Nov. 20, 2025: No raises for teachers, public bus publicity, Hopewell news, football semi-state

Funding the B Square: Every piece of the puzzle

Solely due to the individual financial contributions of many of you, The B Square has been able to provide a livelihood for one person and to pay for occasional work by some freelance reporters and photogs. To all of you who have already clicked on the big red button in the upper right hand corner of the website: Thank you!

To expand The B Square’s staff, and to put it on a sustainable financial footing for the next decade or more, we are working to add corporate sponsorships.

Part of the sponsorship mix will be ... puzzles. They will be included as links in the Almost Daily Bulletin. For now there will be one new puzzle each week, released on Monday. Thursday’s bulletin will include the same puzzle at the end, just like on Monday.

Weather Talk

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

Thursday: Slow down. Through about 11 a.m. it will be foggy and gross. Wear something to stay warm and dry, because after the mist morning melts away, by mid-afternoon, it will start raining. The day will start from an overnight low of around 44F° and will hit a high near 52F°.

Friday: Wear your favorite raincoat, wide-brimmed hat, or take an umbrella, because it’s going to rain, maybe all day long. You’ll need to wear something warm, but not too warm, ward off the chill. The high will be around 58F°.

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

Roundup of recent articles

• Bloomington South football team heads to semi-state, faces unbeaten New Palestine on Friday.  Bloomington South enters Friday’s Class 5A semi-state after a 55–7 regional win over Floyd Central, but now faces unbeaten No. 1 New Palestine. The Dragons are riding a 26-game win streak, while South seeks its first win over New Palestine, as both teams pursue a berth in the state finals.
• As fixed-route use slips, Bloomington Transit works on unified marketing, microtransit expansion.  Bloomington Transit is developing a 2026 initiative called “Bloomington Transit for Everyone,” aimed at unifying messaging across fixed routes and BLink microtransit. The initiative comes as fixed-route ridership continues to fall. BT is also exploring expanded BLink hours and citywide coverage.
• No teacher pay raises through 2027: MCCSC OKs contract, state grant stipends to be decided.  MCCSC approved a new teacher contract Tuesday that freezes salaries through 2027, increases insurance contributions, expands parental leave, and reduces the retirement match. The district also faces state TAG changes that will limit the number of stipend recipients.
• Bloomington rejects all 5 bids for Hopewell East, plans new offering in 2026.  Bloomington’s redevelopment commission has rejected all five bids for Hopewell East, which was released as a $6.1 million public offering a year ago. A revised public offering is expected in 2026 as the city looks for closer alignment with its housing goals at the former hospital site.
• Bloomington’s Switchyard pavilion hosts ‘Hope for the Holidays’ preview ahead of live tree auction.  Holiday tree viewing for the “Hope for the Holidays” fundraiser opens Monday at Switchyard Park pavilion. The three-day event features music, children’s performances, Santa visits, and a food truck, leading up to Wednesday’s live auction benefiting New Hope for Families.

Quick notes

Appeal of noise ordinance violation. On the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 18) meeting agenda for the board of public works was an appeal of a noise ordinance violation. The appeal was denied.

Hiring freeze reviews. On the 5 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 18) meeting agenda for the county council were several reviews of requests from departments to make hires in the context of the newly implemented hiring freeze. The council approved the filling of all the positions that were requested.

On the calendar

No meeting. The Monroe County commissioners are not meeting this Thursday.

Nursing job descriptions. On the 4:30 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 20) meeting agenda for the Monroe County board of health is the ratification of job descriptions for some nursing positions that have now been reviewed by the county’s HR consultant. The positions are planned to fill in for public health services that the county previously contracted with IU Health to provide—until IU Health terminated a long standing agreement.

Nov. 20: Darn Good Soup. On Thursday (Nov. 20), Darn Good Soup makes a triumphant return, at a different location from its home a half decade ago on the courthouse square. This time around it will be housed within the same operation as Chocolate Moose on South Walnut Street. When the ice cream business is slower, that’s when the soup business will pick up. And visa versa.

Nov. 23: Beth Shalom Holiday Bazaar and Art Fair. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Congregation Beth Shalom (3750 East 3rd St.) is holding the 18th annual Beth Shalom Holiday Bazaar and Art Fair.

On offer you’ll see: Clothing, jewelry, judaica , paintings, photography, pottery, quilts, woodworking, home-baked sweets, challahs and breads, gift shop, Chanukah goodies, and a special guest—the Planted Bloomington food truck.

Participating artists include: Katya Alexeeva, Julie Bloom, Kevin Boas, Debbie Cohen, Larissa Danielle, Dayana Ferrera, Martha Foster, Amanda Field, Juliet Frey, Brenda Kesmodel, Laura McIntosh, David Gantz, Jane Gantz, Chizuko Johnson, Sara McQueen, Marcy Neiditz, Anita Park, Marta Scalabrini, Irina Shishova, and Kim Williams.

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 still $760,000. The auction is being conducted online.

Meet Nitro!

This very, very good boy is a German shepherd. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Nitro:

Looking to fill a German Shepherd-shaped hole in your heart? Nitro is your guy! Not only is he smart and trainable (he already knows sit!), but he's also a grade-A cuddler. Nitro is a bit unsure of some dogs, so he would love to meet any other resident pups before going home!

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 you have a great weekend!

Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com

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Civic Solver

Civic Solver turns Bloomington’s everyday civic life into a puzzle worth cracking — from familiar faces to local landmarks. A weekly reason to stay curious: Complete this week’s puzzle.