Fort Wayne news

• Trump’s buyout offer accepted by about 77,000 federal workers, White House says

  13-02-2025 22:45 via wane.com
  
  (NewsNation) — Approximately 77,000 federal employees have accepted a deferred resignation offer spearheaded by the Trump administration as it looks to reduce the federal workforce, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
  Leavitt on Thursday confirmed the final buyout tally to NewsNation's "Morning in America" after the offer's deadline was reached at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday. The tally, which amounts to less than 4% of the federal workforce, is short of the 5% to 10% goal laid
  
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• LaGrange County Sheriff's Office asking for info amid 'issue' with thefts

  13-02-2025 22:13 via wane.com
  
  LAGRANGE COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) -- The LaGrange County Sheriff's Office is asking for public assistance in finding multiple people involved in an apparent theft.On Thursday, the department posted a photo on Facebook and asked residents near Howe for information.The LaGrange County Sheriff's Office is asking for information on the people shown in the photo above. (Photo provided by the LaGrange County Sheriff's Office)
  The LaGrange County Sheriff's Office noted that thefts from unlocked vehicles "co
  
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• 'Pretty amazing things': Indiana sees steady rise in organ donations since 2016

  13-02-2025 21:47 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- Indiana reached a new record in organ donations in 2024, continuing a trend the state has seen since 2016, according to Indiana Donor Network.The organization -- which coordinates donations and transplants for organs, tissues and corneas -- reported that Indiana transplanted 1,388 organs in 2024, which resulted in 1,216 lives being saved.The number represents a 22.4% increase from 2023, and the organization has established a new benchmark in organ transplants for nine
  
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• Utopian Coffee shutting down cafe on The Landing

  13-02-2025 21:28 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Utopian Coffee + Kitchen is closing its doors in downtown Fort Wayne.The timing coincides with the end of Utopian's 5-year lease in its space on The Landing, and the specialty coffee roaster announced the news Thursday on social media.But the Utopian Coffee Roasting Company plans to continue its work.Its roasting facility on Calhoun Street is still in full swing, with a "coffee lab" on the way, according to the post, engaging both wholesale customers and anyone in the c
  
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• Fort Wayne city clerk elected to Indiana GOP Committee

  13-02-2025 20:26 via wane.com
  
  INDIANAPOLIS (WANE) - The city clerk of Fort Wayne is the newest Indiana Republican Party chair.Lana Keesling has been officially elected as chairwoman of the Indiana Republican State Committee, an official with the committee confirmed Thursday.Chairman Randy Head resigned in December after five months in the role.Keesling was endorsed by Governor Mike Braun earlier this month.Besides serving as city clerk, she also has experience as vice chair of the Allen County Republican Party and treasurer
  
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• Disneyland adding new lyrics to 'It's A Small World' ride: How do they go?

  13-02-2025 20:01 via wane.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – Changes are coming to Disneyland’s famous “It’s A Small World” attraction in honor of the resort’s 70th anniversary.Disneyland revealed on Wednesday that the theme song that plays during the familiar ride — also called "It's a Small World" — will be updated with a third verse written by Richard M. Sherman, one of the song's original composers.Disney to change content warning for ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘Dumbo,’ oth
  
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• 'Orlando-quality experience': Largest carnival in Fort Wayne taking over Memorial Coliseum this summer

  13-02-2025 19:24 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A carnival being compared by its organizers to Orlando amusement parks is coming to the Summit City for nine days this summer.The Summit City Carnival will be held Aug. 1-9 at the Coliseum, "bringing unparalleled entertainment for attendees across the Midwest," according to a press release from the Coliseum.Visitors can look forward to roller coasters, themed characters, games and fair food.
  Kissel Entertainment is one of the country's premier providers of traveling amu
  
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• Coroner identifies 17-year-old killed in apartment complex shooting

  13-02-2025 18:29 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The Allen County Coroner has identified the teenager who was killed Monday night at an apartment complex off Decatur Road.The coroner identified the victim as Sincere Sole Thomas, 17. Her death was ruled a homicide.Police found Thomas with a gunshot wound that night on the playground at Black Pine Flats. She had initially been taken to a hospital in critical condition but was later pronounced dead.Jamir Benson, 16, is being charged as an adult in connection to the case.
  
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• Gusty winds today, even colder soon

  13-02-2025 18:13 via wane.com
  
  The good news is that we won't see any additional snow accumulation, the bad news is gusty winds will cause blowing and drifting snow this afternoon. More snow and freezing rain are on the way Friday night and Saturday.
  Winds are gusty this afternoon as a front passes through the area with temperatures falling into the lower 20s by 5 pm.More snow is on way late Friday nightFriday will be quiet, but overnight into Saturday another fast-moving weather system will begin with freezing rain and chang
  
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• Denny's to close dozens more restaurants in 2025

  13-02-2025 17:36 via wane.com
  
  (NEXSTAR) — Denny's was already planning on closing 150 low-performing restaurants by the end of 2025, but now the company says even more locations will shutter this year.
  In October, the company indicated that the 150 closures — about half of which occurred in 2024 — were part of an attempt to turn around its flagging sales. At the time, Stephen Dunn, Denny’s executive vice president and chief global development officer, said that some of those restaurants were no longer
  
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• 15 Fury Alert Day: Bitterly cold air on the way

  13-02-2025 16:58 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – An artic blast will take temperatures down into the single digits by Monday with bitterly cold wind chill values.
  Another weather system will bring freezing rain and snow overnight Friday into early Saturday and arctic air will arrive late Sunday. Another 15 Fury Alert Day has been issued for Monday check the latest forecast updates 24-7 here.Wind chill values early Monday morning will be as low as -10° to -20° and wind chill values, at our “warmest&
  
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• Price fears for chocolatiers: Cocoa costs leave bitter taste for Valentine's Day

  13-02-2025 16:17 via wane.com
  
  BRUGES, Belgium (AP) — St. Valentine chocolates always seek to show how deep your love is. This year, it might just also show how deep your pockets are.With the price of cocoa beans setting unprecedented records on the commodities market, it will certainly turn the gift of love into a bigger financial commitment than it once was. Turns out that if love is reputed to be eternal, a low price for cocoa, the essential ingredient in chocolate, is not.No beans, no Valentine's chocolate
  
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• DNA analysis used to identify victim of fiery crash in Steuben County

  13-02-2025 15:40 via wane.com
  
  STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) - Two weeks after a fiery crash in Steuben County, the driver has been identified.Aftermath of a vehicle fire Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (Courtesy Steuben County Sheriff's Office)
  The county coroner's office said Thursday the driver was identified as 54-year-old Andre David Didrick from Orland. DNA analysis had to be used to identify him.On Feb. 1, emergency crews responded to the crash on State Road 120 in a rural area. Investigators determined Didrick's car had veered
  
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• Tickets available for Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale

  13-02-2025 15:21 via wane.com
  
  This video shows fans lined up for the 2024 outlet sale.FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - We're just two months away from the Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale, which means tickets are now available for customers to secure a priority shopping experience.The sale, which gives customers the chance to buy the brand's recognizable bags and other merch at up to 70% off, takes place from April 30 to May 4 at the Allen County War Memorial ColiseumStarting at 10 a.m. Thursday, shoppers can get tickets through Tic
  
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• Egg prices hit record high of $4.95, will likely keep climbing

  13-02-2025 14:35 via wane.com
  
  OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Egg prices hit a record high as the U.S. contends with an ongoing bird flu outbreak, but consumers didn't need government figures released Wednesday to tell them eggs are terribly expensive and hard to find at times.The latest monthly consumer price index showed that the average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in U.S. cities reached $4.95 in January, eclipsing the previous record of $4.82 set two years earlier and more than double the low of $2.04
  
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• Federal judge sentences Fort Wayne man for gun charge

  13-02-2025 14:26 via wane.com
  
  (WANE) - A Fort Wayne man was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jonathon Eason, 37, pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.United States District Court Chief Judge Holly Brade handed down the sentence, plus 2 years of supervised release.Fort Wayne police officers responded to a call in October 2022. The caller said Eason battered and threatened them. Officers found Eason with a gun inside his pocket, according to court documents.
  Eason had previously been convicted o
  
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• Could Canada really become the 51st US state? Here's what it would take

  13-02-2025 13:45 via wane.com
  
  Editor's note: The video above discusses tariffs being paused in early February.WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Canada should be the 51st U.S. state as he proposes erasing the 5,525-mile-long border that separates the countries and alleviating the need for tariffs he's threatened against one of America's top allies and trading partners.The traditional Lower 48 states would become the contiguous 50 as the Canadian territory between
  
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• White House bars AP reporter from Oval Office because of AP style policy on 'Gulf of America'

  13-02-2025 13:24 via wane.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The White House blocked an Associated Press reporter from an event in the Oval Office on Tuesday after demanding the news agency alter its style on the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump has ordered renamed the Gulf of America.The reporter, whom the AP would not identify, tried to enter the White House event as usual Tuesday afternoon and was turned away. Later, a second AP reporter was barred from a late-evening event in the White House's Diplomatic Reception Roo
  
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• Musk calls for government to 'delete entire agencies'

  13-02-2025 13:02 via wane.com
  
  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Elon Musk called Thursday to “delete entire agencies” from the U.S. government as part of his push under President Donald Trump to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.Musk offered a wide-ranging survey via a videocall to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, of what he described as the priorities of the Trump administration interspersed with multiple references to “thermonuclea
  
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• 15 Fury Alert Days: Snow showers and gusty winds

  13-02-2025 10:54 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Light snow with blowing and drifting snow will make driving difficult at times.
  Make sure to slow down for blowing and drifting snow and new slick spots that may develop today.Another weather system will bring freezing rain and snow overnight Friday into early Saturday and arctic air will arrive late Sunday. Another 15 Fury Alert Day has been issued for Monday check the latest forecast updates 24-7 here.Wind chill values early Monday morning will be as low as -10&
  
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• Light snow and gusty winds today

  13-02-2025 09:56 via wane.com
  
  The good news is that we won't see any additional snow accumulation, the bad news is gusty winds will cause blowing and drifting snow this afternoon. More snow and freezing rain are on the way Friday night and Saturday.
  It will be mostly cloudy this morning with winds becoming gusty by late this morning and some scattered snow showers possible. Temperatures will rise into the middle 20s by noon.
  Winds will be gusty this afternoon as a front passes through the area with temperatures falling into
  
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• 15 Fury Alert Days: Snow/ice end, arctic cold coming

  13-02-2025 04:42 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) –Another messy storm spreads ice and snow across the region into Thursday morning.This storm has produced treacherous driving conditions across northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio with its mix of snow and ice. This mix of snow and ice is, also, reducing the chances of high snow totals for many spots.There will be slight improvements in travel conditions for Thursday morning, since the snow and ice accumulation will have tapered off. Slick spots, however, will remai
  
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• FWPD investigates barricaded subject in northwest Fort Wayne

  13-02-2025 04:37 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- The Fort Wayne Police Department (FWPD) is investigating a barricaded subject in northwest Fort Wayne Wednesday night.Officers are currently stationed in the La Cabreah neighborhood, which is off Dupont Road between Coldwater and Lima roads.According to a public information officer with the FWPD, police responded to a barricaded subject who may have a gun.WANE 15 is heading to the scene and will provide updates as we learn more.
  
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• Barricaded subject situation resolved in northwest Fort Wayne

  13-02-2025 04:37 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- Fort Wayne police took the subject of an investigation in the La Cabreah neighborhood into custody without incident early Thursday morning.Shortly before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a home on Chariot Ct. at the request of TRAA medics. They were attempting to contain a person suffering from an advanced illness that caused the individual to have a declining mental state. Soon after, it was discovered that person had a firearm.Due to the situation’s i
  
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• Ice and snow taper off in the early morning

  13-02-2025 04:35 via wane.com
  
  Travel on many area roads has become slick and slippery and these conditions will linger past sunrise, especially on the untreated roadways.15 Fury Alert Days have been issued for Thursday (morning) and Monday
  Around Fort Wayne, and in many spots, a mix of snow and ice has cut down on the potential for higher snow totals. If we were to maximize snowfall amounts between this posting (10:30 pm Wed) and 9:00 am Thursday, a little more than an inch of snow is possible.Light ice accumulation is occur
  
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• Libby German's grandparents open up about the Delphi trial

  13-02-2025 04:16 via wane.com
  
  DELPHI, Ind. — Abby Williams and Libby German should be finishing their college senior year with eyes on graduation.
  But that was among the many milestones stolen from their families.
  "Two girls lost their lives," said Becky Patty, grandmother of Libby. "A monster took it."The families of the victims at the center of the Delphi murders trial said justice was at last found at the Carroll County Courthouse last November. It only took seven years, the teenage girls' bodies found on Feb. 14, 2
  
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• What Fort Wayne can learn from Grand Rapids' 400K bathroom

  13-02-2025 01:26 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — On Tuesday, Fort Wayne City Council approved $280,000 for a new public bathroom. A high-tech, one-toilet, ant-vandalism unit popularized in Oregon called "The Portland Loo."The decision from the city received some backlash on Facebook. One comment simply reads, "$280,000 can rent a lot of port-a-jons."However, Fort Wayne isn't alone in thinking the cost is well worth it."In the last five years that it's been out, it's been immediately engrained in the fabric of th
  
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• Messy ice and snow combo continues through the night

  13-02-2025 01:12 via wane.com
  
  A messy winter storm is bringing a dose of freezing rain and snow to the area. This snow and ice accumulation continues through the nighttime. Travel on many area roads has become slick and slippery and these conditions will linger into tomorrow.15 Fury Alert Days have been issued for today and tomorrow.
  Winter Weather Advisory in effect now through tomorrow morning.
  Expected snow amounts continue to trend lower in areas south/southeast of Fort Wayne where we're likely to experience more of the
  
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• Fort Wayne UNITED to 'relaunch' under new executive director

  13-02-2025 01:10 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- Months after the City of Fort Wayne severed ties with Fort Wayne UNITED, the organization is preparing to enter a new era as a nonprofit.On Wednesday, Fort Wayne UNITED announced plans to "relaunch" its identity and initiatives. The organization started as a steering committee through a mayoral initiative from former Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and will move forward as a 501(c)(3) while finding new ways to help the city."We're looking at how we begin to really engage ev
  
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• 15 Fury Alert Days: Snow and ice now, arctic cold coming

  13-02-2025 00:49 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) –Another messy storm is spreading ice and snow across tonight.This storm is producing treacherous driving conditions across the region.A combo of snow and ice accumulates across the region tonight.In most spots, 2"-4" of snow will accumulate. Amounts may be lower south/southeast of Fort Wayne where ice will be more common.Tonight's snow/ice combo will have major travel impacts across the area as it falls this evening and ends early Thursday morning. Download the WAN
  
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• 15 Fury Alert Day: Snow and ice tonight

  13-02-2025 00:49 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) –Another messy storm is spreading ice and snow across tonight.This storm is producing treacherous driving conditions across the region.A combo of snow and ice accumulates across the region tonight.In most spots, 2"-4" of snow will accumulate. Amounts may be lower south/southeast of Fort Wayne where ice will be more common.Tonight's snow/ice combo will have major travel impacts across the area as it falls this evening and ends early Thursday morning. Download the WAN
  
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• Community Harvest sees record need as inflation hits highest level in months

  13-02-2025 00:27 via wane.com
  
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE)— The most recent Community Harvest Food Bank Saturday Helping Hands, their largest weekly food bank distribution, saw a record number of families fed.Community Engagement Manager at Community Harvest, Adam Roby, said the amount of people turning to them now is greater than during the holidays and even the COVID-19 pandemic. Roby said that the average amount of families fed at one Saturday Helping Hands used to be about 600-700. The average in 2025 has been closer to
  
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• Icy road causes driver to slide, flip vehicle in DeKalb County crash

  13-02-2025 00:16 via wane.com
  
  DEKALB COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) -- Icy roads caused a crash that sent a 20-year-old Auburn woman to the hospital Wednesday after her vehicle slid and flipped on its top, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.Officers responded to the crash around 4:30 p.m. and found the vehicle in the 5400 block of County Road 60, which is west of St. Joe.According to the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, the woman lost control of her vehicle due to icy road conditions. Her vehicle slid, flipped on its top an
  
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