This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, February 25th, 2021.

Later in the program, we have an excerpt from our public affairs program, Interchange. Today’s excerpt comes from the show titled “Frankenstein’s Children: Science, Politics, and Fiction after Mary Shelley.”

Our guest is Eileen Hunt Botting, Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, author of Mary Shelley and the Rights of the Child and the new book Artificial Life after Frankenstein, both published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, we have coverage of Wednesday’s City Council meeting, where councilmembers heard an amendment to the Bloomington Municipal Code regarding protections for people experiencing homelessness. More in today’s headlines.

But first, your local news brief:

Photo courtesy of University of Michigan.

COVID-19 cases have bounced back above one thousand for the second day in a row, with 1,109 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Indiana on Wednesday. Locally, Monroe County saw 18 new confirmed cases yesterday and one COVID-19 death. Lawrence County reported four new positive cases, while Brown County reported none.

As of this week, Hoosiers ages 60 to 64 are now eligible to sign up and receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Hoosiers who are first responders or healthcare workers can also get their vaccines. If you qualify, you can sign up online by visiting ourshot.in.gov, over the phone by calling 211 for assistance, or by contacting one of Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging.

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Bloomington’s 17th annual Black History Month Gala takes place this Saturday, February 27. At this year’s gala, the City of Bloomington will award Indiana-native Joel Washington the Living Legend Award.

Washington was born in Indianapolis and moved to Bloomington in 1975. He is a self-taught artist whose paintings can be found all over Bloomington, and were featured internationally at the Parallax Art Fair in London, England in 2018.

The City will also recognize four black residents nominated as 2021’s Outstanding Black Leaders of Tomorrow. Four residents of Monroe County will be recognized; one man and one woman still enrolled in high-school, and one adult man and woman, but no older than 30.

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Indiana University announced Wednesday that it would be returning to fully in-person classes for the Fall 2021 semester.

In a press release, IU president Michael McRobbie was optimistic about the safety of offline classes, saying, “the decision has been made on the basis of advice from IU’s medical and public health experts."

Indiana University is strongly encouraging students to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible, which director of mitigation testing Aaron Carroll says is key to returning to in-person courses.

It’s currently unclear when most Hoosiers will qualify to sign up for the vaccine. According to analysis from BSquare Beacon’s Dave Askins, at the current pace of full vaccinations, the last Hoosiers to qualify for vaccines will receive theirs in late November.

Bloomington City Council Hears Amendment to Municipal Code for Protections for People Experiencing Homelessness

The Bloomington City Council heard an amendment to the Bloomington Municipal code regarding Protections for People Experiencing Homelessness. Council member Kate Rosenbarger presented the amendment during their February 24th meeting.

Rosenbarger stated the ordinance was modeled after a 2016 ordinance passed by the Indi...