Joe Corcoran

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.

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 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.

The lawyer who has represented former Kentucky state lawmaker Steve Nunn since 2009 has withdrawn as his counsel.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.

Sumitomo Electrical Wiring Systems in Scottsville and Yahagi America Molding in Park City have will expand their operations adding nearly two dozen new jobs. Sumitomo will re-open their previously shuttered first plant that began operations in 1988. The building is currently undergoing a $3 million renovation for manufacturing electric wire terminals produced for automotive wiring harness applications for their North American and European customer base.

Interim Athletics Director Todd Stewart has been officially named Athletics Director for Western Kentucky University. After nearly two years as WKU's Senior Associate Athletic Director, Stewart was named Interim Director of Athletics on March 22nd following the departure of Ross Bjork to the University of Mississippi.

A WKU weather forecasting class is set to begin a 10,000 mile, two week trip later this month, seeking out things most of us run away from. Joe Corcoran speaks with assistant geography and geology professor Dr. Josh Durkee about his storm chasers class.

A new trial date has been set in the court martial of a Kentucky soldier facing two murder charges. Sergeant Brent Burke is accused of killing his estranged wife and her former mother-in-law in 2007. The two women were found shot to death inside a home in Rineyville in Hardin County.

Two WKU football players are recovering after being wounded by gunshots outside a bar. A statement from the school's athletic department says defensive lineman Tevin Holliman and defensive back Ricardo Singh were each hit once. their wounds are not considered life threatening. 

Two Kentucky men are the first in the nation to be charged under a new law that makes it illegal to assault a person because of sexual orientation. A federal grand jury indicted 37 year old David Jenkins of Cumberland and 20 year old Anthony Jenkins of Partridge on charges of committing an act of violence based on the victim's sexual preference.

The Pulaski County town is the latest in southern Kentucky to schedule a local option vote. Residents will head to the polls June 26th to cast ballots on whether to allow restaurants and package sales in the city. The date was set after the group "Progress Somerset" turned in petitions with enough signatures favoring the referendum.

Governor Beshear and the sponsors of a bill that could save employers millions of dollars in federal unemployment insurance taxes have scheduled a press conference this afternoon in Frankfort.

 Beshear will be joined by House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, Senator David Givens and business leaders in the capitol at 1:30 (Eastern). The bill would allow the state to borrow $79 million to pay the first three years interest on $948 million the state borrowed from the federal government to keep the unemployment system afloat during the recession. It includes a $21.00 per employee surcharge on businesses to cover future payments.

Taggart Solar, LLC plans to locate a new manufacturing facility in the Edmonson County Industrial Park in Edmonson County in a 10,000 square foot leased building. The company's $440,000 capital investment will create 30 new jobs. 

WKU guard Derrick Gordon says he's transferring from the school after leading the mens' basketball team in scoring and rebounding on their way to the NCAA tournament this season. Gordon says he wants to move closer to his family in New Jersey but not say what other schools he's considering. Gordon led WKU with 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds a game.

The West Virginia coal mine where an explosion killed 29 men two years ago will be permanently sealed with concrete. That project will begin later today. 

Virginia-based Alpha Natural resources, which acquired the mine when it bought Massey Energy last summer, says it will seal the portals, large tunnels miners use to get underground, at the Upper Big Branch Mine. Boreholes will be plugged and shafts that house the huge industrial fans meant to sweep bad air out of the mine will be closed to prevent access. The company says the job should be finished by summer.

Efforts to allow hemp production appear to be growing in Kentucky despite the defeat of another legalization effort this year in the General Assembly. State senator Joey Pendleton has repeatedly introduced hemp legalization bills in an effort to restore a crop that decades ago was a major industry in Kentucky. 

Bowling Green entrepreneur Eric Littleton has created an IPhone app to check out local restaurants for expected wait times, daily specials, happy hours and more. Joe Corcoran spoke with him about how he turned a dream into a reality.

CSX has certified Lot 6 of the Kentucky Transpark as a Select Site, one of only five in the country to be considered the best manufacturing properties in the 23 states in which CSX operates. CSX introduced Select Sites as a new program to provide customers a simple way to access certified, rail-ready properties for a variety of industrial uses.

After nearly thirty years of stops and starts, the new Smiths Grove Public Library had its official ribbon cutting Monday afternoon. The new five thousand square foot building replaces the old 1,500 square foot library.

As their husbands, sons and fathers went off to fight on the front lines, women who stayed behind had to keep the family going however they could. In this third part of his three-part series Women in the Civil War, Joe Corcoran speaks with WKU Civil War historians Dr. Jack Thacker and Dr. Glenn LaFantasie about the new gender roles women were forced to take on and how those changes are still being felt today.

The Hilltoppers are the only men's team with a losing record in the NCAA tournament. But they're still playing and enjoying their new notoriety. Are they this year's "Cinderella?"

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Basketball fans in Bowling Green, Kentucky are celebrating an amazing come-from-behind victory. It happened last night in the opening game of the NCAA tournament. President Obama and the British prime minister had front row seats, as the Hilltoppers came back from 16 points down to beat Mississippi Valley State.

From member station WKYU, Joe Corcoran has reaction from Bowling Green.

JOE CORCORAN, BYLINE: Even veteran announcer Jim Nantz couldn't contain of his excitement at the end of the game.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)

JIM NANTZ: Western Kentucky pulls off one of the great comebacks you'll ever see in NCAA tournament history.

The Western Kentucky University mens' basketball team will be playing in front of a high profile fan tonight. President Barack Obama will be in the stands for the NCAA Tournament play-in games in Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton Daily News reports the President will watch the games with British Prime Minister David Cameron who's visiting the U.S. WKU plays Mississippi Valley State in the first of two games tonight.

The casualty numbers of the Civil War were staggering for both the Union and the Confederacy. They would have been much higher without the thousands of women who volunteered as nurses in hospitals and homes.

The Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers will face Mississippi Valley State Tuesday at 6:30 Eastern time in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament in Dayton, Ohio.  If the Hilltoppers win, they'll take on the University of Kentucky Wildcats in Louisville Thursday.

Assistant Warren County Attorney Jamie Spinks has been named the 2012 ATHENA Young Professional by the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce. 

After ten years as head coach of the WKU womens' basketball team and 21 years with the program as player and coach, Mary Taylor Cowles has been fired. Athletics Director Ross Bjork says he informed Cowles of her termination Thursday morning.

The WKU mens' basketball team returned home to a raucous crowd at Bowling Green's Carrol Knicely center Wednesday afternoon after completing an improbable run to win the Sun Belt Conference championship Tuesday. More than 300 fans swarmed the team's bus as it pulled in and erupted in cheers as the players got off the bus holding the championship award.

Last week's outbreak of tornadoes and severe storms was predicted well in advance. Still, the severity of the storms and the amount of damage they caused caught many in the emergency preparedness community by surprise.