This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, April 20th, 2022.

Later in the program, we have Strike Mic - Voices from the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition in light of their strike against Indiana University. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Solar Scams on Better Beware - your weekly consumer-watchdog segment on WFHB.

But first, your Environmental News Brief

Nathaniel Weinzapfel

Hoosiers have begun to head out into the woods to hunt for the morel mushrooms found throughout the forests of the state in the springtime. These mushrooms typically bloom from April to May, and have attracted a sizable number of Hoosiers excited to eat the forest treat. The Indiana Morel Mushroom Progression Facebook group has organized yearly hunts for the mushrooms and have combined the events with environmental cleanups to improve the quality of Indiana’s forests. Hunters are encouraged to carry two bags with them while they are in the forest: one for mushrooms and another for trash. Many woods in the state have sizable amounts of trash, so cleaning up while searching for the fungi is a great way to help the environment. Mushroom hunters love this time of year as it gets them outside after winter and the feast afterwards brings Hoosiers together.

This week, the Biden Administration reversed a move by the Trump administration that removed regulations found in the National Environmental Policy Act. This new rule will require federal agencies to take into account the environmental impacts that could be related to their actions, including climate change factors. The previous administration removed the regulations because they required a lot of time and limited some projects from being created due to environmental concerns. However, critics of the Trump Administration’s move believed that this would allow federal agencies to downplay the environmental justice concerns. The change by the Biden Administration will reinstate these environmental justice decision making factors. This represents a significant step in the Biden Administration environmental agenda.

Recently there has been a major win in the world of wildlife conservation. An endangered Sumatran rhino gave birth to a new baby in an Indonesian sanctuary last month. This species of rhino is extremely endangered due to habitat destruction and poaching for their horns. The World Wildlife Fund has stated that there are only 80 Sumatran rhinos left in the world. This new baby has increased the rhino population at the Indonsenisan sanctuary to eight, and represents the potential that the species may recover in the future.

Monroe County Commissioners

Noelle Herhusky-Schneider

During public comment at the Monroe County Commissioners meeting on April 13th, county resident Ron Thompson said that he thinks more people should know about the Smart 9-1-1 service that is available to residents.

Executive Director of Area 10 Agency on Aging, Chris Myers asked the commissioners to approve a grant for public rural transportation. Myers shared that the grant would help fund new buses.

Myers said that they are also short on bus drivers.

The commissioners approved the grant unanimously. The next meeting will be held on April 20th.

Air Quality in Schools

Bode Hoover

Have you ever been stuck behind a bus or truck with a big plume of smoke coming out the tailpipe? If so, then you can probably imagine that horrible smell right now. Now imagine there are 30 buses doing the same thing. That’s what thousands of students and faculty in Indiana schools face every day. 

A 2013 study found that air pollution outside schools is often much greater than in nearby communities.