May 4, 2025: Election Day, Trojan Horse, school districts, traffic signals, shooting suspect

Civic Solver

This week’s puzzle is a 10-question news quiz based on B Square coverage from last week. It’s multiple choice. Please do not brag too much when you get 10 out of 10, which I think you will.

Weather Talk

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

Monday: Take rain gear or an umbrella when you head out this morning. Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. the chance of rain is not big at just 30%, but that includes thunderstorms. Otherwise it will be partly sunny, with a high near 78F°.

Tuesday: Vote early to avoid the rain. But take rain gear or an umbrella all day on Election Day. There’s less of a chance of rain earlier in the day—it’s around 30-50% from 6 a.m. when polls open until 9 a.m., when the chance increases to around 70%. After noon it is going to rain until well after the polls close at 6 p.m.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system

Recent articles

• Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish.  Hawk is constipated after eating Scrabble tiles. What advice does Fish give him?
• Monroe County property transfers through April 27, 2026.  This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from March 20 to April 27, 2026. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county’s online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
• MCCSC board to start digesting findings from yearlong redistricting effort.  At its April 28 board meeting, MCCSC staff presented key findings from a redistricting commission, showing boundary changes could better balance student populations but would involve trade-offs. The presentation included no specific maps. A full report has not yet been released.
• Editor’s Notebook: Trojan Horse not dead, just moving up the road.  The Trojan Horse will leave its longtime Kirkwood corner for Ellettsville in August. That’s the sad news confirmed by veteran server Pat on Friday night.
• New signal timing gives pedestrians head start at downtown Bloomington intersections.  Bloomington is installing pedestrian-first signal timing at downtown intersections, funded by a state safety program. The change builds on a city-council-initiated 2021 no-turn-on-red ordinance and later council actions. LPI timing gives peds a head start before vehicles get a green light.
• Bloomington police looking for shooting suspect wearing shark- or dolphin-style backpack.  Bloomington police have released images of a man they call a “person of interest” in the April 26 Kirkwood Avenue shooting, highlighting his shark- or dolphin-style backpack. Investigators urge anyone who recognizes him to contact detective Chris Scott at 812-339-4477 or scottc@bloomington.in.gov
• Monroe County commissioners OK $11.375M North Park land deal for jail; now to county council.  Monroe County commissioners voted 3–0 to approve an $11.375M purchase agreement for the North Park site, in a next step for a long-disputed jail project, under pressure from ACLU litigation deadlines. The deal now heads to the county council, which has expressed opposition to the North Park site.

Quick Notes

Where to vote on Election Day: Tuesday, May 5. Tuesday is primary Election Day. If you’re new around here, and you are accustomed to voting at any polling location that you think seems convenient, think again. Polling locations in Monroe County are assigned based on where you live. You have to vote at your assigned location. To find your assigned location, use the state’s online lookup tool.

Where to vote on Election Day: Tuesday, May 5. To find election results after the polls close at 6 p.m. check the Monroe County GIS team’s voting results dashboard. The B Square will also have close to live results somewhere, but the live reporting from Election Central by The B Square has not yet been published, so I can’t give you the link yet! Bear in mind that the initial results are typically not available until at least an hour after the polls close and often later than that.

On the calendar

Last day of early voting until noon. The last day of early voting, which ends at noon on Monday (May 4), takes place at the same location as it has in the four weeks to the runup to Election Day on Tuesday. That’s the North Showers building at 9th Street and Morton Street in downtown Bloomington.

Bloomington Transit Public Hearings: West Side Route Changes. Here’s the schedule of hearings on proposed westside route changes for public buses. For B Square background, see: Ridership slide fuels Bloomington Transit strategy shift: bigger buses, route rethink.

• Monday May 4, 5 p.m.
  Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington, 200 Daniels Way
• Wednesday May 6, 12 p.m.
  Downtown Transit Center 301 S. Walnut St.
• Thursday May 7, 4 p.m.
  Downtown Transit Center 301 S. Walnut St.

Residential TIF and neighborhood improvement grants. On the 5 p.m. Monday (May 4) meeting agenda for Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) are the annual neighborhood improvement grants and the final step in establishing a residential TIF district for the Summit District on the city’s southwest side. For B Square background, see: Bloomington council OKs residential TIF for Summit, now back to RDC for final step .

Extension of College-Walnut corridor contract? The board of public works normally meets on Tuesdays, but that’s Election Day, so the meeting has been shifted to Monday. On the 5:30 p.m. Monday (May 4) meeting agenda is an extension of days for the contract with Toole Design to conduct the College-Walnut corridor study.

The contract expired on Oct. 31, 2025. The extension is just through Dec. 12, 2025. It’s not clear what’s going on here, because even with the extension, the contract expired over four months ago. The paperwork looks like it was prepared on Oct. 23, 2025. Perhaps the paperwork was prepared, and no one in the legal department remembered that it was supposed to be put in front of the board of public works.

May 5 Primary Election Day. Polls open starting at 6 a.m. Find your polling location using the online lookup tool. Check results on the Monroe County results dashboard.

Hopewell South PUD, Cottage Grove. Back on the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (May 6) meeting agenda for Bloomington’s city council is the Hopewell South PUD. Appearing on the agenda for the first time is a proposal to enact some historic protections for the Cottage Grove area in central Bloomington. For B Square background from several months ago, see: Historic protections sought for area between 10th, 12th streets in central Bloomington

Ms. Lake Lemon: May 16. Start your training regimen now. This amazing contest of skill is to be held at Riddle Point Park this year. Monitor the Ms. Lake Lemon Facebook page for details, as they become available. The B Square covered last year’s inaugural event.

Meet Buddy Boy!

This very, very good boy is a redbone coonhound. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Buddy Boy:

I am a good ol' boy looking for a buddy of my own. I'm a little nervous, but I come out of my shell with lots of cuddles.

Photo Finish: 6th Street & Walnut Street

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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