June 22, 2026: Juneteenth photos; ICE-detainer law ruling; jail-site group canceled; Seminary Pointe land swap?

Civic Solver

We’re skipping the puzzle for this week.

Weather Talk

Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here’s some advice.

Monday: Take an umbrella because this is one of those days where you will not be lucky enough to dodge the scattered showers through the day, and you will be the person everyone else asks: How did you know it was going to rain? The correct answer: Because I am a weather genius. The high will be around 68F°.

Tuesday: Dress light and cool because it will be warmer than Monday with partly sunny skies to start, then full-on sun, with a high near 80F°.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system

Recent articles

• Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish.  Hawk comes up with a bad joke, because he is working alone.
• Monroe County property transfers through June 18, 2026.  This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from May 22 to June 18, 2026. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county’s online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
• Photos: Juneteenth 2026 in Bloomington’s Switchyard Park.  Music was at the center of the city of Bloomington’s 2026 Juneteenth celebration at Switchyard Park on Friday, starting with a midday performance by Indiana University Camp S.O.U.L. students, followed by evening sets by The Lucky Sevens and Jenn Cristy.
• Federal court declines to block Indiana ICE-detainer law before July 1 effective date.  A federal judge denied Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté’s request for a preliminary injunction to block Indiana’s new ICE-detainer law before July 1, citing the political subdivision doctrine. The constitutional challenge remains unresolved, with Rokita’s dismissal motion still pending.
• Monroe County judges, sheriff decline jail-site working group role, first meeting canceled.  A jail-site working group formed by county and city officials last week missed its first meeting for lack of a quorum. Judges and the sheriff’s office declined to participate, leaving the panel about three weeks to recommend a location amid potential litigation over jail conditions.
• Hotel timeline narrows window for Seminary Pointe land swap in downtown Bloomington.  Seminary Pointe’s future as a convention center host-hotel site remains likely, despite a push from affordable housing advocates for a land swap with the RDC-owned College Square lot. The CIB says it does not plan to respond to the RDC College Square offering.

Other Important Notes

School board elections. Three MCCSC school board seats are up for election this year. The deadline for filing was (Thursday) June 18 by noon. Candidates for the seats that are up for election have to live in District 1, District 3, or District 7. Here’s a useful link: MCCSC school board districts. The most recent information from the election division is that the following candidates filed their paperwork: Erin Wyatt (District 1); Ashley Pirani (District 3); Aja Jester, Cole Pospisil (District 7)

Race Across America (RAAM): Bloomington stop. The west to east Race Across America bicycle race stops through Bloomington again this year, using the same route as in past years, which uses the SR 46 bypass to get around the city before heading out SR 46 to Nashville, Columbus, and on to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s an imperfect science to predict when the leader will hit Bloomington, but based on current location and average speed up to now, it looks like Philipp Kaider will arrive in Bloomington around 4 p.m. Monday (June 22). If you want to go stand by the road and watch him pedal past, use the live tracking link. For last year’s coverage, see: Photos: Cross-country bicycle race leader stops through Bloomington.

On the calendar

Put Ellettsville-Richland Township merger on ballot? On the 6:45 p.m. Monday (June 22) meeting agenda for the Ellettsville town council and the Richland Township boards is a vote on the question of putting in front of voters a proposal to consolidate the town and township governments into a single entity. For B Square background see: Ellettsville, Richland Township OK fiscal impact for merger; police coverage issue gets sharpened

Purchase agreement for BT operations center. On the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (June 23) meeting agenda for the Bloomington Transit board is authorization to sign the purchase agreement for a parcel west of town so that BT can construct a new operations center there. For B Square background, see: $3.6M appraisal accepted for future Bloomington Transit operations center property

Redefining working subgroup on jail site. On the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (June 23) meeting agenda for the Monroe County council is a resolution that would possibly reset the membership of a working group tasked with recommending a site for a new jail, reducing the number from eight to six, to reflect the fact that the sheriff and the board of judges have declined to participate. That should help with future quorum issues. For B Square background, see: Monroe County judges, sheriff decline jail-site working group role, first meeting canceled.

Second try for working jail-site working group? The latest information that The B Square has on prospects for the next meeting of the jail site working group is that an attempt will be made to set a meeting for Wednesday (June 24). The Monroe County government calendar is a good place to monitor that.

Bingo Brunch at Cardinal Spirits: June 28. It’s every Sunday 12-2 p.m. at Cardinal Spirits: Bingo Brunch with celebrity callers! You might wonder: What is the Cardinal Spirits definition of celebrity? It needs to be flexible enough to include ... me, the founder of The B Square. I plan to apply all the principles I have learned about government meeting procedures to bingo calling—in the best possible way! You have never heard letters and numbers sound so great. What kind of prizes can you win? How about a hat?

Carwash fundraiser: July 18. Is your car filthy? Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana invites the community to support the 17th Annual Crew for Kids fundraiser on Saturday, July 18, 2026, with a rain date of Saturday, July 25. For one day only, visit a participating Crew Carwash location and purchase an Ultimate or Ultimate 360 wash. Fifty percent of the cost will be donated directly to Big Brothers Big Sisters, helping join Bigs and Littles together for effective mentorship and impacting lives for the better through meaningful one-to-one relationships. Bloomington participants can visit Crew Carwash at 235 South Pete Ellis Drive or 3430 West 3rd Street.

Meet Ludo!

This very, very good boy is a Belgian Malinois-Australian mix. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Ludo:

Ludo is a sensitive Belgian Malinois-Australian shepherd mix who loves playing fetch, bopping around a soccer ball and running through training routines! Ludo has done well meeting other dogs, although he is something of a wallflower at first. Ludo would thrive in an active home with someone either experienced with high-energy working breeds or is ready for a companion who loves to learn and practice his skills!

Photo Finish: 2nd Street & Eagleson Avenue

The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.

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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