Chris Nolte

Crown Point Mayor David Uran is resigning from his position effective June 2, 2022. Lake County Democratic Central Committee Jim Weiser was on “Regionally Speaking” to discuss a citywide Democratic Party caucus to be held to select someone to fill the mayoral vacancy on the same day.

The NIPSCO Gary Business Office, which serves customers in Gary and the surrounding areas hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony May 17, 20222 to recognize it’s reopening. The location has been a staple in the community for many years. It closed more than two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to reopen was made with the safety of customers and employees as a top priority. Joining us on “Regionally Speaking” with all of the details on this big event is Jennifer Montague, NiSource Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2022 Retirement Confidence survey was recently released. According to the survey, 4 in 10 workers and 2 in 10 retirees say they don’t know who to turn to financial professionals in the industry. Northwest Indiana financial advisor Greg Hammer joined us on “Regionally Speaking” to provide tips and what to look for when seeking professional assistance from a financial advisor.

A conversation with Chris Suatter, director and producer of "The King of Steeltown: Hardball Politics in the Heartland" documentary film about Chicago-style politics in East Chicago. The film largely focuses on the the last ten days of the May 1999 Democratic primary election for mayorre-election campaign of Robert A. Pastrick whose political career spanned three decades.

The Lake County Prosecutor's Office has been awarded a $25,000 grant from Indiana University Office of Research Administration to conduct a bias study for traffic and misdemeanor cases. In part two of the conversation “Regionally Speaking” host Chris Nolte sits down with Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter to discuss how his office will collect data on pretrial justice to study prosecutorial discretion at charging, bail, diversion, plea negotiations and sentencing for traffic and misdemeanor cases and share the information with Indiana University to document racial and ethnic disparities across prosecutorial decision making and how that decision making relates to local diversion policy and practice.

A conversation with Chris Suatter, director and producer of "The King of Steeltown: Hardball Politics in the Heartland" documentary film about Chicago-style politics in East Chicago. The film largely focuses on the the last ten days of the May 1999 Democratic primary election for mayorre-election campaign of Robert A. Pastrick whose political career spanned three decades.

The Lake County Prosecutor's Office has been awarded a $25,000 grant from Indiana University Office of Research Administration to conduct a bias study for traffic and misdemeanor cases. Indiana University Northwest School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) associate professor Monica Solinas-Saunders is on “Regionally Speaking” to discuss the multi-year study of bias for traffic and misdemeanor cases. Later we hear from Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter as he discusses how his office will collect data on pretrial justice to study prosecutorial discretion at charging, bail, diversion, plea negotiations and sentencing for traffic and misdemeanor cases and share the information with Indiana University. Chris Sautter directed and produced the film “The King of Steeltown: Hardball Politics in the Heartland”. He joins us to discuss the movie about Robert Pastrick, a key figure in East Chicago politics for three decades.

On this Reporter’s Roundtable Friday we have a conversation with “The Times of NWI” education reporter Annie Mattea about the stories she’s put out both online and print. Annie discusses the three Region schools that will benefit from a new program launched by the Indiana Department of Education that will receive STEM coaching this fall. Several other schools in the Region will receive reading coaching. She also shares the latest on the Distressed Unit Appeal Board, which governs Gary Community School Corp. releasing a survey seeking community input on its priorities regarding management of the district.

On this Reporter’s Roundtable Friday we have a conversation with “Post Tribune” education and health reporter Meredith Colias-Pete about the stories she’s put out both online and print. Meredith shared the details about a plea agreement reached that could help a former Merrillville daycare operator avoid a felony conviction. She also goes into great detail about the a federal judge approving an already-reached deal Cleveland-Cliffs to pay $3 million and upgrade equipment over a 2019 chemical spill that killed 3,000 fish.

On this Reporter’s Roundtable Friday we have a conversation with “Post Tribune” government reporter Alexandra Kukulka about the stories she’s put out both online and print. She shares the latest on local Democrat legislators calling for a pause on the state and federal gas taxes, what could be the factors behind the low voter turnout for the Lake County 2022 primary election as well as the announcement of three businesses moving and expanding in Hammond which will generate $160 million in investments and job creations.