This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, July 30th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, the Monroe County justice building will be closed until at least Friday due to a sewage leak. County officials are pointing to the mishap as a reason to not spend any more money into a building that was described as “dying.” Find out more in the latest edition of B Square Bites.

Also coming up – for over half a century beep baseball has opened America’s pastime to athletes who are blind or visually impaired. Now, the defending champion Indy Thunder is preparing for the National Beep Baseball World Series. WFHB Sports Correspondent Aidan Verde brings us the story later in the show in a feature report.

Sewage backup in Monroe County justice center spurs scrutiny of future spending on ‘dying’ building”

By Dave Askins

Addressing the Monroe County council is judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff, farthest from camera. Seated next to Diekhoff are Jama Chandler, court administrator and Shannon Guidry, deputy court administrator. County councilors in the right of the frame, from farthest to nearest: Marty Hawk, David Henry, Peter Iversen, Jennifer Crossley, Trent Deckard, Kate Wiltz, and Liz Feitl. (Dave Askins, July 28, 2026)https://wfhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260730-dln-features_b-square-bites_shit-water.mp3A Monroe County circuit court judge and county councilors on Tuesday (July 28) filled in graphic details about the sewage backup that forced the closure of the Charlotte Zietlow Justice Center last Friday.

The closure of the building is supposed to last at least through Friday.

Councilors wrestled with the idea of pouring millions more into a building that was described as “dying.”

The discussion came at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Monroe County council, four days after a bag of e‑cigarettes flushed down a jail toilet sent wastewater cascading through ceilings and into court offices below. The jail is located on the upper two stories of the building.

Also surfacing at Tuesday’s meeting were significant concerns from councilors about a decision by the county clerk’s office to also close election division offices in the North Showers building, based on the closure of the justice building, which is a block away.

The incident has also sharpened long‑standing tension about continuing to invest in the aging justice building while planning for a new jail and possible justice complex remains incomplete. A draft list of general obligation bond projects fueled that discussion on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Mary Ellen Diekhoff, who is presiding judge of Monroe County’s unified court, delivered the most vivid public account yet of the July 24 plumbing fiasco. She was in front of the council to request the filling of some vacancies during the county’s hiring freeze.

“I have been around a long time. I have seen a lot of things. This was awful,” Diekhoff told the council. “There was water just by the gallon … just spreading everywhere—and it was toilet water.” She compared the events of Friday inside the building to watching the movie “The Blob.”

That was the latest edition of B Square Bites – a collaboration between B Square Bulletin and WFHB. To read the full article, you can visit B Square Bulletin and look for the headline: “Sewage backup in Monroe County justice center spurs scrutiny of future spending on ‘dying’ building.”

Featured Segments:

https://wfhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/secretly-30-exceprt-w-anchor-tags.mp3Secretly Group is celebrating 30 years this summer. But the story of the internationally recognized indie record label begins right here in Bloomington – with basement shows, college radio, record stores and four friends who decided to start a label instead of a band. WFHB Music Director Abby Noroozi traces that history in a new hour-long documentary. Here’s an excerpt.

Coach Jared Woodard hits fly balls to the Indy Thunder players showing up to practice on a Saturday in late July (Photo by Aidan Verde).https://wfhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260730-dln-features_beep-baseball_aidan-verde.mp3The crack of the bat is familiar. But in beep baseball, players rely on sound instead of sight. The adaptive sport has grown into a national competition, and this week the defending champion Indy Thunder will look to add another title at the National Beep Baseball Association World Series in Illinois. Sports Correspondent Aidan Verde has more in a feature report coming your way right now on the WFHB Local News.

Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Dave Askins produced B Square Bites.
Today’s headlines were written by Claire Zeyen and Kade Young.
Our feature on Secretly 30 was produced by Abby Noroozi with support from Youth Radio.
Our sports feature was produced by Aidan Verde.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
Anchors are Claire Zeyen and Kade Young.