Sept. 4, 2025: Bees, billionaires, lease terminations, football weather

Weather

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

Thursday: Wear a very, very light jacket to break the chill and the wet that will start the day. You can probably get away without an umbrella. But the 60F° temperatures and chance of showers through 10 a.m. will make things feel chillier than it has been the last several days. Later in the day, things will warm up to a high of 71F° and the chance of rain will disappear. Opening gambit for weather talk practice: “Sure did need the rain.” Possible response: “Glad it came before the leaves started to fall.”

Friday: For early in the day, you can put aside any thoughts of umbrellas or rain jackets, because it’s not going to rain in the morning. But take the same approach you did for Thursday, because it will be a chilly 57°F to start the day. It will warm up to the mid-70s by afternoon, though.

The big question: How should you dress for your Friday night high school football game? Wear a rain jacket and a hat with a brim, and take a collapsible umbrella as a last resort. Nobody likes to sit in the bleachers under the runoff from their neighbor’s umbrella. Chance of rain is around 20% beginning around 2 p.m. and increases to 40% around 8 p.m. With a 7 p.m. kickoff, it would not be a surprise if rain started falling before the final whistle.

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

Stop. Read this.

I am committed to making sure that all news and information from The B Square is always and forever free to anyone who wants or needs it.

The idea is that some fraction of you will make a recurring monthly financial contribution to this effort by clicking on the big red button in the upper righthand corner of the website screen. Right now that fraction is around 25%. It will have to get closer to 50%, if this operation is ever going to be sustainable.

If you’re already contributing, thank you! If you’re not, but would be able, please consider making today the day you decided to help everybody else in the Bloomington area continue to have easy access to news and information. Thank you for considering.

Roundup of recent articles

• Bloomington commits to pollinator habitat, education as new Bee City USA.  Bloomington is now a Bee City USA affiliate, after action by the Bloomington’s city council at its regular Wednesday meeting. The council’s resolution commits the city to creating and maintaining pollinator-friendly habitats and to public education about the role of bees and other pollinators.
• Bloomington moves to reduce private use of Showers West, 2 tenants agree to leave.  Bloomington’s redevelopment commission approved the key terms of lease termination agreements with Merrill Lynch and Bloomington Health Foundation, which are two tenants of Showers West. That’s the western part of the former Showers Brothers furniture factory building that also houses city hall.
• Monroe County sheriff seeks public’s help after trail assault near school.  Monroe County sheriff’s deputies are looking for a white man with skinny build, mid- to late 20s, wearing a black T-shirt and black shorts, with dark, curly hair styled in a mullet. The man is accused of assaulting someone on the Karst Farm Greenway Trail near Grandview Elementary School.
• Bloomington protesters rally against billionaires, Trump policies on Labor Day.  At noon on Monday, under clear sunny skies with a temperature around 75F°, an estimated 300 people gathered on the historic Monroe County courthouse lawn for the Bloomington edition of the “Workers Over Billionaires” protest organized by the local chapter of the 50501 Movement.

On the calendar

High-tech crime unit: $285,000. Appearing on the 10 a.m. Thursday (Sept. 4) meeting agenda for Monroe County commissioners is a memorandum of understanding for the high-tech crimes unit that is run by the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council. The cost to the county government is $285,000 annually. This would continue an existing arrangement.

Chairship of the election board. On the 1:30 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 4) meeting agenda for the Monroe County election board is an item under new business labeled “Election Board Chair.” The Monroe County election board has a custom of amicably rotating the chairship between the appointee from the Republican Party and the appointee from the Democratic Party. But based on my vague recollection, when there’s a vacancy, and it would technically fall to the new appointee to chair the board, sometimes the new appointee has deferred to their more experienced colleague for a meeting or two, before assuming the chairship. I am not sure who the chair of the board would be right now, if the custom were strictly followed. Maybe that will be sorted out at Thursday’s meeting.

Native Plant Sale: Sept. 6. A native plant sale will take place on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Switchyard Park’s Maintenance Building (1601 S. Rogers St. entrance). The sale is hosted by MC-IRIS, City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation, and Monroe County Parks and Recreation.

Tire Amnesty Day: Sept. 6. The Monroe County waste reduction district is holding a tire amnesty day so that Monroe County residents can dispose of tires in an environmentally responsible manner, for free. Restrictions apply to certain types of tires. Tire collection will be held Saturday, Sept. 6 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Monroe County Fairgrounds, 5700 W. Airport Rd, in Bloomington. A maximum of eight tires will be allowed per vehicle per trip. Monroe County residents only. No commercial haulers, businesses, churches, schools, landlords, etc.

Lake Monroe Day: Sept. 14. The fundraiser will be held at the Fields Clubhouse (1333 S. Fenbrook Lane) from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. From the Friends of Lake Monroe: “Attendees can mingle with other lake supporters and be treated to appetizers from One World Enterprises, music by King Bee and the Stingers, a wine pull, and brief updates from the organization working to protect Lake Monroe. Tickets are $30 for members, $35 for non-members, and $220 for a table of eight.”

Taste of Tibet: Sept. 20. Note that this date is corrected from a previous listing! The buffet starts at 6 p.m. (RSVP is requested). A guided tour of the monastery will be available during the open house from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the same day. The buffet will include traditional Tibetan delicacies like momos, Pingsha, Alu khatsa, and Tibetan butter tea prepared by the monks.

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.

Meet Blaze!

This very, very good boy is a husky. Here’s what the shelter staff have written for Blaze.

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: Kirkwood Avenue & Washington Street

The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.

The geographic coverage of the B There section is pretty limited. Please consider occasionally contributing to the B There section some brief factual observations about the world outside your own head, as you go about your normal business. (Photos are optional for B There.) The mechanics of making a contribution are pretty straightforward—just let me know if you’d like to learn the ins and outs. If you’re looking at this bulletin in your email inbox, you should be able to reach me by hitting Reply.

Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend!

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