July 7, 2025: Property transfers, parade, county fair, AG lawsuit
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Weather
Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here’s some advice:
Monday: Plan to wear something that will dry fast, because chances are you’ll think you can get away without an umbrella to deal with the threat of thunderstorms from the morning through about 5 p.m. The forecasted high temperature is around 83°F.
Tuesday: Wear sunblock and shades for the early part of the day. After about 2 p.m. there’s a smallish threat of thunderstorms. The forecasted high temperature is around 88°F.
Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.
Quick notes
20 years of Bloom Magazine!! The B Square’s style guide says to use exclamation marks “sparingly.” So I used only two, one for each decade that Malcolm Abrams has been publishing Bloom Magazine. Congratulations to Malcolm on this remarkable milestone.
Drinking water issues? In the last couple of days, there have been some complaints logged in Bloomington’s uReport system about water quality. I’m not sure what’s going on but over the weekend, I sent a question to the city asking if there is some known issue. Last week, the city of Bloomington issued a news release announcing the release of its annual drinking water report.
Downtown police foot patrols. Having seen some uniformed police officers out of their vehicles walking around downtown, I emailed chief of police Mike Diekhoff with a question about it. They are foot patrols. Diekhoff wrote that the patrols are meant “to deal with issues that arise from people who hang out on Kirkwood,” adding, “We will continue them while it is warm out and more people are walking around down there.”
Roundup of recent articles
- Monroe County sheriff’s office: Saturday fireworks death appears accidental. According to a news release from the Monroe County sheriff’s department, a man died late Saturday night (July 5) in a fireworks-related incident. Around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, sheriff’s deputies responded to a report about the incident in the 7000 block of W. Tabor Hill Road.
- Monroe County property transfers: June 20 to July 1, 2025. This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven't previously been reported by The B Square, ranging between June 20, 2025 and July 1, 2025. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county's online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
- Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish. Hawk: If you were to write a document announcing that you were no longer going to remain anchored to the top of the courthouse, where you are forced to indicate which direction the air is moving, what would you call it? What does Fish say? Figure out your answer. Then click through to check your wit.
- Fatal motorcycle crash on SR 45 near Monroe County airport. In a news release issued Saturday night (July 5), the Monroe County sheriff’s department reported a fatal motorcycle crash west of Bloomington at the intersection of SR 45 and Airport Road. The crash took place around 6 p.m.
- Photos: Bloomington Fourth of July parade (2025). Bloomington's Fourth of July Parade took place on Friday morning. Cheerleaders, bicyclists, political groups, and families were out in force. Photographer Juliette Kniola was out along the route to capture these images.
- Photos: Scenes from the Monroe County Fair—it’s not over yet. The Monroe County Fair has a full schedule of events through Saturday (July 5) at the Monroe County fairgrounds including the demolition derby and music. The tunes start with John Kogge, followed by Jim Hayden and The Country Playboys. On Sunday, rides are offered at bargain prices.
- Infrastructure notebook: 3rd Street sidewalk fencing slated for repair, material backordered. The sidewalk on the north side of 3rd Street running from Walnut Street up to the B-Line Trail is closed due to the failure of a railing. On Tuesday, public works director Adam Wason told the board of public works: “We are doing everything we can possibly do to try to get that sidewalk open.”
- Photos: Monroe County Fair rodeo, from mutton busting to barrel racing. On Thursday night (July 3), the Monroe County Fair featured a rodeo produced by Fiddler Cattle Company. Photographer Juliette Kniola was there to capture these images of mutton busting, bull riding and barrel racing.
- Judge rejects Monroe County sheriff’s motion to dismiss AG’s lawsuit over immigration enforcement. After a ruling against Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté, Indiana attorney general (AG) Todd Rokita’s lawsuit against the sheriff is still pending. Special judge Lucas Rudisill denied Marté’s motion to dismiss the AG’s lawsuit over the sheriff’s local policy on enforcement of immigration laws.
On the calendar
Hopewell West: $1.7 million. A contract worth $1,687,319 with Crider & Crider, Inc. for street construction work appears on the Bloomington redevelopment commission’s (RDC’s) 5 p.m. Monday (July 7) meeting agenda. The streets to be (re)constructed are Jackson Street and Rogers Street from 1st Street to 2nd Street.
Local music. The Sweet May Dews are opening for Lily Unless & The If Onlys at the Orbit Room at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9. For some B Square background, see this piece from 2021: Column: Feed pigeons fresh clay, don’t use file photos.
Book Swap: Morgenstern’s. On Sunday, July 20, Morgenstern’s is hosting a book swap from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. All books have to be in good condition and printed in the last 10 years. There's a limit of 5 books to swap per participant.
Vacancy caucus. The Monroe County Democratic Party will be holding a vacancy caucus to elect a new chair of the party on July 20 at 3 p.m in Bloomington's city hall. For B Square background, see: Ujdak resigns as chair of Monroe County Dems after 3 1/2 months, calls for ‘direct action’ to improve lives of others
Meet Ketchup!
Up for adoption, as of July 6, 2025, at the city of Bloomington's animal shelter is Ketchup. Here's another link: all animals up for adoption at the shelter. (The photos are from the city's website.)
This very, very good boy is a hound mix. It’s good that the staff did not spell his name the wrong way for a dog (Catsup). Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Ketchup:
Warm, snuggly naps? Check. Chasing toys? You got it. Romping and wrestling? Sign him up! Whatever you have planned for the day, Ketchup is ready and waiting to be your wingman. "Play hard, nap hard" is his motto, and he promises endless fun through your days together.
Photo Finish: Kirkwood Avenue & Washington Street
Four-sided public bulletin board. No matter what direction you look, it's a Brian Wilson Tribute at the Sinkhole on July 12, 2025 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Sinkhole.
The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.
The geographic coverage of the B There section is pretty limited. Please consider occasionally contributing to the B There section some brief factual observations about the world outside your own head, as you go about your normal business. (Photos are optional for B There.) The mechanics of making a contribution are pretty straightforward—just let me know if you'd like to learn the ins and outs. If you're looking at this bulletin in your email inbox, you should be able to reach me by hitting Reply.
Thanks for reading. I hope your week is off to a great start!
Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com
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