The Bloomingtonian

11/24/2025

Neon colors, like a scene from Blade Runner, slice the silent night over empty streets in downtown Bloomington.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.
📸 Jeremy Hogan / The Bloomingtonian

11/23/2025

Downtown Bloomington looked like the set of an ’80s horror film early this morning, with the Buskirk-Chumley marquee glowing in the dark and the sidewalk reflecting it back — pure Stephen King small-town-at-2-a.m. energy, and a hard throwback to the 1980s.

And yeah, with the new Stranger Things, fictionally set in Indiana, is dropping in just a couple of days, this feels like the universe leaning in. But the real ’80s magic? You can catch Gremlins on the big screen right here in Bloomington (because of course you can)… on December 11, 2025 at the Buskirk.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Scenes of downtown on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Bloomington, Indiana.
📸 Jeremy Hogan / The Bloomingtonian

11/23/2025

Hi everyone, Hunter here! 🐾
I just wanted to remind you that the adoption center is open today from 12–3, and we are full of amazing friends all hoping for a chance to go home.

The best part? Adoption fees are waived for all available animals.
That means dogs like me, and so many others, can start our new lives today with someone who loves us.

If you’ve been thinking about adopting, today would be a great day to stop by. We’re ready, we’re hopeful, and we can’t wait to meet you. ❤️🏡

11/23/2025

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — November 22, 2025

Cardinal Spirits on Friday released Barrel No. 1, a 10-year-old single barrel straight single malt whiskey that the distillery says is the oldest whiskey ever produced in Bloomington.

Barrel No. 1 was the first whiskey barrel Cardinal Spirits filled after opening for business, according to the distillery. The barrel was filled April 8, 2015, and was dumped on Oct. 22, 2025, marking a decade of aging. The release comes during Cardinal’s 10th anniversary year.

11/21/2025

11/21/2025

725 AM EST Fri Nov 21 2025
.PATCHY DENSE FOG THIS MORNING...

Patchy dense fog may reduce visibility down to around one quarter of a mile this morning. If traveling, be alert for potential rapid changes in visibility. Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination.

11/21/2025

OpEd: Bloomington Looks Like It’s Booming. The Numbers Tell a Different Story

By Pete Yonkman, President Cook Group and Cook Medical, in collaboration with ChatGPT* Walk around downtown Bloomington on any given weekend and it’s easy to believe our community is in the middle of a remarkable growth spurt. New hotels line the streets. Dozens of modern apartment buildings have gone up in the last decade. Restaurants are packed, especially on IU game days....

By Pete Yonkman, President Cook Group and Cook Medical, in collaboration with ChatGPT* Walk around downtown Bloomington on any given weekend and it’s easy to believe our community is in the middle of a remarkable growth spurt. New hotels line the streets. Dozens of modern apartment buildings have ...

11/21/2025

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 18: A pedestrian walks across Kirkwood Avenue near Indiana University under an umbrella as cooler weather and rain arrive on November 18, 2025, in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

11/21/2025

Rosehill Cemetery Scenes on a rainy day this week in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photos by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

11/21/2025

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 18: Leaves over the ground in People’s Park, the site of a Bloomington mural painted over in 2020 with the message, Black Lives Matter, as cooler weather and rain arrive on November 18, 2025, in Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana Governor Mike Braun rolled back DEI efforts in Indiana as one of his first official acts in January. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

11/20/2025

Darius Van Arman argues that independent music and media are being squeezed by decades of market concentration and algorithmic gatekeeping: three major labels dominate distribution, live music and supply chains have consolidated, streaming pays too little for new artists to survive, and platforms/AI are driving a “traffic apocalypse” for publishers.

We’re facing different but similar headwinds at The Bloomingtonian, where platform control over visibility and ad revenue makes independent local news harder to sustain and harder to find—and it’s worth noting that Secretly (Jagjaguwar/Secretly Group and Secretly Distribution) is still a real, Bloomington-based indie business fighting this same fight.

Jagjaguwar's Darius Van Arman on our shared fight against market concentration and for art, culture, and access.

11/20/2025

President Trump called a group of Democrats “traitors” on Thursday and suggested they be locked up and punished by death, after the lawmakers urged members of the military to resist unlawful orders…