Category: Indiana

Bloomington mayor announces extras for fire, police like $100K housing loan with annual report: violent crime up, property crime down, fire response slower

The fire pole from the former fire station on Rogers Street, which is now home to Lotus Education & Arts Foundation, is housed at the Monroe County History Center.
From left: deputy mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael, police chief Mike Diekhoff, deputy police chief Scott Oldham, and fire chiefJason Moore
Bloomington police chief Mike Diekhoff.
Bloomington fire chief Jason Moore
Former deputy mayor Don Griffin and Bloomington public engagement director Kaisa Goodman.
Mayor John Hamilton addresses the audience on the occasion of the Feb. 9, 2023 annual public safety report.
Community and family resources department director Beverly Calender-Anderson
Monroe County councilor Jennifer Crossley
Bar chart by month of calls involving weapons.
Bloomington fire department response times.

At last Thursday’s unveiling of the city’s annual public safety report for 2022, Bloomington mayor John Hamilton took the occasion to announce a few new incentives that are meant to help recruit and retain firefighters and police officers.

Among those incentives is a $100,000 no-interest housing down payment loan that is completely forgivable at the rate of $10,000 a year for up to 10 police officers and 10 firefighters—if they buy a house inside the city limits.

The recruitment challenge can be seen in the current staffing levels.

At Thursday’s event, Bloomington police chief Mike Diekhoff announced the hire of five new officers, who will start at the end of February. That puts the department’s staffing level at 88 sworn officers, which is still 17 short of the budgeted number of 105.

Even though vacancies among Bloomington’s firefighters have in the last few years not been as many as among sworn police, on Thursday Hamilton noted that there are currently 9 vacancies among the 99 firefighter positions. Continue reading “Bloomington mayor announces extras for fire, police like $100K housing loan with annual report: violent crime up, property crime down, fire response slower” →

“We’ve gotta get moving on that,” says state rep on convention center project, given threat of tax sunset

The Monroe Convention Center expansion project needs to make some progress, state representative Democrat Rep. Matt Pierce (District 61) said at a Friday luncheon hosted by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce at The Mill.

Looming during this year’s legislative session is a threat to the project’s planned funding source, which is the county’s 1-percent food and beverage tax. The threat cited by Pierce is Senate Bill 37,  which has already been filed by Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill (District 25).

If SB 37 is passed, it would end food and beverage taxes across all counties in the state 20 years from now, on Jan. 1, 2043, or the date on which all bonds or lease agreements that are outstanding on May 7, 2023, are completely paid—whichever is later.

Pierce summed up the stalled effort of Bloomington and Monroe County government to collaborate on the convention center expansion like this: “We gotta get moving on that.”

Pierce was joined at the event by three other area state legislators: Sen. Eric Koch (District 44); Sen. Shelli Yoder (District 40); and Rep. Dave Hall (District 62).

Pierce’s comment on the convention center expansion came in response to a question from chamber CEO and president Eric Spoonmore.

The other three legislators didn’t comment on Spoonmore’s food and beverage tax question. Continue reading ““We’ve gotta get moving on that,” says state rep on convention center project, given threat of tax sunset” →

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

Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)
Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge Lake Monroe (Jan. 1, 2023)

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 least 40 people who managed to make their way into the frigid shallows near the shore.

Those hardy souls will be credited with participation in this year’s edition of the Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge. Continue reading “Frozen Lake Monroe means a breakthrough year for 2023 Bloomington Polar Bear Plunge” →

Recount confirms Hall as winner over Githens in state house District 62

Room 404 at the Indiana state house, where the recount commission met on Dec. 20, 2022.
From left: Left to right: Bradley King, co-counsel for the recount commission; Republican Party appointee Mark Wynn; secretary of state Holli Sullivan; Democratic Party appointee Michael Claytor; and Mathew Kochevar, co-counsel for the recount commission.
Recount commission co-counsel Matthew Kochevar.
Democratic Party appointee to the recount commission Michael Claytor holds aloft a ballot for review.
Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry.
Samantha Dewester, legal counsel for Dave Hall
Secretary of state Holli Sullivan.
Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry (standing) with Penny Githens.
Indiana state police first sergeant Brad Stille shows there’s nothing left in the ballot envelope that he just sliced open.
Indiana state police first sergeant Brad Stille hands over the ballot envelopes to general counsel for the state board of accounts, Kendra Leatherman.

Around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Indiana’s recount commission confirmed Republican Dave Hall as the winner of the election for District 62 state house over Democrat Penny Githens.

The final recounted tally was:

Penny Githens (D): 12,963
Dave Hall (R): 13,037

That’s a plurality of 74 for Hall.

The original tally was:

Penny Githens (D): 12,950
Dave Hall (R): 12,990

That was a plurality of 40 for Hall.

This brief has been updated with more detail below. Continue reading “Recount confirms Hall as winner over Githens in state house District 62” →

Manual recounting of ballots completed for District 62 state house, final results next week

Recount director Philip Sicuso (Dec. 14, 2022)
From left: Dee Owens, watcher for Penny Githens, and SBOA chief of staff Jennifer Gauger. (Dec. 14, 2022)
From left: Monroe County election board member Donovan Garletts, Monroe County election supervisor Karen Wheeler, and Jackson County clerk-elect Amanda Lowery. (Dec. 14, 2022)
(Dec. 14, 2022)
From left: Penny Githens, Dee Owens, and Susan Luther. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Election Central in Monroe County at 7th and Madison streets in Bloomington. (Dec. 14, 2022)
Recount activity in Monroe County at Election Central. (Dec. 14, 2022)

By around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, the recounting activity in Monroe County for the District 62 state house race between Republican Dave Hall and Democrat Penny Githens was completed.

That wrapped up the recounting for all of District 62, which also includes precincts in Brown and Jackson counties.

Recounting in Monroe County took place at Election Central in the old Johnson’s Hardware building at 7th and Madison streets.

The results of the recount won’t be finalized until the state recount commission meets next week.

The final certified tally of votes, before the recount, gave Hall 12,990 votes, which was 40 more than Democrat Penny Githens received.

Recount director Philip Sicuso told The B Square that the meeting has not yet been noticed to the public, but the recount commission plans to convene at 9 a.m. next Tuesday (Dec. 20) at the statehouse in Indianapolis. That’s the deadline for completion of the recount. Continue reading “Manual recounting of ballots completed for District 62 state house, final results next week” →

Bloomington brewery owner on threats against drag-themed brunch: “When you’re furious, get curious!”

On Sunday morning starting around 8:30 a.m. a cadre of Bloomington community members started gathering on the sidewalk in front of Switchyard Brewing on North Walnut Street in downtown.

They were there to support the business and to defend it against phoned-in threats that owner Kurtis Cummings had received about the “Drag Brunch” that was set for a 11 a.m. show start.

The threat was there would be a “presence” of protesters against the drag-show-themed brunch that would make Cummings want to shut down the event. One accusation Cummings heard over the phone was that drag shows sexualize and groom children for sexual abuse.

During the show, Cummings circulated from inside the bar to outside on the sidewalk among the crowd of supporters, which at one point reached at least 150 people.

Some supporters stayed until the show concluded and the drag queens had left the building.

As far as sexualized content, Cummings said what he’d seen on stage inside was less sexualized than some Super Bowl halftime shows.

Sunday’s ticketed brunch was sold out. The morning’s planned entertainment went off without any disruptions. Continue reading “Bloomington brewery owner on threats against drag-themed brunch: “When you’re furious, get curious!”” →

District 62 election update: Pre-recount visit done, sorting this week, followed by recounting next week

From left: Matthew Kochevar, David Henry, Bradley King, Phil Sicuso. (Dec. 7, 2023)
Monroe County election supervisor Karen Wheeler. (Dec. 7, 2023)
Monroe County Election Central meeting for pre-recount review. (Dec. 7, 2023)
From left: Karen Wheeler, David Henry, Matthew Kochevar, Cory Ray, Phil Sicuso. (Dec. 7, 2023)
From left: Cory Ray and Phil Sicuso. (Dec. 7, 2023)

On Wednesday, a group of state officials and interested parties to Indiana’s state house District 62 recount process made the rounds to the three affected counties, to complete the pre-recount procedures.

The race in District 62, which includes areas in Monroe, Brown and Jackson counties, was won by Republican Dave Hall, who had a certified tally of 12,990 votes. That was 40 more than Democrat Penny Githens received.

Election Day was Nov. 8.

On Wednesday, recount director Philip Sicuso indicated that some additional sorting and preparation would take place through the rest of this week. The recounting activity itself is to start next week (Dec. 12).

The recounting in Monroe County is not expected to start until 8 a.m. Wednesday morning (Dec. 14), Sicuso said. Continue reading “District 62 election update: Pre-recount visit done, sorting this week, followed by recounting next week” →

Recount for 40-vote margin: Monroe County Dems to ask for hand re-tally in Hall-Githens District 62 race

The Monroe County Democratic Party will petition the Indiana state election division for a recount of votes in  the state house representative District 62 race, which was won by Republican Dave Hall over Democrat Penny Githens.

Left: Penny Githens (D). Right: Dave Hall (R). In these photos, they were giving stump speeches at a candidate event hosted by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce held on Oct. 3, 2022.

That’s according to a news release issued by the MCDP on Monday morning.

The news release cites the 40-vote margin as the reason for the recount request.

MCDP chair David Henry is quoted in the release saying, “In such extremely close races, a recount is simply about exercising our candidate’s rights under the law, and crossing every t, and dotting every i.”

The procedure for election recounts in the state of Indiana is spelled out in three places: state election law; the state recount commission’s recount procedure manual; and the procedures manual for the state board of accounts.

Under state law, the deadline for a county party to petition for a recount is 17 days after the election, which translates this year to Monday (Nov. 28), due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Barring botched paperwork or failure to hit deadlines, state law indicates that the state recount commission has to order a recount. Continue reading “Recount for 40-vote margin: Monroe County Dems to ask for hand re-tally in Hall-Githens District 62 race” →

Dems ask for recount of 4-vote margin in Benton Township board race

A recount in the Benton Township board race has now been requested by the Monroe County Democratic Party.

In the Benton Township board race, where the top three vote getters win election, Democrat Hans Kelson finished fourth, missing third-place by a 4-vote margin. The third-place finisher was Republican Jake Dodds.

Under state election law, a recount request for a township board race takes the form of a petition filed  with the circuit court. The announcement of the recount petition filing came on Wednesday from Monroe County Democratic chair David Henry.

In the same announcement, Henry wrote that the Democratic party is still weighing a possible recount request in the District 62 state house race.

The District 62 race was won by Republican Dave Hall over Democrat Penny Githens with a post-provisional ballot count margin of 40 votes. The 17-day period for a county chair to ask for a recount translates into next Monday, due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Because Monroe County has the largest population of the three counties covered by District 62, it would fall to the county chair of Monroe County to file for a recount in that race. Continue reading “Dems ask for recount of 4-vote margin in Benton Township board race” →

Kerry Thomson kicks off campaign for Bloomington mayor: “A public that labels itself ‘progressive’ deserves to see some progress.”

Kerry Thomson’s husband, Babak Seradjeh
Kerry Thomson was introduced at Thursday’s Switchyard Brewing kickoff by her daughter, Caroline.
Kerry Thomson, candidate for Bloomington mayor in 2023.
Crowd at Kerry Thomson kickoff event on Nov. 17, 2022 at Switchyard Brewing.
Crowd at Kerry Thomson kickoff event on Nov. 17, 2022 at Switchyard Brewing.

On Thursday, at a gathering of nearly 200 people at Switchyard Brewing on Walnut Street in downtown Bloomington, Kerry Thomson kicked off her 2023 campaign to become Bloomington’s next mayor.

About an hour before Thomson’s event, incumbent mayor Democrat John Hamilton had announced that he won’t be seeking a third four-year term.

Thomson led off her remarks with a recognition of Hamilton’s news: “I don’t know if anybody has heard, but John Hamilton decided he’s not running.”

She added, “We are grateful for his service to the city. And we are building forward with new leadership in the city of Bloomington—that’s what we know.”

So far at least, there are two declared candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor in the 2023 race—Thomson and city council president Susan Sandberg. Their candidacies won’t become official until they file the paperwork in early 2023.

Since late 2018, Thomson has served as executive director of Indiana University’s Center for Rural Engagement (IUCRE). The center’s website describes the IU initiative as tapping the research, expertise, teaching, and service of IU Bloomington faculty, staff, and students to create connections between non-land-grant, research institutions and rural communities.

Thursday’s gathering was Thomson’s second public campaign event. In June, at Bloomington Bagel Company on Dunn Street, she hosted a celebration of her announcement that she was making a mayoral bid. Continue reading “Kerry Thomson kicks off campaign for Bloomington mayor: “A public that labels itself ‘progressive’ deserves to see some progress.”” →