Sept. 25, 2025: Annexation, 2026 budgets, IU faculty governance

Weather Talk

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

Thursday: Don’t worry about an extra layer or an umbrella today. You might get hit by an isolated shower before 9 a.m. but it will be partly sunny with a high around 75F°, so you’ll dry out quick.

Friday: No need for extra warmth or rain protection today. But slow way down. There’ll be patchy fog before 8 a.m. After that it will be sunny with a high of 77F°.

Practice your Midwestern weather talk: “Is fall ever gonna get here?” If someone uses that gambit on you, try this: “Always has, always will, this year ain’t gonna be no different.” Or get technical with them: “Well, actually, the autumnal equinox was a couple of days ago.” But the second one will make you sound like you’re running for mayor of Nerdville.

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

Roundup of recent articles

• Indiana Court of Appeals upholds ruling against Bloomington in annexation of 2 areas.  The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a Monroe County Circuit Court ruling that blocked Bloomington’s attempt to annex two large pieces of land—Areas 1A and 1B—after finding the city failed to meet state statutory requirements for annexation.
• Monroe County grapples with 2026 budget: Bonds, mold, overtime, hiring, and minimum cash balances.  The Monroe County council continued its 2026 budget deliberations Tuesday night, mostly after the regular meeting agenda was dispatched. Councilors talked about resolutions on overtime use, and a hiring freeze, as well as a resolution about minimum cash balances.
• Monroe County plans $6M bond despite ‘cooling off’ period.  In 2024, the city of Bloomington, as well as Monroe County government, leaned on general obligation (GO) bonds to finance capital improvements for 2025. But for the 2026 budget year, it looks like only the county government will be moving forward with a new bond issuance.
• Judge denies injunction in lawsuit by retired professors over IU governance ban.  A judge has denied a request by three retired Indiana University professors for an preliminary injunction that would have allowed them to participate in faculty governance when the Bloomington Faculty Council convenes on Tuesday. The lawsuit will stay in court, to be heard eventually on its merits.

Quick notes

Annexation. The two different paths of litigation are a little hard to track. Here’s a summary: There have been four decisions by the courts so far, all of them against the city of Bloomington. For each path, the only remaining possibility for Bloomington to prevail is if the Indiana Supreme Court finds in its favor For the one case, the oral arguments are set for Oct. 30. For the other case, it’s not yet clear if the city will try to get the Indiana Supreme Court to take the case, but I would be surprised if the city did not try.

$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

Confidentiality of addresses. On the 10 a.m. Thursday (Sept. 25) meeting agenda for Monroe County commissioners is an update to the policy on confidentiality of names in county government information systems. The policy implements IC 36-1-8.5 by requiring Monroe County to remove or restrict the home addresses of certain “covered persons” (such as judges, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and victims of domestic violence) from publicly accessible property databases. It creates a process through the county auditor’s office to verify requests, redact addresses from GIS and property search tools, and maintain confidentiality.

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.

Snow plowing jobs: Oct. 7. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will host four hiring fairs in southeast Indiana for INDOT winter seasonal positions on Tuesday, October 7. The hiring events will take place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the following locations:

• Aurora Sub District Office: 310995 Marsh Road Aurora, IN 47001
• Bloomington Sub District Office: 2965 N. Prow Rd, Bloomington, IN 47404
• Columbus Sub District Office: 3545 W Two Mile House Rd., Columbus, IN 47201
• Falls City Sub District Office: 5701 U.S. 31, Clarksville, IN 47129
  
  Winter seasonal positions run between early November and early April at a starting pay of $21 per hour for full-time operations and $25 per hour for snowplow-only/on-call positions. Job duties include performing general highway maintenance, traffic maintenance, snow and ice removal and other duties related to winter operations. A valid CDL is required to be considered for a seasonal role.

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 Sirius!

Are you Sirius?! This very, very good boy is a mix of Catahoula leopard dog and hound. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Sirius:

Sirius is a handsome dog who came in with his older buddy Harry. He has some nervous energy meeting people at first, give him a minute and he's a clever and affectionate guy!

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