News

150 years ago this month, Union and Confederate forces met in some bloody fighting in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.  Stonewall Jackson distinguished himself in the field, in fighting that demonstrated the importance of good maps and accurate military intelligence. WKU Military Historian Dr. Jack Thacker and Dr. Glenn LaFantasie of the WKU Institute for Civil War Studies provide details.

A preliminary autopsy report concludes Michelle Cotter died from a single gunshot wound and her manner of death was a homicide.

The 39 year old Henderson and Daviess County school employee was found shot in her home early Tuesday morning. She later died at a local hospital. Her husband, 36 year old Steven Cotter, remains hospitalized at St. Mary's Medical Center after police used a taser to subdue him at the scene. Henderson police point out a medical ruling of homicide just means the killing of another person and does not necessarily constitute a criminal offense. Their investigation is ongoing and no charges have yet been filed.

A major employer in Simpson County is getting larger with the announcement of more than 100 new jobs.

The Henderson Police Department tells WKU Public Radio they are preparing to release a statement regarding the murder investigation of Michelle Cotter, the Henderson County schools dance instructor shot to death early Tuesday morning.

Kentucky Senate President David Williams says he had no idea what trouble his former gubernatorial running mate Richie Farmer was causing as agriculture commissioner.
During an interview on Kentucky Sports Radio Wednesday, host Matt Jones asked Williams about the abuses of power and resources that were uncovered in a recent audit of Farmer's time in office.

Kentucky is one of 44 states reaching a 45 million dollar settlement with Skechers USA, Inc.  The settlement stems from complaints about deceptive advertising for rocker-bottom shoes.

The ten-county Caves, Lakes and Corvettes Region saw an increase of 3.7% in direct tourism expenditures in 2011 equaling nearly $340 million. The increase added an overall amount of nearly $534 million in total expenditures to the region's economy.

A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday night at Henderson County High School in honor of Michelle Cotter. She was found shot in her Henderson home early Tuesday morning and later died at Methodist Hospital. Her husband, Steven Cotter, was found inside the home with a gun and was taken into custody.

The office of Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway says $6 million has been recovered from Merck and Company in a lawsuit filed against pharmaceutical companies. Its the latest in a series of settlements over so-called "average wholesale price" cases. The suits allege that defendent drug companies published false and inflated average wholesale prices for their products, which didn't bear any relationship to the prices actually charged to customers.

Autopsy results are pending in the shooting death of a woman who served as a guidance counselor and dance team coach in the Daviess and Henderson County Public School systems. Medical examiners were scheduled to perform an autopsy late Tuesday in Louisville on Michelle Cotter, the 39 year old who was found dead in her home early Tuesday morning.

A former Kentucky player has been arrested in Lexington and charged with sex abuse and sodomy.  The Lexington Herald-Leader reports 25-year-old Michael James Porter was arrested early Tuesday morning. 

Kentucky drug enforcement officials have long complained that many of the illegally obtained pain pills that end up in the commonwealth come from Florida. Tuesday, the US Drug Enforcement Administration settled with a Florida company, Cardinal Health Inc., over alleged large-volume shipments of addictive pain pills in Florida.

The annual Bosniak Convention in the U-S will be held in Warren County, Kentucky this Memorial Day Weekend. Organizers of the event estimate  about 15,000 visitors will come to Bowling Green for the weekend's activities. WKU will be coordinating some educational activities in conjunction with the Bosniak Convention.

Governor Steve Beshear has ordered that flags fly at half staff at all state office buildings in Kentucky today, in recognition of Peace Officers Memorial Day.  The flags will be at half staff from sunrise to sunset in the Commonwealth.

WKU head men's basketball coach Ray Harper added three more players to the roster for the 2012-13 season, as Eddie Alcantara, Michael Bradley and Aleksejs Rostovs will be suiting up for the Hilltoppers beginning in the fall. Alcantara (F, 6-5, 205, Chicago, Ill. [Hales Franciscan HS]), Bradley (F/C, 6-10, 225, Chattanooga, Tenn. [University of Connecticut]) and Rostovs (C, 6-9, 225, Riga, Latvia [Canarias Basketball Academy]) join junior college guard Brandon Harris as newcomers for the Hilltoppers in 2012-13.

State officials have not yet given private Medicaid operators permission to do business in the Louisville area, but that hasn't stopped one company from trying to make inroads.

The mortgage division of a company which used to be the financing arm of General Motors Company is filing for bankruptcy protection. Ally Financial's mortgage division is known as Rescap.The government-owned lender had reportedly been considering a chapter eleven filing for Rescap for some time.

A national group that hopes to give voters more choices in this year's presidential election is bringing its campaign to Kentucky. Americans Elect wants to field a presidential ticket in all 50 states. The group will nominate a candidate through a primary online at AmericansElect.org, and will then petition to get a candidate on the ballot in Kentucky.

A federal Appeals Court is set to reveal the identities of the three judges who will hear an appeal from a woman convicted of trying to extort University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino. The U. S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled Monday to release the list of three-judge panels that will hear cases starting May 28th.

Law Enforcement Officials in Kentucky are making preparations for this year's "Click it or Ticket" campaign, which is scheduled to start on May 20th. Although seat belt use has increased in the Commonwealth in recent years, more than fifty percent of the people killed in traffic accidents in the state aren't wearing seat belts at the time of their accidents. Greg Dennison of the Office of Highway Safety and Captain Steve Stratton of the Logan County Sheriff's Department talk with WKU Public Radio.

The lawyer who has represented former Kentucky state lawmaker Steve Nunn since 2009 has withdrawn as his counsel. The Lexington herald-Leader reports Warren Scoville wrote in his motion to withdraw that Nunn is "currently incarcerated and unable to pay his attorney fees."

The Kentucky personnel board is expected to consider that scathing audit of the agriculture department under former commissioner Richie Farmer. Monday the panel will take its first action on the audit which found evidence that candidates for merit positions were pre-selected, that monetary awards were issued without input from supervisors and that a merit employee's responsibilities were removed without documenting the action in a personnel file.

The Council on Postsecondary Education  has worked with Kentucky’s public postsecondary institutions to develop the Kentucky Public Postsecondary Education Diversity Policy, and the plans were approved by the CPE last fall.   

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear will leave Sunday for an economic development trip to Taiwan and Japan. The seven day trip is expected to highlight the bluegrass state's 30 year sister-state relationship with Taiwan, and to showcase the Bourbon industry in the Commonwealth.

Folk Studies student Rachel Hopkin, a familiar voice to WKU Public Radio listeners, received the John D. Minton Award for outstanding graduate student Friday.  She was also named the outstanding graduate student in Potter College of Arts & Letters.  Part of her graduate work included the production of radio features about tradition culture in our region.

Thousands of Americans who have been receiving extended unemployment benefits will no longer receive that money, if they live in states that no longer qualify for the program. Under federal law, the rate of unemployment must be 10 percent higher than for the previous three years for extended benefits to remain in each state. States that no longer qualify, as of today, include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas.  Officials in California say that state alone will see more than 90, 000 people lose their extended unemployment benefits today.

State Officials in Kentucky today announced that the state has been selected by the National Governor's Association to work with other states to develop policies promoting efficient education funding. The group will also study flexibility in the awarding of high school credits.

After agreeing to terms on a deal following the NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens announced the signing of Western Kentucky University all-time leading rusher Bobby Rainey to a free-agent contract on Friday. One of 19 undrafted free-agent signees by the Ravens, Rainey is currently in Baltimore to take part in the team’s rookie mini camp this weekend.

A Christian County plant has landed a contract through 2020 to make extra-wide airplane body parts for Airbus. Plymouth Engineering Shapes in Hopkinsville is undergoing a $13 million expansion project to accommodate the new contract.

A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but an appeals court says a liquor bottle with a red dripping wax seal by any name other than Maker’s Mark would be illegal. Noting that “all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon,” an opinion released by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says that only the Kentucky-made bourbon can carry the distinctive bottle topper.