Though mindfulness originated in Buddhism, the practice has expanded to companies that offer some form of mindfulness for their workers. And, as Shannon Livengood writes, several local businesses have made it part of their everyday approach “in obvious and maybe not-so obvious ways,” taking into consideration “the well-being of the environment, the consumer, and the business owner alike.” Become more mindful here.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill empowering the Treasury Dept. to eliminate the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deems to be supporting terrorism. Without clearly defining key terms, the law “could become a blunt sword that can be used against everybody,” says IU scholar Beth Gazley, who was interviewed by The Conversation for this article. Gazley wrote additional commentary for Limestone Post about how the law could affect Hoosier nonprofits. Click here for the Conversation.
The triennial USA International Harp Competition returns to the IU Jacobs School of Music for the 13th time in May 2025. Executive Director Francine Marseille, board member Elżbieta Monika Szmyt, and past performers Emmanuel Ceysson and Noël Wan talk about what makes this one of the most prestigious harp competitions in the world. Read Hiromi Yoshida’s article here.
The Police Social Support Services Team at the Bloomington Police Department has helped thousands of people since 2019. Critics say police and social workers have differing views of justice — criminal versus social — but the team’s licensed mental health professionals say they offer support that uniformed police officers aren’t trained to provide. Click here to read a Deep Dive on social support services.
The Mental Health Collaborative is a multiyear, multimillion-dollar investment dedicated to enhancing mental health outcomes in and around Monroe County, Indiana. Led by Bloomington Health Foundation, the collaborative brings together business leaders, service providers, nonprofits, lawmakers, clinicians, and concerned citizens to address the significant and complex challenges that impact mental health access and support. Click here to read about the Mental Health Collaborative.
What are the most common sources of distress among teens? A study conducted in part by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy surveyed teens about specific pressures they face. IU Storyteller Nikki Livingston explores key findings from the survey and how teens can combat distress, burnout, and “grind culture.” Find out how to address the distress.
Beginning in the 1990s, a group of Orange County citizens traveled multiple times to the Indiana Statehouse to encourage lawmakers to grant a gaming license to the town of French Lick. Limestone Post and the Southern Indiana Business Report look back at those early days and how gaming today has affected the town and its citizens. Read the article by Laurie D. Borman and Carol Johnson.
Your donation to Limestone Post will be matched by a nationwide program that supports independent, nonprofit media. It’s called NewsMatch, and it will double your one-time gift or match your new monthly donation 12 times, up to $1,000 per donor! This is a great way to support hyper-local, long-form, public-service journalism. Click here to find out how to double your impact!
Indiana legislators have not clarified critical language in the state’s abortion ban, which has led to serious negative consequences for women’s healthcare, including endangering the lives of pregnant women. In part 2 of Rebecca Hill’s in-depth look at Indiana’s abortion ban, she writes about the problems that the majority of Hoosier lawmakers choose to ignore. Click here for the article.
The Writers Guild at Bloomington is hosting the inaugural Local Authors Book Fair on November 2 at the Monroe County History Center. Readers and aspiring writers can talk with 30 authors who have published in a number of genres and formats. Michael G. Glab interviewed several of the participants for this preview. Read the writeup here.
Limestone Post won 11 awards in the “Best in Indiana” Journalism Contest hosted last week by the Indiana Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Steve Hinnefeld, Haley Miller, Christina Avery, Christine Brackenhoff, Steven Higgs, Michael G. Glab, Rebecca Hill, Jill Bond, Krista Detor, and Debora Shaw were among the winners. | Photo by Benedict Jones. Learn more about the work of these award-winning writers.
Sophia Craiutu is a senior at Bloomington High School North, and although she’s too young to vote in this year’s election, she’s helping her fellow students engage in the democratic process. She finds that all the more important in a state that ranked 46th in voter turnout in 2020.
Read Steve Hinnefeld’s story, which first appeared in The Indiana Citizen.
Workplace apprenticeships are not your typical after-school jobs. Designed to connect high school students to real-life experiences in the workplace, apprenticeships provide on-the-job training for careers after high school. Many find the work valuable. Some experts, though, question the effectiveness of the programs, in part because such apprenticeships are not available to all students. Read this Deep Dive by Steve Hinnefeld.
Limestone Post and WFHB Community Radio are finalists in the 2023 Nonprofit News Awards for Journalism Collaboration of the Year. Their local news series, called Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate, is one of three collaborations nationwide selected by the Institute for Nonprofit News. The Limestone Post article, “The Long Goodbye: Living with Alzheimer’s Disease,” by Rebecca Hill, is also a finalist for INN’s Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism. Click here to read more.
Poorly written anti-abortion laws in Indiana and other states have forced pregnant women to leave home for life-saving healthcare. Many women rely on networks of groups to help with travel to medical clinics and access to safe medication. Some of those groups have taken cues from the underground networks of the early 1970s. Read the in-depth report here.
Bloomington high school student Hazel Hammerstein founded the nonprofit Indiana Prevention Project to spread the message about the dangers of drug use. She and numerous supporters are running the Paint the State mural contest. Registration ends on August 30. Read about Hazel’s project, as well as the contest rules and timeline in this article by Hiromi Yoshida.