WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, May 4th, 2022.
Later in the program, WFHB News provides a rundown of the local primary results in today’s daily headlines. Also coming up in the next half hour, we have your weekly consumer-watchdog segment Better Beware hosted and produced by Richard Fish. More following today’s feature.
But first, your environmental news brief:
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has recently proposed adding a new species to the state’s endangered species list. The prairie tarachidia, which is also known as the Prairie Bird-Dropping moth, has the distinctive coloring of its namesake, bird droppings. The moth is an important species because it is a great indicator of the health of Indiana’s habitats, as the moth is vital to the food web. The Indiana DNR currently has over 150 species listed as endangered in the state and plans to add a few more. Ideally, species are delisted once they recover in their natural habitat. The DNR hopes that by adding the moth to the endangered species list, more awareness will be raised and the species could be saved.
This year, the organizers of the Indianapolis 500 have decided to not release balloons during this year’s race. This is the third year in a row without the balloon launch, but the prior reasons were all COVID-19 related. The explanation of this decision for this May is due to the environmental and wildlife impacts that the balloons have. The balloons are known to travel very far, with some ending up in Ohio, and most of them make their way into the ecosystem which can have negative impacts for wildlife. Some species, such as turtles, are known to eat balloons which can lead to suffocation or starvation. Experts have done tests on the balloons launched in the past and have found them to only degrade after four years. Environmental groups have praised this move by the Indy 500 as it helps lower the environmental footprint of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After almost a year of weekly airings, this is my last Environmental News Briefing. Once I graduate, I’m moving back to my hometown, leaving Bloomington and my WFHB family behind. Thank you for listening to these weekly briefings and I hope they have allowed you to stay informed and knowledgeable about the environment here in Bloomington, in Indiana, and throughout the world. At the current moment, there are plans to continue the segment, with a fellow environmental correspondent stepping up to take the mantle. But for now, thanks again.
Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners
On April 26th at the Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners meeting, Director of Parks and Recreation Paula McDevvit asked the board to approve a suspension appeal of a park visitor.
City Attorney Michael Rouker gave the commissioners background information on their ability to issue a temporary park suspension and explained why one has been submitted for resident Matthew Mulligan.
Matthew Mulligan spoke in his defense against the suspension.
Board member Jim Whitlach asked Mulligan if he was at the park that day, and if he did in fact pull in front of Delilah’s car intending to block his vehicle from exiting the park parking lot.
Mulligan said he did not do it.
City Attorney Rouker and Council Member Whitlach asked Clark Delilah a series of questions about his encounters with Mulligan.
The board unanimously approved the suspension of Mulligan from city parks for ninety days. The board will have a special meeting to approve the 2021 annual report draft on May 9th.
Monroe County Primary Election Results
Indiana held its primary election on Tuesday. In today’s edition of the local news, WFHB will give you a rundown of the results for races of local issues. There were some contested county-wide races on behalf of the Democrats. However, all GOP candidates for county office ran unopposed.
Ruben Marte won the Democratic nomination of Monroe County Sheriff out of a pool of five candidates. Marte acquired 48.1 percent of the vote earning a total of 4,255 total votes. Marte worked for the Indiana State Police for about three decades. He will face off against Nathaniel Williamson who ran unopposed on the Republican ticket. Williamson has worked as a deputy sheriff in the county for over a decade.
Emily Salzmann won the Democratic nomination for Monroe County Circuit 7 judge, earning nearly 35 percent of the vote out of four candidates. Salzmann will run against Carl Lamb – the only GOP candidate for the circuit court race.
Lee Jones won the Democratic nomination for Monroe County Commissioner, District 1 garnering 61 percent of the vote. Jones, the incumbent, will run against Perry Robinson – the sole Republican challenger in the race.
In a tightly contested vote, Democrat Amy Swain won by a total of 40 votes over Ashley Cranor in the Monroe County Recorder’s race. Swain will run against Republican Paul White in the general election.
Feature Reports:
Up next, we have Strike Mic – Voices from the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition in light of their recent strike against Indiana University. We turn now to that segment.
In today’s feature report, WFHB Correspondent Zyro Roze speaks with Ashleigh Ewald – writer and advocate talks about how Generation Z hopes to tackle the issues of our time. We turn to Zyro Roze for Part II of an ongoing interview series.
Up next, Butchering Pigs for Fun and Profiton on Better Beware – your weekly consumer-watchdog segment on WFHB. We turn to Richard Fish for more.
Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Nathaniel Weinzapfel, Kade Young and Noelle Herhusky-Schneider, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our feature was produced by Zyro Roze.
Better Beware is produced by Richard Fish.
Strike Mic is produced by Mia Beach.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
