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Government 74 results
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.
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Looking at the 1803 Supreme Court decision of “Marbury v. Madison” may help Americans grow more sympathetic to notions of judicial reform, writes Jim Allison. Given the unpopularity of recent Supreme Court rulings and questionable behavior by some of its justices, the time seems ripe. | Photo by Attie Heunis

Whereas, Chief Justice John Marshall Declares the Supreme Court Supreme
Jim Allison
A closer look at Marbury v. Madison — the Supreme Court decision that placed the judicial branch of government above Congress — may make Americans more open to judicial reform, writes Jim Allison. Given the unpopularity of recent court rulings and questionable behavior by some of its justices, the time seems ripe for a check on the court. Read the review.
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The wide-ranging issues about protecting Indiana’s wetlands present a conflict between people who advocate for the critical functions wetlands provide and those who say wetland regulations drive up construction prices and hamper growth. Above, a swamp in Beanblossom Bottoms in Monroe County. | Photo by Anne Kibbler

What’s at Stake in the Debate Over Indiana’s Wetlands? Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate Wetland Preservation
Anne Kibbler
Laws protecting Indiana wetlands have been rolled back in recent years. Some people argue that wetlands must be preserved because of the critical functions they provide. Others say wetland regulations drive up construction prices and hamper growth. This Deep Dive by Anne Kibbler looks at the myriad questions and wide-ranging issues in the debate over Indiana’s wetlands. Read it here.
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The mobile integrated health program in Monroe County, which works with local health organizations to provide one-on-one care to patients, is part of a nationwide trend to help fill gaps in the healthcare system. Above, community EMTs work in the Bloomington Fire Department’s MIH program (l-r): Trisha Rademachir, Lily Blackwell, Shelby VanDerMoere (program manager), and Amber Stewart. Not pictured is newest MIH Daniel Stidd. | Photo provided by Shelby VanDerMoere

Mobile Integrated Health Helps Fill Gaps in Local Healthcare System
Rebecca Hill
The mobile integrated health program in Monroe County works with local health organizations to provide one-on-one care to patients, emphasizing a non-emergency approach and increasing efforts to meet people where they live and work. Writer Rebecca Hill takes an in-depth look at MIH programs across the state that are part of a nationwide trend to help fill gaps in the healthcare system. Read about MIH in Indiana.
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Indiana primary elections on May 7 start with early voting in Monroe County on April 9. This Limestone Post voter guide includes info on registration, early voting, mail-in voting, and more. Additional info, such as candidate comments on key issues, is included from the League of Women Voters, Indiana Capital Chronicle, and The Indiana Citizen, among others. | Limestone Post

Voter Guide for 2024 Indiana Primary Elections Plus, some candidates respond to questions by League of Women Voters
Limestone Post
Indiana primary elections on May 7 start with early voting in Monroe County on April 9. This Limestone Post voter guide includes info on registration, early voting, mail-in voting, etc. More info, such as candidate comments on key issues, is included from the League of Women Voters, Indiana Capital Chronicle, and The Indiana Citizen, among others. Read our 2024 Voter Guide.
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“Tactility,” a triptych by Rejon Taylor. Among the work of more than two dozen artists featured in the Regional Artist Exhibit at Juniper Art Gallery in Bloomington are two other paintings by Rejon Taylor, an inmate on death row at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute. Laura Lasuertmer, Taylor’s “Minister of Record,” writes about Taylor’s artwork and how it relates to the “depravity of his current environment.”

Juniper Gallery To Show Art of Death Row Inmate Rejon Taylor Special to Limestone Post
Laura Lasuertmer
Laura Lasuertmer is the “Minister of Record” for death row inmate Rejon Taylor, who’s among more than 25 artists featured in the Regional Artist Exhibit at Juniper Art Gallery this spring. Some of Taylor’s artwork, LaSuertmer writes, captures both “what he remembers of the natural world … and the depravity of his current environment.” See and read about Rejon Taylor’s art.
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One out of ten Bloomington residents struggles with food insecurity. A patchwork system of food banks, community kitchens, food-assistance programs, and other initiatives helps people get healthful food, but experts say it doesn’t address the root of the problem: poverty. | Photo by Olivia Bianco

‘Patchwork’ of Aid for Food Insecurity Doesn’t Address Its Cause Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate Food Insecurity, Part 2
Christina Avery and Haley Miller
One out of ten Bloomington residents struggles with food insecurity — having limited or uncertain access to food. A patchwork system of food banks, community kitchens, food-assistance programs, and other initiatives helps people get healthful food, but experts say it doesn’t address the root of the problem: poverty. Read part 2 of our Deep Dive into food insecurity.
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A new report by The State of Local News Project at Northwestern University shows that where you live and how much money you make affect whether you live in a news desert or a news oasis. | Photo by Gary Hershorn/via Getty Images

Wealthier, Urban Americans Have Access To More Local News Roughly half of US counties have only one outlet or less
Sarah Stonbely
A recent report by The State of Local News Project at Northwestern University documents the changing local news landscape across the country. Among other findings, it shows how many news outlets are operating in each county across the country. Southern Indiana, for example, has more counties classified as news deserts than news oases. Republished from The Conversation.
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Beth Edwards was an award-winning environmental journalist for the Indiana Environmental Reporter, based in Bloomington. Limestone Post is republishing four of her most impactful reporting projects: on coal ash, confined animal feeding operations, Martinsville’s drinking water, and a coal-to-diesel plant that had been planned in southern Indiana. | Photos by Beth Edwards (top left and bottom right) and Matthew Kaplan (bottom left); illustration by Sophia Chryssovergis

The Work of Beth Edwards, Award-Winning Environmental Reporter
Beth Edwards
Beth Edwards was an award-winning environmental reporter who, along with Enrique Saenz, developed the Indiana Environmental Reporter at Indiana University into a source for environmental news that was respected statewide and nationally. Limestone Post looks at four of her reporting projects: on coal ash, confined animal feeding operations, Martinsville’s drinking water, and a controversial coal-to-diesel plant. Read Beth Edwards’s work here.
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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.
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[Photo Gallery: 20 photos]: Legislation recently introduced by Sen. Mike Braun would double the size of the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area by Lake Monroe and convert another 29,000 acres of Hoosier National Forest into the Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area. This photo was taken from the Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower, which stands 133 steps above the Deam’s Terrill Ridge, a thousand feet above sea level. Built in 1939 to identify forest fires, the tower is a popular destination due to its magnificent 360-degree view of the Southern Indiana forest. | All photography in the gallery above by Steven Higgs

On Saving the Deam Wilderness and Hoosier National Forest | Photo Essay Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate the Hoosier National Forest
Steven Higgs
“In wildness is the preservation of the world,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in Walden in 1854. Now, in this photo essay, journalist and photographer Steven Higgs considers Thoreau’s declaration vis à vis the Deam Wilderness Area in the Hoosier National Forest, especially in light of proposed legislation that would double the Deam’s size. Click here for a Deep Dive into “the Hoosier.”
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