Nov. 10, 2025: Commercial agriculture, marketing districts, high school football, voting

Weather Talk

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

Monday: Slow down. Put on the warmest coat and the warmest hat you own, make sure your windshield scraper is handy. Snow is likely before 1 p.m. but the accumulation is expected to be less than a half inch. As part of the first snow of the year, it will be enough to wreak havoc. Just slow down. The high is expected to be just around 35F°.

Tuesday: Wear something warm that will also stave off the wind and wet even if it will be slightly warmer than Monday. Chances for rain after 1 p.m. are as good as 50%. The high will be around 43F°. The steady wind will be between 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.

Roundup of recent articles

• Bloomington says no to commercial urban agriculture use in residential areas.  Bloomington’s city council voted 7–1 to reject an ordinance creating a new “urban agriculture” land use allowing outdoor garden classes and small-scale commercial farming in residential areas. Supporters cited food security; opponents called it the wrong approach to allowing outside teaching.
• Monroe County property transfers through Nov. 6, 2025.  This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from Oct. 16 to Nov. 6, 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: Was talking to a father buffalo, whose first-born male child went off to school to study to be a mascot. When he left, you know what the dad said? What does Fish say in reply?
• ‘Stadium District’ sidelined: Bloomington council votes 7–1 to nix naming plan for now.  Bloomington’s city council voted 7–1 on Wednesday to postpone indefinitely a proposal to name the area around Miller-Showers Park the “Stadium District.” Neighbors objected to the branding effort, saying it ignored residents and would amplify unwanted “stadium culture.”
• Panthers roar back with late rally for football sectional title over rival Cougars, 31-28.  For the second straight week, Bloomington South mounted a late comeback—this time beating rival Bloomington North 31-28 on a last-second 18-yard field goal by freshman Sam Stolberg. The Panthers erased a 14-point halftime deficit to win their fifth consecutive sectional championship.
• Bloomington gathers more feedback on College-Walnut corridor overhaul.  Bloomington planners are gathering public input on redesign options for the College-Walnut corridor, including possible two-way traffic. Open houses and pop-up events, as well as an online form, are the tools city staff are using to collect feedback.
• Early voting for 2026 primaries in 5 months, Monroe County preps new space, vote centers linger.  Monroe County is preparing new space for early voting and voter registration inside the North Showers building, which also houses Bloomington city hall. Remodeling is supposed to start this month under a $653,600 contract, with early voting to begin April 7, 2026.
• Panthers and Cougars set for rematch in sectional championship showdown.  Bloomington South and Bloomington North meet again Friday night at Huff Field for the Class 5A Section 15 championship. South dominated their September game 36-7, but North has surged since, winning six straight. The city rivals now battle for a spot in the state tournament’s next round.

On the calendar

Affordable housing incentives. Again on the 5:30 p.m. Monday (Nov. 10) agenda for Bloomington’s city plan commission a proposal to change the incentive structure in the unified development ordinance (UDO) for building affordable housing. For B Square background, see: Bloomington plan commission mulls payment-in-lieu affordable housing incentives.

Building a new jail? On the 5 p.m. Monday (Nov. 10) agenda for the Monroe County council is a discussion item labeled “Discussion regarding outlining next steps for justice center.” County commissioners will almost certainly attend.

External factors will likely get some air time. One key question includes: What is the likely impact of a non-renewal of the ACLU lawsuit’s settlement agreement? It’s clear that non-renewal does not automatically force construction of a new jail on the terms of the federal court. But that doesn’t mean Monroe County would be in the clear. It just means that more litigation could be in the county government’s future. Another key question includes: What, if anything, does the Monroe County government need to do, to send the right signal to the state legislature about SEA 1?

Internal factors include the technical question of whether North Park could still be brought back into play, and if not, then what approach should be taken to site selection. Another internal factor involves a calculation of how much money would be available to the county government, on what timeframe, to construct a new jail, or invest in other alternatives, given the current constraints of SEA 1?

A few days after the county council’s denial of the needed appropriation to purchase North Park, commissioner Julie Thomas said, “So with that, ball’s in your court, council!” Rowing might be a more practical sports analogy for the situation that commissioners and councilors now confront. They are in the same boat, the council pulling on the left oar, and the commissioners pulling on the right oar. If either side stops pulling, they’ll go in circles. If one side starts pulling in the opposite direction, they’ll still go in circles, only faster.

Housing conversation. At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Nov. 12), Bloomington’s city council is hosting another community conversation on the topic of housing.

Dec. 1: Online auction for “Batman House” ends. The big old mansion at Kirkwood Avenue and Madison Street is up for auction for a minimum bid of $750,000. The high bid so far is $760,000. The auction is being conducted online.

Meet Casey!

This very, very good girl is a mix of Labrador retriever and Schipperke. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Casey:

Casey is a friendly young dog who loves ear scratches! Casey's foster says she is very sweet and loves car rides. She loves kids and is house trained and crate trained. She does like to chase cats so would probably be best in a home without cats. Casey has a lot of energy when taken outside but inside is a very calm girl!

Photo Finish: Monroe County historic courthouse

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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