This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, March 24th, 2025.

In today’s newscast, physician and anti-nuclear activist Dr. Ira Helfand warns that the world is closer to nuclear war than ever before. More in today’s feature report.

You will also hear from Sue McCracken, the founder of Art Remains -Bloomington’s new nonprofit salvage shop for art supplies and materials. It’s kind of like the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store concept, but for art! Find out more later in the show on a new episode of Activate!

But first, your daily headlines:

Board of Health Clarifies Local and State Roles in Gender Marker Changes

The Monroe County Board of Health met on Thursday, March 20th. During public comment, County Resident Melanie Davis, spoke to the board about a name and gender change that was denied. Davis expressed concern that there has not been enough clarity to help people impacted to navigate the executive order instated by Governor Mike Braun.

Chair of the Board Aurora DiOrio asked Davis to stay for the rest of the meeting where they would be addressing some of the issues she mentioned.

During the agenda item on the Vital Records Department, Health Department Director Lori Kelley explained that the local county Vital Records Department is able to make name changes; however, they can only request a gender change, and then the Indiana Department of Health is in charge of making the gender change.

DiOrio followed up asking for clarification. County Registrar Kathy Hertz responded.

The State Registrar and Division Director at the Indiana Department of Health reached out to county health departments with guidance on the new executive order. County Attorney Dave Shilling explained what the guidance entails.

The Board of Health voted to submit a legal report, which documents the Monroe County Health Department’s compliance with the court order to change a petitioner’s name and gender marker on local birth records, despite Governor Braun’s executive order prohibiting state agencies from processing gender marker changes. County health board members discussed what the report entails.

The board voted unanimously to file the legal report in the Monroe Circuit Court. The Monroe County Board of Health will meet again on April 17th.

The Monroe County Women’s Commission met on March 20th.

Hardesty continued to explain her goal to provide an update at each meeting about what information is available to the community, and what is not available, on the status of women in Monroe County.

Chair of the Commission Susan Hingle responded that she thinks it is a good idea, but said that it can be an overwhelming challenge to tackle.

Hingle suggested that they take measures to ensure that the student population is included in their data due to the fact that students are often considered temporary residents and are not guaranteed to be included in the county’s census numbers.

Commissioner Tiana Iruoje recommended that they reach the Office of Institutional Data.

Later in the meeting, Hardesty shared a presentation that she has been working on with Commissioner Maria Douglas, to present to the Monroe County Commissioners to contribute to the conversation of the new jail.

She went over the next steps and recommendations for implementing the gender equity rubric.

Commission members recommend that they reach out to a subject matter expert like a Gender Equity Professor at Indiana University before they present to the commissioners.

Feature Report:

Physician and anti-nuclear activist Dr. Ira Helfand warns that the world is closer to nuclear war than ever before. Speaking ahead of his event at First United Church, Helfand describes the catastrophic consequences of a modern nuclear attack—even beyond the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He urges immediate action to dismantle nuclear arsenals, calling it a matter of human survival. WFHB News Correspondent Annika Harshbarger has more.

Credits: