This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, July 28th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, the Monroe County justice building will be closed at least through Wednesday due to a sewage backup. More in the latest edition of B Square Bites.

Also coming up in the next half hour, find out how to get involved in your community in the latest edition of Volunteer Connection, a weekly segment in collaboration with the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network.

Sewage backup keeps Monroe County justice building closed at least through July 29By Dave AskinsThe signs posted outside the door of the Monroe County justice building indicate the building will be closed for Monday (July 27). That will likely be updated soon to say at least through Wednesday, and maybe longer. (Dave Askins, July 27, 2026)The Monroe County justice building will be closed at least through Wednesday (July 29) according to a message sent out through the county government’s emergency alert system around noon on Monday.

Offices to be closed include the courts, clerk, prosecutor’s office, public defender’s office, probation and child support. People who have business with the courts are supposed to call the specific court handling the case to find out when it has been rescheduled. Those who aren’t sure which court is handling their case are supposed to call 812-349-2615.

The building is shut down, because it saw a sewer backup around 4 p.m. on Friday (July 24), which sent water from the jail, on the top two stories of the building, through ceiling tiles into offices below.

As water streamed through the ceiling tiles on Friday, here’s what it sounded like as staff looked on:

https://wfhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/running-water-sound.mp3Already on Friday, the closure of the building was announced for Monday. Monday’s noon announcement extended the closure at least another two days.

On Friday evening, Angie Purdie, who is the administrator for the county commissioners, had anticipated that the closure could go past Monday.

The building is getting cleaned, sanitized, and dried, Purdie said. The needed work includes more than just cleaning. Purdie said that carpet and drywall are being removed as necessary.

Purdie said the building’s closure stemmed from a “blockage [of a sewer line] created by inmates” in the jail, which is located in the top two floors of the building.

Parked on College Avenue north of 7th Street on Monday around noon were four vehicles from Service Master, the same company that responded to the sewer backup on Friday.

The complete message sent out on Monday:

At this point in time, the Justice Building will be closed through Wednesday, July 29th – this includes the Court, Clerk, Prosecutor’s office, and the connected offices (Probation, Child Support, and Public Defender). County officials will reassess as they go through each day, and if the Justice Building is going to be closed longer, an advisement will be sent out.

All scheduled court proceedings are cancelled. The Clerk’s office is closed. It is recommended you contact the court handling your case to reschedule when the building re-opens. If you are unsure as to what court, call Court Administration at 812-349-2615.

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 keeps Monroe County justice building closed at least through July 29.”

Featured Segments:

Earlier this month, the Bloomington Police Department announced increased traffic enforcement leading up to the start of the Monroe County Community School Corporation’s school year. Today’s archive segment reflects on local street safety with excerpts from the August 19, 2008 episode of Interchange. In this episode, host Robert Shull speaks with Jim Rosenbarger, then a member of the Bloomington City Council’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission, about problems and possibilities facing cyclists and pedestrians. Jim Rosenbarger served on the Commission for more than 20 years and passed away in 2025. That same year, the City Council voted to merge the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission with the Parking and Traffic Commissions into a Transportation Commission. We turn to that segment from the WFHB archives repackaged and repurposed by Correspondent Adriane Pontecorvo on the WFHB Local News.

Up next, we have Volunteer Connection on the WFHB Local News in collaboration with the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network, highlighting four ways you can get involved in Bloomington. We turn to hosts Aubrey Seader and Dorian Villanueva from Monroe County CASA, for more.

Credits:

You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Dave Askins produced B Square Bites.
Today’s headlines were written by Ben Sharpe, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our archive segment was repackaged and repurposed by Adriane Pontecorvo.
Aubrey Seader produces Volunteer Connection, in partnership with the Bloomington Volunteer Network.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
Anchors are Ben Sharpe and Jim Odom.