Interns: Can you die from sweating too much?

It’s “go cover events outside” and “shower on your lunch break” season.

It’s really hot and humid in Indiana right now. Like REALLY hot.

For most of June I’ve been outside covering one event or another. Now that it’s July, I’ve been put outside again for the county fair. Here some of the things I’ve been writing about.

Families flock to local beaches, campgrounds as temperatures climb

I volunteered myself to write this story near the first official day of summer. I thought it was hot outside then, but it’s way worse now.

So, Bloomington sits next to the largest man-made lake in Indiana and the two beaches of that lake is are on opposite sides. I had to drive to nearly the next county over to visit a Yogi-bear themed campsite and then alllll the way over to the other side to talk to some kids and see a snake.

The snake was actually pretty cute (as you can see) and I got to pet it, which was the first time I’ve ever pet a snake or really interacted with one. I think I’d still be scared of it if someone from the Department of Natural Resources wasn’t there, too.

Trapped raccoon recovering at WildCare

This story was WILD. An apartment building set traps on their roof and a raccoon got stuck in it and was trapped for days before some members of a Facebook nearly rioted.

There’s a group where people post lost pets or pets they’ve found and someone put the raccoon there after calling management and the police and eventually they kept tagging the paper’s Facebook page and sending us messages so I decided to find out what’s up with this raccoon.

It’s probably one of the weirdest stories I’ve done this summer, but luckily the raccoon is alive and well. 🙏

Heat advisory in effect throughout weekend

Like I told you, it’s REALLY hot. We’ve had heat advisories several times in the last couple of weeks and it’s not cooling down anytime soon. I called the National Weather Service in Indianapolis and got the deal on what’s up.

I’ve taken a lot of geography classes so I’ve learned a lot about weather and it’s interesting to see how that’s become useful. I also learned that summer storms aren’t caused by cold/hot air fronts, but rather heat rising from the ground.

Fairgoers, 4-H’ers rely on water, fans to help beat the heat

This is the part where I got REALLY sweaty. Here’s a tip: Don’t wear your office attire in 95 degree heat. I had to be out at the fairgrounds for a couple hours and felt like I was going to die by the end of it.

But, it was fun. I got to pet and feed a horse for the first time and talked to a bunch of kids about their animals. Definitely a good way to spend the better half of a day.

Woman finishes fair entry 40 years later

So I love arts and crafts. This woman REALLY loves arts and crafts. She started doing an embroidery project around 1978 and just finished it last year. That’s crazy dedication and it was fun to talk to her about how much she loves the fair.

Be sure to watch out for pets during fireworks

Any day that you get to leave work and play with cats and dogs is THE BEST DAY. I went to the animal shelter and learned some tips about how to keep pets safe over the Fourth of July holiday and played with the animals. I mean, look at those big green eyes. How is she not already adopted yet?