WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, March 10th, 2026.
In today’s newscast, WFHB Correspondents Emma Maher and Shane Gebhard report on an anti-ICE benefit concert that took place at Harmony School late last month. More in today’s feature report.
Also coming up in the next half hour, the candidates for Monroe County prosecutor clashed over local criminal justice reforms. That’s coming up next in your daily headlines:
Monroe County Prosecutor Candidates Clash Over Local Criminal Justice Reforms
Candidates running for Monroe County prosecutor shared their ideas on criminal justice reform in a forum hosted by the Bloomington Democratic Socialists of America on February 26th.
Incumbent Prosecutor Erika Oliphant and challenger Benjamin Arrington described their platforms on issues such as cannabis legalization, homelessness, immigration and the prosecutor’s role in social services.
In his opening statement, Arrington said he’s a non-traditional candidate, and he walked through how his personal background informs his views on criminal justice.
“I am the product of a single mother of five children who understands poverty, because I have lived in poverty, and I have been unhoused more than once in my life,” said Arrington. “Which is why I sit in a unique position to have a unique lens when making prosecutorial decisions.”
Arrington says he would change how the county prosecutes low-level cannabis offenses.
“If elected, on day one, I will stop the discriminatory prosecution on wasteful prosecution of simple possession of marijuana one ounce or less,” said Arrington.
Oliphant pointed to reforms that are already in place. She says her experience as county prosecutor reflects the values of the community.
“I am confident the Monroe County voters will recognize my experience and temperament and retain me in office in this year’s election,” said Oliphant.
She emphasized transparency in the county as a key part of her platform, saying she’s about to make prosecution data public.
“We do anticipate launching a dashboard very soon. It’s been developed. We’re testing the code, but what this will do is we will collect and display our data publicly so that we can be improve our transparency, our accountability, and test our policy updates against the data,” said Oliphant.
Moderator Bryce Greene asked the candidates a question from the audience.
“What role do you believe the prosecutor’s office should play in supporting successful reentry and diversion programs, particularly for people experiencing homelessness or mental health challenges?” asked Greene.
Oliphant again pointed to her experience, saying she’s proven that she’s equipped to do the job.
“I’ve really demonstrated that I can think outside the box, and I am open always to hearing new ideas about how we can support people in not coming into contact in the first instance with law enforcement, but then also having a chance to avoid it after they’ve come into contact with us,” said Oliphant.
Arrington responded to the same question, maintaining that the county needs major reforms in criminal justice.
“One way is telling law enforcement, hands off our people. Your new chief law enforcement officer is a person that represents the people, and it’s going to work to help all of you, and that’s by telling law enforcement we’re not going to be charging bull crap,” he said.
Oliphant responded to Arrington’s comment, pushing back against the idea that the county’s prosecution office is overly punitive.
“The last time I looked at the D, O, C numbers, we are seventh in the state, lowest at sending people to the Department of Corrections, but we are not the seventh lowest in population.
The moderator then asked the candidates about how they would enforce recent statewide legislation that would mandate local governments to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The candidates also answered questions on the state’s new homelessness bill, Flock cameras, the opioid crisis and more. The full candidate forum will be available on our website at wfhb dot org following this broadcast.
Featured Segments:
Last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement experienced unprecedented expansion, with detention numbers rising over 75 percent in one year. In today’s feature report, WFHB Correspondents Emma Maher and Shane Gebhard report on an anti-ICE benefit concert that took place at Harmony School late last month. We now turn to that report on the WFHB Local News.
Up next, we have “What the Health?!”, a series on WFHB’s Youth Radio where we chat with healthcare professionals to explore the future of health, global healthcare policies, and offer unfiltered insight into the realities of working in healthcare. In today’s episode, host Winnie Dong interviews Savannah Powell, a Registered Nurse (RN) in family medicine. We turn to that segment on the WFHB Local News.
Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Kade Young, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our feature was produced by Shane Gebhard and Emma Maher.
Winnie Dong produced What the Health?!
Stacy Bridavsky and Lena Swaze produce Lil Bub’s Lil Show.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
Anchors are Kade Young and Gloria Chi.
