Mayor Tari Renner called conservative blogger Diane Benjamin Friday afternoon. (WJBC file photo)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – After publicly criticizing her earlier this week, Bloomington's mayor has issued an apology to conservative blogger Diane Benjamin.

Renner called Benjamin Friday afternoon to make his apology. He had posted on Benjamin's blog on Tuesday, calling her a "total piece of garbage" and a "sick, dirty, slimy, ignorant fool." The post was in reaction to a piece Renner believed to be about his son.

"I did tell her that I was sorry for the remarks that I had made about her blog and that I, certainly, had regretted my actions," Renner said.

Renner said he hadn't read Benjamin's blog in a year-and-a-half before this week.

"I don't think I'm going to change my practice," said Renner. "I'm not going to read her blog."

Renner on Thursday had apologized to the city and city council, but did not issue his regrets to Benjamin herself. He said, after thinking more about the situation, apologizing was the "right thing to do."

"Hopefully, we can just move on," Renner said.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].