Kurt Vonnegut gave dozens of quirky commencement addresses in his lifetime. He made some preposterous claims, made people laugh, and made them think. They were speeches college graduates remembered, says Susan Farrell, an English professor and founding member of the international Kurt Vonnegut Society. Vonnegut’s advice, she says, still matters to graduates today. Click here to read why, and so on.
Honey bee populations in the U.S. have declined from 6 million in the 1940s to 2.5 million today. Pesticides, drought, and habitat destruction, are just a few reasons the bees are dying. But more than 200,000 hobbyist beekeepers, like writer Erin Hollinden, are trying to keep them (and ultimately us) alive. Click here to read Erin’s article.
Bloomington and Monroe County have already received their first payments from the first opioid settlement, and health providers wonder where the money will go. In this article for the series “Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate,” Rebecca Hill interviewed state and local officials to report on the issue and its possible solutions. Click here for the article.
While public schools in Indiana are facing key policy and budgetary challenges, the Orange County public school districts in southern Indiana are working to overcome the challenges children face, via unique initiatives and innovative health-care partnerships, writes Keri Jean Miksza, an advocate with the Indiana Coalition for Public Education–Monroe County. Click here to read Keri’s article.
How to create a garden that is resilient to the vagaries of Indiana weather? Jami Scholl, a writer and gardener who was active in the early stages of the urban agriculture movement in Bloomington, says we must work with the forces of nature and “the basic environmental limiting factors of sunlight, water, and soil.” Click here for Jami’s tips on creating a resilient garden.
Advocates say electric grid operators in the Great Lakes region need to update their planning process to better prepare for extreme weather that is becoming more common, and that more transmission lines can help lessen the risk of blackouts. This report is part of a collaborative series from several publications examining climate resilience across the Great Lakes region. Click here to read the article.
Kathryn Moyle, Ph.D., a dementia advocate for the the Dementia Australia Research Foundation, has written a response to Rebecca Hill’s article “The Long Goodbye: Living with Alzheimer’s Disease,” published recently in Limestone Post. Rebecca’s reporting on treatment, research, and other aspects of the disease were pertinent, but none resonates as much, Kathryn writes, as how loved ones lose their identity. Click here for more on Living with Alzheimer’s.
No cure. Not enough doctors, nurses, or trained caregivers. Years of research wasted. With an aging population, the U.S. appears unprepared to handle patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the coming years. Rebecca Hill looks at the issue, including diagnosis, treatment options, living with Alzheimer’s disease, and moving toward a more “dementia-friendly place.” Click here for an in-depth reading of Alzheimer’s.
The 2022 midterm election season is prime time for misinformation and disinformation on social media. Three social media experts, including Scott Shackelford, professor of Business Law and Ethics at Indiana University, evaluate Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube on their ability to handle the problem. This article first appeared in The Conversation and is republished with permission. Click here to see who got a failing grade.
Alfred Kinsey’s book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male was a milestone in the study of human sexual behavior. Today, after 75 years, the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University is still conducting cutting-edge research and programs by partnering with groups ranging from schools in rural counties to the IU Kelley School of Business. Click here to read the article by Laurie D. Borman.
Since May, the U.S. has gone from zero to more than 15,000 cases of monkeypox, a viral disease that has been declared a public health emergency by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While vaccines exist, writes Rebecca Hill, supplies are limited, as local health officials prepare for the virus. Click here to read about what’s being done.
The increase in mental health issues has led to the creation of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. As Rebecca Hill reports, the rise in suicides, serious mental illnesses, and mental health crises has shown more is needed than just a phone number. That’s why advocates designed 988 to be a continuum of care. Click here to read about 988.
