Finding Hope in South Sudan: Part 2 Persistent Violence, Unstable Peace

Will Reed

When fighting erupted last August in South Sudan, community-development workers Will and Theresa Reed had to evacuate. They returned to Bloomington to wait out the violence. Now, while the situation in South Sudan fluctuates between unstable and dangerous, the Reeds have returned to Africa, helping refugees in Uganda to find hope. Click here to read the full story.

February 22, 2016

Helping Offenders Prosper in Employment, or HOPE, mentors (l-r) Haley Clements, Jesse Cooperman, and Sarah Swank, are each paired with an incarcerated youth at the Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility, the only maximum-security facility for girls in Indiana. The program, developed by Indiana University Professor Theresa Ochoa, is designed to help the girls learn skills they’ll need to finish school or find a job after leaving the facility. | Photo by Ann Georgescu

Mentorship Program Tries to Break School-to-Prison Pipeline for Juvenile Girls

Ann Georgescu

IU Professor Theresa Ochoa developed HOPE, a mentorship program at the Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility, Indiana’s only maximum-security detention center for girls. Each juvenile is paired with a college student to learn skills she’ll need to finish school or find a job after she leaves the facility. Click here to read the full story.

February 5, 2016

The American Discovery Trail is a 6,800-mile, coast-to-coast phenomenon that is the first of its kind in the country. Much of it travels along existing trails, such as this one in the Harrison-Crawford State Forest in southern Indiana. | Photo by Ron Eid

From the B-Line Trail to the Pacific Ocean — Hiking the American Discovery Trail

Ron Eid

Imagine hiking from the B-Line Trail to the Pacific Ocean (or the Atlantic) without ever leaving an official hiking trail. For years, hiking enthusiasts have been working on the American Discovery Trail, a coast-to-coast trail that passes through southern Indiana. Connecting it to the B-Line, via the Knobstone Trail, isn’t far-fetched. Click here to read the full story.

January 26, 2016

Working out of Bloomington and Chicago, "Driftless" magazine’s three-member publishing team includes (l-r) Anna Powell Teeter, Leah Fithian, and Shelly Westerhausen. | Photo by Jason Lukas

With Local Base, ‘Driftless’ Magazine Is a Journey Through the Midwest

Ann Georgescu

Writer Ann Georgescu reviews Driftless magazine, calling it a “collaborative work of art in ink and paper.” Working out of Bloomington and Chicago, the magazine’s three-member publishing team curates the photography, feature stories, illustrations, guides, recipes, and other content that captures all that is poetic and beautiful about the Midwest. Click here to read the full story.

January 19, 2016

A decade ago, John built a coop in Brown County and moved his city chickens to the country. Since then, local chicken keepers won their right to raise backyard chickens within Bloomington city limits. | Photo by Ann Georgescu

From Wild Fowl to Feathered Friends, Chickens Have a Rich History with Humans

Ann Georgescu

In what writer Ann Georgescu calls “an epic tale of success and survival,” the globetrotting chicken has crossed many cultural and political boundaries in its migration from the jungle to our backyards. Through one man’s experience in Bloomington (and then in Brown County), Georgescu reveals our tangled relationship with these captivating birds. Click here to read the full story.

January 4, 2016

Mark Havens, head brewer of Quaff ON! Brewing Company, stands in the doorway of the Quaff ON! production site in Brown County, which is located in an old bowling alley. | Photo by Jonna Mary Yost

Quaff ON! Brewery ‘Abides’ in Nashville, Expanding Its Production and Adding a Distillery

Jonna Mary Yost

When it seems another craft brewery or distillery is opening every month, it’s natural to ask, how many can a community support? Quaff ON! Brewery, which is both building a new beer-making facility and starting a distillery in Nashville, shows writer Jonna Mary Yost how such companies can be integral parts of community development. Click here to read the full story.

December 28, 2015

A Teenager’s Murder Still Breaks Hearts and Boggles Minds 50 Years Later

John Mikulenka

Fifty years ago, 16-year-old Sylvia Likens was found tortured to death in the Indianapolis home of her caretaker, Gertrude Baniszewski, who was later convicted of first-degree murder in what’s been called the most terrible crime ever committed in Indiana. In this essay, John Mikulenka ponders how the case went from a local tragedy to something affecting people worldwide. In his video, he interviews the newspaper reporter who covered Baniszewski’s trial. Click here for the full story and video.

October 26, 2015

The nieces of Will’s language helper, Francis, at their house. | Photo by Will and Theresa Reed

Finding Hope in South Sudan: Part 1 Getting the Story Out

Will Reed

Will and Theresa Reed moved to South Sudan in 2014 to help the new nation with community development work, mainly to train teachers and build agricultural projects. When conflict in their village erupted, they had to leave their new friends behind. Will, a Bloomington native, tells the story of persecution in the worn-torn country — and the struggle in not allowing the suffering of so many remain someone else’s problems. Click here to read the full story.

September 4, 2015

Red Frazier bison graze in the summer heat. Photo by Ron Eid

Bring on the Bison: Natural, Nutritional Meat Making a Comeback in Indiana

Brian Hartz

Thanks to the efforts of the government and private individuals such as Zach Martin, owner of Red Frazier Bison Ranch in Greene County, America is once again a land where the buffalo roam — just in time for Indiana’s bicentennial next year. Click here to read the full story.