Situation Desk

Snow impact: Bloomington trash pickup delayed indefinitely, no MCCSC school on Monday

Heavy snowfall has prompted many closures and delays across Bloomington. The city has suspended regular trash pickup starting Monday, while MCCSC canceled school and eLearning. The College Avenue skywalk closure is delayed a day, and travel remains restricted under a county “Warning.”

City of Bloomington trash and recycling carts set out along College Avenue. They won’t be picked up on the regular Monday schedule. (Dave Askins, Jan. 25, 2026)

The heavy snowfall that started late Saturday afternoon (Jan. 24) means there will be no regular trash pickup for city of Bloomington trash cart customers on Monday (Jan. 26) and possibly the rest of the week. The city sanitation division wants customers to keep their trash carts away from the street until announcements are made saying when the trash collection service will resume.

Other local snow-related impacts include an announcement from Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) that there will be no school and no eLearning for MCCSC students on Monday.

The planned Monday closure of College Avenue to allow for the installation of the skywalk connecting the existing convention center facility to the expansion will be delayed by a day, according to Weddle Bros., the construction manager for the project.

Monroe County Public Libraries are closed on Monday.

Monroe County’s travel advisory status as of mid-afternoon on Sunday was “Warning” which means that people are directed to: refrain from all travel; comply with necessary emergency measures; cooperate with public officials and disaster services forces in executing emergency operations plans; and obey and comply with the lawful directions of properly identified officers.

As of early afternoon Sunday the National Weather Service was reporting 10 and 11 inches of snow for locations inside Bloomington city limits.

The NWS forecast for Bloomington calls for snow ending by late Sunday night, but a day-time high of just 8F° and overnight lows near zero or single digits the next few days. Even if no new accumulation is forecasted, gusty winds are expected to drive the snow that’s already on the ground into drifts.

On a midday walking tour of downtown Bloomington on Sunday, The B Square saw city snowplows in action on 3rd Street, College Avenue and Walnut Street. Square Donuts on 17th Street was closed. The CVS on 14th Street was open.