The features section on LaPorteCounty.Life is one of the most popular, giving you insight into some of the most incredible happenings in the area, including #1StudentNWI articles, Life in the Spotlights, Survivor Series, Leadership Life, City in the Spotlights, Great News Weekly shows, and 10 Fun Things To Do. We’ve learned a lot from the students, community members, survivors, and more who trust us to share their stories, and 2021 would not have been the same without them all.
In no particular order, here are the top 10 feature articles from LaPorteCounty.Life in 2021:
The last year and a half has been challenging at times for everyone, but especially so for Deborah Frahm. When Frahm learned that she tested positive for COVID-19, she was able to take a few weeks off from her job that she had just started about six months prior. She later returned to work when she recovered and was no longer showing symptoms, and she felt like things might be getting back to normal.
Teachers are crucial role models in young adolescent lives. Their impact can last years, even generations. One such teacher is Bonnie DeWolf, eighth-grade teacher of social studies at La Porte Middle School. DeWolf has enlightened and cultivated years of students into sharp, critical thinkers and hard-working members of society.
After a very different school year to say the least, La Lumiere School students were able to have a seemingly normal end to the year thanks to the relaxing COVID-19 restrictions and the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to younger ages. Many favorite events and ceremonies that were cancelled last year because of lockdowns (which caused an abrupt end to school in March) were finally able to happen again this year in a relatively normal manner.
In the early 2000s, Marquette Catholic High School had a head-turning Academic Super Bowl and Quiz Bowl team. They had a large group of kids, who won or made it to the finals year after year. The team won the state championship in the math round in 2004 and the interdisciplinary round in 2005.
On September 16, GreatNews.Life Executive Director Jenny Craig-Brown hosted the event of the year: All About the Girls Part 6!
Held at Urschel Pavilion in Downtown Valparaiso, Craig-Brown invited six women to speak on the encouraging theme of #MyStrength. Each presenter connected the theme to their own lives through stories of perseverance, hope, and female empowerment.
Marsha Henson documents important dates, notes from doctor’s visits, and notes from her cancer treatments in various notebooks and calendars she has kept since her diagnosis in 2017. She recently flipped through them for the first time in a couple years, surprised at how much she had forgotten from her journey.
Through the good times and the tough times, our mothers are there to teach us, guide us, support us, and love us in every step of our journeys.
We asked you what you love most about the mothers in your life, and we are proud to share your sentiments as we celebrate Mother’s Day in 2021.
When Don Kirschner was serving in the Vietnam War with the United States Air Force, he caught hepatitis C. It wasn’t discovered in his body until the ‘90s, and hepatitis C can turn into cancer when left untreated.
I remember holding my note cards with my hands shaking in front of a crowd of 50 people the first year of AATG. By year 5, I was standing in front of 300-plus people with a lot fewer jitters. It’s amazing how things come full circle as we reach the two-month anniversary of the 5th annual All About the Girls event. I am lucky to know the women who have participated over the years because they are so powerful, helpful, and encouraging, and I think these connections are not something that every woman gets to experience. Each year has its own personality and identity mirroring each strong and warmhearted woman who has spoken or attended.
Julie West turned her nightmare into a force for good. In honor of her late son Jake, West fights for education, early detection, and awareness of undetected heart diseases in children because she knows Jake would have done the same.