A Jasper County judge today ruled that Porter County cannot pull out of the Regional Development Authority.
The county could not vote to leave the regional group because it did not elect to join in the first place, said Jasper County Circuit Court Judge John Potter.
The judge ordered the county to resume paying its $3.5 million in annual dues and turn over by May 1 all due payments that have been held in an escrow account since the county initiated the legal challenge on Aug. 28.
Closing shipping locks in Chicago to prevent the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes would cost the area’s economy about $4.7 billion over two decades.
Stormwater and flood management would be the most expensive result of lock closure, he said. If the locks no longer could be used to regulate river levels and send excess flow into Lake Michigan, a $1.8 billion underground tunnel would have to be constructed.
Blue Bell Ice Cream will celebrate its entry into the Indianapolis market by giving away free ice cream today.
The trash-to-ethanol plant in Schneider is moving forward.
Master Power Transmission will buy Columbus-based Baldor Electric, saving 52 jobs.