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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.

City council committee to mull question of Showers building purchase for Bloomington police station

City council committee to mull question of Showers building purchase for Bloomington police station

The Bloomington police station’s move from its current 3rd Street facility to the western part of the historic Showers building that houses city hall has still not been decided by the city council. Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s idea is to incorporate the police station, as well as the

High expectations set for new elected officials in Monroe County at swearing-in ceremony

High expectations set for new elected officials in Monroe County at swearing-in ceremony

Voters in Monroe County, Indiana, elected a total of 61 local officials in 2022, who start their terms of office on Jan. 1, 2023. That includes judges, a county commissioner, the sheriff, the recorder, the clerk, the assessor, the prosecutor, county councilors, town councilors, township trustees, township board members, and

Frozen Lake Monroe means a breakthrough year for 2023 Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge

Frozen Lake Monroe means a breakthrough year for 2023 Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge

Even though daytime high temperatures have reached the 50s for the last four days, on New Year’s Day, a 3-inch layer of ice crusted over much of the water at Lake Monroe’s Paynetown Recreation Area beach. Still, around 10 o’clock Sunday morning, The B Square counted at

Column: Looking ahead to local government news in 2023 like a goose landing on a half frozen pond

Column: Looking ahead to local government news in 2023 like a goose landing on a half frozen pond

A week ago, up at Miller-Showers Park, a flock of Canada geese banked overhead and came in for a landing on the southernmost stormwater detention pond. The surface was half frozen, because a couple days before the temperature had dropped to –8 F. As elegant as geese appear in flight

AFSCME pay increases of 5% to 18% in first year OK’d by Bloomington city council in 2023 salary ordinance

AFSCME pay increases of 5% to 18% in first year OK’d by Bloomington city council in 2023 salary ordinance

The recently approved four-year collective bargaining agreement between the city of Bloomington and its AFSCME union is now covered in the city’s salary ordinance. At its final meeting of the year, on Dec. 21, Bloomington’s city council approved a change to the salary ordinance that sets pay for

Recount confirms Dodds for Benton Township board, election finally over in Monroe County

Recount confirms Dodds for Benton Township board, election finally over in Monroe County

Republican Jake Dodds has been confirmed as winning one of the three seats on the Benton Township board in Monroe County, Indiana. The result of a manual recount of the ballots, which concluded Thursday morning around 11 a.m., provided a 3-vote margin for Dodds over fourth-place finisher, Democrat Hans

Analysis: Three years, two parties on Bloomington’s all-Democrat city council

Analysis: Three years, two parties on Bloomington’s all-Democrat city council

Whenever there’s a 5-to-4 or 4-to-5 tally on the nine-member Bloomington city council, it’s become a pretty standard joke: Did the vote fall along party lines? It’s only funny because all nine members of the city council are Democrats. And the make-up of “the five” and “the