Police in Hammond say someone dressed up a like a delivery person held up J-and-J Coins in the seven-thousand block of Calumet Avenue  this morning. Lt. Richard Hoyda says the subject came in carrying boxes, then pulled out what appeared to be a sawed-off shotgun from some sort of bag, and a handgun was taken from the business. Police got the call around 9:15 am. No one was injured. Police say they're trying to determine whether a green four-door Ford Taurus seen leaving the scene was involved or not.
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Read more: Armed Robbery in Hammond

An unseasonably warm and tropical like airmass has arrived across the Region. After more than 300 reports of severe weather in the US on Sunday, the National Weather Service says another round of dangerous severe weather is expected today//Monday with the greatest threat once again in the southern Plains targeting Oklahoma and parts of Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. However, severe weather is also possible in northwest Indiana and Chicago.

[Photo courtesy NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)]
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Read more: Severe Weather Possible

Two Powerball tickets purchased in the Region came oh.. so... close. The record Powerball run that ended with a nearly 600-million-dollar jackpot winner in Florida produced 148-thousand non-jackpot-winning tickets for a combined 918-thousand dollars in winnings in Indiana Saturday night. Hoosier Lottery officials say that total includes eight tickets that came within one number of winning it all, matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball... sold in Crown Point, Hobart, Elkhart, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Brownstown, Kokomo and Spencer and each worth ten-thousand dollars. Hoosier Lottery retailers also reaped rewards, scoring more than $1.5 million worth of Powerball sales commissions since the start of the run March 31.
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Read more: Two Region Tickets One Number Shy

Valparaiso’s Department of Public Works reminds residents that grass clippings do not belong in the trash and Public Works employees will not empty trash cans found to contain grass clippings. “Grass would add significantly to the city’s waste stream and add expense for all residents, so we must remind residents of other options for yard waste,” said Matt Evans, Public Works Director. “With a 90% water content, heavy grass clippings are too expensive to landfill—and too valuable to throw away!” he said.
The city offers the following guidelines:

• Never place grass clippings in your garbage or recycling containers.

• Use a mulching mower, or spread grass clippings underneath your shrubs. This replaces moisture and nutrients in your soil. 
  
• For Valparaiso residents who still wish to bag, grass clippings may be brought to Valparaiso Public Works, 406 Don Hovey Drive, Monday - Friday, 7:00 am - 4:00 pm and Saturday 7:00 am - 3:00 pm.
  
• For Porter County residents who do not have city garbage service, grass clippings may be taken to the County's Boone Grove compost site only. For hours and directions, call 465-3694 or visit www.itmeanstheworld.org and click on “Compost” under “Services.”

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Read more: Grass Clippings Do's and Don'ts

Eight lottery winners in Illinois were stunned when they went to cash their checks and they bounced. The Illinois Lottery confirms they bounced checks worth nearly ten thousand dollars. The smallest was for 847-dollars won by a Chicago woman -- the largest: more than 25-hundred dollars. That one belonged to Charles Cinquegrani from Norridge. Lotto official Mike Lang says it was human error - an employee forgot to approve the winning funds in time so the Lotto's bank - US Bank - didn't release the money when the checks arrived.  Lang says they're looking to possibly amending their procedures to minimize the likelihood that this could happen again.
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Read more: 8 IL Lottery Checks Bounce

An investigation by an Indianapolis TV station into state bus inspection statistics says the number of school buses failing safety inspections went up 35-percent over the last five years, and that buses transporting students in the Gary and Indianapolis areas had some of the highest percentage of out-of-service orders. An executive with a company which serves the Gary schools tells WTHR-TV they are making plans to do better this year. State law requires each school bus be inspected by Indiana State Police at least once a year.
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Read more: Bus Safety Violations Increasing

Porter Co Sheriff David Lain, Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann, and former Pennsylvania governor and former US Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge
Porter County was the latest Region stop.. and the sixth county... on Indiana Lt. Govenror Sue Ellspermann's “Listen and Learn” tour. On Friday, Ellspermann met with government officials from around the county at Valparaiso City Hall, and then with county business leaders at US Steel in Portage in the afternoon, talking about infrastructure issues, maximizing Porter County’s geographic and community engagement advantages, and improving relationships with the state’s Department of Local Government Finance. Following the listening sessions, Ellspermann went to the Porter County Sheriff Department's annual memorial service, which featured keynote address by former Pennsylvania Governor and former US Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge, and visited the Hoosier Bat Company in Valparaiso, meeting owners David and Debbie Cook, who’ve been making major and minor league wooden bats for more than 22 years.

Hoosier Bat Company owner David Cook showing his patented 3-wood bat.
[Photos courtesy Lt. Governor Ellspermann's office]
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Read more: Lt Gov Ellspermann Visits Porter Co

Police in Hammond continue to investigate a shooting and crash in the parking lot of the Walmart in the eleven-hundred block of Fifth Avenue on the far north side of the city around 2:30 Sunday afternoon. Authorities say two men were leaving the store when two vehicles approached, and the two men ran to their car, then started shooting at the vehicles before driving off toward Chicago. Police say a parked vehicle was hit by one of the vehicles involved. Police say a store employee was grazed by a bullet, and a second person received minor injuries in the crash.
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Read more: Shots Fired in Parking Lot

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating an off-road vehicle accident that occurred near the 400 block of State Road 2. Officials say a 48-year-old Valparaiso woman was operating her neighbors’ ATV when she struck a fence and became airborne. Officers say she was taken to a local hospital and is being treated for severe back pain.
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Read more: Woman Hurt in ATV Accident

Indiana Conservation Officers say a 21-year-old New Buffalo, Michigan, man suffered multiple injuries in a hit-and-run off-road vehicle accident in La Porte County. Authorities say the man was operating his ATV on the roadway around 10:30 Saturday night near 1000 North and 150 East when he was struck by a pickup truck and thrown, then run over by the same vehicle. Officials say he was taken to a South Bend hospital, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Indiana DNR 24-Hour Dispatch Center. Anyone with  regarding this accident is asked to contact the Indiana Department of Natural Resources 24-Hour Dispatch Center at 812-837-9536.
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Read more: Man on ATV Hit, Run Over