The B Square’s Most Recent 20
This is a list of the B Square Bulletin’s 20 most recent headlines with links to articles and the 300-character synopsis of each article.
Sept. 14, 2026: Health administrator fired, wrongful termination suit planned; new liquor-permit rules; judges nix inmate-transfers. This edition includes a report on Monroe County’s fired health administrator, who plans a wrongful termination suit. Also: Bloomington adopts liquor-permit rules with a local-ownership standard. And a refusal by judges to authorize inmate transfers keeps big costs out of the sheriff’s 2027 budget.
Monroe County jail notebook: Population hits week-long stretch over ACLU functional limit. Monroe County’s jail population stood at 237 Saturday, ending a full week above the ACLU’s 229 functional-capacity figure. The jail’s 10-day rolling average has fallen by about 20 since late July, while records show substantial turnover among people who are incarcerated.
Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish. Fish shows he’s oh so fancy by using an umlaut in his street name suggestion. Because nothing says you’re smart and sophisticated better than two dots over a letter!
Monroe County property transfers through Sept. 8, 2026. This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from Aug. 18 to Sept. 8, 2026. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county’s online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
Health administrator fired, plans wrongful termination suit against Monroe County. Monroe County health administrator Lori Kelley has been fired, her attorney says, and plans an EEOC charge and lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Her departure comes as the health department is struggling with nursing vacancies.
Bloomington adopts liquor-permit rules covering new state slots, historic district. Bloomington’s city council has adopted rules for deciding which businesses get city backing for lower-cost liquor permits outside the normal population-based quota. The framework includes a 50% local-ownership standard.
Order from judges means no big inmate-transfer costs for Monroe County sheriff’s 2027 budget. A multimillion-dollar plan to move 50 to 100 Monroe County jail inmates to other counties is absent from Sheriff Ruben Marté’s proposed 2027 budget after judges declined to authorize the transfers. Jail population remains above Marté’s functional-capacity benchmark.
Sept. 10, 2026: Local income tax increase, jail lawsuit timetable, end of summer. This morning's edition includes reports on a local income tax that has been enacted, the timetable for the ACLU’s lawsuit over conditions at the Monroe County jail, and a column from the editor about the end of summer.
Monroe County income tax rate to rise to 2.205% in 2027. Monroe County’s income tax rate will rise from 2.14% to 2.205% on Jan. 1 after the county council voted unanimously to restore the juvenile-services rate to 0.095%. The increase amounts to $32.50 a year more for a taxpayer with $50,000 of taxable income.
Federal court sets timetable for Monroe County jail lawsuit, with key motions due in March 2027. A new federal court order puts the Monroe County jail lawsuit on a schedule stretching into 2027, with discovery starting this month and key motions due in March next year. Meanwhile, county officials remain divided over where and how to replace the aging jail.
Editor’s Note: Summer in Bloomington is over. Labor Day weekend, Bloomington’s 4th Street Festival, music and dancing all point toward summer’s end. But a typewritten poem about the courthouse hawk and fish gives the season one last gift, and captures a piece of what makes Bloomington home.
Sept. 7, 2026: Downtown Bloomington shooting; Indiana ICE agreements; jail population dashboard; election complaint dismissal; Trent Green. This morning's edition includes reports on a downtown Bloomington shooting, questions over local authorization of Indiana ICE agreements, Monroe County jail population and a new dashboard, dismissal of assessor-candidate complaints, and Trent Green's Bloomington return.
Shooting in downtown Bloomington leaves 19-year-old man wounded. A 19-year-old man was shot in the neck and shoulder near Kirkwood Avenue and Lincoln Street early Sunday and was taken to IU Health Bloomington in stable condition. Witnesses told police the gunman fled in a vehicle. The investigation is ongoing, and no suspect has been identified.
Indiana police agencies have signed dozens of ICE agreements. Did local governments authorize them?. ICE now has 45 immigration-enforcement agreements with 42 Indiana agencies, including tiny Stinesville. But a B Square review found the public record does not always show whether local elected bodies properly authorized the deals before they got signed.
Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish. Fish learns that Camus doesn’t rhyme with famous.
Monroe County jail notebook: Population at or below ACLU capacity mark for 3 days, county rolls out new data dashboard. Monroe County’s jail population fell to 227 Saturday, marking three straight days at or below the ACLU’s 229-person functional-capacity figure. A new county dashboard now provides daily jail data. Since July 21, the population has fallen by 20, with substantial inmate turnover.
Monroe County property transfers through Aug. 28, 2026. This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from Aug. 17 to Aug. 28, 2026. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county’s online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
Former IU quarterback Trent Green on keeping the ball: ‘Know the down and distance.’. Former IU quarterback Trent Green returned to Bloomington Friday to unveil Dr Pepper’s “Fan Wall of Fame” mural on Kirkwood Avenue. Green also answered a question from The B Square about Fernando Mendoza’s championship-game run and his own two rushing TDs in the 1991 Copper Bowl.
Monroe County election board dismisses complaint against assessor candidate Trimble. Monroe County’s election board dismissed dueling election-law complaints between Democrat incumbent assessor Judy Sharp and independent challenger Lisa Jeneé Trimble. That leaves their dispute to voters to decide on Nov. 3.
Sept. 3, 2026: City council hires attorney; potential $8.8M student housing deal; street-camping arrest; food inspections. In this morning's edition: Bloomington’s council hires Jake Rossman as staff attorney; Methodists move toward an $8.8M South Lot sale for student housing; a man is released after his second street-camping arrest; and July food-inspection results are in.