Amy Lavalley

Senior content editor Amy Lavalley covered Porter County government for more than 10 years.

A Hazel Crest, Illinois woman is in custody after police said she entered a Jackson Township house on Friday afternoon while the resident was away and set it on fire while claiming she was a home health nurse checking on a patient who lived there.

Post-Tribune |
Police: Woman claiming to be home health nurse sets fire to Jackson Township home

June 10, 2024 at 3:39 p.m.

A Hazel Crest, Illinois woman is in custody after police said she entered a Jackson Township house on Friday afternoon while the resident was away and set it on fire...

The auction of the three most valuable paintings in the collection of the Brauer Museum of Art at Valparaiso University appears to be edging forward after Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office said in a Friday court filing that it would not object to the sale, with the expected proceeds from millions of dollars in artwork going to renovate freshmen dorms and establish a gallery for them.

Post-Tribune |
Paintings from Brauer Museum could be headed to auction after Friday court filing

June 8, 2024 at 12:46 p.m.

The auction of the three most valuable paintings in the collection of the Brauer Museum of Art at Valparaiso University appears to be edging forward after Indiana Attorney General Todd...

The death of Dakota Levi Stevens, the boy who was in foster care in Liberty Township in late April and was remembered by mourners at his funeral for his smile and creativity, has been ruled a homicide by the St. Joseph County Coroner's Office in South Bend.

Post-Tribune |
Coroner’s office rules foster child Dakota Levi Stevens’ death is as a homicide

June 5, 2024 at 3:44 p.m.

The death of Dakota Levi Stevens, the boy who was in foster care in Liberty Township in late April and was remembered by mourners at his funeral for his smile...

The difference between Donald M. Johnson, Charles Ponzi, for whom the pyramid scheme is named, and disgraced late financier Bernie Madoff, who ran the largest Ponzi scheme of all, Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer said in court Thursday, is that some of Johnson's victims were repaid.

Post-Tribune |
Prosecutor: ‘It’s all a scheme to defraud creditors’

May 30, 2024 at 4:26 p.m.

The difference between Donald M. Johnson, Charles Ponzi, for whom the pyramid scheme is named, and disgraced late financier Bernie Madoff, who ran the largest Ponzi scheme of all, Porter...

Valparaiso University filed a petition Tuesday to move forward with the auction of the three cornerstone works of art from the Brauer Museum to fund freshman dorm renovations, noting a $9 million deficit and declining student enrollment.

Post-Tribune |
Valpo University petitions court to auction artwork for dorm renovations

May 28, 2024 at 5:42 p.m.

Valparaiso University filed a petition Tuesday to move forward with the auction of the three cornerstone works of art from the Brauer Museum to fund freshman dorm renovations, noting a...

A Chesterton High School student was charged Wednesday with felony counts of intimidation and possession of a firearm on school property after police reportedly found a gun in his car while it was in the high school parking lot.

Post-Tribune |
Documents: Teen charged after gun found in car at Chesterton High School

May 22, 2024 at 5:05 p.m.

A Chesterton High School student was charged Wednesday with felony counts of intimidation and possession of a firearm on school property after police reportedly found a gun in his car...

A deputy prosecutor with the Porter County Prosecutor's Office resigned last month after an arrest for alleged drunken driving.

Post-Tribune |
Porter County deputy prosecutor resigns after drunken driving arrest

May 22, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.

A deputy prosecutor with the Porter County Prosecutor's Office resigned last month after an arrest for alleged drunken driving.

Longtime master gardener John Nash, with more than 65 years of digging in the dirt, is a bit concerned that gardeners will take the news that they might be in slightly warmer zones for cold-hardy plants and run with it too far.

Post-Tribune |
Gardeners see warmer hardiness zones for plants, but not by much

May 19, 2024 at 12:51 p.m.

Longtime master gardener John Nash, with more than 65 years of digging in the dirt, is a bit concerned that gardeners will take the news that they might be in...

Dakota Martinez-Kestle,19, who pled guilty to reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony, in the October 2022 shooting death of Andrew Lenahan, 18, in Union Township, was sentenced Friday by Porter Superior Court Judge Mary DeBoer to four years in the Indiana Department of Correction with three years on home detention and one year suspended to formal probation.

Post-Tribune |
Teen sentenced to home detention, probation after plea in Union Township shooting

May 17, 2024 at 4:03 p.m.

Dakota Martinez-Kestle,19, who pled guilty to reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony, in the October 2022 shooting death of Andrew Lenahan, 18, in Union Township, was sentenced Friday by Porter...

The suspect in a fatal officer-involved shooting in Valparaiso last month fired three shots directly at a police officer as the confrontation began to unfold, according to Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann, who said Friday his office will not take further action in the case and that the five officers involved were justified in their use of deadly force.

Post-Tribune |
Porter County prosecutor taking ‘no further action’ in officer-involved shooting

May 17, 2024 at 2:46 p.m.

The suspect in a fatal officer-involved shooting in Valparaiso last month fired three shots directly at a police officer as the confrontation began to unfold, according to Porter County Prosecutor...

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