INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Bill Friend, R-Macy, announced Friday he will not seek re-election this year after a 26-year run representing Miami County and the surrounding area in House District 23.

PERU – Child services removed a baby from the home of a Peru woman who told police she shook her infant child as a joke to get the baby to throw up on a man she met on a dating website, according to police.

PERU - The Miami County Board of Zoning Appeals. It’s the place residents or companies go to get approval for special zoning variances or conditional land uses for their property.

PERU – The Peru Police Department is mourning the loss of its longest-serving K9 officer, who passed away at around 4 p.m. Thursday.

Members of the Indiana National Guard unit based in Kokomo are getting a high-profile sendoff next week before being deployed to Kuwait.

PERU – Miami County officials say a switch to a new insurance provider in 2015 has saved taxpayers more than $4.1 million over the last three years and finally brought spending on employees’ health coverage under control.

Maconaquah Elementary School fourth-grade teachers and students continued a young tradition this week by participating in Christmas Around the World.

PERU – A group of Miami County landowners are pushing back against a proposed 33-mile bike and walking trail along the Wabash River that would connect the cities of Huntington and Peru.

BUNKER HILL – An officer at Miami Correctional Facility was hospitalized earlier this month after prison officials say an inmate serving time on a child molesting conviction violently beat the officer with a “lock in the sock.”

Editor's note: This is the third feature in a weeklong series highlighting United Way of Howard County agencies.

PERU – A 12-year-old Peru girl was killed Tuesday morning in a three-vehicle crash after police say a semi driver ran a red light on U.S. 24 just north of Peru.

PERU -- Rick Brown, an Indiana State Police sergeant and Air Force veteran, has announced he is running for Miami County sheriff in the 2018 primary election on the Republican ticket.

PERU – The Miami County Planning and Building Commission Wednesday voted to create a study committee to review the county’s wind farm ordinance after local residents expressed concerns about a project that could bring 75 turbines to the northern part of the county.

Miami County Deputies say a 33-year-old Kokomo man was chased out of a house by a person with a gun after he was discovered fondling a 5-year-old girl.

GALVESTON – State police say a 19-year-old Kokomo man tried to grab guns off of two state troopers after he was arrested Saturday for breaking out a window at his girlfriend’s house.