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Crown Point Fire Rescue will be able to add seven firefighters, thanks to a federal grant. The department has been awarded $2.26 million through FEMA's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program.

"It's a great day in Crown Point, Indiana," U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, told city officials and firefighter/paramedics. 

The crowd gathered Tuesday morning to celebrate Crown Point Fire Rescue receiving a $2.26 million grant through the FEMA-Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, program.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh touted federal infrastructure and job training investments during a visit to Indianapolis and northern Indiana Wednesday.

The secretary’s first stop, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), received more $150 million in federal fiscal year 2022 appropriations for projects that aim to boost rail service.

Zachary Trunk works in the district’s Michigan City maintenance shop and is chairman and president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union, local 2355.

On September 27, 2022, the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana announced that it is granting $425,000 to Families Anchored in Total Harmony, Inc. (Faith CDC). Thanks to the support of the Feeding in America Food Security Equity Fund, these critical dollars will be used for program expansion and the creation of a freezing operation to extend the life of fresh produce grown on Faith CDC’s urban farm located at 656 Carolina in Gary.

Stakeholders take steps to ensure steelmaking has solid future in Indiana

When it comes to steelmaking, no other state in the U.S. makes more than Indiana.

With about 27% of the nation’s steel produced in the Hoosier state, Indiana is the country’s steelmaking capital.

“Indiana is the largest state on an annual basis for steel production, and it has been for decades,” said Timothy Gill, chief economist of the American Iron and Steel Institute.

For more than a century, the steel industry has been a big player in the Region’s economy, and for good reason.

The Rev. Curtis Whittaker said he knew nothing about growing food nine years ago when he had a vision to start the garden that became Faith Farms CDC.

On Monday, a raised garden bed at the Gary urban farm was surrounded by local dignitaries with trowels in their hands as they planted seeds to celebrate a new partnership between the urban garden and the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana.

Gov. Eric Holcomb and U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, took a victory lap of sorts Tuesday in recognition of their joint efforts to position Northwest Indiana to grow and thrive in the years and decades ahead.

The Republican chief executive and Democratic congressman seemed to be of one mind that recent federally funded state economic development initiatives, including the READI program, are preparing the Region, its municipalities and citizens for the economy of tomorrow.