This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, July 14th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, we rebroadcast a feature report on the fight to preserve Seminary Pointe’s affordable housing and commercial spaces. This feature came from a narrative journalism workshop hosted by WFHB’s news department. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, learn about four volunteer opportunities across Bloomington in the latest edition of Volunteer Connection.

Jail subcommittee recommends Curry Building expansion, Thompson site as backup

By Kade Young

The Collaborative Justice Project Working Subcommittee voted Monday to recommend renovating the current jail facility and expanding into the nearby Curry Building for the new jail project. The subcommittee also selected the Thomson property as a backup recommendation.

These recommendations will now make their way to the full Collaborative Justice Project committee, which includes county council members and county commissioners. This vote comes as the county now faces a new federal lawsuit over constitutional standards at the current facility.

The Curry Building is the county office building just west of the justice building in downtown Bloomington, located at 301 North College Avenue. It’s directly adjacent to the current jail.

Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson said she believes the Curry site offers the best path forward.

“It just appears to me to be the best case scenario and most efficient to move forward is this site, especially given the challenges at Thompson in terms of timing,” said the mayor.

Mayor Thomson says the Thompson Road property remains a strong option; however, relocating power lines could halt construction.

“Thompson also was my number two choice… starting the move of the power lines now would be prudent,” she said.

Deputy Prosecutor April Wilson said she’s concerned the Curry site wouldn’t have enough room for both a jail and future justice center offices.

“One of the concerns that I have is it feels a little like we might be repeating the same conversation that happened 40 years ago… I think either option we go with, I think we just don’t have enough space, and I think we’re going to have additional costs,” she said.

Wilson expressed urgency with the project citing the latest federal lawsuit, saying county officials need to move quickly to find a solution.

“These allegations are what is alleged to be happening now… every day we delay, it’s not just financial cost; it’s human cost,” said Wilson.

City councilmember Sydney Zulich critiqued what she sees as years of inaction that led to the county’s current situation.

“The settlement agreement has been in place since 2008. I was six in 2008. Somebody could have had a child in 2008. That child would be eligible to vote this year,” said Zulich.

The mayor maintained the county-owned Curry site gives officials more flexibility moving forward.

“It is true that there’s some assumption that because you own the property, it is more affordable to develop it… having site control… is something that I have considered in my selections,” said Thomson.

The committee approved Curry as its first recommendation on a 3-2 vote before unanimously selecting the Thompson property as its backup recommendation.

Featured Segments:

Last Wednesday, WFHB’s news department hosted a narrative journalism workshop hosted by volunteer Elyse Perry. The workshop culminated in today’s feature report, exploring the debate over Seminary Pointe, where affordable housing advocates are urging city leaders to reconsider plans to demolish the property for a proposed convention center hotel. We rebroadcast that feature which originally aired on July 8th.

Up next, we have Volunteer Connection on the WFHB Local News in collaboration with the Bloomington Volunteer Network, highlighting volunteer opportunities in Bloomington. We turn to hosts Aubrey Seader and Kade Young for more.

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