At least 14,000 NIPSCO customers across the region were without power Friday after ice, hail and snow blanket Northwest Indiana. As of 7:45 p.m. the following cities were experiencing: Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Crown Point, DeMotte, Hebron, Hobart, Gary, Kouts, LaPorte, Lake Village, LaPorte, Lake Village, Lowell, Michigan City, Rensselaer, Schneider, Shelby, Valparaiso and Westville. NIPSCO advised that the outages were caused by freezing rain which took down tree limbs and caused ice damage. Their...

{"alt":"The History of Merrillville Indiana is a rich one that begins with Potawatomi Indians to the 1800's settlement by Jeremiah Wiggins to its incorporation as a town in 1971.","data-align":"left","data-attachmentid":"404","data-size":"medium","title":"The History of Merrillville Indiana"}
Potawatomi Indians were the original Merrillville, Indiana, residents until 1834, when a clearing in the woods was established for ceremonial purposes. It was called McGwinn Village until the following year when Jeremiah Wiggins settled there and renamed it Wiggins Point. Wiggins Point was a well-known stopping off point for wagon trains bound for Joliet, Illinois, along an old Indian trail called Sac Trail or Sauk Trail. Sixteen other trails came off of Sauk Trail to various destinations in the area.