Jeff Hall will become Monroe County coroner, winning his uncontested race as a Democrat on Tuesday.
Hall has been Monroe County’s chief deputy coroner for seven years, after working for seven years as an IU Health paramedic. Before that, he studied biology at IU and paramedicine at Ivy Tech Community College.
Coroners are called into scenes similar to how firefighters respond. In practice, that means investigating scenes, transporting, taking statements, notifying next of kin and at times, conducting autopsies.
The job doesn’t have any qualifications other than that the candidate must live in the county where they’re running. Instead, those elected coroners have to go through a training course after they’re elected. More than 20 states, including Indiana, hold elections for the position.
Joani Stalcup, Monroe County’s outgoing coroner, is just about done with her eighth year at the job — filling the job’s eight-year term limit.
Hall’s priorities include furthering community outreach and education to combat the stigma of the job.
