{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-leads-effort-to-designate-calumet-region-as-national-heritage-area/", "Young Leads Effort to Designate Calumet Region as National Heritage Area", "2025-12-16", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Todd Young", "Y000064", "www.young.senate.gov", "toddyoung", "https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced legislation to designate the Calumet Region, which includes Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties in Indiana and Will and Cook counties in Illinois, as a National Heritage Area (NHA). NHAs are designated by Congress to recognize places where natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources converge to form nationally significant landscapes.\n\nThe Calumet Region has long been a center of industrial growth and remains the leading steel-producing region in the United States today. Located at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, the area was the site of early advancements in ecology, has been registered as a natural botanical preserve, and is home to the Indiana Dunes National Park and the Pullman National Historical Park. The economic opportunities combined with natural resources have led to decades of migration of working class families to the region.\n\n\u201cThe Calumet Region\u2019s industrial legacy, unique environment, and recreational spaces have long made the area an attractive destination to live, work, and visit. Our efforts to designate the region as a National Heritage Area will preserve and promote its rich resources and culture for years to come,\u201d said Senator Young.\n\n\u201cThe Calumet region is both rich in history and natural resources, home to the Pullman National Historical Park, the coast of Lake Michigan, and the Indiana Dunes National Park,\u201d said Senator Durbin. \u201cI\u2019m joining Senator Young to introduce legislation that would establish a Calumet National Heritage Area to honor the history, culture, and rich environment in the region.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Calumet region tells the story of Northwest Indiana\u2019s history and natural beauty. This NHA designation will protect it for future generations and strengthen our local communities,\u201d said Senator Banks.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s important that we honor and preserve areas that played pivotal roles in both our state and nation\u2019s history,\u201d said Senator Duckworth. \u201cI\u2019m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation with Senator Young and Senator Durbin, not only to recognize the Calumet region\u2019s cultural legacy and the many ways immigrants enrich our communities, but also to ensure its preservation by establishing the Calumet National Heritage Area for future generations to experience and learn from.\u201d\n\nThe designation of the Calumet National Heritage Area would enhance existing efforts to promote the cultural, natural, historical, and recreational resources of the Calumet Region made by Indiana, Illinois, public-private partnerships, and volunteers.\n\nU.S. Representatives Robin Kelly (D-IL-2), Rudy Yakym (R-IN-2), and Frank Mrvan (D-IN-1) are leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.\n\nFull text of the legislation can be found here.\n\nThe Calumet Heritage Partnership and the Field Museum of Natural History support the effort to designate the Calumet Region as an NHA.\n\nStatements of Support:\n\n\u201cThe Field Museum supports the creation of the National Heritage Area and celebrates the people, places, and landscapes of the Calumet region,\u201d said the Field Museum of Natural History.\n\n\u201cThe introduction of this bill is the culmination of years of tireless efforts by the Calumet Heritage Partnership, regional legislators, local communities, and various stakeholders committed to preserving the unique legacy of the Calumet region,\u201d said Calumet Heritage Partnership Board Chair, Gary R. Johnson.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-leads-effort-to-designate-calumet-region-as-national-heritage-area/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6301299910992384, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}