This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, March 20th, 2025.

In today’s newscast, WFHB News welcomes prosecutor Erika Oliphant on Civic Conversations – a podcast collaboration between WFHB and the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County. More in the bottom half of our program.

Also coming up in the next half hour, the Monroe County Council heard calls for ICE protection, advanced justice center plans and expanded financial transparency during their meeting last week. More coming up next in your daily headlines:

Monroe County Council Hears Calls for ICE Protections, Advances Justice Center Plans, and Expands Financial Transparency

During public comment at the Monroe County Council meeting on March 11th, County Resident Seth Mutchler, urged the county council to protect its residents from ICE officers, in response to the detainment of Mahmoud Khalil.

Monroe County Auditor Brianne Gregory announced a new database that will help with the city’s financial transparency.

Council member Trent Deckard applauded that the database would update nightly and show a greater level of transparency than the county’s current system, gateway, is currently able to offer.

The council heard a resolution to pause all non-essential activity of the personnel administration committee. County attorney Molly Turner-King presented the resolution.

Counselor Peter Iversen endorsed this resolution, stating that in light of state legislation, budget cuts may be necessary.

The resolution passed unanimously.

The Council later discussed the status of the pre-design phase of the Justice Center. On this, Council Member David Henry talked on a need to address the scale of the jail while understanding that time is not on their side.

On the corrections tax that is funding this project, Council Member Trent Deckard said that he believes the council has maximized the project budget.

Council Member Iverson mentioned that the budget could be maximized by cutting in-facility treatment programs.

Council Member Marty Hawk expressed frustration about not knowing exactly what this would cost taxpayers.

Deckard pointed out that declining Monroe County population predictions might mean that the facility doesn’t have to accommodate as many people, allowing them to scale down the size of the facility.

Council President Jennifer Crossley advocated for including a greenspace at the new facility,

Iverson mentioned that Monroe County is leading the way with a new climate-focused committee.

The next Monroe County Council meeting will be held on March 25th.

Feature Report:

In today’s feature report, we have Civic Conversations – a podcast collaboration between WFHB and the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County. Today, we look back at an archived episode where the host Jim Allison welcomed Erika Oliphant of the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office.

During the podcast, Prosecutor Oliphant shared how her office determines what cases to prosecute, the role of the prosecutor, and how plea bargains impact what cases are brought to court. She also talked about the current research study on how racial and ethnic biases impact the cases brought to court. Her office works with the NAACP Monroe County Branch on this critical study. Civic Conversations, coming up next on the WFHB Local News.

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