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After a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Lake and Porter Counties last night, over 18,000 NIPSCO customers were left without power following yet another bout of severe weather. Outages were mostly reported in Gary, Griffith, Hammond, Highland and Merrillville. Extreme wind gusts and possible hail were cited as high possibility activities during this severe storm warning - with areas like Gary, Portage, Merrillville, Lake Station, New Chicago, Hobart and Griffith being the most likely to see severe weather of this sort. NIPSCO reported last night that the vast majority of these outages were caused by the severe weather, although no timeline of restoration was given since the storm carried on through into the early morning hours of Thursday. Estimated repair times should be given any time today for those affected by these severe storms.

The International Union of Operating Engineers has asked for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to intervene in the construction of the Project Maize data center near Michigan City, claiming that the site is being built with out-of-state and unlicensed workers. Concerns over labor and safety regulations at the worksite are chief among the complaints lobbied by IUOE, leading the union to strike at the site against developer Phoenix Construction. The union has pointed out that all other tech companies building data centers locally - Microsoft and Amazon Web services - have opted to use local union labor at data centers in Granger, New Carlisle, LaPorte, Hobart and Wheatfield - but Google (who is building the Project Maize site) has not used local union laborers considering they are getting tens of millions of dollars in local and state tax incentives for building at that site. It remains to be seen what will come of the International Union of Operating Engineer’s complaint, but we will definitely be keeping tabs on it.

ArcelorMittal has announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services that will utilize AWS’ advanced cloud computing, AI and edge technologies to streamline their manufacturing processes. ArcelorMittal operates in Schererville and East Chicago manufacturing steel and employ a lot of NWI locals, so concerns about how this affects labor and employment are sure to come up. AWS says that the technologies will be supplemental, even offering up an educational platform for ArcelorMittal workers to further optimize performance. In return for manufacturing and optimization tools, ArcelorMittal will supply AWS with low-carbon XCarb steel for use in the construction of their data center projects.

Following the prospective construction of a new Chicago Bears stadium in Hammond, bootleg merchandise has been popping up around the area and flying off the shelves. Shirts adorned with makeshift or AI-generated logos, touting the “Hammond Bears” or “Indiana Bears”, went on sale in shops like The Junkyard in Whiting, Lansing Sport Shop and the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond. In online shops and handmade goods sites like Etsy, even more of these knock-off shirts and merchandise are up for grabs - selling as if the town has already built the stadium. See some examples below of these bootleg shirts and such for the so-called “Hammond Bears”.

The State of Indiana announced that the state unemployment rate increased from April to May, to 3.3%. 3.489 million Hoosiers were labor participants in the state as of May (~64%) - which is measured by the total number of people over the age of 16 who are working or actively seeking work. The estimated number of people currently unemployed and seeking work or currently available to work is ~94,000 in the state of Indiana. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits in Indiana, as of May, totaled 19,608. Estimated open job listings across the state was, in March, ~98,000.

Anyone affected by the recent onslaught of severe weather and tornadoes circa June 11th are encouraged to apply for recovery assistance funds from the state through Indiana’s State Disaster Relief Fund. These funds are available to those who are uninsured or underinsured and is intended to be used for the repair, replacement and/or restoration of damaged property where the applicants reside. For any who may need help and want to apply, the link is right here.

1,400 acres of forest in Northern Indiana are being added to the Indiana State Parks registry. Salamonie River State Forest and Frances Slocum State Forest are going to be managed by the Indiana DNR as a part of Indiana State Parks, transferring management to the Division of Forestry under the DNR.

the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana has announced extra mobile market dates to expand their capability of meeting the extraordinary need by those affected by last weeks tornadoes. Below, you can find a schedule of these expanded dates.

Traffic Notices:

Beginning this Wednesday, the right lane and shoulder on eastbound Interstate 94 will be closed between 249 and US 20 for pavement patching. This closure will be in effect until early July at the earliest.,

Those travelling between St. John and Cedar Lake who use Parrish Avenue should know that Lake County Council is expected to approve a measure by the county highway department to install all-way stop signs at Parrish and 117th Ave. This measure is to prevent crashes at this intersection, which have been on the uptick as of late.

Motorists beware: Ramps from both eastbound and westbound Interstate 80/94 to Southbound Cline Avenue are closing today and will be closed through mid-August. Seek alternate routes like southbound on Kennedy Avenue or Burr Street in order to avoid the construction. Also, an eight-day closure of Broadway from 20th Ave. to 21st Ave. will take place to improve the railroad crossing there. Allow for extra time to travel through these areas.

The City of Hammond is auctioning off 28 lots in Memorial Park to allow for the property to be used for residential development. The auction takes place on June 25th at Hammond City Hall (5:30 pm). The 28 parcels of land sit along the extensions of Noble Ave. and Ray Ave..

Every issue of NWI Explored, we give you the best events and spots to check out during the current month.

Chicago Street Theatre, Valparaiso - info here

Memorial Opera House, Valparaiso - info here

Canterbury Theatre, Michigan City - Info Here

La Porte Little Theatre, LaPorte - Info Here

4th Street Theater, Chesterton - Info Here

Beatniks on Conkey, Hammond - Info Here

Footlight Players, Inc, Michigan City - Info Here

Indiana Ballet Theatre Company - Info Here

Marian Theatre Guild, Whiting - Info Here

Towle Theater, Hammond - Info Here

Valpo University Theatre- Info Here

Ticket information and the full schedule can be found right here.

Journeyman Distillery’s third annual Summer Music Series - a twice-a-week live music experience out on the lawn in front of the distillery. Grab a cocktail or a handcrafted meal and lay out under the string lights for a great night of courtyard music and vibes. Find the June schedule below.

Opening on June 6th, Whoazone - Floating Waterpark will be open for business at Whihala Beach in Whiting. One of the best kept secrets of NWI, Whihala Beach will be some of the best fun you can have on Lake Michigan this summer. Kids can jump, bounce, run, play and splash on the Whoazone floating waterpark - from June 6th until August 16th.

Below, you can find the June Schedule for the Gary Railcats and all the associated promos they’re running this month!

You can also find the schedule for the Lake County Corn Dogs Baseball team below! The Lake County Corn Dogs are a pre-professional, independent baseball team based out of Crown Point in the Northern League.

45th Annual Brickyard Run returns to downtown Hobart this weekend on June 27th! Multiple races for all different age groups, complete with awards and friendly competition.