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!
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.
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.
During last week’s annual organizational meeting, councilmember Susan Sandberg defeated councilmember Matt Flaherty by a 5-4 vote for the top leadership position.
Monroe County Commissioners and residents against annexation marked the official conclusion of remonstration Thursday evening at the Monroe County Courthouse.
Some residents say they already have the signatures needed to void annexation. But will remonstration hold up if the city ends up challenging recent waiver legislation in court?
An affordable housing project, public art, and a Spanish language preschool find secure and flexible funding with the help of CDFI Friendly Bloomington.
Instead of using only a request-based system to log improvement projects, the report suggests the city should prioritize all projects based on 10 different data lenses.
Ben Sturbaum knows all too well about breakthrough COVID-19 infections. Four months after receiving his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in March, the 62-year-old Owensburg resident started feeling sick.
Bloomington’s annexation proposal now moves to proceedings next week as city council decides whether to accept, limit, or revoke any of the eight areas under consideration.
Indiana University Chief Medical Officer Aaron Carroll wants more people to be vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s a matter of public health and putting the pandemic behind us.
City Limits will address five commonly offered reasons for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 this week in a short Q&A series. Today’s question: Can I take the vaccine if I have an egg allergy?
City Limits will address five commonly offered reasons for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 this week in a short Q&A series. Today’s question: Does the COVID-19 vaccine weaken my immune system’s ability to fight off viruses?
City Limits will address five commonly offered reasons for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 this week in a short Q&A series. Today’s question: Does the vaccine threaten fertility, especially among women?
The city is in communication with the Bicycle Garage to commission a new mural for the space in Peoples Park, but Ksander is unsure of a timeline for the project. Ultimately, the Bicycle Garage must approve the plan.
Bloomington’s mayor wants to catch up on the size of the city by annexing property in Monroe County’s jurisdiction into the city. The city’s last annexation took place in 2004.
“If you’re living paycheck to paycheck $600 a month is close to what you can afford. But there’s nowhere in Bloomington where you can get a two-bedroom for $600. Nowhere.”
The proposed law would ban the city from removing homeless encampments, like the ones seen in Seminary Park this winter, unless sufficient housing options are available.
Our look back at Black history in Southern Indiana stays right here in Bloomington, where reporter Mitch Legan tackles a City Limits question: What's the city's history of racially restrictive housing covenants?
A listener suggests while there are more cases, there are relatively fewer deaths – and asks our City Limits Series, “Have doctors found more effective ways of treating patients?”
Historically, alleys provided rear access to a property. Back there, deliveries could be made, trash piled for collection, flotsam stored and transportation housed. For the most part, that’s still the case.
The weekend street closure stretches from Indiana Avenue all the way to Walnut Street and eliminates multiple parallel parking spots outside businesses.
As the pandemic continues and another stimulus package hasn’t been put in place since the extended CARES Act ended in July, one listener asks our City Limits Series, "What happens to quarantined people after unemployment benefits expire?"
In February of 2019, Bloomington’s Barnes and Noble closed its doors for good and left the community with an immense need for more books.
Nancy Boerner, a retired collection development librarian and avid reader, had lost her favorite place to browse and find new books when Barnes and Noble closed. She then asked City Limits to find out if there were plans for Barnes and Noble to return and if there were any other bookstores planning on opening in the area.
