Bloomington is home to a diverse community; some residents stay for a few years while attending Indiana University and some have been here for generations.
We want to explore the past, present and future of Bloomington with you with CityLimits.
Our community is changing, from closing businesses to traffic and road construction to affordable housing, and we see the impact of these changes all around us.
You might wonder: How much does it cost to live in Bloomington compared to the rest of Indiana? How much property does IU own within citylimits? Are apartments in Bloomington at capacity?
We’ll run regular voting rounds so you can weigh in on what you most want answered. If your question is picked, you could participate in the investigation.
Interested in an ongoing conversation how Bloomington is changing? Join our Facebook group!
A court decision four years ago seemed to pave the way for the city's annexation attempt. But since then, one of former Mayor John Hamilton’s major initiatives has hit roadblock after roadblock.
At the City of Bloomington’s budget meetings last month, the fire department proposed a raise in salary of $15,000 for the first year of work, and a $5,000 increase the second year.
Ellettsville's population has increased approximately 31.5 percent since 2000. Bloomington’s population has increased by about only 14.4 percent since 2000.
The marker is thanks to efforts by the Black Heritage Preservation Program and Indiana Landmarks. The creator hopes to install more around Monroe County.
The City of Bloomington has approved a project for more than 4,200 homes on the city's southwest side, but residents and officials say they still have questions and concerns.
While the community is anticipating slowdowns on Wi-Fi and cellular networks, phone companies say there shouldn't be any disruptions due to large crowds.
Residents near the planned site of a development that would bring more than 4,000 new homes doubt the area can handle the amount of density it would bring.
The Monroe County Community School board will schedule listening forums with Templeton and Childs Elementary parents and teachers about a proposed merger of the schools.
One Monroe County resident says nightlife in Bloomington lacks diversity and misses The Hole, and bar and dance club housed in the B.G. Pollard Lodge before it closed.
For some, billboards are just signs that show drivers where to get gas at the nearest highway exit or promote an upcoming IU football game. But for one Bloomington man, billboards are more than just advertisements.
Bloomington’s ambitious fiber optic plan will bring rapid download speeds to thousands of homes. But homeowners affected by damage during installation can find themselves bogged down for months.
Bloomington’s board of park commissioners passed a rule in August banning enclosed structures, such as camping tents, in public parks during the daytime.
INDOT plans to install bike lanes on part of State Road 45 on Bloomington’s east side. The project has received mixed reactions, even among some bicyclists.
Local officials, election workers, and candidates as busy preparing for the upcoming 2023 general election. But it’s an off year, which historically sees lower participation rates.
Although MCCSC has not formally released any proposed schedule changes, students, schoolboard members and teachers say the proposal could change the schedule to semesters with seven 40-minute periods.
Opposition to the $1.1 million project, which was green-lit by the city council in 2018 as part of the city’s bicentennial bond, grew after a release by the city last week highlighting the upcoming project.
Budget highlights include a 5 percent salary increase and a $500 one-time bonus to non-union employees, a 5 percent raise for firefighters, more civilian responders for 911 calls and $20 million in one-time expenditures.
The city's plan commission held an initial hearing Monday for a petition to rezone nearly 140 acres of land between South Weimer Road and RCA Community Park.
Domestic enrolled students of color have slowly increased at IU, with nearly 12,000 in fall 2022. But white enrollment is still more than twice that– at nearly 30,000 students.
The Army Corps of Engineers attempted to relocate every cemetery in the area during construction. Is it true that some people remain buried deep beneath the surface of the lake?
A local business owner wants to know if her suspicions are true that fewer IU students stayed in Bloomington for the past two summers. Indiana Public Media finds the answer.
631 East Third Street, in the historic Old Crescent of IU's campus, has been greenspace since Phi Gamma Delta moved to the west side of campus in 2016.
Charlotte Zietlow remembers when she moved to Bloomington in 1964. Back then, she saw it as a town with dismissive top-down leadership and little civic enthusiasm.
The goal of the apartments, run by Beacon Inc, is to provide housing to community members experiencing chronic homelessness, disability, and addiction.
For our ongoing COVID-19 coverage, we want to hear from you about how persisting COVID symptoms affect your life. You can send a submission through this post.
In Bloomington, a citizen committee’s map was narrowly approved by a divided council. Some of those council members will now have to compete against each other in this year’s elections.
A resident of the Highlands neighborhood told the Monroe County Commissioners Wednesday she wants trees cut down last week to be replaced sooner rather than later.
Mayor John Hamilton’s administration said it’s shocked commissioners approved a CIB Wednesday, and the process lacked transparency and collaboration. Instead, he wants a nonprofit to build and manage the expansion.
Public health officials are contending with a complacent public when it comes to controlling COVID. Throw in the flu and RSV, and that could mean a more disruptive – even dangerous -- winter season for everyone.
New Hope is one of twenty nonprofits in south central Indiana that got CARES money distributed through the South Central Community Action Program in September. The total amount distributed was nearly $400,000.
To understand what agreements between renters and landlords look like in Bloomington and Monroe County, City Limits is collecting leases. If you're interested in helping with the project, you can share a copy of your lease with us.
Now in its third season, the closed portion of Kirkwood Ave. has become a popular outdoor dining destination in warmer months. The city says the initiative was launched to help businesses cope with the pandemic.
Constellation Stage and Screen was formed when Bloomington Playwright’s Project, Cardinal Stage and Pigasus Institute merged in July. At the same time, it signed a lease with a city to run the John Waldron Arts Center.
Monroe County and Bloomington leaders have been struggling to expand their convention center, while two other cities are just getting into the business.
According to the 2020 Bloomington Housing Study, the city will have to build more than 2,500 units by 2030 to keep up the roughly 1 percent annual growth.
The biodiversity survey revealed endangered Kirtland's snakes and an iris not previously seen at the preserve. It also added to data on species scientists know little about, from fungi to fireflies.
Since being named an invasive species by the city in 2020, residents are left with the burden of having to remove bamboo from their property or face fines.
Constellation will produce both traditional and original theatre and feature-length films. The group plans to tell some stories through both mediums. It’s calling this the “page to stage to screen” pipeline.
The road has been repaved, a guardrail installed, and a new paved walkway added along the lake. But one of the highlights of the construction may be the new pier to fish from.
In 2018, the city set aside $800,000 of its Bicentennial Bonds project to plant trees throughout Bloomington. That project is expected to begin this month.
Council originally blocked multifamily, or plex, housing from single-family residential neighborhoods in 2019, but legalized them with conditional use approval in May 2021.
But the issue gets even more complicated when every member of a governing body is from the same political party, such as currently exists with Bloomington City Council, Monroe County Commissioners, and Ellettsville Town Council.
Oni Thomas is entering a profession that already faced a worker shortage before the pandemic. Since early 2020, nursing has been hit particularly hard by the constant care of those suffering from COVID-19.
