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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.

May 15, 2024

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.

February 15, 2024

Sponsorship

Some visitors enjoy New Harmony, a “wonderfully preserved” town along the Wabash River in southwestern Indiana, for its unusual history. Others are attracted by a more spiritual connection. (center) Interdenominational Roofless Church, (clockwise from top left) Harmonist Labyrinth, cabin at Harmonie State Park, Working Men’s Institute, Yellow Tavern, A.C. Thomas House (courtesy photo), and Atheneum Visitor Center. | Photos by Laurie D. Borman

Travel with Laurie: Historical and Spiritual New Harmony, ‘a Thin Space’

Laurie D. Borman

In Laurie D. Borman’s second travel piece for Limestone Post, she takes us to New Harmony, a town along the Wabash River in southwestern Indiana. Some visitors enjoy the “wonderfully preserved” town and its unusual history. Others are attracted by a more spiritual connection. As one shop owner puts it, “This is a town you feel.” Click here to travel with Laurie to New Harmony.

November 17, 2023

Members of the Indiana House of Representatives and Indiana Senate meet during legislative sessions to pass laws at the Indiana Statehouse (above). Many of those lawmakers have economic interests in the industries that stand to benefit from the laws those lawmakers author and vote on. | Limestone Post

Lax Ethics Rules Could Create Conflicts of Interest for Indiana Lawmakers

Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism The Indiana Environmental Reporter

The Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism and the Indiana Environmental Reporter reviewed statements of economic interest filed in 2022 by Indiana’s state lawmakers. They found more than 100 bills enacted from 2019 to 2022 that benefit industries the authors have ties to, creating at least the appearance of a conflict of interest. Click here to read their findings.

July 28, 2023

The U.S. electrical grid is a complicated network of wires that traverse the continent and connect with regional private operators who then transmit and distribute power. Some call it “a patchwork of operators with competing interests,” writes Rebecca Hill. Indiana’s electricity comes primarily from coal, natural gas, and a growing renewables market, but the transition to renewables is not without problems. | Photo by Benedict Jones

The Power Struggle in Indiana’s Changing Energy Landscape Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate

Rebecca Hill, Benedict Jones

Indiana’s electricity comes primarily from coal, natural gas, and a growing renewables market. The transition to renewables, though, is not without problems, and the grid operators, regulators, and Indiana legislators are at odds with how to handle it. Rebecca Hill takes an in-depth look at Indiana’s power structure, as part of Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate. Click here to read about the transition of Indiana's energy landscape.

June 21, 2023

Sponsorship

Some Hoosier farmers raise millions of animals that spend much of their lives in confinement — their sole existence in these “Confined Feeding Operations” is to get plump enough for market. But some of these animals, such as the pig pictured here, are rescued and find their way to Uplands PEAK, a farm animal sanctuary. | Photo by Alexianna Mundy, Paulina M Photography

Sanctuary Moving, Growing, Giving Farm Animals Freedom

Susan M. Brackney

Some Hoosier farmers raise millions of animals that spend much of their lives in confinement — their sole existence in these “Confined Feeding Operations” is to get plump enough for market. But some of these animals are rescued and find their way to Uplands PEAK, a farm animal sanctuary. Writer Susan M. Brackney writes more about the refuge. Click here to read the full story.

March 15, 2018

This swarm landed in a tree in Kara Krothe's backyard on a Wednesday evening in June 2016. Come Friday morning, the bees had flown off to try to find a more permanent home. | Photo courtesy of Kara Krothe and Earth Eats

Swarm of Bees Free to a Good Home (If You Can Catch Them)

Earth Eats

It’s swarm season, when honey bees search for new places to build hives. Which means swarm chasers aren’t far behind — beekeepers who hope to capture the swarm and make it into a new colony. Annie Corrigan, announcer and producer at WFIU Public Radio, wrote this timeless story last year for her weekly radio show Earth Eats. Click here to read the full story.