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Government 91 results
Cindy Chavez, left, and Traci Ayala run Pantry 279, a food bank in Ellettsville that has lost food supplies because of federal funding cuts. | Photo by Trung Le

Federal Funding Cuts Are Hitting Home Food banks, libraries, water quality organizations among numerous groups affected
Trung Le
Grandparents with custody of their grandchildren, low-income families, and stewards of clean water are all feeling the impact of federal funding cuts. Vulnerable Hoosiers are getting hit the worst. Writer Trung Le interviewed leaders at several local nonprofits to see how uncertainty caused by government policies are leading to hardship. Read how the cuts are hurting.
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Immigration enforcement is a key justification for repurposing government data, but it also lays the groundwork for mass surveillance, says IU researcher Nicole M. Bennett. | Photo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images

Making Government Surveillance of Americans More Efficient How the Trump administration is quietly repurposing everyone’s data for surveillance
Nicole M. Bennett
The result of newly imposed data-sharing arrangements between government agencies and private companies means the federal government is transforming into an integrated surveillance apparatus, capable of monitoring behavior at an unprecedented scale. IU researcher Nicole M. Bennett says these developments are framed as administrative streamlining, but they lay the groundwork for mass surveillance, without public scrutiny or judicial oversight. Read Bennett’s analysis here.
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MCCSC Superintendent Markay Winston keeps her focus on the students and a goal to “organize the system in a way that benefits every learner.” | Courtesy photo

MCCSC Superintendent Markay Winston Keeps Her Focus on ‘Every Learner’
Steve Hinnefeld
With declining enrollment and a state legislature prioritizing private schools over public schools, MCCSC Superintendent Markay Winston keeps her focus on the students and a goal to “organize the system in a way that benefits every learner.” Reporter Steve Hinnefeld talked to her about her responsibilities and how she approaches the challenges. Click here for a profile of Dr. Winston.
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Ida B. Wells was a writer, editor, activist, and co-founder of the NAACP. This statue of her was erected in 2021 in Memphis, Tennessee, adjacent to the Beale Street Baptist Church where she published a newspaper in the late 1800s. | Photo by Southern Hollows/S. Liles, CC-BY-SA-4.0

Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching
Richard Campbell
Ida B. Wells spent much of her career as a journalist in the late 1800s shedding light on the horrors of lynching. The writer, editor, activist, and co-founder of the NAACP has been called the most famous Black woman of her time in the U.S. This article by Richard Campbell shows her lifelong fight for racial justice. Click here to learn more about Ida B. Wells.
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Winter in Indiana is prime season for house fires, but the Bloomington Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division works year-round to reduce the risk of fires and promote fire safety. Above, firefighters train at the Public Safety Training facility on South Walnut Street. | Photography by Nick Bauer

Fire Safety and Prevention Through Education, Engineering, Enforcement Photo essay on the Bloomington Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division
Nick Bauer
Winter in Indiana is prime season for house fires, but the Bloomington Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division works year-round to reduce the risk of fires and promote fire safety. This photo essay by Nick Bauer shows the work being done to prevent fire tragedies in Bloomington. Click here for Bauer’s article and photo gallery.
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Indiana’s 2025 legislative session is underway at the Indiana Statehouse. A new report gives Indiana a grade of D for funding public schools, and the state ranks 32nd in percent of GDP allocated to K-12 schools. The priorities of the Republicans who control state government would be problematic for public schools, writes Steve Hinnefeld. | Limestone Post

School Matters: Indiana Earns ‘D for Effort’ in Funding Public Education Column by education reporter Steve Hinnefeld
Steve Hinnefeld
A new report gives Indiana a grade of D for funding public schools, and the state ranks 32nd in percent of GDP allocated to K-12 schools. As education reporter Steve Hinnefeld writes, with Indiana’s 2025 legislative session underway, the priorities of the Republicans who control state government would be problematic for public schools. Read Hinnefeld’s column here.
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As communities become more politically polarized, their citizens have to cope with ever more extreme policies. IU political science scholar Marjorie Hershey says polarization tends to make each party “less diverse internally and more different from the views and social characteristics of the other party.” Above, a vendor sells T-shirts in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention in July. | Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian

Political Polarization Hurts Communities — What Can Be Done? Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate Political Polarization
Marjorie Hershey, Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian
As communities become more Democratic or Republican, their citizens have to cope with ever more left-wing or right-wing policies. As political science scholar Marjorie Hershey writes, polarization tends to make each party “less diverse internally and more different from the views and social characteristics of the other party.” What can be done about it? Click here for a Deep Dive into political polarization.
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People take varied paths to the emergency medical profession, and their journeys can differ by geography. Nonetheless, Christine Brackenhoff writes, EMS personnel and agencies across our region have a strong spirit of interconnectivity. Above, flight paramedic Ashley Lucas prepares equipment for the next flight. | Photo by Christine Brackenhoff

Many Paths Taken to the Emergency Medical Profession
Christine Brackenhoff
The individual journeys people take to the emergency medical profession are varied and can differ by geography. Christine Brackenhoff profiles four EMS professionals in south-central Indiana to learn how they got where they are, and why. She also found a strong spirit of interconnectivity for first responders and EMS agencies across our region. Click here for the story.
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The licensed mental health professionals on the Social Support Services Team at the Bloomington Police Department say they offer types of help that uniformed police officers aren’t trained to provide. (l-r) Dayona Cunningham, BPD Social Work Intern; Melissa Stone, MSW, LCSW; Mallory Swanson, MSW, LCSW; Pamela Flick, MA, LMHCA. | Limestone Post

Goal of BPD and Social Support Team Is ‘To Help People’ Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate Police Social Support Services Team
Haley Miller
The Police Social Support Services Team at the Bloomington Police Department has helped thousands of people since 2019. Critics say police and social workers have differing views of justice — criminal versus social — but the team’s licensed mental health professionals say they offer support that uniformed police officers aren’t trained to provide. Click here to read a Deep Dive on social support services.
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