treating people with equality and not being discriminatory," McDermott said.

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan recently announced that Burns Harbor will receive a $120,000 federal grant from the Department of Transportation.

The grant is part of the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. The program aims to improve roadway safety in communities. The grant funding supports communities in planning and implementing infrastructure projects designed to reduce transportation-related injuries and fatalities.

The town of Burns Harbor wouldn’t be what it is today without the heavy industry that calls it home. But with that industry and the subsequent commercial traffic come inherent risk to the residents who also call it home. Now a $120,000 U.S. Department of Transportation safety grant will help the two coexist even better.

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, announced the DOT’s Safe Streets & Roads for All (SS4A) grant Wednesday. The award aims to support plans to implement projects designed to reduce transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries.