Monroe County will partner with Indiana University as one of ten High-Tech Crime Units in the state, according to a press release from the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council. The units will assist Indiana's prosecutors with processing digital evidence to enable faster turnaround for investigations.

Other counties funded for this project are Allen, Dearborn, Delaware, Knox, Lake, Madison, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe and Vigo.

​Read the full release here.

An advisory group has recommended boundary changes to precincts in Monroe County as part of this year’s redistricting process. The changes need to be approved by the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. Click here for details.

The Indiana Elections Division deadline for changes to precinct boundaries is Nov. 12. Monroe County Commissioners are expected to vote on the recommended changes on Nov. 10. When the county sets the precinct boundaries, the Bloomington Council will address redistricting of city council districts. The city also has an advisory group to make recommendations, though no appointments have been made to that group yet.

The state’s deadline for making changes to districts is Dec. 26.

Penny Githens, a Democrat who currently serves on the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, has announced her candidacy for the Indiana House of Representatives in District 62. 

The redrawn District 62 will be an open seat. Current Rep. Jeff Ellington, a Republican, announced plans to move and run in District 45 next year. Republican Dave Hall, a Jackson County resident, also is running for the District 62 seat.

District 62 covers portions of Monroe, Jackson and Brown counties. 

At their Oct. 21 meeting, the Monroe County Board of Health voted to extend the county's mask mandate. The current mandate ends on Oct. 31. 

If approved by the Monroe County Commissioners at their Oct. 27 meeting, the mandate will extend until the county's COVID-19 case numbers drop to fewer than 50 cases per week per 100,000 residents. Right now, the county is at about 100 cases per 100,000 residents.

More information is available at the Monroe County Health Department COVID-19 website.

Four Candidate Statement and Exploratory Committee Designation documents have been filed with the Indiana Election Commission for seats in the 2022 Monroe County elections. These filings reflect a candidate's interest in running for public office, and mark the beginning of the campaign process. To learn more about these four candidates, please read below: 

​Ashley Cranor (D): Recorder. Cranor is the Chief Deputy Recorder for Monroe County. She also serves as vice chair of the county's Board of Health. She previously held numerous positions within Monroe County government. 

Peter Iversen (D): County Council Representative for District 1. Iversen is seeking reelection for his current role as Council Representative. In addition to holding public office, he also serves as the Associate Director of Development for IU's School of Public Health. 

Ruben Marté (D): Monroe County Sheriff. In May of this year, Marté was recognized by the Indiana State Police Department for his 30 years of service. He currently holds the rank of Captain and is the Department's first Diversity and Inclusion Officer.   

Nathan Williamson (R): Monroe County Sheriff. Williamson currently serves as Sergeant for the Monroe County Sheriff's Department.  

For more information on the timeline for the 2022 elections, follow this link.

If you have not yet registered to vote, follow this link to the Monroe County Government Election Central website. 

At their Oct. 13 meeting, Monroe County Commissioners have approved a scaled-down version of Clear Creek Urban, a mixed-use development at the intersection of South Rogers and That Road. The development will include paired townhomes, multi-family units, and commercial space on land across from the U.S. Post Office.

​The original proposal by Blind Squirrels LLC, led by Tamby Cassady, was a higher density version that commissioners rejected earlier this year.

Read the Clear Creek Urban proposal from the commissioners' meeting packet here. Watch the deliberations on CATS here.

A new advisory commission will help Monroe County with its redistricting process. On Oct. 13, Monroe County Commissioners made appointments to the four-member precinct and district boundary advisory commission (PDBAC): Regina Moore, Ed Robertson, Joyce Poling, and Hal Turner.

Based on results of the 2020 Census, the county is responsible for redrawing boundaries for precincts, as well as for county council and county commissioner districts.

The City of Bloomington also has a citizens redistricting advisory commission, which they created last year. However, no appointments have been made to that nine-member group.

On Friday, Oct. 8, official public notices from the City of Bloomington were published in the Bloomington Herald-Times, marking the next step in the city's annexation process. 

Property owners who oppose annexation now have 90 days to file remonstrances with the Monroe County Auditor. Forms will be available at the courthouse square rotunda from 8-4 weekdays. Cathy Smith, the county auditor, will be offering informational classes on the remonstrance process at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Oct. 11-15, also at the courthouse square rotunda.

Read more about the city's annexation process here.

At an Oct. 6 working session, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Commission members discussed the county's approach to increasing the supply of housing. 

Two of the three county commissioners – Penny Githens and Lee Jones – attended. Commission Julie Thomas was absent. AHAC members included Cathi Crabtree (chair), Will Smith (vice chair) and Deborah Myerson.

​Watch the Oct. 6 discussion on CATS here. It will continue at the next Board of Commissioners' working session on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The working session immediately follows their regular meeting, which starts at 10 a.m. via this Zoom link.