Sign in Subscribe

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.

7 months into term, Bloomington mayor gives update, ‘throwing back the curtains’ on inherited problems from previous administration

7 months into term, Bloomington mayor gives update, ‘throwing back the curtains’ on inherited problems from previous administration

In a report released late Monday, about seven and a half months into her four-year term, Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson says about her administration, “We are throwing back the curtains of government…” That means the report includes some revelations by Thomson about the state of affairs she discovered, after taking

$167K: Lighted ‘pickup sticks’ artwork for Bloomington Trades District finally looks on course to be installed, with big cost increase since 2021

$167K: Lighted ‘pickup sticks’ artwork for Bloomington Trades District finally looks on course to be installed, with big cost increase since 2021

At its meeting last Monday, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) approved a revision to a contract with Weber Group II, LLC to fabricate a piece of art by German artist Stefan Reiss to be installed in the Trades District. The revision raised the amount of the contract by $33,825—

Expected Monday: Green Acres conservation district vote by Bloomington historic preservation group

Expected Monday: Green Acres conservation district vote by Bloomington historic preservation group

Next Monday at 5 p.m. in a city hall conference room, Bloomington’s historic preservation commission (HPC) has set a special meeting, to consider a single piece of business: an application to designate about 125 acres in the eastern central part of the city as a conservation district. [Updated

Annexation update: Bloomington mayor, city council to hold closed-door meeting on litigation

Annexation update: Bloomington mayor, city council to hold closed-door meeting on litigation

Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson has called a closed-door meeting with the city council for next Wednesday evening (Aug 14), to brief councilmembers on the city’s pending annexation litigation. Under state law, the discussion of pending litigation is one of several reasons why a public agency can hold a meeting

Randy Cassady now officially off ballot for Monroe County commissioner

Randy Cassady now officially off ballot for Monroe County commissioner

Randy Cassady will not appear on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot as the Republican Party’s nominee for District 2 Monroe County commissioner. At a Thursday afternoon meeting of Monroe County’s three-member election board, the hearing on the challenge to Randy Cassady’s eligibility as a candidate was dispatched

Convenience store rezone OK’d by Monroe County even without sewer connection, developer’s attorney says ‘We’ve made public health a political football.’

Convenience store rezone OK’d by Monroe County even without sewer connection, developer’s attorney says ‘We’ve made public health a political football.’

A project consisting of a convenience store, gas station, and office, which is planned for a spot west of Bloomington, got a requested rezone from Monroe County commissioners on Wednesday. The vote was 3–0. The approve came even after last week it was denied a requested sewer connection by

Second lower court order against Bloomington: ‘[T]he annexation of Areas 1A and 1B shall not take place’

Second lower court order against Bloomington: ‘[T]he annexation of Areas 1A and 1B shall not take place’

In the trial on the merits for two big annexation areas west and southwest of Bloomington, a circuit court judge has ruled in favor of remonstrators—that is, against the city of Bloomington. It was mid-afternoon on Wednesday, when judge Nathan Nikirk, out of Lawrence County, issued his order that