Oct. 22, 2026: Monroe County budget; commissioner salaries; IU luncheon; deer crashes; IOSHA safety fine

Weather Talk

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

Thursday: Slow down. Before 9 a.m. there could be some patchy fog. Wear a light jacket or sweater to start the day, because we’re starting from an overnight low in the mid forties. But you can shuck off that outer wrap soon enough, because it will be sunny and clear with a high temperature around 70F°.

Friday: Rinse repeat from Thursday. And looking ahead through Sunday, we’ll see more of these 70-degree days with clear sunny skies.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system

Recent articles

• Bloomington Convention Center update: $660K bid OK’d for Seminary Pointe demolition.  Bloomington's convention center expansion is on track for Jan. 8 completion. The CIB OK’d a $660,000 bid to demolish Seminary Pointe buildings for hotel construction staging, despite objections over lost affordable housing. Hotel development talks continue, with a completed hotel expected in 2029.
• Monroe County council sticks with proposed 2027 salaries, keeps commissioners at 85%.  The Monroe County Council adopted a $147 million budget for 2027, but rejected an appeal from county commissioner Julie Thomas to bring commissioner salaries in line with other elected officials. Councilor David Henry called for a broader review of county administration in January.
• Editor’s Notebook: Big names did their jobs at the luncheon. So did the servers..  At an economic development luncheon featuring Indiana's governor and IU's president, one of the servers was the mother of a Bloomington man held in immigration detention. As officials discussed jobs and opportunity, she was working to serve lunch on the day her son was granted a $15,000 bond.
• Slow down for deer on the move: Fall brings bigger crash risk to Bloomington roads.  October and November are peak months for deer collisions as mating season sends bucks running across roads. DNR estimates put Bloomington’s deer population at roughly 2,258. With Monroe County deer crashes rising from 169 in 2024 to 185 in 2025, drivers are urged to slow down, especially at dusk.
• Monroe County plans chemical safety program in effort to avoid proposed $3K fine by IOSHA.  Indiana workplace safety inspectors say they'll impose a $3K penalty against Monroe County for lacking a written chemical safety plan, unless such a program is created by a Nov. 12 deadline. The finding followed an August drain-cleaner incident that sickened justice center workers.

Other notes

Early voting numbers. Through the first 12 days of voting at the North Showers location on Morton Street, 6,770 people have cast a ballot. That’s around 2,200 more than in 2022, but about 2,700 less than in 2018 for the same period.

This is a stat that’s easy to check for yourself on the early voting dashboard that Monroe County government has set up. Remember that this Saturday (Oct. 24) early voting is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On the calendar

Report from health department. Listed on the 10 a.m. Thursday (Oct. 22) agenda for the county commissioners under departmental updates is one from the health department. That will come against the backdrop of possible action by the board of health a few hours later to remove the health officer. At the end of every agenda for commissioners is a slot for appointments. Given the two current vacancies on the board of health, it’s possible the commissioners could fill one or both of those vacancies on Thursday morning.

Potential removal of health officer. Set to start after the regular 4:30 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 22) meeting of the board of health is a hearing on the removal of health officer Sarah Ryterband. For B Square background, see Monroe County health board sets Oct. 22 hearing on possible removal of health officer.

Last Friday (Oct. 16) at 3 p.m., the county commissioners were expected to come out of recess. That’s after they recessed instead of adjourning their meeting from the week before. But before the appointed time, the online calendar item changed from just “continued” to “canceled and concluded.”

Decisions on future local income tax. A second meeting of the MUST (Municipal Unit Strategic Taskforce) of Monroe county is set for 1 p.m. on Friday. That’s the group that will help shape local income tax policy for Monroe County starting in 2029. For B Square background, see: Monroe County local income tax group mulls shared municipal rate approach

Oct. 25: A Harvest of Voices with Jacinda Townsend. Women Writing for (a) Change Bloomington will host a benefit reading featuring award-winning author Jacinda Townsend, whose books include Mother Country and Trigger Warning. Townsend previously served on the Monroe County Community School Corporation’s board of trustees. The event takes place 4–6 p.m at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2120 N. Fee Lane.

Writers from the organization’s creative writing programs will also share their work. A reception with light refreshments will follow. Tickets are $30. There is a pay-what-you-can option. Proceeds support the organization’s writing programs.

Pizza Trail: Oct. 1–31. October is pizza month. And in Bloomington this is commemorated with a Pizza Trail that Visit Bloomington is promoting. The idea is you sign up for a mobile pass, which sounds like a kind of digital punchcard. Every time you check in with one of 20 different local pizza joints, you get a credit. And at the end you can redeem the points for gift cards to ... pizza joints. There

Book crawl Oct. 23–24. You probably know what a bar crawl is. It’s that, but with bookstores. From the organizers:

As we continue to sell tickets, we wanted to let you know along with the keynote speakers on Oct. 25, Wright Thompson and Michael Koryta, we are also launching our first Bloomington Book Festival Book Crawl. It will be happening Oct. 23–24.

Here is what the book crawl will look like: 9 participating bookstores — Book Corner, Caveat Emptor, Knitting Romance, MCPL Friends of the Library, Morgenstern Books, Naughty Dog Books, Redbud Books, Steve’s Book-O-Rama, and Vintage Phoenix.

• Begin at any of the above participating bookstores to pick up your passport.
• A single purchase (ANY purchase, no minimums) from EACH store gets you a stamp in your passport. (A purchase is necessary to receive a stamp.)
• Each stamp is an entry into a raffle to receive 2 free tickets to The Bloomington Book Festival on Oct. 25, 2026.
• Each fully completed passport is an entry into a raffle for the grand prize: over $500 in gift cards, autographed copies of Wright Thompson’s “The Barn” and Michael Koryta’s new release “Die Famous,” and 2 free tickets to this year’s Bloomington Book Festival.
• Once your passport is completed or you are finished with the book crawl, leave your passport with the last bookstore you visited.
• The drawing for the prizes will take place the morning of Oct. 25.
• The winners will be contacted that morning via email and text and announced on our social media!

Meet: Stella!

This very, very, good girl is a German shepherd. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Stella.

Stella is a clever and active girl who loves running around with her sister Leia. She is the calmer of the two, acting more like the mom or older sister to Leia's silly antics. However, Stella does love to chase her sister's tail while Leia fetches her ball! Once she tires of that game, Stella is much more interested in sitting at your feet to receive adoring words and scratches.

Photo Finish: Kirkwood Avenue & Walnut Street

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

Sponsors stand with local civic journalism

The B Square Bulletin is made possible by financial supporters who believe in informed, engaged communities.