Nappanee

U.S. 6 near Shawnee Street, about a mile west from the town of Nappanee, is back open after an injury accident closed it down for much of the afternoon Monday. Click here to see a map of the area. A Holland couple had rented a brand new RV from a business in Nappanee, according to a WSBT reporter who was at the scene. They were on the way to Denver when around 2 p.m. witnesses at the scene say a pickup traveling east on U.S. 6 crossed the center line and t-boned the westbound RV, causing it to rollover on its side.

Police say a Nappanee man who was airlifted from a moped crash Saturday night in Kosciusko County has died. The crash happened just before 9 p.m. on County Road 800 West just north of County Road 300 North near Etna Green. Emergency responders found 47-year-old Jimmy W. Coates lying alongside a moped in the northbound lane of the road. Coates was airlifted to Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne where he was listed in “very critical condition. " On Monday afternoon police said he has since passed away.

Elkhart County police say a man flying out from the Nappanee airport had to make an emergency landing when his engine failed. This happened just before 9 p.m. Friday. David Cooper, 50, of Edwardsburg was headed to a private airstrip in Ligonier when engine problems forced him to land his ultralight Mini-Max in a cornfield north of U.S. 6 and east of County Road 13 - which is east of the Nappanee airport. Cooper was uninjured, say police. The plane has only minor damage.

NAPPANEE - Thursday marks five years since people in Nappanee went through an event they will never forget. A tornado 16 miles long blew through their community. Early on, efforts were made to get federal help to clean it up, but the town failed to make the cut. However, many people stepped in to make a difference. “It's probably the only place where you will see this kind of damage from the tornado,” said Mayor Larry Thompson. Here and there, you can still find evidence from the tornado that happened back in October 2007.

Two Elkhart County men are in jail, charged with manufacturing meth after a raid and meth lab fire last night in Nappanee. The neighborhood is shocked by what they were living next to. WSBT's Ed Ernstes reports:

NAPPANEE--Police say a meth lab is to blame in a Nappanee house fire Wednesday night. According to police, an Elkhart County ICE unit obtained a search warrant to investigate a meth lab in the 400 block of Indiana Avenue. When the SWAT team entered the home, a fire started. Investigators believe the people inside were making meth when officers arrived. Police arrested 52-year-old Charles Thompson and 55-year-old Dana Hall.

The National Weather Service says a small tornado touched down in Nappanee around 1 p.m. Tuesday. Click here to see a map of the area where it touched down. Wind speeds of 70 to 75 MPH were generated by the EF0 tornado, and it had a path length of 0.6 miles, according to the NWS. It had a maximum width of 30 yards. There was minor roof and tree damage. The NWS says insulation debris was carried up to a half mile. An NWS spokesman told WSBT it took everyone by surprise, because there were no watches or warnings.

A Nappanee man told Elkhart County police a gust blew his moped off the road Friday afternoon, as he was riding east on C.R. 50, east of C.R. 21. Gregory Shephard said a strong north wind blew his 2011 Tomos Nitro moped off the south side of the road about 2:20 p.m. Shephard, 21, was taken to IU Goshen Health Hospital for treatment of hip pain.

A 7-year-old Nappanee boy is in critical condition at Parkview Memorial Hospital, Fort Wayne, after being run over by a skid loader late Saturday afternoon at his family’s property. A Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department news release indicates the boy was riding atop a pallet that was being moved by the skid loader just before 5 p.m. The boy’s father was driving the loader and as it moved from a field to a mowed area, the child fell off and was run over.

BOURBON, Ind. - The Marshall County coroner says preliminary autopsy results for 75-year-old Louis Cady of Nappanee indicate he died from drowning following a rollover crash in Marshall County early Thursday morning. The crash happened late last night or early this morning along Beech Road, just north of U.S. 30. The coroner believes Cady was unfamiliar with that stretch of road. His truck drifted and rolled down an embankment, landing upside down in the water-filled ditch.

The past several days have been extremely violent in the plains and parts of the Midwest.  Many are wondering -- can we expect severe weather as extreme as what we've seen out west? For those of us who have lived here for several years, we have all heard of the Palm Sunday tornadoes or the super outbreak of 1974.  These tornadoes brought massive destruction to our area, but it's been nearly 40 years since we've seen a twister that strong.  So, how often do we see tornadoes, in general?

16 large hand-painted murals displayed  throughout Elkhart County during the summer time got a "makeover" today.   The murals, average size of 132 square feet, are part of the Quilt Gardens tour along the Heritage Trail which runs through seven communities in Elkhart County.   More than a dozen high school art students spent the day repainting the murals. "I think it's really cool!  Really, really cool," said Maria Pairitz, a junior at Concord High School.

Two Elkhart County men are in jail, charged with manufacturing meth after a raid and meth lab fire last night in Nappanee. The neighborhood is shocked by what they were living next to. WSBT's Ed Ernstes reports:

NAPPANEE--Police say a meth lab is to blame in a Nappanee house fire Wednesday night. According to police, an Elkhart County ICE unit obtained a search warrant to investigate a meth lab in the 400 block of Indiana Avenue. When the SWAT team entered the home, a fire started. Investigators believe the people inside were making meth when officers arrived. Police arrested 52-year-old Charles Thompson and 55-year-old Dana Hall.

NAPPANEE - Police say a Milford toddler and her father are in serious condition after their buggy was struck by a car Friday night. This happened just before 6:30 p.m. at 5414 West, County Road 1350 North. That's near Nappanee. Police say Arlen R. Lehman, 51, of Milford was pulling out of a private driveway in a buggy. He tried to make his horse stop, but it suddenly trotted out into the road and was hit by a car driven by Jodi R. Kauffman, 23, of Etna Green. Kauffman told police she was approaching the driveway when she saw a horse enter the road from behind a row of trees.

NAPPANEE - Thursday marks five years since people in Nappanee went through an event they will never forget. A tornado 16 miles long blew through their community. Early on, efforts were made to get federal help to clean it up, but the town failed to make the cut. However, many people stepped in to make a difference. “It's probably the only place where you will see this kind of damage from the tornado,” said Mayor Larry Thompson. Here and there, you can still find evidence from the tornado that happened back in October 2007.

NAPPANEE - There's an old saying that too many cooks spoil the broth. But that's definitely not the case for a unique baking project that's part of the celebration at this weekend's Nappanee Apple Festival. It's not something you're likely to see at a bakery near you - a 7-foot apple pie. It's not the kind of project for the faint of heart. You have to get it right the first time. There are no do-overs. A lot of care and planning has to go into this to make it turn out just right.

NAPPANEE -- A bicyclist was flown to a local hospital Wednesday following an early morning crash involving another vehicle in Nappanee. It happened just before 5:00 a.m. on U.S. 6, between Shawnee Street and County Road 100 -- just near the Nappanee City limits. A Nappanee emergency responder tells us a 21-year-old Josey Slabaugh was riding his bike to work on U.S. 6 when a car hit him from behind. He was flown to Memorial via medflight. Emergency crews tell us there was not fog on the road when they were responding to the accident.

A Nappanee man told Elkhart County police a gust blew his moped off the road Friday afternoon, as he was riding east on C.R. 50, east of C.R. 21. Gregory Shephard said a strong north wind blew his 2011 Tomos Nitro moped off the south side of the road about 2:20 p.m. Shephard, 21, was taken to IU Goshen Health Hospital for treatment of hip pain.

It began with watercolor paintings of red barns hanging on clothesline in front of a downtown Nappanee furniture store to celebrate “Sidewalk Days” in 1962. Fifty years later it's an event drawing more than 300 artists from 30 states … and thousands of visitors throughout the four-day event. CLICK HERE for Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival details Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival opens Thursday for its 50 th year on the grounds of Amish Acres, off U.S. 6 in Nappanee.