You won’t get too far into Nancy Hiller’s new book, Shop Tails: The Animals Who Help Us Make Things Work, without realizing you’re reading more than a book about critters, writes Yaël Ksander in her review for the Limestone Reader. This isn’t the first time Hiller has used woodworking to explore much bigger issues, but Shop Tails was written “at a reckoning point.” Click here to read Yaël’s review.
As a nation, mass shootings are “part of our social fabric,” writes Rebecca Hill. She interviewed several local and national experts on how to better address mass shootings, especially in schools and businesses. Her in-depth report looks at research on mass shootings through a public health approach — and the effectiveness of preparation versus security. Click here to read the article.
Students in Rachel Bahr’s English 11 class at Bloomington’s Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship share their annual “Sense of Place” project with Limestone Post! While their unique “places” are as varied as a horse stable, a limestone mill, Dunn Meadow, Community Kitchen, and Monroe Lake, their videos teach us what we share as a community. Click here to learn about the project and watch their videos!
What happens when local news coverage disappears? Limestone Post asked journalist Steve Hinnefeld to look at the daily news landscape in Bloomington. He interviewed people at several local news outlets and filed this report. The landscape has changed recently in subtle and dramatic ways — some for the better, some not so much. Click here to read about who’s reporting B-town’s daily news.
Held on the first Friday of each month, Gallery Walk is an iconic, one-of-a-kind event in Bloomington — a chance for friends and family to meet downtown, take in some of the area’s best art, and enjoy one of the most vibrant cultural hubs in the Midwest. Talking with the artists in any of the 12 galleries, no one walks away from Gallery Walk without exploring what’s fresh and new in the local art scene. Click here to read about all the galleries in Gallery Walk.
In this inaugural edition of The Limestone Reader Book Review, Yaël Ksander looks at Ian Woollen’s fifth novel, Sister City, which she calls a “wickedly whimsical satire” that connects fictional “sister cities” in Indiana and Mexico. Yaël says Woollen, who lives in Bloomington, writes in the tradition of John Irving and Kurt Vonnegut. Click here to read the inaugural Limestone Reader Book Review.
The pandemic has affected writers and literary arts organizations in unique ways in the past 19 months, says writer Hiromi Yoshida. Several writers and organization leaders told Yoshida how they continue to work through the changes — and take their writing and organizations in new directions. The results, she writes, are inspirational and uplifting. Click here to read their stories.
During National Hispanic American Heritage Month, the Writers Guild at Bloomington will celebrate the unique contributions of Hispanic Americans with a virtual edition of its First Wednesdays Spoken Word Series. The October 6 livestream will feature three women writers: Shana Ritter, Zilia C. Balkansky-Sellés, and Rosebud Ben-Oni. Click here to read more about them and how to attend the performance.
The drug naloxone can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, potentially saving a person’s life. In collaboration with IU and other groups, Monroe and several other Indiana counties are creating a network of “citizen responders” who are trained in the Opioid Rapid Response System to administer naloxone when emergency medical services cannot respond quickly enough. Click here to read about ORRS and naloxone.
Before volunteering for a local environmental group, Sean Chung was unaware of the problems invasive plants were causing here in Monroe County and “every single community in the U.S.” For this article, he interviewed people working to “contain the invasion” and prevent the kind of “ecological collapse” that invasives can cause. Click here to read the article.
With Cardinal Stage’s Nest Generation Initiative, people under the age of 35 can see great theatre for free. Theatre lovers introduce young adults to the high-quality performances in Cardinal’s Mainstage productions by sponsoring people who have registered for the program. It’s a risk-free way to experience the best shows in town. Click here to see how to register for the Nest Generation.
For more than two decades, the opioid epidemic has raged on in small rural towns and in the suburbs. But what happens when the opioid epidemic collides with the COVID pandemic? Rebecca Hill writes about these “waves” of crises in Bloomington and other southern Indiana communities, and how people are weathering it. Click here to read the story.
Angel Mounds, outside of Evansville, was a bustling trading hub for Native American people prior to European colonization. Historian Laura Martinez writes about the recent repatriation of the remains of 700 individuals that were excavated from the site in the 1900s — and how, even at sacred places like Angel Mounds, the spiritual practices of Native Americans are still violated. Click here to read about Angel Mounds.
How can the culture, heritage, and history of Bloomington and Monroe County possibly be portrayed in all its diversity and richness? Through paintings, illustrations, photography, poetry, and in-depth stories. Limestone Post’s A Sense of Place includes the work of dozens of local writers, photographers, painters, poets, and other artists. Click here to get a glimpse inside.
All of us need a fun break, especially after 14 months of unprecedented isolation, and what’s a better getaway than a good road trip? Writer Diane Walker takes us to waterfalls, small towns, and several fun, affordable, and unusual sites on these “road trips of distinction” — all within a two-hour drive of Bloomington. Click here to join the ride!
In 1803, James Audubon tracked birds by tying thread around their legs. Researchers around the world now use technology such as satellite telemetry to understand how migration affects these “sentinels” of our ecosystem. With a reported 30 percent of bird species lost since the 1970s, writes Rebecca Hill, the information gathered is more important than ever. Click here to read the article.