MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (WNDU) – Today 16 News Now spent time checking on Fourth of July celebrations all across Michiana.

Near the beach in Michigan City people from all walks of life came together to celebrate the nation’s birthday.

Ci Claudia Almaraz, a two-time Miss Teen Indiana Latina, has strong feelings about the importance of Independence Day.

“As Latino, as a Mexican I love that Americans celebrate our culture, so now it is our turn to give it back to them and celebrate the USA. My dad migrated here 21 years ago so we’re here celebrating why the main reason my dad made that sacrifice and to just celebrate and spend time with the family, have a cookout, have some carne asada, and just enjoy the time and the fireworks later on tonight,” said Almaraz.

Tomorrow Michigan City will be hosting a firework fundraising party for the non-profit organization, ‘Save the Dunes’.

The event takes place at the Sunset Grill Rooftop Cantina from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The costs for adults to attend are $30 while children 12 and up is $20.

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A Michigan State Police dog helped find an 81-year-old woman trapped in the bottom of a ravine in Ogemaw County, the agency reported.

It’s unclear when the Richland Township resident was found, according to a July 3 press release issued by the Michigan State Police’s Third District. No other information was available Thursday.

Troopers were dispatched to the elderly woman’s residence after a relative reported last seeing her around 10 p.m. the night before. Troopers found the missing person’s coat, purse and cell phone in her garage. That prompted the troopers to bring in Loki, a member of the state police’s canine team.

“Upon arrival, Loki began tracking through the woods behind the residence and located a pair of gloves and a walking cane leading down into a steep ravine,” according to the state police statement. “A short distance later, Loki located the elderly woman at the base of the ravine unable to move. “

The state troopers were assisted by Ogemaw County EMS and Richland Twp Fire Rescue with carrying the woman of the woods “as a heavy rainstorm rolled in,” according to state police.

“After speaking with the woman, it was determined she had been lost in the woods for over 20 hours before being located,” according to the state police.

laguilar@detroitnews.com

Michigan State football enters the upcoming season with many changes in place. Coach Jonathan Smith will begin his first season at the helm, which is expected to be difficult for Michigan State. It has already been an up-and-down offseason for Coach Smith, which may impact the early part of Michigan State’s season.

Coach Smith and his coaching staff have faced an uphill battle since arriving in East Lansing, causing many to believe Michigan State will not see much success this season. While Coach Smith and Michigan State eventually had a successful offseason, their roster and overall situation were among the worst situations in the Big Ten upon Coach Smith’s arrival. 

Although Michigan State has one of the most difficult schedules in the conference and in the country, it also has enough winnable games to make it to a bowl game. Michigan State undoubtedly has arguably the most difficult four-game stretch of any team in the country, but it is still possible they can string together six wins.

They play Prarie View A&M, Florida Atlantic, Rutgers, and Indiana at home and would only need to find two more wins to make it to a bowl game. That is not unrealistic for Michigan State to do in their first season under Coach Smith, considering the amount of talent Michigan State brought in via the transfer portal and Coach Smith and his coaching staff’s ability to develop players.

Still, 247Sports’ Brad Crawford is one of many who believe Michigan State will not make it to a bowl game this season. Crawford recently released his bowl projections for the upcoming season, and it appears he does not have Michigan State projected to make it to a bowl game. The lowest-rated Big Ten team usually goes to the Detroit Bowl, formerly the Quick Lane Bowl. However, Crawford projected Indiana to make it to the Detroit Bowl instead of Coach Smith and Michigan State.

If Crawford and his projections are correct, it would be the third consecutive season Michigan State has failed to make it to a bowl game. Michigan State’s last bowl appearance was a win over Pitt in the Peach Bowl in 2021. Michigan State hopes to prove Crawford and many others wrong this season.

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