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.

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

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

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,

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-

Bloomington shooting suspect arrested in Spencer

Bloomington shooting suspect arrested in Spencer

A suspect in a late Tuesday afternoon shooting on Bloomington’s west side has been arrested in the town of Spencer, about 15 miles northwest of the city, according to a Bloomington police department (BPD) news release on Wednesday. About 8 hours after he is alleged to have shot a

Bloomington Transit OKs 5-year deal, will get $3.8 million annually from city’s local income tax

Bloomington Transit OKs 5-year deal, will get $3.8 million annually from city’s local income tax

Bloomington Transit will receive at least $3.8 million a year for the next five years from the city of Bloomington, under an interlocal agreement approved by BT’s five-member board at its final meeting of the year, on Dec. 20. The agreement still needs to win approval from

Animal accord for Bloomington, Monroe County, Ellettsville, gets routine OK from city council

Animal accord for Bloomington, Monroe County, Ellettsville, gets routine OK from city council

Even if Bloomington and Monroe county government officials have recently been fighting like cats and dogs about topics like the convention center expansion, they have for several years settled into a pattern of uncontroversial cooperation for the sheltering of homeless animals. At its last meeting of the year, on Dec.