Trusted by Thousands of NWI Natives
The Call to Explore:
Welcome back to NWI Explored, the local newsletter trusted by thousands of Northwest Indiana natives. We’re so happy to see you all back here once again. The weather has been absolutely brutal this week, but what else can you expect from a NWI winter? We’ve had enough snow throughout November to be good for the rest of the season, but I doubt we will be so lucky. Nonetheless, the odds of us having a “white christmas” seem to be pretty good, so I’ll take the small victories where I can get them.
Hopefully you’ve all recovered from the holidays and are ready to get back out there and explore. Without any more preamble, this is your Thursday dose of NWI Explored.
🧭 On Today’s issue of NWI Explored🧭
The Lowdown: all the NWI news you need to know about
What’s Going On in NWI: Every weekend event you should know about.
Today in NWI
A Look Back at NWI History
Today in NWI
Here’s your forecast for the rest of the week, and the upcoming weekend.
NWI Explorers, let’s remember a few things as we enter the holiday season:
Shop Small and Shop Local
Be Good to One Another
Drive Slow When There’s Snow on the Ground
And finally, Happy Holidays!
A Look Back at NWI History
On occasion, we like to take a look back into the archives to see how NWI natives lived in decades past.
Third Street in Hobart, circa 1910
Front Page of the Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger, December 4, 1929
Front Page of the Hammond Times, December 4th, 1968
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🏘The Lowdown 🏘
Every issue of NWI Explored comes with The Lowdown: a roundup of the most important news and happenings around the Region.
National Signing Day for high school football prospects happened on Wednesday, with a bunch of Region prospects signing to play at huge universities.
Tight end and linebacker out of Crown Point, Trevor Gibbs has signed to continue playing at Indiana University. Gibbs was a top fifteen recruit in the state.
Star wide receiver for Michigan City, Zaire McKinney has signed with Northern Illinois University as a three-star prospect.
Crown Point’s interior offensive lineman and three-star prospect Nolan Cicero has signed to play at Ball State.
Top-50 prospect at defensive back, Morton’s Martece Smith has signed to Toledo University to continue his career.
A standout O-lineman from Andrean and top 15 recruit in the state, Ben Novak will continue his career at Indiana University
Morton offensive lineman Cameron Miller will be playing at Kentucky U in the fall.
Merrillville’s Quan Moore has decided to sign with Southeast Missouri State to continue as one of the leading defensive lineman prospects in the state.
The Historic House of Tomorrow along the Indiana Dunes Lakeshore has been restored to it’s original condition, as it stood in the year of it’s construction.
The landmark spot has long been a historical fascination of Region natives since it was constructed for the 1933 Worlds Fair. Restoration efforts initially got off the ground in 2012, but were stalled for some time. Indiana Landmarks named the property one of the state’s most endangered architectural marvels, which helped to speed up the restoration of the historic building. See below how stunning of a job they managed.
Whiting BP Refinery workers will kick off collective bargaining discussions with the oil giant, among other stalwarts in the Region, next month.
Chief among the concerns of these workers is pay, benefits, safety pay, safety guidelines, and the management of working conditions. A notion of concern has been paid to the usage of artificial intelligence by these employers, so this is sure to be a topic of interest to the unions as well.
Spirit Christmas, the latest expansion from seasonal retail juggernaut Spirit Halloween, has opened a location across from Southlake Mall in Hobart.
The location will be open through the holiday season and is one of only 30 locations in the country. The retailer is attempting to branch out their seasonal experiences and has entrusted the Region with one such test run. Spirit Christmas will offer seasonal apparel, stocking stuffers, animatronics, decor, and a Peppermint Lane themed facade.
Michigan City will be seeking approval from the State in order to raise water rates across the city.
Indiana House Republicans have rejected a motion to extend a pause on discussions surrounding the proposed redistricting of the state, pushing the plan forward with minimal public input on the matter.
Democratic representatives across the state, including our very own State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond, have voiced grave concern about the lack of public input on how these redistricting plans are going to be implemented. The House Republicans have been making a concerted push to have these redistricting plans in motion before January 7th, citing that they aren’t happy about the rushed nature of it either, but must go forward to ensure Republican victories in all nine districts come midterm elections. Below you can see the proposed redistricting map from Republican State Reps.
Valparaiso University has named a new president in Rev. Brian Konkol, the Board of Directors announced on Tuesday.
Oberweis Dairy, a Region institution, has named a new Chief Executive Officer in Renato DePaolis II.
The City of Griffith is renewing talks with Menards to take over the old KMart location in Griffith Park Plaza, renewing their efforts to revitalize the shopping area.
United Way Northwest Indiana has named a new Vice President in Kimberly D. Smith.
BMV will be closing the existing Schererville branch in 2027, eyeing a new location to be constructed elsewhere in the city with a larger presence to more efficiently service citizens.
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What’s Going On in NWI?
Every Thursday, we give you the best events and spots to check out during the weekend.
To find the definitive NWI Guide to Holiday Events, click here to go back to Monday’s post.
Dec 4th, 7-10pm
18th Street Brewery, 5725 Miller Ave, Gary
Dec 4th, 7:30pm
Hard Rock Casino, 5400 W. 29th Ave, Gary
Recurring weekly: Thursday & Friday, 4-8pm; Saturday & Sunday, Noon-8pm
Deep River Waterpark, 9001 E Us Hwy 30, Merrillville
Dec 5th, 6:30pm
Deep River County Park, 9410 Old Lincoln Hwy, Hobart
Dec 5th, 4:30pm
IU Northwest School of Arts, 3415 Broadway, Gary
Celebration of Lights: EC Tree Lighting
Dec 5th, 5-7pm
1601 E. 144th St, East Chicago
Dec 5th, 8pm
777 Casino Center Drive, Hammond
Dec 5th, 8pm
Hobart Art Theater, 230 Main St, Hobart
Dec 5th and 6th, 7:30pm
Valpo University Center for the Arts, 1600 Chapel Drive, Valpo
Dec 4th, 5-7pm
2030 Tryon Rd, Michigan City
Dec 4th, 6-9pm
2825 Carlson Dr, Hammond
Dec 5th, 6pm
1600 N 25 E, Chesterton
Dec 5th, 7pm
1443 119th St, Whiting
Dec 5th, 6-8pm
555 S Lake St, Gary
Dec 6th, 8am to 2pm
726 Broadway, Chesterton
Dec 6th, 8pm
777 Casino Center Dr, Hammond
Dec 5th and 6th, 5-9pm Friday, 10a-4pm Saturday
889 S Court St, Crown Point
Weekly, Fri-Sun, 8pm Fri, 2pm Sat/Sun
Memorial Opera House, 104 Indiana St, Valpo
Dec 6th, 11am to 1pm
One Stadium Plaza, Gary
Dec 6th, 2-3pm
258 S Campbell St, Valpo
Dec 6th, 2-8pm
Michigan City Skate Park, 600 Franklin St, Michigan City
Dec 6th, 12pm to 3pm
2823 Martha St, Hammond
Dec 6th, 11am to 7pm
Dec 6th, 7pm
Hard Rock Casino, 5400 W. 29th Ave, Gary
Dec 6th, 10am
Gavit High School to Hammond Sportsplex
Dec 6th, 7pm
Hobart Art Theater, 230 Main St, Hobart
Dec 6th and 7th, 9am
8808 Columbia Ave, Munster
Recurring daily from Dec 6th to Jan 3rd
Washington Park, 115 Lakeshore Dr, Michigan City
Dec 7th, 6pm
Hobart Art Theater, 230 Main st, Hobart
Dec 7th and 14th, 11am to 3pm
Morkes Chocolate Shop, 13301 Lincoln Plaza Way, Cedar Lake
Happy Exploring,
The NWI Explored Team
I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was. Likewise, I never imagined that home might be something I would miss.
-Ransom Riggs
