Read the current issue of Bloom Magazine.
Special Collectors’ Edition · February/March 2026 · Vol. 21 No. 2
‘We Did It!’
IU Wins it All! The Greatest Season in College Football History — exclusive photos from the Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, and CFP Championship, plus all your favorite Bloom departments.
In This Issue
10
Editor’s Message
‘Goodbye 2025’
12
Guest Columnist
‘The Fierce Urgency of Now!’ by Jim Sims, Monroe County Branch NAACP
15
Memories of Charlotte
Our readers share their stories of Charlotte Zietlow, who died November 5, 2025.
16
Up Front
18
Our Town
A Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan, and a Bloomington tech entrepreneur — Bloomingtonians worth knowing.
20
Arts/Entertainment
A couple married 63 years after meeting on tour — plus Q&A with the creator of Shut Yer Pie Hole!
38
Food/Drink
The Bloomington Farm Stop Collective — a daily farmers’ market cooperative and café.
42
Fashion/Shopping
Simply Primitive — candles, art, furniture, olive oils, goat milk products, and more.
46
Health/Fitness
IU Kinsey Institute director’s new book, The Intimate Animal — plus our health columnist on death and dying.
50
Home/Family
Monroe County Garden Fair at Switchyard Park, April 11 — plus the Autism & Disability Journal.
56
Science/Education
Teaching women in Pakistan to sew — and the Bloomington Amateur Radio Association.
62
Community
Saving the Hoosier — a documentary about protecting Hoosier National Forest from logging.
80
Feature: IU Wins it All!
The Greatest Season in College Football History. By Jeremy Price, photography by Jeremy Hogan.
90
Feature: Despite Troubled Times, Jewish Theatre Bloomington Thrives
By Brittany Marshall.
Never miss an issue of Bloom
Bloomington’s magazine — published bimonthly and distributed throughout Monroe County.