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Indiana University is restoring access to several biology labs that were locked down due to a USDA inspection into the lab of professor Roger Innes. But offices, equipment and freezers used by other researchers are still off limits.

Innes’s case drew attention after the professor’s public defense of Chinese scientists who were prosecuted by the federal government. The USDA investigated his lab earlier this year after one of his post-doctoral researchers was charged with concealing a shipment of DNA plasmids. At the time, it told Innes his lab was compliant with federal regulations.

IU Vice President for Research Russell Mumper emailed several administrators and biology professors Thursday morning, saying the USDA approved the university’s request to erect temporary barriers around the Innes lab so researchers can access adjacent lab space.

“Please be assured we are working as quickly as is feasible to ensure critical research tasks may continue or resume,” Mumper wrote.

But biology department chair Armin Moczek said it doesn’t solve his colleagues’ problem.

“It's nice to have lab space back,” he said. “Lab space by itself is useless if you can get to the reagents and ingredients you need to make use of that lab, and right now a lot of those are still inaccessible to the non-Innes lab faculty and students and postdocs that were affected by this in the first place.”

Moczek said earlier this week that the weeklong closure has long term implications for  researchers, including the unexpected termination of grant-funded projects.

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Indiana Public Media and WFIU/WTIU announced layoffs of four full-time staff and 14 part-timers Thursday, the latest cuts in public media nationally after state and federal governments ended funding.

The full-time layoffs came in marketing, television production and engineering.

In an email to donors, executive director Mike Arnold said, "We remain committed to trusted local news, arts and culture programming, and serving our community. That mission has not changed."

The elimination of government support has forced steep cuts in public media nationally. WFIU/WTIU lost about $1.8 million.

Arnold said in the email that donors’ support amid funding cuts allowed Indiana Public Media "to reduce the scale of these (job) reductions."

Becoming a part of IU’s Media School also prevented layoffs by allowing some staff to work for both entities, Arnold said. The station previously reported to the provost.

WFIU/WTIU operates on IU’s campus and receives funding from sources including grants, donors and Indiana University. While state and federal funding is gone, IU funding has been unchanged, Arnold said.

WFIU/WTIU News has editorial independence from university and station management.

There were no cuts to WFIU/WTIU News on Thursday, although six positions vacated over the past year haven’t been filled. Arnold said in an interview Thursday those positions have been eliminated.

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A judge has paused Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s lawsuit against Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté while a related federal lawsuit over Indiana’s new immigration enforcement law proceeds.

The Monroe County case began in 2024, when Rokita sued Marté over the sheriff’s immigration policy. Rokita argued the policy unlawfully limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

But earlier this month, special judge Luke Rudisill granted a request from Marté’s attorneys to pause the county case while a separate federal constitutional challenge continues.

The federal lawsuit, filed by Marté, challenges part of a new state law requiring local law enforcement agencies to comply with immigration detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Marté argues that holding someone solely because of an ICE detainer request, without a judicial warrant, could violate the Fourth Amendment.

His attorneys argued the federal case could resolve what they called the “sole remaining issue of contention” in the county lawsuit.

Rokita’s office is now asking Rudisill to reconsider the pause and restart the Monroe County case.

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At the Tuesday night Monroe County Council meeting, public officials and locals debated an ordinance by county commissioners approving the purchase of a site for the new county jail. Elected officials have two more weeks to show progress toward better conditions for inmates or the ACLU of Indiana says it could sue.

To pass on its first reading, a county ordinance requires unanimous approval. The vote failed five to one, so it’ll come up again at the next council meeting for a simple majority vote.

Councilor Peter Iversen provided the sole yes vote strategically so officials have two more weeks to deliberate. He said he hasn’t decided which way he’ll go.

Seventeen years have passed since Monroe County reached an agreement with the ACLU that it would improve conditions. Now, the county is in a tough position.

The latest settlement with the ACLU of Indiana runs out by May 29, and the civil liberties group said a new lawsuit is on the table. On the other hand, a proposal only exists for one shovel-ready jail site, a property called North Park. It’s criticized for its high price tag and distance from Bloomington services. County council rejected it once before.

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