Terrell Taylor’s eyes widened as he walked into the freshman lecture room Tuesday at Merrillville High School. Inside, students, family, staff members and officials from tool supply company Harbor Freight clapped and waved purple and white pom poms. Then, Taylor saw his name on an oversized $100,000 check.

The city of Gary announced that it secured a $15 million Lilly Endowment Inc. grant through the READI 2.0 program to help blight elimination.

Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana presented the Gary Police Department with a $25,000 donation to its K9 unit and introduced its newest officer.

The Valparaiso City Council and Valparaiso Community Schools administration continue to wrangle with whether there is a need for further security measures in the schools.

A judge sentenced a Gary man to six years Tuesday in a deadly drug deal that killed a Hammond councilman’s son.

Lilly and Brooklyn Barth have a bond on the court that Lake Central coach Naveed Nizam admits he doesn’t understand.

Nolan Cicero is the right tackle for Crown Point, where his father, Tom, is his position coach.