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Saturday January 24, 2026
Local Connection
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish And Wildlife
Crews from the fisheries division of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will remove largemouth bass from Beaver Lake in Anderson County in the coming weeks to alleviate overcrowding and improve growth rates of fish.
“In March of 2017, we took nearly 2,400 largemouth bass out of Beaver Lake,” said David Baker, Central Fisheries District biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “We did our annual population sampling the following month, and the number of largemouth bass we found were still double what we want for Beaver Lake.”
Baker explained bountiful largemouth bass reproduction in 2016 and 2017 further compounded overcrowding in the 158-acre lake.
“We want to be proactive and prevent a bottleneck of fish 8 to 11 inches long,” Baker said. “This removal will reduce competition for food among the younger age bass and improve growth rates for the bass near the 12-inch minimum size limit.”
The minimum size limit for largemouth bass on Beaver Lake reverted to the statewide size limit of 12 inches on March. Previously, the lake had a 15-inch minimum size limit on largemouth bass.
“We plan to take bass under 6 inches from last year’s spawn and bass 7 to 9 inches from the 2016 spawn,” Baker said. “Most will go into the Cane Run arm of Herrington Lake. Largemouth bass reproduction is typically poor in the lower end of Herrington.”
The Fisheries Division manages Beaver Lake for bluegill and redear sunfish. Removing small bass allows panfish to thrive in the lake. “We’ve witnessed big improvements in the number of quality bluegill,” Baker said. “In our population sampling last spring, the numbers of bluegill that were 6 inches and longer exploded.”
Baker also said before the improvement, each hour of population sampling landed 50 to 75 bluegill over 6 inches. “Now, we see 200 to 250 per hour,” he said. “We also saw our highest rates ever for bluegill 8 inches and longer.”
Louisville Metro is among five recipients of the Smart Cities Council’s 2018 Readiness Challenge Grants, which will provide mentoring and tailored products and services to accelerate the city’s smart city initiatives.
“We’re so pleased to see the strides cities have made since we launched the Challenge last year,” said Jennifer James, Global Director of the Smart Cities Council Readiness Program™. “The entrants are knowledgeable and committed, and they have large ambitions. They are moving beyond the ‘pilot phase’ to deploy strategic, at-scale programs that will generate lasting benefits.”
Noting that Louisville has long been at the forefront of civic technology and understands that smart cities require smart infrastructure, the Council said it would help the city enhance its collaborative approach in using smart technologies to address challenges in transportation, telecommunications and public safety.
Mayor Greg Fischer said: “A world-class city has to be positioned to understand and adapt to the world around us, especially in the fast-moving realm of technology. That’s why our city’s Office for Civic Innovation has worked so diligently on projects like attracting Google Fiber and working with the app IFTTT to sync city data with smartphone apps, and smart devices, like internet-enabled light bulbs. It’s also why they’re focused on ensuring Louisville’s bright digital future is inclusive of all citizens, no matter the neighborhood they can home. This partnership with the Smart Cities Council will help us take even more big leaps into the future.
The other winning communities are Birmingham, Ala., Cary, N.C., Las Vegas, and the commonwealth of Virginia.
“The five winners had three important things in common,” said Smart Cities Council Chairman Jesse Berst, “including a focus on uncovering synergies and cost-efficiencies between departments. They also fostered coordinated collaboration between internal departments, external stakeholders, and nearby regions. Finally, they exhibited a determination to include underserved and vulnerable populations.”
The five Challenge Grant winners will receive a full year of expert, vendor-neutral mentoring, plus an on-site Readiness Workshop, custom-tailored to each community’s needs and priorities. The Council will bring in some of the world’s most experienced experts from the private, philanthropic, academic and research sectors to help advise the winners.
The Council will take the information it receives from each workshop and develop a shareable Readiness Roadmap that provides guidance for the community’s smart city program implementation. The winners will also receive free products and services worth hundreds of thousands from leading organizations and Smart Cities Council partners, including Qualcomm, Battelle, SYNEXXUS, CompTIA and IES.
All applicants will receive feedback and guidance from the Council, including the runner-up cities of Albuquerque, N.M.; Aurora, Ill.; Fairfax County, Va.; and Los Angeles. As part of this program, the Council also awarded Puerto Rico with a special humanitarian grant to help accelerate its hurricane recovery efforts.
This month, people who travel Dixie Highway had the chance to see detailed plans for the $35 million New Dixie Highway Project and offer their feedback.
Dozens attended an open house at Shively Community Center on Feb. 15, 2018, to talk with project leaders about construction plans, bus design, ramp improvements and more. In addition to the open house, project leaders continue to gather input with an online feedback form.
New Dixie Highway Project is designed to create transportation and safety improvements along the busy roadway. The project will concentrate on three major areas of improvement:
- Roadway safety and design improvements, including raised medians and left-hand-only turn lanes, along the most congested and dangerous section (Crums Lane to Greenwood Road). Project Map (PDF)
- The region’s first bus rapid transit route, with eight priority buses and three dozen highly visible stations that will improve travel times for both transit riders and motorists. Bus Route Details (PDF)
- A new Intelligent Transportation System that will improve and coordinate traffic signal timing along the entire corridor.
Construction on the project began in December, and is expected to conclude in December 2019. It’s the first major project under Mayor Greg Fischer’s MOVE Louisville initiative, which seeks to modernize and improve transportation across the metro area. The project is fueled by a combination of federal, state and local funds.
For more information:
For fans who want to catch the high-horsepower action of the National Tractor Pull Championship, today is their last opportunity for the 2018 edition of the event, which is celebrating its 50th year in Freedom Hall this year. The finals will feature a variety of tractor sizes and stocks as well as 2-wheel drive Super Modified Trucks.
Visitors will be on the edge of their seats as they watch drivers use their trucks and tractors to drag the massive weighted sled down a dirt track. The sled (Bauer Built’s Iron Man) weight varies from class to class, but some of these vehicles are hauling more than 20 tons down the short 250 foot track.
Qualifying heats have been running since Wednesday for the finals tonight, which will feature such previous winners such Steve Bunnage from Golden Gate, IL as he tries to beat his Wednesday night result of 232.062 feet. The 2-wheel modified trucks will feature three lady drivers, including Bethany Nelson from Altamont, IL who won the heat last night by going 223.952 feet.
The Championship starts tonight at 7:00 PM with an early showing at noon and tickets are still available. As always with the Exposition Center, there’s a $8 per vehicle charge for parking. If you arrive early to get a good parking spot, the National Farm Machinery Show is open until 6:00 PM and admission is free.
Championship Tractor Pulls Each Day
The 53rd National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) kicked off it’s annual 4-day stretch yesterday at the Kentucky Exposition Center. At the show, more than 850 exhibitors and displays – from well-recognized names such as John Deere, Case IH, Mahindra, Blaster, and Perdue to upcoming companies – introduce attendees to the latest products as well as established staples in the agriculture industry.
If visitors to the NFMS are not in the market for new farm implements, the Gifts and Craft Market, located in the South Wing upper Mezzanine level, features everything from farm toys and locally made confections to belt buckles and mattresses. The Market is open during show hours.
In addition to visiting with the vendors at the show, visitors are invited to attend free seminars and television program tapings that cover everything from how to improve growing methods to the latest marketing trends in the industry.
Free programs are available at the show, with information also available in the free show app.
Doors open at 9AM each day of the show, which closes at 6PM daily. While admission to the show is free, Kentucky Exposition Center parking is $8 per vehicle at the gates. Concessions are available onsite from many different places, including a variety of Kentucky raised products.
Following the NFMS each evening, visitors can stick around and witness the noise and excitement of the Annual Championship Tractor Pull sponsored by Sygenta. Spectators will see competitors from across North American in a variety of trucks and tractors – from souped up farm diesels to alcohol burners to specially-built monster machines featuring multiple V-8 engines bolted together on a frame – dragging a weighted sled down the dirt track to see who can pull it the farthest.
The associated Championship Tractor Pull celebrates its golden anniversary this year, marking 50 years of massive horsepower. The event starts each night of the NFMS at 7PM with an additional competition on Saturday at noon. Admission to the Championship Tractor Pull is not included with the NFMS. Tickets may be purchased online with prices starting at $20. Parking for the pull is also $8, but if you are already at the NFMS, you do not need to pay it again unless you leave and come back. It is recommended that visitors bring ear protection, as some of the pulling machines are very loud.
During show hours, visitors interested in the machines being featured in the truck and tractor pull can stop by Broadbent Arena to see the trucks and tractors up close and have the chance to meet some of the drivers.
If you’re looking for some family fun to be had this weekend, be sure to stop by the National Farm Machinery Show at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
Photo: Harry Potter In Concert
The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, presented by the Louisville Orchestra, returns to the Kentucky Center with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert, the third film in the Harry Potter series. On Saturday, July 7, 2018, at 7:30 pm and Sunday, July 8, 2018, at 3:00 pm, the Louisville Orchestra will perform this magical score live from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Film Synopsis In their third year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet escaped prisoner Sirius Black, learn to handle a half-horse/half-eagle Hippogriff, repel shape-shifting Boggarts, and master the art of Divination. Harry must also withstand soul-sucking Dementors, outsmart a dangerous werewolf and deal with the truth about Sirius and his relationship to Harry and his parents.
Earning an Oscar® nomination for the score, John Williams composed the spellbinding and masterful music that has become a celebrated classic; conjuring beautiful, soaring motifs that continue the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends on their magical journey.
CineConcerts CineConcerts and Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, a new global concert tour celebrating the Harry Potter films, in 2016. Since the world premiere of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – In Concert in June 2016, more than half-amillion fans have enjoyed this magical experience from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, which is scheduled to include over 600 performances across more than 38 countries worldwide through 2018.
Justin Freer, President of CineConcerts and the Producer/Conductor of the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, explains, “The Harry Potter film series is a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon that continues to delight millions of fans around the world. It is with great pleasure that we bring fans for the first time ever an opportunity to experience the award-winning music scores played live by a symphony orchestra, all while the beloved film is simultaneously projected onto the big screen. This is truly an unforgettable event.”
Brady Beaubien of CineConcerts and Concert Producer for the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, explains, “Harry Potter is synonymous with excitement around the world and we hope that by performing this incredible music with the full movie, audiences will enjoy returning to the Wizarding World.”
Tickets go on sale FRI 19 JAN at 10:00 am – Online at LouisvilleOrchestra.org and KentuckyCenter.org; by phone at 502.584.7777; in person at the Kentucky Center drive-thru and ticket office at 501 W. Main, Louisville 40202. Tickets: adults $35 – $95; children 12 and under $25 (all seats).
For more information on the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, please visit www.harrypotterinconcert.com. For more information about this performance, please visit www.LouisvilleOrchestra.org.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Councilwoman Marianne Butler (D-15) has been reappointed to the National League of Cities (NLC) 2018 Community and Economic Development (CED) federal advocacy committee.
This committee has the lead responsibility for developing NLC’s federal policy positions on issues involving housing, community and economic development, land use, recreation and parks, historic preservation and international competitiveness.
The reappointment was announced by NLC President Mark Stodola, mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas.
“It is an honor to continue to serve on the Community and Economic Development Committee. The work of this committee is important to maintaining a strong working relationship with Federal officials to ensure their involvement and support in the positive growth we are experiencing in Metro Louisville,” said Butler
As a committee member, Councilwoman Butler will play a key role in shaping NLC’s policy positions and advocate on behalf of America’s cities and towns before Congress, with the administration and at home.
“Serving on an NLC committee is one of the most effective ways for a local official to advocate for their community in Washington,” said NLC President Stodola. “I am thrilled to have Marianne Butler join a team of local leaders from around the country working to craft our policy platform and to solve the most pressing challenges facing our communities.”
The leadership of this year’s committee will consist of Chair Gina Bivens, councilmember, Fort Worth, Texas; and Vice Chairs Lou La Monte, mayor, Malibu, California; and Kevin Thompson, councilmember, Mesa, Arizona.
For more information on NLC’s federal advocacy committees, visit: www.nlc.org/advocacy/committees.
