GARY, Ind. (AP) — Several state and local officials are expected to join a celebration of the Indiana Dunes as the newest national park.
The ceremonial ribbon cutting for the Indiana Dunes National Park is set for Tuesday at the park's Miller Woods section on its western edge in Gary.
U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, U.S. Sen. Todd Young, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson are among those expected to take part.
The ceremony comes after Congress and President Donald Trump in February approved the redesignation from national lakeshore status for the 15,000-acre park along the southern shore of Lake Michigan.
Local officials are hoping for increased tourism to the park that includes sand dunes reaching almost 200 feet tall, along with woodlands, prairies and wetlands.