Oct. 30, 2025: Jail land rejected, SNAP benefits frozen, visual aids barred, teachers’ contract, football postseason

Weather Talk

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

Thursday: Start the day with a sweater or a jacket and maybe an umbrella, because the temperatures in the mid-40s that start the day will not get much warmer, hitting a high of only 56F°. If you have a choice between sweater or jacket, go for a jacket to ward off the gusts of wind that might get as strong as 24 mph. The umbrella is for the scattered showers before 11 a.m. which will taper off to scattered sprinkles and mostly clear up by early afternoon.

Friday: Wear the same thing you wore yesterday, except don’t bring your umbrella because it’s not going to rain. It will be mostly sunny. The high will be just 55F°. Maybe take a blanket to whichever high school football game you decide to attend. Bloomington North and Bloomington South are both playing at home in their Sectional matchups.

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

Roundup of recent articles

• Local food bank, pantries look to bridge gap for Monroe County from SNAP benefits freeze.  As a result of the current federal government shutdown, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are set to dry up in just a few days. No funds for November benefits are expected to be distributed. Local food banks and pantries are working to bridge the gap.
• MCCSC board hears tentative labor agreement, OKs 2026 budget.  The Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) presented its tentative collective bargaining agreement for 2025-2027 at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the school board. Ratification is expected at the board’s next meeting in about three weeks.
• Monroe County council unanimously rejects North Park jail site funding after marathon meeting.  At a marathon Monroe County Council meeting on Tuesday, the appropriation ordinance to pay for the purchase of the North Park property for a new jail was met with unified resistance from both the council and the public, culminating in a 0–7 vote on the item.
• Hamilton, Zietlow write joint letter against building new Monroe County jail.  At Tuesday’s Monroe County council meeting, former Bloomington mayor John Hamilton read a letter that he and Charlotte Zietlow wrote in opposition to a new jail for Monroe County. The council unanimously voted down an appropriation to fund the purchase of North Park as a new jail site.
• Bloomington football teams start championship chase on home turf in Sectional play this Friday.  With one week already down in the 2025 Indiana High School Athletic Association Sectionals, both Bloomington South and Bloomington North start their hunt for a state championship at home this Friday. The squads both play in the Class 5A, Sectional 15 bracket.
• Crowded Bloomington town hall comes same day as governor’s call for special legislative session on redistricting.  On Monday, state representative Matt Pierce hosted a town hall about the GOP push for mid-decade redistricting in Indiana. Pierce’s event came after governor Mike Braun earlier in the day announced a special legislative session, starting Nov. 3, to address congressional district boundary changes.
• Monroe County council faces $11.4M decision on jail site amid renewed community pushback.  Around 50 people gathered in the Meeting Room of the UU Church on Sunday afternoon for a town hall focused on Monroe County’s new jail and justice center proposal. On Tuesday, the county council is set to vote on an appropriation to pay for North Park, site of the planned new project.
• Cars vs. Peds: Bloomington city council reverses course, disallows visual aids for public comment.  Last Wednesday, Bloomington resident Greg Alexander wanted to support his three minutes of public comment with six photographs, to be projected onto the screen in council chambers. But the council departed from the guidance on its website that allows for this, and did not let him use the photos.

On the calendar

Jail vote debriefing. At the 10 a.m. Thursday (Oct. 30) meeting of the Monroe County commissioners, there will likely be some kind of debriefing about the outcome of the county council’s unanimous vote on Tuesday to reject the appropriation needed to close the real estate deal on North Park, the planned site of a new jail and justice complex. But I would not expect a detailed stepwise plan outlined for the political work needed for a different approach, because the vote was just a couple of days ago.

Oral arguments on annexation at Indiana Supreme Court. At 10 a.m. Thursday (Oct. 30) morning, oral arguments will be given on the constitutional question in Bloomington’s annexation lawsuit. The case will clarify how much constitutional protection local governments have when the General Assembly passes new laws.

At issue in the case is a 2019 law that voided hundreds of “remonstration waivers” that Bloomington obtained from property owners over several decades. Those waivers—signed in exchange for sewer service—barred landowners from opposing future annexation.

Bloomington argues that the legislature’s decision to nullify them violated the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition on laws impairing existing contracts. In February, a court of appeals panel already gave its ruling against the city’s position. But in a different but similar case, a different court of appeals panel reached the opposite conclusion about the balance of power between local governments and the state legislature. If you want to watch the proceedings, the Supreme Court livestreams its hearings.

College-Walnut Corridor. On Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in city council chambers, the second of two public meetings will take place about the College-Walnut corridor. There are two basic alternatives—one that maintains the roads as one-way, but adds a dedicated non-motorized path, and another that converts both roads to two-way. If you can’t attend the meeting, here’s a direct link to the feedback form.

Halloween hours. Slow down. In the city of Bloomington, official trick-or-treat hours are 5:30–8:30 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 31). Slow down.

Little 500 fall racing series: Nov. 1, Nov. 2. Mark your calendar for Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 for cyclocross and street sprints.

Meet Hunter!

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

I am new to the shelter and we are all getting to know each other. If you are interested in adopting stop by the shelter for a visit.

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 you have a great weekend!

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