NORTHWEST INDIANA

'Northwest Indiana'

Map of Northwest Indiana ''Common name: The Region''
'Largest city' 'Other cities'	Gary  - Hammond  - Michigan City  - Portage
'Counties'	- Jasper  - Lake  - LaPorte  - Newton  - Porter

'Northwest Indiana', also known as 'The Calumet Region', or just 'The Region', is comprised of Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, and Jasper counties in Indiana. This region neighbors Chicago, Illinois and Lake Michigan, and is also the Indiana component of the Chicago metropolitan area.
Not only does the region include a large group of Chicago suburbs, such as Crown Point, Merrillville, Highland, Munster, Griffith, Schererville, Dyer, and St. John but also a number of cities whose economies are only loosely linked to Chicago's. The largest city in the region is Gary; other notable cities in the region include Hammond, Hobart, Portage, East Chicago, Valparaiso, and Michigan City.

Contents

Overview

Counties

Census Bureau population statistics

Transportation

Major airports

Commuter rail

Major highways

Area codes

Local Media

Region Natives

External links

Overview

Three counties, Lake, Porter, and LaPorte, are served by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission [1], an organization that coordinates economic and infrastructure development in the region.
A number of the suburbs serve as bedroom communities for both the major cities in the region and for Chicago. The northern portion of the region is noted for its heavy industry. Gary, Portage, Burns Harbor and East Chicago are home to major steel mills, including the secondary location of U.S. Steel. The region is also the home of other metals industries, chemical refineries, and heavy manufacturing.
Since the 1990s, casino gambling has become a notable component of the region's economy. Four casino boats with approximately 6,500 slots and 250 table games are located in Lake County. An additional 1,724 slots and forty nine table games are in Michigan City.
The Lake Michigan shore is a major attraction. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which stretches from Gary to Michigan City, is a well-preserved stretch of sand dunes, beaches, grasslands, and forests, as well as several historical homes and buildings. The five counties of Lake, Porter, Jasper, Newton, and LaPorte are included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined Statistical Area, the broadest of the census defined Metropolitan definitions. Unlike the majority of Indiana, which operates on Eastern Standard Time, these five counties are among seven in Northwestern Indiana that are in the Central Time zone, the other two being Starke and Pulaski. This reflects their close economic integration in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Four major universities are located in the region: Valparaiso University in Valparaiso (the largest private Lutheran University in the United States), Indiana University Northwest (IUN) in Gary, Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, and Purdue University North Central in Westville. Along with several smaller colleges and universities in Northwest Indiana, these institutions offer a variety of degree programs in areas including business administration, engineering and engineering technology, law, education, computing and information technology, and the liberal arts. Additionally, Northwest Indiana is proximate to numerous other universities elsewhere in Indiana and in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Counties

★ Jasper County

★ Lake County

★ LaPorte County

★ Newton County

★ Porter County

Census Bureau population statistics

Census Area	Census 2000	1990 Census	1980 Census	1970 Census	1960 Census	1950 Census
Jasper County, Indiana	30,043	24,960	26,138	20,429	18,842	17,031
Lake County, Indiana	484,564	475,594	522,965	546,253	513,269	368,152
LaPorte County, Indiana	110,106	107,066	108,632	105,342	95,111	76,808
Newton County, Indiana	14,566	13,551	14,844	11,606	11,502	11,006
Porter County, Indiana	146,798	128,932	119,816	87,114	60,279	40,076

Transportation

Major airports

★ Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY)

Commuter rail

★ South Shore Line connecting Chicago to South Bend, Indiana, passing through Gary and Michigan City

Major highways

★ Interstate 65

★ Interstate 80

★ Interstate 90

★ Interstate 94

★ U.S. Route 6

★ U.S. Route 12

★ U.S. Route 20

★ U.S. Route 30

★ U.S. Route 35

★ U.S. Route 41

★ U.S. Route 231

★ U.S. Route 421

★ Indiana State Road 2

★ Indiana State Road 10

★ Indiana State Road 49

★ Indiana State Road 53

★ Indiana State Road 912

Area codes

★ 219

★ 574

Local Media

★ The Times of Northwest Indiana - Print, Online

★ Post-Tribune - Print, Online

★ Region Sports Network - Print, Online, Radio

★ WYIN-TV - Television

★ WJOB (AM) 1230 - Radio

★ WIMS (AM) 1429 - Radio

★ WWCA (AM) 1420 - Radio

Region Natives

★ Glenn Robinson

★ Latroy Hawkins

★ Kenny Lofton

★ Michael Jackson

★ Janet Jackson

★ Latoya Jackson

★ Marlin Jackson

★ Tito Jackson

★ Sue Hendrickson

★ Hal Morris

★ Jack Hyles

★ Jermaine Jackson

★ Randy Jackson

★ Karen McDougal

★ Ron Kittle

★ Lloyd McClendon

★ Dan Plesac

★ Scott Sheldon

★ Gregg Popovich

★ Tim Stoddard

★ Larry Bigbie

★ Eugene Wilson

★ Dean White

★ Jerry L. Ross

★ Karl Malden

★ Jean Shepherd

External links

★ Northwest Indiana Community Web Site by NorthwestIndiana.com

★ Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission

★ Arealinks.net (Michilliana Online)