This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026.

In today’s newscast, WFHB Correspondent Jorge Casillas speaks with Sam Holdemann and Seth Mutchler, two members of the group Care Not Cages, about the county council’s recent rejection of North Park as a new jail site.

You’ll also hear ROTC cadet Sam Enes on the feeling he gets shooting “Big Jake” – that’s the cannon fired in Memorial Stadium every time IU football scores a touchdown. Hear more later in the show in a feature report.

Bloomington RDC moves Hopewell South housing from concept towards construction

By Dave Askins

Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) used its regular meeting on Monday (June 1) to push the Hopewell South project out of the conceptual phase and into the mechanics of platting and permitting. In the western corner of the site, the RDC took a step towards getting potential home construction started before year’s end.

A few separate items on the agenda included Hopewell South: acceptance of the city council’s conditions on the planned unit development (PUD); blanket authorization for staff to pursue all necessary plats and permits; and a targeted lot line adjustment aimed at getting a handful of houses started ahead of the main infrastructure work.

Hopewell South is the portion of the IU Health hospital redevelopment project that sits south of 1st Street.

On a unanimous vote, the RDC formally accepted the “reasonable conditions” the Bloomington city council attached to the Hopewell South PUD when it gave its approval of the rezone on May 6.

Assistant city attorney Dana Kerr told commissioners they essentially had two choices: accept the council’s conditions and move forward, or reject them. RDC executive director Anna Killion-Hanson made clear her position on that.

“Please don’t make me do that!” she said.

Affordability, which was the most contentious topic throughout the city council’s deliberations, reappeared during the RDC’s discussion on Monday. The council’s condition requires that at least 35% of all dwelling units in Hopewell South be “permanently affordable,” with a goal of reaching 50%. Within that 35%, at least 15% of total units have to be reserved for households earning at or below 90% of area median income (AMI), and at least 20% for households at or below 120% of AMI.

Killion-Hanson told RDC members that satisfying the council’s affordability condition is “going to be difficult at best,” given the uncertain construction costs. But she said the administration will “do our ‘college try’ on trying to get as many affordable units as possible without creating an additional burden to the RDC.”

The commission ultimately agreed to an amendment to the resolution proposed by RDC member Laurie McRobbie:

The RDC fully intends to comply with the city council’s conditions to the extent they can feasibly be accomplished without significantly undermining the goals of the Hopewell South Project and the PUD.

Infrastructure work for most of Hopewell South is supposed to be completed by spring 2027.

If that basic timeline holds, it would mean several houses in the in the Hopewell South neighborhood could be finished in late 2027.

Killion-Hanson wrote the The B Square: “2027 is going to be a good year for housing supply! It won’t be enough, but it should have an impact!”

That was the latest edition of B Square Bites – a collaboration between B Square Bulletin and WFHB. To read the full article, you can visit B Square Bulletin and look for the headline: “Bloomington RDC moves Hopewell South housing from concept towards construction.”

Featured Segments:

Up next, the Monroe County Council rejected the North Park property as a new jail site during last Tuesday’s meeting. In today’s feature report, WFHB News Correspondent Jorge Casillas interviewed two members of Care Not Cages.

This interview was conducted on Thursday of last week, just one day before the ACLU lawsuit expired for conditions at the current Monroe County Jail. As a result of the county not approving the purchase agreement for North Park, the ACLU dismissed its longstanding private settlement regarding jail conditions, clearing the path for new litigation.

Today, we air a portion of that interview. Stay tuned for further coverage from Casillas, featuring perspectives from county officials and members of the public, later this week on the local news.

The popularity of Indiana University football is a relatively new phenomenon, but some IU football traditions go way back. Attend any home game at Memorial Stadium and there is one sound that fans hope to hear, because it means IU has scored a touchdown. It’s the celebratory blast from “Big Jake,” the ROTC cannon. Correspondent Julia Timmering has that story in a feature report produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University.

Credits: