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Steve Hinnefeld

Steve Hinnefeld identifies as a journalist, even though he left the daily news grind years ago. He has been a reporter at The Herald-Times, a media relations specialist at Indiana University, and a journalism instructor in the IU Media School. He writes about education at inschoolmatters.wordpress.com. He and his wife, Theresa Malone, live in a 125-year-old house in Bloomington. He enjoys reading, hiking, birding, and spending time with his four grandkids. Allegedly retired, he finds himself as busy as ever.

Posts by this contributor 10 results

Sophia Craiutu (far left in gray sweater), a senior at Bloomington High School North, discusses current events from around the world with younger students as part of Global Learners, an organization she co-founded. | Courtesy photo

18 and Not Registered To Vote? Sophia Craiutu Would Like a Word

Steve Hinnefeld

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.

October 4, 2024

A student works in the Design Studio in the Innovative Learning Center at Edgewood High School in Ellettsville. Edgewood has dozens of students doing in-house internships and apprenticeships, some paid and some unpaid, or working at student-run businesses. | Photography by Benedict Jones

Apprenticeships Work for Some High School Students But Not All — Yet Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate Workplace Apprenticeships

Steve Hinnefeld, Benedict Jones

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.

September 24, 2024

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Private schools that get public money in Indiana can reject students for a number of discriminatory reasons, including their religion. Despite growing evidence that voucher students who switch from public to private schools fall behind academically, Indiana legislators increased the cost of the voucher program 40 percent in the 2023–2024 school year — to $439 million. | Photo by Pixabay

School Matters: 439 Million ‘Dollars to Discriminate’ with School Vouchers

Steve Hinnefeld

Despite growing evidence that voucher students fall behind academically when they switch from public to private schools, Indiana legislators have increased the cost of the state’s voucher program to $439 million. Education writer Steve Hinnefeld looks at the latest voucher report from the Indiana Department of Education, and asks, should Hoosier taxpayers pay for schools that discriminate? Read Hinnefeld’s column here.

July 25, 2024

Indiana ranks among the worst in the country for policies that strengthen rural education and support the learning and development of rural students, according to a report by the National Rural Education Association. | Photo by WR Heustis/Pexels

School Matters: Indiana Short-Changes Rural Schools [column]

Steve Hinnefeld

“School Matters” is a new Limestone Post column by journalist Steve Hinnefeld that will cover local and regional education, as well as statewide legislation that could affect schools in our community. In this first article, Hinnefeld looks at Indiana’s low national ranking for policies that address rural schools and rural students. Click here for School Matters.

January 23, 2024

Parents, educators, and advocates say the Indiana General Assembly passed harmful and unnecessary laws that are taking effect this school year. They say public schools, including those in the Monroe County Community School Corp., face a “slate of hate” — laws that underfund mandates, intimidate vulnerable students, and even create a “chilling effect” on librarians. Above, students are greeted on the first day of school at Fairview Elementary School by members of the city of Bloomington’s Commission on the Status of Black Males. | Photo by Garrett Ann Walters

Local Parents, Educators Face ‘Attack’ on Public Schools from Indiana Lawmakers

Steve Hinnefeld, Garrett Ann Walters

Parents, educators, and advocates say the Indiana General Assembly passed harmful and unnecessary laws that are taking effect this school year. Laws that prioritize private over public schools, underfund mandates, intimidate vulnerable students, and even create a “chilling effect” on librarians, they say, amount to a “slate of hate.” | Click here for an education deep dive by Steve Hinnefeld.

September 13, 2023

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Housing advocates and officials are trying various tactics to address the affordable housing problem in Monroe County. Most say that no one solution is enough, with each initiative approaching the problem in a different way. Jolene and Cornelius Wright (above) visit the site of their future home in Osage Place, a neighborhood being developed by Habitat for Humanity. | Photo by Jim Krause

‘No Silver Bullet’: Advocates, Officials Use Many Tactics on Housing Woes Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate Local Housing Issues, Part 2

Steve Hinnefeld, Jim Krause

In part 2 of our housing series, Steve Hinnefeld reports on how housing advocates and officials are addressing the affordable housing problem in Bloomington and Monroe County. This series is part of “Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate,” a collaboration between WFHB Community Radio and Limestone Post. Click here for the Steve’s housing report and to learn more about Deep Dive.

March 15, 2023

Deep Dive: Struggling with Housing Supply, Stability, and Subsidies, Part 1 WFHB and Limestone Post Investigate

Steve Hinnefeld

This article on local housing issues is our first in a series, called “Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate,” a collaboration between WFHB Community Radio and Limestone Post, made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County. This is part 1 of 2 in journalist Steve Hinnefeld’s report on housing. Click here to read the article and learn more about Deep Dive.

February 15, 2023

Monroe Convention Center opened in 1991 in the Graham Auto Sales building (built in 1923) at the corner of West 3rd Street and South College Avenue. Even then, local tourism officials argued it needed to be larger to attract even medium-size conventions. Now, though, some officials wonder if this is the right time to expand. | Photo by Limestone Post

Expanding Monroe Convention Center Still Faces Uphill Battle

Steve Hinnefeld

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.

May 13, 2022

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Changes in Daily Local News Landscape Have Consequences

Steve Hinnefeld

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.