It was a heavy week in Northwest Indiana. Prosecutors filed murder charges in two Lake County killings, Toys R Us and Amazon made business news, and Indiana Dunes National Park put more than 1,600 lab-raised mussels into the Little Calumet River. La Porte picked up the state’s top community honor. And nearly two months after the August windstorm, cities and the state were still pushing on power, staffing and disaster aid.
Here’s what mattered, county by county, with links to the reporting.
| Date | Story | County | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 1 | East Chicago murder charges in Sept. 12 shooting | Lake | Region News Source |
| Oct. 3–7 | Hammond double homicide; murder charges filed | Lake | Region News Source |
| Oct. 2 | Toys R Us returning at Southlake Mall | Lake | The Times |
| Oct. 2 | Amazon data-center pledges: no NDAs, local hiring | Region | The Times |
| Oct. 2, Oct. 6 | Steelworkers vs. BP lockout and U.S. Steel talks | Lake | The Times |
| Oct. 1–3 | Valparaiso’s Weston Street sewer job under way | Porter | City of Valparaiso; The Times |
| Oct. 1 | Park announces release of 1,600+ native mussels | Porter | National Park Service |
| Oct. 1 | La Porte named Indiana Community of the Year | LaPorte | Indiana Chamber; WIMS |
| Oct. 6 | Union Mills man charged with 26 child exploitation counts | LaPorte | WIMS; The Times |
| Oct. 3–8 | Storm recovery: NIPSCO, Michigan City resolution, FEMA aid | Region | The Times; WIMS |
Lake County
East Chicago man charged with murder in Sept. 12 shooting Oct. 1 — The Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force announced 17 charges, including murder and attempted murder, against a 37-year-old East Chicago man in the Sept. 12 shooting death of a 40-year-old man near Euclid Avenue and 138th Street, Region News Source reported. Investigators allege the events began with a domestic dispute involving the accused and a woman.
He is the same man captured after a cross-state police pursuit last month. The charges are accusations, not a conviction. Region N3’s full story: East Chicago man in Hammond-to-Chicago chase charged with murder.
Hammond double homicide leads to two murder counts Oct. 3–7 — Two young men, ages 19 and 18, were found shot to death on Saturday, Oct. 3, in the north alley of the 800 block of Truman Street, Hammond police said. Police called it isolated and said an adult man was in custody. A 19-year-old Hammond man was formally charged with two counts of murder in charges filed Oct. 6, Region News Source reported Oct. 7. Court documents cited in that report describe surveillance video and license plate reader records that investigators used to track a Buick seen leaving the scene.
Toys R Us is coming back to Southlake Mall Oct. 2 — Toys R Us is returning to Northwest Indiana eight years after closing its Region stores, with a new location at Southlake Mall, The Times reported. Southlake Mall’s store directory lists Toys R Us at Lower Level 228 but gives no opening date.
Amazon pledges no NDAs and local hiring as it builds in the Region Oct. 2 — After widespread public backlash against data center projects, Amazon announced new promises, including that it will no longer use non-disclosure agreements, The Times reported. The Times’ headline also lists local hiring among the commitments. The company is building new data centers in New Carlisle, Hobart and Wheatfield, according to the paper.
Steelworkers still waiting on BP and U.S. Steel Oct. 2 and Oct. 6 — The United Steelworkers met with BP for the fourth time in two weeks as the six-month lockout of more than 800 workers at the Whiting refinery drags on, The Times reported Oct. 2. Four days later, the union said the ball is in U.S. Steel’s court after it made its last contract proposal, according to The Times.
Porter County
Valparaiso starts its Weston Street stormwater project Oct. 1–3 — Valparaiso has broken ground on a $2,371,858 project along Lincolnway and Weston Street that adds about 1,200 feet of new storm sewer and replaces a water main, according to the city’s release, posted Sept. 30. The work includes $958,752 in federal EPA grant money. Lincolnway work is set for this fall, with Weston Street following next spring, the city said.
The Times covered the groundbreaking Oct. 1, and WIMS posted the release Oct. 3. Region N3’s full story: Valparaiso starts Weston Street storm sewer work this fall.
More than 1,600 lab-raised mussels go into the Little Calumet River Oct. 1 — Indiana Dunes National Park has released more than 1,600 tagged native fatmucket mussels into the East Branch of the Little Calumet River, the National Park Service announced. They are the first group the park’s Dunes Mussel Propagation Laboratory has raised from larvae to subadult size.
Mussels filter water, and the park says they can help cut pathogens such as E. coli. The tags will let staff track growth, survival and movement. “Healthy rivers need mussels,” park ecologist Dr. Charlie Morris said in the release. The Times noted that one freshwater mussel can filter up to 15 gallons of water a day.
The park asks visitors to leave native mussels and their shells where they are. They are fragile and can die if they are handled or set back in the riverbed the wrong way.
LaPorte County
La Porte named Indiana’s Community of the Year Oct. 1 — The Indiana Chamber of Commerce named the City of La Porte its 2026 Yamaha Community of the Year, according to the Chamber’s release. The Chamber cited the city’s new Microsoft data center project, new housing and downtown revitalization. “We are incredibly honored to receive this distinction from the Indiana Chamber,” Mayor Tom Dermody said. City officials will accept the award Nov. 5 at the Chamber’s annual awards dinner in Indianapolis. WIMS carried the announcement Oct. 5.
Union Mills man faces 26 child exploitation counts Oct. 6 — Deputies with the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested a 46-year-old Union Mills man on 26 counts of child exploitation, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office said, WIMS reported. The case began with a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children tip in May based on a report from Snapchat. Sheriff’s detectives took the tip in July, spent two months investigating and searched his nearby home after the arrest. The Times identified him as South Central High School’s volleyball coach. The charges are accusations.
Across the Region: storm recovery
NIPSCO under pressure as FEMA deadline nears Oct. 3–8 — NIPSCO is vowing to do better after the August windstorm left thousands of households without power for two weeks, The Times reported Oct. 5.
On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Michigan City Common Council voted unanimously for Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch’s resolution backing a United Steelworkers Local 12775 petition to strengthen NIPSCO staffing, reliability and storm response, WIMS reported. “The Aug. 11 derecho showed us how much our community depends on trained crews who can respond when disaster strikes,” the mayor said. The resolution asks state regulators to weigh workforce levels and emergency readiness in NIPSCO cases.
On the aid side, Gov. Mike Braun and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security launched a Substantial Damage Property Assistance Program to help communities and property owners with floodplain rebuilding rules, WIMS reported Oct. 3. The deadline to apply for FEMA Individual Assistance is Oct. 25. In La Porte County, a FEMA and 211 One-Stop Shop runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the La Porte County Fairgrounds Community Building, 2581 W. State Road 2, according to WIMS.
Photo credit
¹ Hero: Release crew in the East Branch of the Little Calumet River. NPS Photo / Wesley Butler, from the Indiana Dunes National Park news release, Oct. 1, 2026. U.S. government work, public domain. ² Tagged subadult mussels. NPS / Leo Lestino, same release. Public domain. ³ NPS staff preparing to release mussels. NPS / Wesley Butler, same release. Public domain. ⁴ Aerial view of La Porte, Indiana, October 2024. Photo by Pi.1415926535, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for web; this copy is shared under the same license.
