A few years ago, a woman named Jackie Calvert stepped off a riverboat in Henderson, Kentucky, while on an Ohio River cruise she had been planning for quite some time. She was from Florida, and I imagine relocating to a small town in western Kentucky wasn't exactly on her bingo card. Somewhere between arriving at our riverfront and heading back to the boat, Henderson got its hooks in her. Today, Jackie calls Henderson home and has become an active, engaged member of the community she first discovered as a tourist.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fixated on music. It was told to me that I was successfully potty trained using the song “Puff, the Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul and Mary. A tape exists somewhere of me humming the Jeopardy “think” music when I was as small as could be.
When I moved to Louisville, the last thing I was expecting was the opportunity to pursue something I’d only ever considered a hobby. Despite my overwhelming insistence on becoming a lawyer or an astronaut at the age of twelve, the Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) encouraged me to embrace a part of myself that has undoubtedly shaped me into the person I am today.
On a summer evening in Louisville, a wrestling ring stood in a space usually reserved for quiet contemplation. Beneath the clean lines of the Speed Art Museum, the ropes were pulled tight and the mat stretched flat. As wine glasses clinked and a crowd of gallery-goers took their seats, the atmosphere was one of polite curiosity.
The heartbeat of American baseball isn’t found in a stadium - it’s forged in a factory in Louisville, Kentucky. And a new film by Kentucky to the World’s Director of Strategic Planning and Documentary Film, Tommy Johns, shares the story behind baseball’s most iconic bat.
Fall has always carried a certain magic: a creative pulse that hums through Kentucky’s hills and city streets. It’s the season when the air sharpens, colors ignite, and ideas start to take shape. For Kentucky to the World (KTW), fall isn’t just a time of transition. It’s a reminder of why we do what we do. This is the season of creativity, excitement, and momentum.
The next time you think about what is synonymous with our great state, don’t forget to throw professional wrestling in the mix. Kentucky is woven into the fabric of this great and entertaining brand of sports entertainment.
As one of the head arrangers and Assistant Music Director for the Whiffenpoofs, the world’s oldest a cappella group, Jake Latts is “so excited to be bringing the group to Louisville.”
Through its role as an accelerator for small businesses, a collaboration space for people across industries and disciplines, and an incubator for tech startups and research programs, the Innovation Campus at WKU has turned its headquarters from an old mall into the epicenter for economic growth in the state.
