This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, December 15th, 2025.

In today’s newscast, Environmental Correspondent Carrie Albright speaks with Shannon Gayk from IU’s English Department about the Environmental Futures Initiative—a group bringing together artists, scientists, scholars and the community to explore our relationship with nature. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Lil Bub’s Lil Show – a co-production between WFHB and Lil Bub’s Big Fund.

Ellettsville Town Council Members Clash in Approving Committee Members to Reorganization Committee

The Ellettsville Town Council met on December 8th and selected members for the Ellettsville Richland Township Reorganization Committee. The committee will be tasked with making a plan for the reorganization by June to be voted on by the public in November.

Town Manager Mike Farmer gathered a list of 22 names for the council to choose from. Council member Dan Swafford expressed concern that he had not seen the list before the meeting. He said Farmer should have sent it to him earlier.

Farmer said he was caught off guard by Swafford’s grievance because he had vetted the names to make sure they fit the council’s criteria. The council had arranged for Farmer to have the authority to vet the list in an email exchange.

Swafford thought the council should’ve had more say in the list.

Farmer said he didn’t know the council would want names and qualifications at the meeting. Swafford said Farmer should’ve reached out before the vote.

Council member William Ellis gave his opinion regarding the issue, saying Swafford should have gotten involved sooner.

Council member Pamela Samples said they would get nowhere by fighting and started asking about the duties of the committee.

Farmer outlined that the committee would make a plan for the reorganization independent of the Richland Township and Ellettsville Town Council.

The council decided Mike Coreman, Andrew Henry and William Ellis to be the three people representing the town on the committee.

The next meeting of the Ellettsville Town Council will be on December 22nd.

Featured Segments:

Indiana University placed multiple fraternities on suspension this fall after hazing incidents that sent several students to the hospital, and has since lifted some of those suspensions while other chapters remain under investigation. WFHB Correspondent Camdyn Glover reports.

Bridging the arts and humanities with the natural world has long been a priority for our next interview guest, Shannon Gayk. Shannon is a medievalist and English professor at IU who has delved into the ways past societies responded to dramatic environmental upheaval—from cooling temperatures to plagues—using literature as a means for understanding. Today, she leads the Environmental Futures Initiative, fostering collaboration across arts and humanities, sciences, and local communities to deepen our attention to today’s changing world. For more, we turn to Environmental Correspondent Carrie Albright.

Now it’s time for Lil Bub’s Lil Show – a co-production between WFHB and Lil Bub’s Big Fund. That’s coming up next on the local news.

Credits: