This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, September 9th, 2025.

In today’s newscast, WFHB Correspondent Katrine Bruner spoke with the City’s Urban Forester about the risk Spotted Lanternfly insects pose and what Bloomington is doing now to limit their impact. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Lil Bub’s Lil Show – a co-production between WFHB and Lil Bub’s Big Fund.

But first, your local headlines:

Monroe County Election Board Weighs Polling Site Accessibility Software, Elects Republican Danny Shields as New Chair

The Monroe County Election Board met on September 4th. First, ADA Coordinator with the City of Bloomington Michael Shermis gave a presentation on accessible polling sites.

Shermis continued, making election board members aware of a new software that would make polling more accessible.

He suggested a similar software to the county to use for polling sites.

Shermis said that the software BlueDAG could give the county a discount for services at 12,000 dollars per year. He recommended that the county election board implement the software. Republican Board Member Danny Shields asked about the length of the contract and how long it would be needed. Shermis responded.

Election Supervisor Kylie Moreland says she thinks the county could use the software once every four years to ensure they remain A-D-A compliant at polling sites.

Democratic Board Member Penny Githens expressed concerns about accessibility at the North Showers building. Shermis said he’s received complaints about the parking lot in the past. Shields asked who owns the parking lot.

County Clerk Nicole Browne reiterated that the North Showers location needs to be in compliance before the start of early voting, saying the county has 12 violations concerning accessibility.

In other election board news, Republican Chair Danny Shields nominated himself as board chair during the meeting. In a split vote, the board voted 2-1 making Shields the new chair of the Election Board. The full meeting can be found online. The county election board will meet again on Thursday, October 2nd.

Feature Report:

On June 9th, 2025, the City of Bloomington posted a news release that explained an insect, named the Spotted Lanternfly, had been confirmed in Bartholomew County, about 50 miles from Bloomington. The insect, a non-native and invasive species, can feed on more than 70 plants, harming growth and health of plants. Correspondent Katrine Bruner spoke with the City’s Urban Forester, Haskell Smith, to learn more about the insect and what the City of Bloomington has been doing to mitigate risk.

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