Noon Edition

One in 31 Americans have been diagnosed with autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest data, from 2022.

The numbers have grown significantly from the 1990s, when the autism rate was one in 10,000. Even in 2000, the rate was one in 150.

Scientists say in the past, only kids with severe problems were diagnosed with autism. Now that they know autism spectrum disorder encompasses a wide range of traits and symptoms, the numbers have jumped.

They also say as services grew, more parents began seeking diagnoses for their children.

But recent comments and recommendations on autism by President Donald Trump and his administration have stirred controversy on the issue. Trump said there is “something artificial” about the rising autism rate and suggested women not take Tylenol, which includes the drug acetaminophen, during pregnancy unless medically necessary.

Read more: Trump links autism and Tylenol: is there any truth to it?

Parents of autistic children and doctors say the president is blaming mothers and vilifying autism.

“There’s this kind of narrative that you have to be careful of absolutely everything you do in pregnancy, and if you eat the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, you’re going to irreparably harm your baby,” said Dr. Noa Sterling, an OB-GYN. “So, the Tylenol just plays directly into this fear that, ‘I’ve taken something that has caused this condition in my child.’”

Last month, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Human and Health Services, announced actions the administration will take to “confront the nation’s autism spectrum disorder epidemic.” Those include new treatments and what he calls groundbreaking research.

The renewed focus on ASD is welcomed by some, but others decry what they see as pushing ideas not grounded in science.

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss autism spectrum disorders, behavior analysis and support, living with autism and the federal government’s new approach to autism. 

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
Dr. Cathy Pratt, former director, Indiana Resource Center for Autism
Adria Nassim, research assistant, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
Ashley Lehman, president, Monroe County Autism Foundation

Indiana is slashing available seats in state-funded preschool programs next year and reducing reimbursement for preschools.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced the cuts in June and said the state was narrowing eligibility for these programs.

Read more: Indiana slashes number of children in state preschool program

The programs were funded by about $1 billion in pandemic money that ran out this year and isn’t being replaced by the legislature.

Although Indiana Gov. Mike Braun pushed for increased funding, lawmakers ended up passing a smaller budget due to weak revenue forecasts.

According to a survey conducted last month, about 11 percent of the state’s early childcare providers report that they may close in the next year as a result of the cuts.

Read more: Indiana child carers already closing as cuts hit

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss how the cuts are affecting childcare providers, parents trying to get care, and early learning costs and benefits.

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
Tony Felts, Chief Engagement Officer, Early Learning Indiana
Jennifer Myers, Director, Monroe Smart Start
Hanan Osman, Executive Director, Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children

Pet ownership has risen by about 10 percent over the last three decades, with three-fourths of those surveyed saying they acquired a pet during the pandemic.

On this Noon Edition, we’ll be talking with three guests about how beauty standards have changed over the years and how the selfie generation is turning to procedures in hopes of achieving the perfect look.

On this Noon Edition, we talk with medical experts about the need for vaccines and the fallout from the Trump administration’s vaccine stance and shake up at the top of the Center for Disease Control. 

Labor Day traditionally marks the unofficial end to summer.

But true meaning behind the holiday is to honor the contributions of American workers to society.

Growing out of the labor movement of the 1880s, the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City in 1882. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894.

Leading the labor movement in Indiana was Terre Haute’s Eugene V. Debs. As Grand Secretary of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, he led a 10-month strike in 1888 against CB&Q Railroad.

He was also instrumental in the founding of the American Railway Union, one of the nation's first industrial unions, and went on to serve in the Indiana House of Representatives. Debs also ran for president five times as a socialist, the last time in 1920 from jail.

One of the first major pro-labor laws came in 1914. The Clayton Act said "the labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce." It legalized strikes and boycotts. Workers earned the right to unionize in via the Wagner Act in 1935.

Union membership peaked in 1954 with 35 percent of the workforce represented by a union.

But union membership began to decline and by 1983, union membership was down to 21 percent nationwide. Indiana was above the national average then with 25 percent. But by 2004, that number was down to 12 percent and last year dipped below 10 percent.

Contributing to the decline was Indiana’s Right to Work legislation, which was signed into law in 2012. It prohibits unions from requiring union membership as a condition of employment.

But union membership is making a comeback, with companies such as Starbucks and Amazon seeing organized labor movements. And at Indiana University, the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition has been seeking formal recognition from IU for its more than 1,700 members.

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss the history behind the labor movement in the U.S., Indiana’s role in unions, where unions stand today and why it’s important to recognize laborers.

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].

Guests

Derek Cronin, president of UAW Local 440

Allison Duerk, Director of the Eugene Debs Museum

Jerry Torr, former Indiana state representative from Carmel, co-author Indiana’s Right to Work law

Joseph Varga, professor in the Labor Studies Department at Indiana University

On this week’s Noon Edition, we discuss the excitement surrounding the Indiana football program, how NIL money is impacting college football and the return of the bison.

Gov. Mike Braun has remained uncommitted to redistricting Indiana, waiting to see what Texas does and what the GOP legislators in the state want to do.

Five years ago, the city of Bloomington unveiled the Hopewell Master Plan to lay the groundwork for a new neighborhood on the former site of the IU Health Bloomington Hospital.

The city purchased the property for $6.5 million with the hopes of a new neighborhood that included “homes for all, intentional design, green space, and a true sense of belonging.”

But the development, which will be built in three phases (South, East and West) is taking time.

A new city park – Hopewell Commons – was opened in April. The one-acre park “features swing-style seating, picnic tables, a log scramble play structure, artificial turf, a performance stage, temporary pickleball courts, and built-in ping pong tables.”

And work has begun turning the historic Kohr Administrative Building on the south side of the neighborhood into 38 low-income housing units.

Read more: Construction begins on Kohr Building low-income housing next month

But while plats have been approved that divided the property into lots and set up easements, public rights-of-way, and street names, no houses have yet been constructed.

In June, the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission rejected all bids for the development and voted unanimously to begin working with development firm Flintlock LAB, “which has years of experience creating pre-approved home designs with reduced costs that are acceptable to local city development code.”

Read more: Bloomington shifts direction on Hopewell South

The goal is to cut down on developer risks and streamline city approvals.

“Development has been very slow in Bloomington,” mayor Kerry Thomson said at the time. “It takes a long time to get a permit, and that costs money not just to the developer, but that end cost gets ultimately passed on to the person who lives in the unit.”

The city says the next steps include: site design concepts and architectural renderings; housing breakdowns by type and affordability; community input opportunities and engagement sessions; and construction timelines.

On this week’s Noon Edition, we’ll discuss where the Hopewell neighborhood project stands, issues that have arisen and how Hopewell could be a model for other neighborhoods going forward.

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

Jason Bell, Executive Director, Building Association of South Central Indiana

Anna Killion-Hanson, Director, Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development

The Taste of Bloomington is making its return Saturday.

The popular food and drink festival was last held in 2019 in the Showers complex. But the pandemic, then rising food and beverage costs, made the event unsustainable.

But this year, led by Food Truck Friday organizer Jordan Davis, the Taste will return with a new look and location.

The festival will take place from 3 to 10 p.m., all along Kirkwood Avenue, with more than three dozen restaurants, a dozen food trucks and eight alcohol establishments lining the street from Indiana Avenue to Walnut.

There’ll also be two stages with live music playing during the event. Performers include Clayton Anderson, DIZGO, Peyton Womack, WIND and Busman’s Holiday.

One major change is the event will be free to enter. Each venue’s servings will cost no more than $5.

On this week’s special Noon Edition from the café at the Graduate Hotel on Kirkwood, we’ll discuss what it took to get the Taste of Bloomington restarted, changes to the event and what food and drink will be available.

Join us live at the Graduate Hotel or 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].

Guests

Jordan Davis, Organizer, Taste of Bloomington.

Mike McAfee, Executive Director, Visit Bloomington

Amber Racoma, Owner, Mama Dukes Hawaiian Barbeque