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Dave Askins

Dave Askins

Bloomington, Indiana

Dave Askins is editor and publisher of The B Square Bulletin. A Hoosier native with a background in math and linguistics, he previously co-founded the Ann Arbor Chronicle with his wife, Mary Morgan.

County commissioners looking to put Bean Blossom on path to joining Monroe Fire Protection District

County commissioners looking to put Bean Blossom on path to joining Monroe Fire Protection District

In 2019, there were seven fire departments that served different parts of Monroe County. Those seven included the city of Bloomington’s fire department. As the Monroe Fire Protection District added townships as members, that reduced the number of fire departments in the county to four—Monroe Fire Protection District

Monroe County sheriff stresses new jail’s functional capacity, not bed count, wants end to ‘tag, you’re it’

Monroe County sheriff stresses new jail’s functional capacity, not bed count, wants end to ‘tag, you’re it’

Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté wants county councilors and county commissioners to start thinking about the size of a planned new jail in terms of its functional capacity, instead of its raw bed count. Marté also wants the county executive and fiscal bodies to attach more urgency to the planned

Monroe Convention Center expansion: End of 2026 eyed for finish, $4.4M contract with architect OK’d

Monroe Convention Center expansion: End of 2026 eyed for finish, $4.4M contract with architect OK’d

On Wednesday, a possibly 60,000-square-foot expansion of the Monroe Convention Center took a big step forward, as contracts with the architect and construction manager were approved by the Monroe County capital improvement board (CIB). The end of 2026 is the target date spelled out in this latest set of

Tax notebook: Indiana local government property tax revenues will grow at most by 4% for 2025

Tax notebook: Indiana local government property tax revenues will grow at most by 4% for 2025

On Tuesday, Indiana’s state budget agency released its calculations for the maximum levy growth quotient (MLGQ) in calendar year 2025. The MLGQ for 2025 is 4.0 percent. That’s the maximum increase in the total revenues from property taxes that local government units can receive in 2025 compared

Bloomington asks judge for ‘magic language’ so adverse annexation ruling can be appealed

Bloomington asks judge for ‘magic language’ so adverse annexation ruling can be appealed

Bloomington is looking to appeal the ruling that judge Nathan Nikirk made in mid-June, which found that a 2019 state law about annexation remonstrance waivers was not unconstitutional, as the city had argued. Last Tuesday (July 2), the city of Bloomington filed a motion asking Nikirk to do one of

Monroe County confirms ‘BlackSuit’ as intruder in cyberattack, investigation continues

Monroe County confirms ‘BlackSuit’ as intruder in cyberattack, investigation continues

In a news release issued mid-afternoon on Monday, Monroe County government has confirmed an “intrusion” into its computer network from a source called “BlackSuit.” The cybersecurity breach shut down the county government for the whole week last week—from Monday, July 1 through July 5. A third-party vendor is helping

Column: Why not a ‘stone-ograph’ as a public art installation for Bloomington?

Column: Why not a ‘stone-ograph’ as a public art installation for Bloomington?

Some B Square readers might remember when music could be played on disks made of vinyl, which had little grooves, with wave forms molded into them, which were read by a phonograph needle to reveal the encoded sound. That might as well have been the Stone Age. I’d like