This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, July 27th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, WFHB Correspondent Ben Sharpe looks at the impact of the Bloomington Convention Center Expansion, exploring what the community will gain and what some believe the city is losing as part of this project. More in today’s feature report.

You’ll also hear Melanie Davis from The Front Door, a new LGBTQ+ community center opening soon in downtown Bloomington. Learn all about this safe space for queer folks and allies later in the show on a new episode of Activate!

Commissioners cancel Flock contract, address Thompson encampment and propose new justice center at Hopewell

By Claire Zeyen

The Monroe County Commissioners met on July 23rd. During department updates, County Attorney Jeff Cockerill informed the commissioners of deteriorating conditions at the Thompson homeless encampment and rising public safety concerns.

“It’s becoming more dangerous and more of a cause of a public safety concern,” said Cockerill. “We may need to act and begin the process formally prior to your next meeting.”

Next, commissioners approved early cancellation of the county’s contract with Flock, the automatic license plate reader vendor. Commissioner Jody Madeira explained that accepting the cost for removal was the correct choice.

“I appreciate the advocacy of the citizens who spoke before the city on this issue, and I think that it would be worth paying that $3,000 as a county,” said Madeira.

Commissioners ended the meeting by outlining their recent presentation to Bloomington City Council of a new justice center site on city-owned property at the former hospital. Commissioner Julie Thomas described the tradeoffs and said time and available space are driving the new proposal.

“It’s part of democracy. It takes time,” said Thomas. “If they’re willing to do this we need to find a quicker way to act.”

The next Monroe County Commissioners regular meeting will be on August 13th.

RBB schools upholds cell phone ban on buses despite pushback from parents

By Kade Young

The Richland Bean Blossom School Board met on July 21st. Board members reconsidered whether students should be allowed to use cell phones on school buses after hearing concerns from parents.

The new state law requires students to keep personal communication devices turned off and inaccessible during the school day. Superintendent Dr. Jerry Sanders explained why he wants phones off buses.

“A bus driver’s number one priority is keeping their eyes on the road and and and safety, but there’s also a kind of a to me a hidden safety issue in terms of students having access to their cell phone while on the bus. There’s nobody to monitor what they’re looking at, who they’re talking to, what they’re sharing with other students,” said Dr. Sanders.

He acknowledged the negative feedback he received from parents about the law itself and RBB’s stricter policies.

“We did get some pushback from some parents on that,” said Sanders. “Quite frankly, my personal opinion is: I like it. I think it’ll help students to be more focused and engaged. We also know that social media often leads to some behavior issues.”

School Board President Dana Kerr said the policy could prove difficult to enforce. In his view, it’s a matter of fairness.

“It’s kind of to me a perfect opportunity for good kids to be penalized for being good, and allowing kids that push the envelope to get by with it with no recourse?” said Kerr. “I just worry about the equity in that.”

Another board member said while he wants to abide by the state law, he questioned whether the board should implement a policy that takes it a step further.

“I’m fine with going by the letter of the law,” said the board member. “But I have a hard time going above and beyond that because there’s so much gray area on the school bus travel.”

Sanders said the district will monitor the policy and revisit it during an upcoming meeting in the fall. For now, the cell phone ban on buses remains. The RBB school board will meet again on August 18th.

Feature Report:

If you’ve walked past the convention center recently, you can see construction is well underway. However, the debate over the project’s impact isn’t over. In today’s feature report, WFHB News Correspondent Ben Sharpe looks at what the city hopes to gain, and what some say Bloomington is losing in the process. We now turn to Ben Sharpe for that report on the WFHB Local News.

The Front Door is about to open. Bloomington is getting its first off-campus hub for local queer culture when The Front Door Community Center opens later this year. Organizers say The Front Door is a safe and sober space to support LGBTIQ+ organizations and social groups and engage in social justice and education opportunities. Board president Melanie Davis says The Front Door can be whatever you want it to be – and NOW is the time to get involved and make your voice heard. Learn how on a new episode of Activate!, coming your way right now on the WFHB Local News.

Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Claire Zeyen and Kade Young, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
This episode of Activate! was produced by Braiden Brummett, Brady Grunkemeyer, Stites Hamner, and Landon Tuell as part of the High School Journalism Institute.
Our feature was produced by Ben Sharpe.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
Anchors are Elena Bai and Ben Sharpe.