Bloomington Police Investigate Shooting in Crestmont Neighborhood
On January 12th at approximately 7:45pm, officers responded to the area of N Illinois Street and N Illinois Court in reference to several 911 callers reporting gunshots in the area. Upon the arrival of officers, a 2015 Jeep Cherokee was located with a shattered passenger side window. The Jeep was parked facing north in the 1000 block of N Illinois Street. Officers immediately checked the Jeep and located a 29 year-old woman lying in the rear seat of the vehicle with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to her head. Officers removed the woman and began administering medical care until the arrival of an ambulance. The victim was transported to the IU Health Bloomington Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. The victim is believed to be in critical condition.
Investigators were able to determine that immediately after the shooting, a van and a passenger car had fled from the area and were believed to have been occupied by those involved in the shooting. Officers did later locate both the van and the passenger car, but did not locate any suspects. This investigation is ongoing as investigators attempt to determine who was present during the shooting. Officers did speak with several people who live in the vicinity, but received little information from possible witnesses.
Anyone with further information about the shooting is asked to call Detective Jeff Rodgers at (812) 339-4477.
Indiana Women’s Basketball off io 5-0 start in Big Ten play with win over Nebraska
6th Ranked Indiana Women’s Basketball is off to a 5-0 start for the first time ever in Big Ten play after 72-65 win over Nebraska before a crowd of 3,477 Thursday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The 2019-20 Lady Hoosiers started 4-0 against conference teamsthis season IU makes history again, adding their name to the record books. Indiana was without leading scorer Mackenzie Holmes due to a knee injury and Grace Waggoner was unavailable for the second straight game, leaving the Hoosiers with 9 available players. Kiandra Browne started in Holmes’s place and played 24 minutes, scoring 2 points.
Grace Berger led the way with 22 points, Aleska Gulbe 17 points, Nicole Cardano-Hillary 13, and Ali Patberg scored 10 points. Chloe Moore McNeil scored 8 points in 29 minutes off the bench in the Hoosiers 6 player rotation. The 4 regular starters played 34 minutes and more tonight with a shorthanded team.
Indiana was 25-59 from the field for 42%, 6-18 from three-point range and 16-25 from the free throw line for 64%. Indiana pulled down 35 rebounds, had 13 steals, 12 assists, 3 blocks, and committed 13 turnovers. The Hoosiers continued their stretch of not allowing a team to score 70 or more points this season. Indiana advances to 13-2 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten.
Nebraska was led by Freshman Alexis Markowski who scored 17 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. Jaz Shelly with 15 points and 9 rebounds, and Sam Haiby added 10 points. Nebraska shot 40% from the field, and went 6-21 from three-point range for 28%. Nebraska had 49 rebounds, 9 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks and committed 14 turnovers. The Cornhuskers are now 13-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten.
Next up, Indiana will travel to Purdue this Sunday at 2pm on Fox Sports 1. Purdue lost to Iowa 78-66 Thursday Night in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers are 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten under first year coach Katie Gearlds who played at Purdue from 2003-07 and was Indiana Miss Basketball in 2003 at Beech Grove High School, in Indianapolis.
City Deems Historic Johnson Creamery Smokestack Unsafe
The City of Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) has issued an “Unsafe Building Order to Repair” to the owners of the property at 400 W. 7th St. The order was issued specifically for the 140-foot-tall Johnson Creamery smokestack located on the property, pursuant to Bloomington Municipal Code Chapter 17.16 and Indiana Code Chapter 36-7-9. An inspection on December 14, 2021, determined the smokestack to be potentially dangerous, and on December 21, 2021 HAND ordered it to be repaired within 60 days. The property owners, Peerless Capital of Chicago, Illinois, have been notified of their responsibility to repair.
As a precaution to protect public safety, the B-Line Trail in the area immediately adjacent to the smokestack will be closed until the repairs to the smokestack are completed. B-Line Trail traffic will be routed around the closure area. The property owners have cordoned off a portion of their parking lot for the Johnson Creamery with caution tape.
Housing and Neighborhood Development Director John Zody explained, “The property containing the smokestack was purchased by a Peerless Capital in 2019. The City itself conducted due diligence on the property in 2017 when reviewing a potential purchase and learned of significant future maintenance that would be needed to maintain the structural integrity of the smokestack.”
In 2021, the property owners approached the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) about smokestack restoration. After several months of communication with the property owner, City staff delivered the unsafe order to assure appropriate action. Plans for restoration, which must be submitted in response to the Unsafe Order, are required by statute to be reviewed by the HPC. The property owners may appeal the Order to Repair to the Board of Public Works.
The original Johnson Creamery building was completed in 1914, with the smokestack added in 1949. The creamery and its iconic smokestack were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Closed as a creamery in 1987, the facility was restored and remodeled in 1995 to become the Johnson Creamery Business Center.
This Week in Hoosier History
2017 – The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument on the Circle in Indianapolis was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of Interior. Dedicated in 1902, it is the largest of the more than 200 Civil War Memorials in the nation.
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