This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, January 21st, 2026.

In today’s newscast, WFHB speaks with Sharon Roualet, who wrote a letter to the editor in the Herald Times urging IU football fans to support a piece of legislation that would reform the Board of Trustees. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, “Scams Local and National” on Better Beware, your weekly consumer-watchdog segment on the WFHB Local News. More following today’s feature.

City Council Approves 2026 CDBG Funding Recommendations

The Bloomington City Council met on January 14th. The council discussed a resolution that would approve recommendations for the Community Development Block Grant funds for 2026. City Clerk Nicole Bolden walked through an overview of the resolution.

Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development Anna Killion-Hanson presented the resolution, saying while the grants help spur housing and economic development opportunities, funding can be hard to come by.

HAND program manager Matt Swinney highlighted physical improvements that CDBG dollars could help fund.

Swinney outlined some of the recommendations in the resolution for social services.

Councilmember Dave Rollo acknowledged that funding for the grant program has dwindled over the years.

Killion-Hanson responded that the city should, “work smarter, not harder” when it comes to funding requests.

Councilmember Isak Asare said he wants to see better communication between CDBG and the Jack Hopkins grant program.

The resolution passed by a unanimous vote. The next Bloomington City Council meeting will take place on February 4th.

Featured Interview:

Senate Bill 110 seeks to reestablish three alumni-elected positions on the Indiana University Board of Trustees. In today’s featured interview, WFHB Correspondent Elena Bai speaks with Sharon Roualet, who wrote a letter to the editor in the Herald Times urging IU football fans to support Senate Bill 110. We turn to Elena Bai for more.

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This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, January 20th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, WFHB reports on the city’s Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday celebration last night at the Buskirk Chumley Theater. We also speak with fans on Kirkwood Avenue following IU’s win yesterday over Miami.

You’ll also hear IU’s Doug Booher on Bloomington’s capacity to deal with fifty thousand football fans at every home game. We’re a football town now, but can we handle it? Hear more later in the show in a feature report.

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Local residents convened at the Buskirk Chumley Theater last night for the city’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday event. In today’s broadcast, you will hear performances, excerpts from the keynote speech and the winner of the MLK legacy award. WFHB Youth Radio also speaks with Mayor Kerry Thomson and attendees of the MLK Day event. We turn to Correspondent Shane Gebhard for more.

Last night, Indiana University beat Miami in the National Championship game for college football. WFHB News took to the streets of Bloomington following the victory, speaking with excited fans and local residents celebrating the win. WFHB Sports Correspondent Chase Dodson has the story.

Welp it’s official: we’re a football town now. In a cinematic ending to a fairytale season, the Indiana Hoosiers are national champions. But is Bloomington and the IU campus – specifically, the area around Memorial Stadium – ready for 40 to 50 thousand visitors on a regular basis? Those close to the program say we need critical infrastructure and policy improvements, and we need them NOW. We hear from Galen Clavio, director of IU’s sports media program, who recommends adding luxury packages for out-of-town visitors. We also talk to Doug Booher, Associate Vice President of Events and Conferences, who wants road improvements and also just better Wi-Fi on stadium grounds.

Up next – Lil Bub’s Lil Show, a co-production between WFHB and Lil Bub’s Big Fun. That’s coming up next on the WFHB Local News.

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This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, January 15th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, we have Prescription for Healthcare – a podcast collaboration between WFHB and Medicare for All Indiana. That’s coming up in the bottom half of our program.

There’s too many dogs at the Bloomington Animal Shelter. Hear real talk from Emily Herr about the shelter’s overcrowding crisis later in the show in a feature report.

Featured Segments:

The City of Bloomington Animal Shelter is in crisis. They’ve got a chronic overcrowding problem. It’s not a new problem, but right now it’s a really bad one – especially for the dogs. More pooches are coming in than going out, the kennels are full, and the shelter is out of space. They need adopters. They need foster volunteers. The need is urgent. Correspondent Lily Welch has that story in a feature report produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University.

Up next, we have Prescription for Healthcare, a podcast collaboration between the WFHB Local News and Medicare for All Indiana. This month, hosts Dr. Rob Stone and Karen Green Stone speak with Dr. Belinda McIntosh, a psychiatrist in Atlanta, Georgia, and board member of Physicians for a National Health Program. She was one of the chief authors of “No Real Choices: How Medicare Advantage Fails Seniors of Color”, an important report released in October, 2025. Medicare Advantage plans claim that they help expand healthcare to underserved populations, but this report challenges that claim.

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This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, January 14th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, you will hear Bloomington High School South football coach Gabe Johnson. Hear the story of how coaching legend “Mo” Moriarty came out of retirement to help Johnson later in the show in a feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, “Toying with Artificial Intelligence” on Better Beware – your weekly-consumer watchdog segment on the WFHB Local News.

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If you say “Bloomington” and “football coach” in the same sentence right now, a certain scowling IU celebrity is likely to come to mind. But for locals, that’s the new guy. The real legend around these parts is Coach Myron Moriarty, known in Bloomington as Coach Mo. He was the head coach for Bloomington High School South from 1987 to 2001 and again from 2013 until his retirement in 2019. Coach Mo ended his career with a 75% win record, including two state championships for the Panthers. In 2016 he was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. And now, Coach Mo is back. Correspondent Aidan King has that story in a feature report produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University.

Up next, WFHB Environmental Correspondent Carrie Albright speaks with multidisciplinary artists Nual Chindamanee and Maxwell Fertik about their art exhibit, mOrus which will run at the Waldron Arts Center until January 23rd. This exhibit addresses the invasive mulberry tree through a series of artworks woodworking, sculpture and papermaking. That interview is coming up next on the WFHB Local News.

Up next – “Toying with Artificial Intelligence” on Better Beware – your weekly-consumer watchdog segment on the WFHB Local News. We turn to host and producer Richard Fish for more.

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This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, January 13th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, you will hear Erin Aquino from the Bloomington office of Exodus Refugee. Hear about the chilling effect of ICE on a local immigrant, and social workers trying to help, later in the show in a feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, we pay homage to beloved Bloomington residents who recently passed away, Lee Williams and Dan Combs.

Featured Segments:

The founding director of the Lotus Festival died Sunday. Lee Williams was well-known as a music promoter even before Lotus, as the booking agent for the music venue Second Story. Williams co-founded the annual festival and its parent nonprofit organization, the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation, serving as executive director from 1995 until 2014, and as artistic director through 2017. Lotus and WFHB literally grew up together, with WFHB launching in 1993 and Lotus in ’94. From the beginning the two nonprofits had intertwined missions and a meaningful partnership that amplified the impact of both organizations. Former WFHB News Director Chad Carrothers credits Lee for building that partnership. It became a WFHB News tradition for Chad to find Lee prowling downtown Bloomington on Lotus Friday about 30 minutes before our newscast went live, to get a breaking report on how opening night was shaping up. Here’s five minutes from the 2009 version.

Even before the death of a Minnesota woman in a confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the presence of ICE was having a chilling effect in Bloomington and beyond. Erin Aquino works in the Bloomington office of Exodus Refugee, an organization that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita claims was part of “a coordinated effort by entities in Bloomington to help illegal aliens evade apprehension.” Correspondent Brendan Brown speaks with Aquino, and with a local naturalized citizen, in a feature report produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University.

Dan Combs, longtime Perry Township Trustee, died last week at 73-years-old. Combs was a highly influential figure in Bloomington and fought for the down trodden. He served for almost 40 years as Perry Township Trustee, taught at Bloomington High School South and championed solutions for those facing hard times. Combs hosted several episodes of the Bicentennial Journal on WFHB in 2018. The Bicentennial Journal was a local radio series, celebrating the bicentennial of Monroe County. We turn to that archived episode with Combs from July 31st, 2018.

Up next, we have Lil Bub’s Lil Show – a co-production between WFHB and Lil Bub’s Big Fund. That’s coming up next on the WFHB Local News.

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Even before the death of a Minnesota woman in a confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the presence of ICE was having a chilling effect in Bloomington and beyond. Erin Aquino works in the Bloomington office of Exodus Refugee, an organization that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita claims was part of “a coordinated effort by entities in Bloomington to help illegal aliens evade apprehension.” Rokita demanded access to Exodus documents and the American Civil Liberties Union responded with a lawsuit calling his demand “unjustified retaliation.” Correspondent Brendan Brown speaks with Aquino, and with local resident and immigrant from Belarus Maria Kuzmina Van Hoff, who is a naturalized citizen yet fears for her safety and freedom.

Today’s feature story on the effect immigration crackdowns are having in Bloomington was produced by Brendan Brown in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University. Theme music by ZHR0

This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, January 12th, 2025.

In today’s newscast, you will hear Liv Kazanowsky from Indiana University Culture of Care, with tips on fighting seasonal affective disorder. Chase away the winter blues later in the show in a feature report.

That’s Nadia Cain from the local chapter of the American Conservation Coalition. She started a trash cleanup competition here in Bloomington that spread to other chapters all across the country. Hear more later in the show on a new episode of Activate!

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Residents convened on the courthouse lawn on Sunday – to protest recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and advocate for due process rights for undocumented immigrants. WFHB News attended the rally and interviewed organizers and attendees. That report is coming up next on the local news.

Winter break is over – how are you feeling? It’s the time of year to be SAD. Seasonal affective disorder is a real thing – and for folks in Bloomington it hits hardest in January. Correspondent Claire Keefer explores the effects of the winter blues and what you can do about it, in a feature report produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University.

Environmental activism is often viewed as a liberal endeavor, but climate change doesn’t care whether you’re a donkey or an elephant. The nonprofit American Conservation Coalition aims to build bridges between traditional conservative values and environmental advocacy. In Bloomington the ACC has a student chapter and IU student Nadia Cain is the branch leader. She started a trash cleanup competition here locally that spread to ACC chapters across the country. Nadia shares the mission of the American Conservation Coalition to fill the ideological gap in the environmental movement, on a new episode of Activate! coming your way right now on the WFHB Local News.

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This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, January 8th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, we’re revisiting feature reports from 2025 produced in collaboration between WFHB and students in The Media School at Indiana University. These stories cover housing, homelessness and funding cuts in Bloomington, highlighting the people and issues shaping our community. That’s coming up next in the local news: year in review.

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On January 22nd last year, temperatures in Bloomington reached as low as three degrees. This is especially dangerous for the unhoused. WFHB correspondent Morgan Reynolds spoke with people braving winter weather and social workers trying to bring them in from the cold, in a report produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University. Imagine you have a serious medical condition requiring a colostomy bag, but you are unhoused and using plastic grocery bags instead. Now imagine the temperature drops while you’re sleeping and this bag of your own waste freezes to your body. That’s a true story from the streets of Bloomington, as told in today’s feature report on the plight of the unhoused in the bitter cold of winter.

Bloomington’s population is growing faster than its supply of affordable housing. In a feature report by correspondent RC Glover we hear from an IU student feeling the pinch and a housing expert who says market conditions and our limited buildable land area will likely continue to make the problem worse without intervention from public-private partnerships like the Hopewell neighborhood under development on the site of the old Bloomington Hospital.

Indiana University operates about a half a dozen culture centers on the Bloomington campus, but a Muslim culture center is not one of them. Correspondent Alexis Carvajal talks with IU Muslim Student Association president Ahmed Al Baharna and Islamic Center of Bloomington imam Mohamed Sayed who have been trying to change that for years and are still holding out hope. This special report was produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University.

A number of student-run activities and events on the IU Bloomington campus were blindsided this school year by funding cuts. In the case of University Players, a student-run theater group, total funding was cut by 80%. Correspondent Harley Babbitt has the story of how some of these groups reacted to the cuts and how they will pivot to save their clubs in a feature report produced in partnership with The Media School at Indiana University.

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This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, January 7th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, we’re revisiting several WFHB feature reports from late 2025 – examining political change, development in Bloomington, and the people and stories shaping life in our community. That’s coming up in today’s year-in-review edition of the local news.

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A new generation of voters is reshaping America’s political landscape, and their growing embrace of democratic socialism is beginning to show up at the ballot box. Earlier this month, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani made headlines as one of the most prominent democratic socialists to win office. WFHB News Correspondent Camdyn Glover spoke with young political leaders in Bloomington on both the left and the right to understand what’s driving this shift and whether the movement is here to stay. That report from November 2025 is coming up next on the local news: year in review.In today’s feature report, WFHB News Correspondents Olivia Evans and Katrine Bruner speak with local residents and hotel management about a new boutique hotel that has raised opinions on the modernization of Bloomington. That report from November 2025 is coming up next on the WFHB Local News.

All is not lost. Sure, there’s a lot of heavy stuff going on around the world and right here in our own backyard. But even with so many things to worry about, people in our community still find a way to hold on to hope. WFHB dispatched dozens of reporters to canvass downtown Bloomington and the IU campus to find out what lifts you up. This report was a collaboration between WFHB and the Media School at Indiana University.

IU Football has had a historic season to say the least. But beyond the action on the field, there’s a dedicated team working behind the scenes to support the players’ success. In today’s feature report, WFHB Sports Correspondent Chase Dodson talks with Grant Long, the quarterback manager for the IU Football team. That interview, recorded on October 8th, is coming up next on WFHB.

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This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, January 6th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, we’re revisiting several of our feature reports from late 2025, highlighting issues that continue to shape life in Indiana and here in Bloomington. We’re looking back at reporting on democracy, free speech and community response during extreme weather in today’s episode of the WFHB Local News year in review.

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The Indiana Senate rejected the controversial mid-decade redistricting effort earlier this month. The proposal followed a push by Republicans in Washington, D.C. to redraw congressional maps in several states ahead of the midterm election. In today’s feature report, WFHB News speaks with State Senator Shelli Yoder who says the fight over redistricting was about standing up for Indiana voters and protecting democracy from a political power grab. That interview, from December 15th, is coming up next on the local news: a year in review.

The Indiana Hoosiers beat Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship game on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Flying above the stadium was a plane flying a banner saying, “Indiana University hates free speech.” The flyover banner was a part of a campaign by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, to bring more awareness to perceived violations of the First Amendment at IU. Up next, WFHB Correspondent Zoe Moczek speaks with Dominic Coletti, student press program officer for FIRE.

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory on December 2nd, 2025. In times of extreme weather, our most vulnerable populations are impacted the most – particularly people experiencing homelessness. Up next, WFHB News Correspondent Zoe Moczek speaks with Forrest Gilmore, executive director of Beacon Inc., about how they prepare for the snowy weather.

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