Noon Edition

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 is projected to reduce Medicaid enrollment by 7.5 million people. That includes more than 340,000 in the state of Indiana.

That equates to an 18.5% drop in Medicaid in the state that ranks among the steepest in the country. It’s put stress on hospitals – particularly in rural areas -and healthcare providers to take care of uninsured patients in the state.

Another four million people have lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as a result of the bill, including roughly 92,000 in Indiana.

Read more: Medicaid and SNAP cuts will harm students and local economies

The impact hits hard on school children in the state. According to the Indiana Department of Education, fewer than half of the one million children eligible for free meals at school are getting them.

That’s because in Indiana, more than two thirds of the schools eligible for the federal meal service program opted out this year. Indiana ranks 47th in the nation for participation in the program.

Read more: Cuts to SNAP, Medicaid could impact free school meals at high-poverty schools

On this week’s Noon Edition, we'll explore how federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid are affecting local individuals and families struggling with food insecurity. 

Guests
Julio Alonso, Executive Director, Hoosier Hills Food Bank
Tim Clougher, Assistant Director, Community Kitchen of Monroe County
Erin Macey, Director, Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute

The impending demolition of around two dozen apartments at Seminary Pointe has shined the spotlight on the lack of affordable housing in Bloomington.

The low-rent apartments are on property that will be developed as part of the Bloomington Convention Center expansion. Advocates offered various ideas to save the apartments, but they have been cleared for demolition as soon as Oct. 1.

Read more: Group offers deal for Seminary Pointe, convention hotel

One of two proposals for a hotel near the convention center includes plans for an apartment complex at the Seminary Pointe site that would include 27 low-cost units to replace those being torn down. The Redevelopment Commission will decide on which proposal to accept next month.

One area the city is planning for low-income housing is in the Hopewell Neighborhood. But that project has been slow moving. Planned five years ago on the site of the old Bloomington Hospital, no new homes have been built.

Read more: Hopewell South passes city council unanimously

However, earlier this year, the city council OK’d a planned unit development that allows for up to 98 affordable homes on small lots in one section of the neighborhood. That’s about three times more than what the usual zoning would allow.

And in January, Mayor Kerry Thomson proposed changes to make it easier for low-income residents to become home owners, and in February, the council also approved changes to the Unified Development Ordinance that increased incentives for building low-income housing.

Read more: Mayor proposes change to make more lower-income residents homeowners

But affordable housing continues to be one of the big issues facing Bloomington residents and officials.

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll talk about the state of affordable housing in Bloomington and efforts by the city to address the issue.

Join us on the air by calling 812-855-0812 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
Mayor Kerry Thomson, (D) Bloomington
Anna Killion-Hanson, Director, Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development
Bryce Greene, Organizer, Bloomington Democratic Socialists and Bloomington Homes For All!
Nathan Ferreira, Executive Director, Bloomington Housing Authority

Rural Hoosiers already face obstacles in getting health care.

There are counties that face shortages of doctors and nurses, treatment facilities or are located in health care deserts. Two counties bordering Monroe - Brown and Owen – don’t have hospitals. Others have had to scale back services.

Read more: Greene County hospital to end labor, delivery services

Rural Hoosiers are also more likely to have higher risk factors such as higher rates of smoking, high blood pressure and obesity. Coupled with higher rates of poverty and fewer options for health care, it presents even more challenges for those needing care.

That access only gets harder with cuts to Medicare and changes to Medicaid.

Read more: Americans begin to lose Medicaid under Trump's work rules

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss the financial and staffing issues for rural hospitals and the challenge of treating those in need in health care deserts.

Guests
Chris Lunsford, Director, Owen County Emergency Medical Services
Brenda Reetz, CEO, Greene County General Hospital
Dr. Robert Stone, Palliative Care Physcian, IU Health

The Taste of Bloomington returned last year after a five-year hiatus and was, by all accounts, a resounding success. But that success led to some changes this year.

Around 20,000 people attended last year’s event along the Kirkwood Ave. cooridor, leading to crowd congestion on the street and around vendor areas, and a lot of trash to deal with.

So, this year, organizers are expanding the footprint of the festival and tweaking the layout of vendors to provide more space. They’re also moving the kid’s area from People’s Park to inside at the Monroe County History Center.

There will also be more vendors this year – 75 compared to 50 last year – and a third music stage added at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Read more: Taste of Bloomington website

The festival will run from 3 to 10 p.m. And, like last year, all food will cost $5 or less.

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll talk with the festival organizer and vendors about what they learned last year, changes coming this year and what food and drink will be available.

Guests
Bob Costello, Owner, Village Deli and Soma Coffeehouse and Juice Bar
Jordan Davis, Organizer, Taste of Bloomington and General Manager, The Chocolate Moose
Mike McAfee, Executive Director, Visit Bloomington
Rachel Wiehe, Owner, Weirdough Cookie Co.

A new Monroe County Community School year starts on August 5.

One of the big changes this year will be a ban on students having access to cell phones during the school day. It’s the result of a new state law that does not allow students to access personal wireless devices, such as phones, smartwatches and tablets.

Parents decried the new law, citing the inability to check in with their children in case of an emergency. But last month, the school board adopted the new rule.

Read more: Despite concerns, MCCSC board passes state-mandated student cellphone policy

The corporation continues to deal with the fallout from 2024’s Senate Enrolled Act 1, which reduces property tax revenue for public schools and requires sharing with charter schools.

The loss of funding forced MCCSC to lay off 61 food service, health aide, and custodial employees last year. It also froze teacher salaries and did not fill some open positions.

Read more: MCCSC board gives financial update, discusses changes to cellphone policy

Following the implementation of a fiscal plan by the corporation, MCCSC says it has turned a projected $30 million deficit by 2030 into a projected $35 million surplus.

The corporation is also facing a decrease in student enrollment. There were just under 10,000 students last year. Over the next 10 years, that number is projected to drop to around 8,500.

And all of these changes come at a time when artificial intelligence is changing the landscape of education.

Read more: Teachers worry AI is impacting students' critical thinking

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss new and ongoing issues facing Monroe County students, parents, teachers and administrators with a new school year set to start in a couple weeks.

Guests
Erin Cooperman, President, MCCSC Board of Trustees
Jenny Noble-Kuchera, President, Monroe County Education Association

Following a Supreme Court decision in June that the president had the authority to end the Temporary Protected Status program, the Trump administration is ending protections for immigrants from more than a dozen countries.

Read more: Trump can begin deportations of Syrian, Haitian TPS holders, Supreme Court says

Now, hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in the U.S. legally will lose that protected status and could face deportation.

More than a half dozen countries have already had their TPS ended, others are set to expire by this fall. Protected status for more than 330,000 displaced Haitians ends next week.

The Temporary Protected Status program was passed by Congress in 1990 to allow eligible migrants to live and work in the U.S. if it was too dangerous to return to their home countries due to natural disasters, armed conflict or other circumstances.

But many of those losing status and being sent back to their home countries may be encountering just those conditions.

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss the benefits of having Temporary Protective Status, what losing it will mean, and the role of immigrant support groups at a time when immigrants are under increasing political and social threats.

Guests
Elizabeth Dunn, Professor of Geography at IU Bloomington
Gurinder Kaur, CEO of Immigrant Welcome Center
Arwa Ghalawan, Syrian American Community Advocate

Indiana's Senate Enrolled Act 285 went into effect July 1. The new law prohibits camping, sleeping, or sheltering long-term on publicly owned land without permission. If unhoused people don’t move into a shelter or diversion program with 48 hours of being given a warning, they can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Read more: A cop, a homeless man, and a provider: The street view of new state law’s consequences

At the same time, local organizations dedicated to fighting homelessness and providing services to unhoused people are making major steps to expand and create new paths towards permanent housing and long-term stability.

Read more: Homelessness initiative would offer year of subsidized rent

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss the short and long-term impacts of the new state law, the current state of homelessness response in Monroe County, and what the future looks like for organizations that provide services for unhoused people in Bloomington and beyond.

Guests:
Reverend Forrest Gilmore, Executive Director at Beacon, Inc.
Mary Morgan, Executive Director of Heading Home of South Central Indiana
Brian Giffen, Homelessness Response Coordinator with the City of Bloomington.

On Saturday, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday.

In towns and communities across the nation, Americans will gather to honor the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, when the 13 colonies announced their split from Great Britain.

And over the past 250 years later, those 13 colonies grew to 50 states and the United States has become one of the world’s superpowers.

Read more: Indiana going all out to celebrate America’s 250th birthday

Indiana University has a number of events scheduled this summer to commemorate the anniversary. An exhibit at the Lilly Library titled, “The Declaration of Independence: The Motives, The Moment,” looks at how the colonies reached the point of insurrection.

Watch: WFIU’s The State of Inquiry Podcast: America 250

And, the nation’s capital is celebrating with a two-week long “Great American State Fair” on the National Mall. But like most events over the past decade or two, claims of its politization have driven a wedge into the celebration.

But for some, the celebration of the country’s 250th birthday has turned into more of a wake.

Read more: America turns 250. Not everyone is celebrating

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss America's 250th anniversary - if we're living up to the revolutionary ideals, how today's cultural wars fit in the country's history, how we’re celebrating the Fourth this year and why some may not feel like celebrating.

Guests
Erika Dowell, Executive Associate Director, IU’s Lilly Library
Leslie Lenkowsky, Professor Emeritus, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Carl Weinberg, Retired Teaching Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington

All eyes are on North America as it hosts the 23rd World Cup, an international soccer tournament held every four years.

Despite pre-tournament concerns of traveling to the U.S., stadiums in the U.S., Mexico and Canada have been sold out and raucous scenes of foreigners taking over cities, such as Scottish fans in Boston, have been common.

Read more: World Cup turnout defies concerns, as Americans flock for the spectacle

The tournament began on June 11 with group stage qualifying. That wraps up this weekend, with knockout games starting next week.

This year, the tournament expanded from 32 teams to 48. The teams were divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two teams in each group and the eight best third-place teams advancing to a new round of 32.

From there, the winners advance until the final two meet for the World Cup on July 19 in East Rutherford, N.J.

The U.S. won its first two group games and has already qualified for the round of 32. They’ve never won three games in a World Cup before, but this year’s squad is ranked 14th in the world with high expectations on home soil.

Read more: It's (finally) OK to dream big about USMNT and World Cup

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll talk about how far the U.S. can go in the World Cup, how the tournament is inspiring America’s youth, Bloomington being a bastion of soccer, and if the sport will ever rise to the importance here that it has around the globe.

Guest
Louis Malone, Executive Director, Cutters Soccer
Andrew McFarland, Professor of History, IU Kokomo
Kelly Wherley, Building Manager at the IU Global and International Studies Building, local soccer fan

June is Pride Month, a month-long observance commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) culture and community.

Indiana started celebrating Pride in 1990 with the Celebration on the Circle event in downtown Indianapolis. Today, over 40 Pride events are celebrated throughout the state, from small rural events to several-day festivals.

But this year has been a challenging one for LGBTQ rights in Indiana, with a federal appeals court upholding an Indiana law dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents, the state banning transgender Hoosiers from updating their gender on driver’s licenses and birth certificates, and legislative attempts to ban transgender people from using bathrooms that don’t align with their sex at birth.

Read more: Indiana governor declares Pride month ‘nuclear family month’

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss how Pride Month is being celebrated in Indiana amid rising anti-LGBTQ+ legislation at the state and the federal level.

GUESTS

Elisabeth Solchik, Spencer Pride

Melanie Davis, the Front Door community center in Bloomington