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After years of putting the project together, residents of Northern Indiana can finally rejoice. The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) held a ribbon cutting for the opening of their Double Track service on Monday, May 13. 

Several state representatives arrived at the Michigan City train station before the train brought them to the Miller train station for the program honoring this celebration. Mike Noland, president and general manager of the South Shore Line, discusses how this has been a goal to fulfill within these communities for a very long time.

A major investment in commuter rail is now complete. Governor Eric Holcomb joined other state and federal officials Monday to cut the ribbon on the South Shore Line's Double Track project.

Starting Tuesday, riders will see seven more weekday trains each direction in and out of Chicago, along with reduced travel times — a decrease of almost 40 minutes for some trains.

A host of state and local dignitaries, including the governor of Indiana, a U.S. senator and two Congressional representatives, celebrated the South Shore Line’s new Double Track service Monday.

On Tuesday, a new railroad schedule made possible by the project will go into effect.

The new schedule includes 14 more weekday trains than before, as well as reduced travel times.

The schedule includes express trains, running with fewer stops, that will cut the travel times between Chicago and Northwest Indiana dramatically.

The sun reflected brightly off a double-decker South Shore Line train Monday morning as it pulled into Miller Station, with Gov. Eric Holcomb giving a thumbs-up from the engineer’s seat to the hundreds on hand to celebrate completion of the South Shore’s Double Track project.

“I can’t save my child, but I can save someone else’s,” one Highland mom, Rachel Carlisle said, after she shared her story to hundreds of people in Wicker Park on Saturday.

Patty Stovall, founder and executive director of Sounds of Sarah, and Carlisle, an advocate for Drug Induced Homicide Foundation, reminisced about their daughters who they each lost to fentanyl poisoning.

They spoke about their journeys through grief and their missions to spread awareness at the “We Fight Together” Overdose and Drug Poisoning Awareness Walk Run in Highland.

A 1.4-mile stretch of trail in Hebron leads the way to a number of possibilities as it honors fallen heroes and veterans.

“You’re standing on a national trail that will go from Washington, D.C., to Washington state,” said Mitch Barloga, president of the Veterans Memorial Parkway Commission and Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway.

The Great American Rail Trail has a long way to go to reach its western terminus, but there’s a lot yet to build in Porter and Lake counties, too.

Northwest Indiana's sole rape crisis center is preparing to expand its facilities thanks in part to federal funding obtained by the Region's congressman, U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland.

Altogether, Fair Haven Rape Crisis Center is receiving $1.8 million to purchase and renovate its rented office building in Highland, as well as to construct Portside Suites — four secure housing units for victims of sexual violence and human trafficking.

A local rape crisis center has received federal money for a giant upgrade that, if Town of Highland approvals are issued, will expand its services to include residential units.

Fair Haven Rape Crisis Center has secured just more than $1.8 million to purchase the building in which it’s resided for the last 20 years to add “stabilization housing,” its founder and Executive Director Kelly Vates announced during an April 25 press conference. Called Portside Suites, each of the proposed four units will have its own kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities, she said.