Life in the Spotlight

Jess Buetow is a young man who recently graduated from Michigan City High School (MCHS), where he maintained a commitment to service and thrived academically. Despite growing up far from Michigan City, moving from his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan to...

Life often takes us down unexpected paths. This is true for Brynn Kleist, who began a journey to become a forensic scientist but ended up becoming an educator for at-risk and non-traditional students. Growing up in La Porte, Kleist spent her freshman...

In life, the unexpected twists along our journey can lead to surprisingly fulfilling destinations we may have never have envisioned. Though she had aspirations for a career in healthcare during college, Amanda Lower’s path led her to a passion for...

Pete Xidias has spent most of his life in the Michigan City community. In the early 1970s, the Xidias family immigrated to Indiana from Greece, where they opened Apex Auto Care in 1983. The family has stayed committed to the community, running a shop...

Matthew Zawacki, the youth assistance program coordinator for La Porte Community School Corporation’s Virtual Learning Academy, has long known that he wanted to help people. Through various job experiences and inspiration from his mother, he has...

Over the course of a 38-year career, Janine Peo has become a cherished educator, dedicated to creating a positive impact in her students’ lives. As she approaches retirement at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year, she...

Catherine Mrozinski has always had a passion for agriculture, but she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to use that passion for. Almost a decade ago, she unexpectedly started on her path to becoming the founder of Operation Feed LaPorte County....

It takes a special kind of person to instruct and guide the young minds of tomorrow. Matt Wellsand, middle school and high school-level science teacher as well as the track coach at Tri-Township Schools, is very well-suited to the...

Having served for four years as the president of the La Porte County Fair Board of Directors, Steve Mrozinski has been closely involved with the ongoing planning and execution of one of the most popular county fairs in the Region. In Mrozinski’s...

Mike Nelson has positively impacted the lives of many of La Porte’s youth, all because he has never been afraid to step up and serve where he is needed. Nelson has been coaching Pop Warner football in La Porte for the past 11 years and has served...