Sept. 22, 2025: Public health, fluoride, Turning Point lawsuit, property transfers, football

Weather Talk

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

Monday: Take an umbrella or wear a rain jacket when you head out, because it’s going to rain. There’s a chance of thunderstorms through most of the day, and during those storms the rain will be heavy. Wear at least long sleeves to knock off the chill, because the 73F° high temperature will feel brisk compared to the hot weather we have seen over the last few weeks.

Tuesday: Your top priority today is staying dry, even if the chance of rain is only about 40% for most of the day, increasing to 60% after 8 p.m. No jacket needed today, because the high will be around 80F°.

Practice your Midwestern weather talk with this old chestnut: “Wet enough for ya?” If someone beats you to that gambit, and you are faced with coming up with a reply, try this: “I like my weather like my wit—dry.”

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

Roundup of recent articles

• Monroe County property transfers through Sept. 17, 2025.  This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from Aug. 27 to Sept. 17, 2025. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county’s online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
• Photos: La Fiesta del Otoño 2025.  Bloomington’s city government hosted the 2025 La Fiesta del Otoño at Switchyard Park on Saturday (Sept. 20) to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. The festival featured several performances, which are documented here in photographs.
• Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish.  Hawk: Heard you were making fun of the SNL guy because he was riding a Little 500 bicycle around Bloomington before his show to soak up local flavor. What is the hilarious response from the Fish?
• Turning Point asks judge to reconsider ruling in Bloomington mural case.  In the last month, there’s been new activity in a free speech lawsuit filed by Turning Point USA against Bloomington, after a court's ruling in late July found mostly in favor of the city. The IU Chapter of Turning Point USA wanted to paint an “All Lives Matter” mural on Kirkwood Avenue.
• Photos: Bloomington South rolls to 5–0 record with 49-14 win over Terre Haute South Vigo.  With a 49-14 win over Terre Haute Vigo South on Friday, the Bloomington South Panthers improved their record to 5-0, and look to make it a half dozen wins next week against Southport. Photographer Dave Quick was in Terre Haute to capture some of the magic from Friday’s game.
• Bloomington North routs Terre Haute North Vigo 56-0.  Coming off last week’s loss to Bloomington South, the Bloomington High School North football team needed to turn things around in Conference Indiana play. The Cougars got headed in the right direction Friday against Terre Haute North Vigo with a 56-0 home victory.
• No fluoride added to Bloomington water: Utilities director to tell public, board of health when levels are restored.  Bloomington’s drinking water has been without the recommended level of fluoride since late 2019, and city officials say it will be at least next year before the situation is resolved. But when fluoride levels are restored, the public will be notified. That’s according to CBU director Kat Zaiger.
• Monroe County could face public health services gap as IU Health ends long-time contract.  When IU Health stops providing key public health services under a contract with Monroe County’s health department at the end of 2025, it’s not yet clear how the department will satisfy its responsibility under state law to provide those functions.

Quick notes

$520,000 public art project. An online form has been set up to ask for input about the kind of public art you’d like to see installed at the expansion of the Bloomington Convention Center. The project has a budget of $520,000.

Call: 1.866.StrideTeam If you see someone experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis call: 1.866.StrideTeam. That’s the message that the Stride Center will be promoting in a publicity campaign it launched last week. The Stride Center is located on the ground floor of the Monroe County government parking garage on Morton Street, just down the hill from the justice building.

On the calendar

New bus stops. Appearing on the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 23) meeting agenda for Bloomington Transit is an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the city of Bloomington, which commits $300,000 from BT to serve as local matching funds for the $4.1 million West 2nd Street improvement project, including the construction of accessible bus stops designed to accommodate future Green Line BRT service.

City hall renovations. On the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 23) meeting agenda for the board of public works are some revisions to the contract with Weddle Bros. for some renovations to city hall, including electrical work, painting and cubicle assembly in HR and the legal department. The contract will increase from $166,000 to $177,760.

Hiring freeze, overtime restrictions, public health services, $6 million. On the 5 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 23) agenda for the Monroe County council are resolutions implementing a temporary hiring freeze, and regulating overtime. Both measures come in the context of the 2026 budget crunch. Also on the agenda is a proposal from the health department to add staff and revise job descriptions to fill the service gap that will be left when IU Health stops providing public health services under contract with the county government. Also big items on the agenda is a review of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spending, for which county commissioners are supposed to be present. The proposed $6 million general obligation bond (GO) for this year is also on the agenda.

Bloomington 2026 budget. The formal presentation of Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson’s 2026 proposed budget is set for the Wednesday (Sept. 24) meeting of the city council, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Former IU trustee Vivian Winston at Bloomington Press Club: Sept. 24. In a news release, the Bloomington Press Club has announced that the speaker for their Sept. 24 meeting, at the Southwest Branch of the Monroe County Public Library, starting at 11:40 a.m. is former Indiana University trustee Vivian Winston. Guests are welcome. Bring your own lunch.

Coffee roasting open house: Sept. 27. Who doesn’t need more coffee? From the news release issued by the folks at Needmore: “Needmore Coffee Roasters invites the community to celebrate the opening of its new dedicated specialty coffee roasting facility with an Open House on Saturday, September 27, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1310 South Monon Drive. Guests can tour the facility, learn about the roasting process, sample freshly roasted specialty coffees, and enter giveaways for free coffee and merchandise. The event is free and open to the public.”

A Little Extra Love: Oct. 3. Local photographer Rodney Margison, in cooperation with Down Syndrome Family Connection, is presenting his first solo exhibition, “A Little Extra Love,” opening Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, from 5–8 p.m. in the atrium at Fountain Square Mall in downtown Bloomington. (Rodney is the managing editor of Bloom Magazine—he’s the guy who receives my column submission for each edition.)

Bloomington Paint Out: Oct. 4. Grab a paintbrush and a canvas and go paint a scene somewhere in Bloomington. From the organizers: “The event is open to professional and emerging artists of all ages and skill levels to create original artwork of any subject in any medium. Stamped/tagged works must be completed that day by 3 pm to be eligible for judging.” The idea is that you check in at Bryan Park in the morning and get an official stamp for your canvas, so that the judges know you created your painting that same day. If you see someone painting with an easel outdoors on Oct. 4, chances are they’re a Paint Out artist.

Pumpkin Launch. The city of Bloomington hosts a competition every year involving the construction of a contraption to fling a pumpkin as far as possible. It’s Pumpkin Launch! The deadline for entry is Oct. 15. The competition itself takes place on Oct. 25. For past B Square coverage of Pumpkin Launch: Photos: Cold rain can’t squash Pumpkin Launch 2021

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

Meet Dirk!

This very, very good boy is a Shar Pei mix. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Dirk:

Dirk is a young, gentle-hearted pup who is looking for a calm and patient family to call his own. He’s incredibly sweet and has the softest soul—you can see it in his eyes and feel it in his snuggles. While he’s still a bit nervous around new people and situations, Dirk is getting braver every day. With a little time and TLC, this silly boy is sure to blossom into the confident companion he’s meant to be

Photo Finish: 6th Street & Morton 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