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Sponsorship

Profiles 78 results
Since 2016, live performances in The Remarkable Women Series have enlightened the public on “the many unknown and un-celebrated contributions of African Americans.” The series is produced by Resilience Productions, which was founded by (above, l-r) Danielle Bruce, Gladys DeVane, and Liz Mitchell. | Courtesy photo

‘History Reclaimed, Stories Retold, Theatre Revealed’ Resilience Productions’ Remarkable Women Series Aims to Educate, Enlighten, and Engage
Hiromi Yoshida
Since 2016, Danielle Bruce, Gladys DeVane, and Liz Mitchell have enlightened the public on “the many unknown and un-celebrated contributions of African Americans” to Indiana and U.S. history. The next live performance in their Remarkable Women Series is about Judge Viola Taliaferro. They shared their personal experiences and unique contributions with writer Hiromi Yoshida. Click here to read about these Remarkable Women.
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In 1994, a group of Bloomington women conducted a homegrown experiment to create a new science playground for children. Today, WonderLab Museum of Science, Health & Technology has become a success story far beyond what many could have imagined. (above) WonderLab staff at the museum’s original location in the Wicks Building on the downtown square (clockwise from far left): Louise Schlesinger, Mary Sommers, Colleen Couper, Karen Stucky, Erin Gerecke, Catherine Olmer, (unidentified), Karen Jepson-Innes, Jeanne Gunning, Greta Faroute | Photo by Melinda Seader

The ‘WonderWomen’ Behind WonderLab
Trung Le
In 1994, a group of Bloomington women conducted a homegrown experiment to create a science playground for children. Today, as it welcomes a new executive director, WonderLab Museum has become a success story far beyond what they imagined. LP contributor Trung Le interviewed some of the women involved with WonderLab since its humble beginnings. Click here to read about the WonderWomen.
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Ida B. Wells was a writer, editor, activist, and co-founder of the NAACP. This statue of her was erected in 2021 in Memphis, Tennessee, adjacent to the Beale Street Baptist Church where she published a newspaper in the late 1800s. | Photo by Southern Hollows/S. Liles, CC-BY-SA-4.0

Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching
Richard Campbell
Ida B. Wells spent much of her career as a journalist in the late 1800s shedding light on the horrors of lynching. The writer, editor, activist, and co-founder of the NAACP has been called the most famous Black woman of her time in the U.S. This article by Richard Campbell shows her lifelong fight for racial justice. Click here to learn more about Ida B. Wells.
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Winter in Indiana is prime season for house fires, but the Bloomington Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division works year-round to reduce the risk of fires and promote fire safety. Above, firefighters train at the Public Safety Training facility on South Walnut Street. | Photography by Nick Bauer

Fire Safety and Prevention Through Education, Engineering, Enforcement Photo essay on the Bloomington Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division
Nick Bauer
Winter in Indiana is prime season for house fires, but the Bloomington Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division works year-round to reduce the risk of fires and promote fire safety. This photo essay by Nick Bauer shows the work being done to prevent fire tragedies in Bloomington. Click here for Bauer’s article and photo gallery.
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People take varied paths to the emergency medical profession, and their journeys can differ by geography. Nonetheless, Christine Brackenhoff writes, EMS personnel and agencies across our region have a strong spirit of interconnectivity. Above, flight paramedic Ashley Lucas prepares equipment for the next flight. | Photo by Christine Brackenhoff

Many Paths Taken to the Emergency Medical Profession
Christine Brackenhoff
The individual journeys people take to the emergency medical profession are varied and can differ by geography. Christine Brackenhoff profiles four EMS professionals in south-central Indiana to learn how they got where they are, and why. She also found a strong spirit of interconnectivity for first responders and EMS agencies across our region. Click here for the story.
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Mindfulness originated in ancient Buddhism, but the practice has expanded to companies that offer some form of mindfulness training for their workers. Artists and sisters Nina (left) and Sonya Montenegro own The Far Woods, a creative studio that reflects their dedication to mindful living. Other local businesses make it part of their everyday approach, as well, by taking into consideration “the well-being of the environment, the consumer, and the business owner alike.” | Courtesy photo

Mindfulness Widens Its Sphere from Personal Mantra to Business Practice
Shannon Livengood
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.
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Noël Wan (center) won Gold Medal at the 12th USA International Harp Competition in Bloomington in 2022 after performing at the Final Stage and Awards Ceremony at the Musical Arts Center. Watch the video on YouTube.

USA International Harp Competition Returns to B-town in 2025 Get an inside look from the director and past performers of this world-renowned event
Hiromi Yoshida
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.
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The Writers Guild at Bloomington is hosting the inaugural Local Authors Book Fair on November 2 at the Monroe County History Center. Readers 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.

Writers Guild Bloomington Hosting Local Authors at Inaugural Book Fair Book lovers can meet 30 authors at Monroe County History Center in November
Michael G. Glab
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.
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Bloomington high school student Hazel Hammerstein founded the nonprofit Indiana Prevention Project. Above, Hazel and her sister’s mural for the Montana Meth Project, which inspired Hazel to start a similar project in Indiana when she and her family moved back to Bloomington. | Courtesy photo

‘Paint the State’ Anti-drug Mural Contest Started by Local Student Registration ends August 30
Hiromi Yoshida
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.
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Megan Snook had a fast-paced life of traveling the world as a photojournalist. Becoming a mother changed that. And tintype photography has helped her “to appreciate the things which are most precious in this life.” Above, Snook’s tintypes of James Seaver (left) and Stephanie Duckworth. See gallery below.

Tintype Photography Transformed a Photojournalist’s Way of Life
Megan Snook
Life as a world-traveling documentary photographer was fast-paced for Megan Snook. But, as she writes in this photo essay, becoming a mother “drastically changed my way of life.” Tintype photography helped with the transformation, and now she is “better able to appreciate the things which are most precious in this life.” Read Megan’s story and see her tintype photography.
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Josie Leimbach (left) and Lynae Sowinski met in Bloomington and got married in 2017. Their journey to parenthood has been similar to that for heterosexual couples in many ways, but the journey has also been more difficult emotionally, physically, and financially. | Courtesy photo

Celebrating Diverse Families: Our Journey to Queer Parenthood
Lynae Sowinski and Josie Leimbach
Preparing to have a child is similar in many ways for queer couples as for heterosexual couples, write Lynae Sowinski and Josie Leimbach, who got married in Bloomington in 2017 and now live in Georgia. But in a variety of ways, their parenthood experience has been different — and emotionally, physically, and financially more difficult. Read about their journey to queer parenthood.
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