Alfred Kinsey’s book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male was a milestone in the study of human sexual behavior. Today, after 75 years, the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University is still conducting cutting-edge research and programs by partnering with groups ranging from schools in rural counties to the IU Kelley School of Business. Click here to read the article by Laurie D. Borman.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could upend how elections are conducted, writes Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana. The court’s decision could make it easier “to gerrymander, suppress the vote, and challenge election results.” First published by Indiana Capital Chronicle, this article is part of Limestone Post’s coverage for Democracy Day. Click here to read more.
Retired IU Professor Emeritus Jim Allison shows how the Indiana legislature, by means of partisan gerrymandering, has violated the democratic principle of one person, one vote. Proportional representation, he says, would help to give Hoosiers “free and fair” elections, as required by the state constitution. This article is part of Limestone Post’s coverage for Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative. Click here to read more.
Since May, the U.S. has gone from zero to more than 15,000 cases of monkeypox, a viral disease that has been declared a public health emergency by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While vaccines exist, writes Rebecca Hill, supplies are limited, as local health officials prepare for the virus. Click here to read about what’s being done.
Faced with this alarming data about the health of trees in Bloomington, Dr. Sarah Mincey and Sheryl Woodhouse created CanopyBloomington, whose mission is to grow and sustain our urban forest. The new nonprofit envisions an equitable tree city that ensures all residents can enjoy the many environmental, health, economic, social, and quality-of-life benefits of trees. Click here to read about CanopyBloomington!
“Bloomington has been easing back into its live music groove, with concerts and festivals repopulating our community’s calendars,” writes Christine Brackenhoff, the music director and assistant program director at WFHB Community Radio. To find out how the groove has pivoted after the worst of the pandemic, she spoke with several members of the music community. Click here to read Christine’s article.
The increase in mental health issues has led to the creation of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. As Rebecca Hill reports, the rise in suicides, serious mental illnesses, and mental health crises has shown more is needed than just a phone number. That’s why advocates designed 988 to be a continuum of care. Click here to read about 988.
“It is imperative for nonprofit funders, corporations, community agencies and the community at large to come together to devise solutions amidst the uncertainty in cost,” says Michelle Gilchrist, President and CEO of Bloomington Health Foundation. The foundation expects to distribute an estimated $2 million during 2022 to nonprofits delivering community health services. Click here to read about the foundation’s innovative solutions to improving community health.
Sheila Suess Kennedy, Emerita Professor of Law and Public Policy, says that when people don’t understand the most basic premises of our legal system, our public discourse is impoverished and ultimately unproductive. “Unfortunately,” she writes, “that civic knowledge is in very short supply.” Click here to read Professor Kennedy’s article on why civic literacy is critical to the American Idea.
People living in intentional communities engage daily in cooperative living. How were they affected by the pandemic? How did community life change and adapt? Laura Lasuertmer, a founding member of Common Home Farm in Bloomington, asked members of four other intentional communities how their networks of mutual support weathered the pandemic. | Click here to read Laura’s article.
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.
Jacinda Townsend’s new novel, Mother Country, tackles the subject of motherhood from two perspectives on different sides of the world. Yaël Ksander spoke with Townsend for WFIU’s Inner States program, and she is sharing excerpts of that interview with Limestone Post. Townsend and Ksander will meet again, in person, at Morgenstern Books on June 6. Click here to read their conversation
As part of a heralded racing family, Al Unser Jr. “grew up on the fumes from Gasoline Alley,” says Rebecca Hill in her review of Unser’s book, A Checkered Past. While Unser lived up to the family name on the track, his racing success did not always follow him off the track. Click here to read the review.
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.
With tourism picking up again, many local leaders want to pursue the pre-pandemic plans to expand Monroe Convention Center. But some key decision makers are not convinced, writes Steve Hinnefeld. They question if this is the right time to expand, and whether convention-business revenue will have the desired kind of economic impact. Click here to read Hinnefeld’s in-depth story.
Bloomington’s recording studios have faced many pandemic challenges over the past two years. Jim Manion, the former music director at WFHB Community Radio, spoke to the owners of Russian Recording, Noisy Chairs Recording, Airtime Studios, and Primary Sound Studios to see how they coped — and continued to create music — during COVID. Click here to read Manion’s article.