Noon Edition

The three school board members who are up for reelection in the Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation are running unopposed in November. They are Jimmie Durnil, Larry DeMoss, and Brad Tucker 

The district has almost 3,000 kids attending six schools. 

The board’s budgeting and federal programs allow students at Edgewood Primary and Intermediate schools in Ellettsville to eat free and healthy school meals daily. 

The board is also in talks concerning the superintendent's contract, with plans on renewing it for one year. 

This week on Noon Edition, we will talk with R-BB board members up for reelection and their approach to public education and safety. 

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected]. 

You can also record your questions and send them in through email. 

Guests 

Brad Tucker, R-BB school board member, State Farm agent 

Larry DeMoss, R-BB school board member, high school teacher, Lifetime achievement award winner 

Jimmie D. Durnil, R-BB school board Vice President, police chief 

IU had 20 athletes and coaches in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Together, they brought home one gold and two silver medals, increasing IU’s all-time medal count to 124. Six Hoosiers competed in the Paralympics.

IU athletes participated in five sports, and has had a diver in every Olympics since Toyko in 1964. Tokyo 2020 medalist Andrew Capobianco travelled to Paris for his second Olympics.

This week on Noon Edition, we will talk with IU athletes and coaches about their experiences at the 2024 Paris Olympics. You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected]. You can also record your questions and send them in through email.

Drew Johansen, IU head Diving Coach

Andrew Capobianco, American Olympic Diver, IU Graduate

Maxwell Reich, IU senior, swimmer

Indiana University received a $16 million Lilly Endowment grant to help connect the university to the Bloomington community.

The grant money will be used for the development of the Trades District. The partnership is prioritizing building out more spaces for upcoming business startups to keep local talent in the city.

Read more: IU Innovates nurtures entrepreneurs

IU leaders and representatives of the Trades district celebrated the grant during an Aug. 29 event at the Dimension Mill.

This week on Noon Edition, we will talk with guests about progress in the Trades District and what new business talent brings to Indiana University and Bloomington.

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected]. 

You can also record your questions and send them in through email. 

Guests

Jane Kupersmith, Director of Economic and Sustainable Development for the City of Bloomington

Izzy Branam, IU junior, and entrepreneur of two start up businesses

Pat East, City's partner in marketing and developing the Trades District

The Monroe County Community School Corp. has four of seven board member seats open for election. Incumbent board members in districts two, five and six are running unopposed.

A non-incumbent candidate is unopposed for the District 4 seat, where current board member Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer is not seeking re-election.

The four candidates who have no opposition will join the three other board members next year with a heavy agenda. They must hire a permanent superintendent, address scheduling issues, and explore redistricting. 

In early 2022, MCSCC's board leaders started discussions on a controversial plan to align high school schedules at all four Monroe County high schools: Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Graduation School, and Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship.

Board members and administrators have said aligning the schedules improves equity among students, and the current schedules limit students from reaching their full potential.

This week on Noon Edition, we will talk with our guests about the upcoming MCCSC election, local education, and their policies.

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected].

You can also record your questions and send them in through email.

April Hennessey, board member of district 2

Erin Cooperman, board member of district 5

Ross Grimes, board member of district 6

Earlier this month, the City of Bloomington announced it is partnering with local housing groups to tackle issues related to homelessness. 

The plan calls for a short-term pause on welcoming people who are unhoused from outside the region to overnight emergency shelters, focusing on reunification services instead.

Long term, the plan calls for increasing the number of housing units with rent under $500 per month.  Those could include single room occupancy and studio apartments, shared housing and tiny homes.

The plan also envisions restructuring the local criminal justice system around in-patient recovery and mental health care for repeat offenders.

Then this week, the Bloomington Common Council heard office and departments present budget proposals for 2025. Many of the departments presented concerns and strategies for the housing crisis locally. One of the ideas presented was an eviction prevention fund.

Read more: Bloomington's Thomson at the DNC talks homelessness, water accident, annexation

NPR reported the U.S. Supreme Court’s biggest decision addressing homelessness in decades ruled that cities can ban people from sleeping and camping in public places. The decision came down in June. It overturned lower court rulings that deemed it cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment to punish people for sleeping outside if they had nowhere else to go.

This Friday on Noon Edition, we'll talk with Bloomington's mayor and local service providers about their strategies to address homelessness in the community. 

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected].

You can also record your questions and send them in through email.

Guests

Kerry Thomson, Bloomington mayor

Rev. Forrest Gilmore, Beacon Inc. executive director

Emily Pike, New Hope for Families executive director 

Universities across the country responded to pro-Palestine encampments and protests in a variety of ways this summer. 

In July, Indiana University implemented an Expressive Activities Policy, joining schools like the University of Pennsylvania and University of Southern Florida in creating new restrictions for protest on campus. 

The policy – technically called UA-10 - introduces a clear ban on camping, which effectively outlaws the Liberated Zone in Dunn Meadow. It also prohibits expressive activity within 25 feet of the entrance to any building or parking lot and between the hours of 11:01 p.m. and 5:59 a.m.  

Indiana University Board of Trustees chair Quinn Buckner introduced the final version of the policy at the July 29 meeting. A group of pro-Gaza demonstrators from Dunn Meadow sat quietly in the audience carrying protest signs.  

Buckner said the policy was necessary to keep the university nimble in light of “an environment that has changed dramatically in the last 10 years.” He said the issue is student safety.  

Some students and faculty have criticized the policy, saying it will limit the right to peaceful protest and restrict other benign activities. Others supported it but asked for changes before it passed.  

This week on Noon Edition, we’ll talk with experts on freedom of speech, policy, and higher education about policies about assembly and protest on college campuses. 

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected].

You can also record your questions and send them in through email.

After a slow summer for home sales nationally, experts say mortgage rate decreases signal an upturn in the housing market toward the end of the year. 

Affordability is the main constraint on the housing market now.

Home prices increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and homebuilding has not kept pace with population growth.

But the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been below 7 percent since the first week of June, according to Forbes. The rate landed at 6.47 percent last week. 

In Indiana, the average number of homes for sale increased from June to July, according to the Indiana Association of Realtors. June and July this year had the state’s highest inventory since 2020.

Zillow also reported that about 25 percent of its nationwide listings saw price cuts in June. 

Home sale prices declined in June for Indiana but are still higher than last year. 

The Zillow analysis says the market is still slowed by a lack of inventory, 33 percent lower than prepandemic levels.

One expert told Forbes they don’t expect to see supply increase until mortgage rates fall in the low 5 percent range.

In Indiana, suburban county home sales are performing better than urban core areas, which is consistent with national trends.

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll talk with realtors and experts about the housing market and factors influencing it.

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected].

You can also record your questions and send them in through email.

Guests

Matt Kinghorn, senior demographic analyst at the Indiana Business Research Center

Juan Carlos Carrasquel, owner of The JuanSells.com Realty Co.

Tom Wininger, Wininger Construction, president and director of operations

Indiana is set to revise its high school diploma options and graduation requirements.

State officials have voiced that the current diploma options such as General, Core 40, Academic Honors, and Technical, lack hands-on courses and career training for students.

The diploma changes proposed by the IDOE this year would go into effect for the class of 2029. But the options, meant to push career- centered education, have received criticism for the shift away from humanities and not aligning with college admission standards.

Indiana’s secretary of education said a final vote on new diplomas is expected by December.

This week, we’ll talk with guests about coming changes to high school diplomas and graduation requirements.

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected].

You can also record your questions and send them in through email.

Guests

Jeff Raatz, State Senator - District 27

Terry Spradlin, Executive Director of the Indiana School Board Association

Christopher Lagoni, Executive Director of the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association 

Paul Myers, Research Scientist, Center for Evaluation & Education Policy 

Cyber-attacks on state and local governments increased from 2022 to 2023, according to the Center for Internet Security.

The FBI 2023 Internet Crimes Report said ransomware reports increased 18 percent from 2022 to 2023. Losses from the attacks totaled nearly $60 million.

Last month, Monroe County Government was hit by a ransomware attack, halting some local government operations. 

Read more: Local governments fall prey to rise in ransomware attacks

The county immediately reported the incident to the Indiana Office of Technology as required by state law.  

A ransomware attack also hit Clay County government in July. And Columbus experienced a data breach.

The 2020 State of Hoosier Cyber Security Study indicated municipalities’ concern of rising cyber-attacks.

Indiana is working to prevent cyber security incidents, passing comprehensive consumer privacy laws. The state adopted a Cyber Incident Reporting Law in 2021. 

This week, we’ll talk about recent cyber security breaches in local government and strategies for prevention.

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected].

You can also record your questions and send them in through email.

Guests 

Tracy Barnes, Indiana Office of Technology's Chief Information Officer and co-chair of the Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity

Becca McCuaig, Chief Legal Counsel for Accelerate Indiana Municipalities

Scott James Shackelford, Professor of Business Law and Ethics at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business

This week, both Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance visited Indiana. 

Harris’ visit was planned before President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he would be dropping from the presidential race and endorsing Harris as the democratic party nominee. 

Harris spoke to a crowd of thousands of Black women at the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s Grand Boulé Wednesday. 

She touched on accomplishments of the Biden administration, including a cap on insulin prices, school debt forgiveness and Medicaid expansion. 

J.D. Vance also visited Indiana on Wednesday for a fundraising in Fort Wayne. The event organizer told local media the event raised nearly $1 million toward his campaign. 

The Trump campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, that said Harris’ campaign was improperly taking over President Biden’s campaign funds. 

This week on Noon Edition, we’ll talk with political experts about expectations leading up to November and developments on both party’s tickets.

You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to [email protected].

You can also record your questions and send them in through email.

Guests

Brian Howey, Howey Politics Indiana

Steve Shine, Allen County Republican Party Chair

Fabio Rojas, IU Sociology professor 

Stacie Grant, 26th International President of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority