This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, May 27th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, you’ll hear Kristen Bodine, being inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame last month for leading the Martinsville girls basketball team to back-to-back championship seasons in 1997 and 98. Hear their amazing story later in the show in a feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, the Monroe County Council rejected the North Park property as a new jail site and justice center during its meeting last night. That’s coming up next in your daily headlines.

Monroe County Council Rejects North Park Jail Purchase Agreement

The $11.4 million purchase agreement for North Park as a jail site failed by a 1-6 vote during last night’s Monroe County Council meeting. This likely ends the county’s effort to purchase the property for a new jail site and justice center.

Tuesday’s decision followed months of debate over cost, environmental concerns, transparency and whether county officials properly explored alternative sites.

During public comment, former city councilmember Steve Volan urged the council to reject the proposal and called on the commissioners to resign over how they handled the process.

“If this was the best they had to offer, let their next act be to send a message that might get the ACLU to back off,” said Volan. “Let them do the honorable thing and resign their seats.”

Following public comment, county council members shared their rationale behind how they voted. Councilmember Pete Iversen was the one vote in favor of the purchase agreement. He said while the proposal was unpopular, he believed delaying the decision would not be wise.

“A vote for the affirmative option presents a solution that perpetuates a system that jails too many people,” said Iversen. “We have a viable path forward to end 17 years of stalemate.”

On the other hand, several council members said they could not support moving forward with the proposal after considerable public opposition. Council member Jennifer Crossley said the North Park property had become too divisive for the county to pursue it.

“We are trying to talk about it, whether or not other people really want to come to the table and really want to talk to us about it,” said Crossley.

Council member Trent Deckard shared concerns about the financial uncertainty of the project.

“In October, there was concern at that time. It was unanimous agreement of council not to move forward, and in time we’ve continued to hear opinions from taxpayers regarding this site,” said Deckard. “Ultimately, this evening I will vote the way I voted in October, and I will vote no.”

The council ultimately voted 1-6 to not move forward with North Park as a jail site. The council made another motion to deny the ordinance altogether, which passed by a 6-0 vote. The decision also comes ahead of a May 29 ACLU deadline that could expose the county to renewed legal action over jail conditions.

County officials now face mounting pressure to choose another site for a new jail and justice center, while questions remain about how much time, money and legal ramifications the county has to restart the effort. WFHB News will continue following this story.

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Two local women were inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame last month. Almost thirty years ago local high school athletes Kristen Bodine and April Traylor-Percy led their Martinsville team in back-to-back championship seasons. It sounds like a movie, but this story is true – and correspondent Nate Barrett has that story in a feature report produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University.

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