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Tuesday December 16, 2025
Local Connection
Mayor Greg Fischer announced today that Louisville Metro Government, together with the University of Louisville’s Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging, AARP Kentucky and the Kentucky Regional Planning and Development Agency (KIPDA), have completed an Action Plan for Age-Friendly Louisville, an initiative to create an accessible and inclusive city for people of all ages and abilities.
With the guidance of a community advisory group, eight community meetings, two city-wide surveys, and collaboration with Plan 2040 (Louisville’s recently updated comprehensive plan), the Age-Friendly plan outlines goals and actions for four focus areas: housing, mobility and access, social participation and inclusion, and community support and health services.
The city and its partners will host a kick-off event for the Age Friendly plan at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18 at the Jewish Family and Career Center, 2821 Klempner Way.
The planning process began in late 2016 with Louisville’s membership in the AARP Network of Age Friendly Communities, an institutional affiliate of the World Health Organization’s Global Network of Age Friendly Cities & Communicates.
“Membership in the Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities has boosted our efforts to support our growing population of seniors and bring age-friendly practices to the forefront of our community,” the Mayor said. “One of our guiding principles in Louisville is to become an even more compassionate city, and that means ensuring that people of all ages and abilities have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Named “America’s Aging Care Capital” by Forbes magazine, Louisville is a leader in aging and health care innovation, with more than 85,000 professionals working to create the health and aging solutions of tomorrow. The Age-Friendly Louisville plan will help further position the city at the forefront of aging care for a global senior population.
“At the national level, AARP is a leader in promoting Age-Friendly cities. Locally, we will leverage our resources and network to connect the initiative to critical grassroots systems and advocacy channels,” said Tihisha Rawlins, Associate State Director at AARP Kentucky. “We are working to create a statewide conversation where all of Kentucky’s age-friendly communities—Berea, Bowling Green, Lexington, and Louisville—can share ideas and support one another in the process of becoming age-friendly.”
“I look forward to the day when all citizens in Louisville can say their community is age-friendly; that regardless of a person’s age (from early childhood to centenarian), all are able to access and actively participate in their community: the place where they live,” said Barbara Gordon, Director of Social Services at KIPDA.
Dr. Anna Faul, Executive Director of the University of Louisville Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging, said, “The Institute looks forward to leveraging its connections to achieve wide-reaching coordination and collaboration in this effort. Such comprehensive buy-in will be vital to the success of the age-friendly city endeavor: improving the quality of life not only for our older residents but for residents of all ages.”
The plan’s goals and actionable steps include:
- Increasing the number of home maintenance resources for older adults, to ensure that they can age in place
- Increasing the number of home builders who have earned the Certified Aging in Place Specialist certification from the National Association of Home Builders
- Working with TARC to ensure its services are affordable, accessible and understandable to all community members
- Improving sidewalks, crosswalks and signal crossing times to ensure all citizens can access their communities safely.
- Increasing the capacity of neighborhood associations, Neighborhood Places, community ministries and other community organizations to promote health resource information.
- Hiring an Age Friendly Louisville program manager to oversee the activities of the plan.
Louisville’s population currently includes 15% of people over the age of 60 and projections states that percentage could increase to 40% by 2050. The Age Friendly Plan has incorporated goals and strategies to improve the quality of life for people of all ages.
To view the complete Age Friendly plan, please visit https://www.agefriendlylou.com/
Butterflies n’ Blooms culminates with the tagging of over 1,000 monarch butterflies for release at Flutter Fest on Sept. 22 brought to you in partnership with Louisville’s Idlewild Butterfly Farm. This release coincides with the annual migration of monarch butterflies.
Activities starting at 10 a.m. will include:
- Craft and activity stations: Children of all ages can play games and make crafts while learning more about monarchs and their long journey.
- Education stations: Visit stations to learn the importance of pollinators and what you can do to help them.
- Storytime plus Meet and Greet The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Hear the beloved tale of a particularly hungry caterpillar and meet The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
- Butterfly Talks and Release: Join us at 2 p.m. as butterfly expert Blair Leano-Helvey gives a talk on the importance of pollinators like monarch butterflies. Then watch as the sky fills with butterflies during the release of over 1,000 tagged monarchs.
- Pollinator Parade: Kids can join our special pollinator parade following the butterfly release at 2 p.m. If you don’t have your own wings, our gift shop has butterfly wings available for purchase.
There will be special plant sales from our Butterfly partner, Idlewild Butterfly Farm.
The Louisville Zoo, a nonprofit organization and state zoo of Kentucky, is dedicated to bettering the bond between people and our planet by providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for visitors, and leadership in scientific research and conservation education. The Zoo is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The Center for Digital Government released its national rankings today for city government websites, placing Louisvilleky.gov first in the Center’s Government Experience Awards.
The awards “recognize the achievements and best practices of states, cities and counties that have gone to the web and beyond to radically improve the experience of government and push the boundaries of how citizen services are delivered,” according to the center.
“State and local governments are responding to citizen wants and needs with increasingly sophisticated online experiences,” said Dustin Haisler, chief innovation officer for the Center for Digital Government. “This year’s Government Experience Awards winners have well-designed websites and innovative channels that provide citizens meaningful information and services, robust data integration and an exceptional user experience.”
Mayor Fischer’s work to improve citizen interaction and transparency is part of his strategic plan to “…annually expand our digital offerings and presence as well as increasing transparency, availability and usability of information and data.” You can see the Mayor’s entire strategic plan here: https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/mayors_office/pdf_files/strategicplanjuly2018.pdf
“This award is a testament to the tremendous work our team has done to improve digital access to services and information for all of our citizens,” Mayor Fischer said. “I encourage everyone to visit Louisvilleky.gov when they need get things done or learn about our city service offerings.”
Louisvilleky.gov was just recently updated to improve the smart phone experience and to highlight the most popular services more prominently on the city’s homepage. Some of those services include:
- MyLousville: Map Services by Address: https://louisvilleky.gov/city-services/mylouisville
- City Services Lookup: http://louisvilleky.gov/city-services/services
- City Events Calendar: http://louisvilleky.gov/events
- City News: http://louisvilleky.gov/news
- Online Maps: http://louisvilleky.gov/city-services/maps
- Report an issue: http://louisvilleky.gov/city-services/report
- Open Data Portal: https://data.louisvilleky.gov
- Map Crime: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/police/services/crime-maps
- Permits & Licensing Search: http://portal.louisvilleky.gov/codesandregs/mainsearch
- Get a Permit: http://louisvilleky.gov/government/get-permit
- Get a License: http://louisvilleky.gov/government/get-license
A popular feature is live chat with Metro311, located on every page of our site. The Metro311 team sends constant chat feedback to the web content team, ensuring that our site content is always up-to-date.
In addition to Louisvilleky.gov, Louisville Metro is working to offer services in other innovative ways. We’re a partner with IFTTT (https://ifttt.com/), a web and mobile platform that allows visitors to customize their digital experience with such tools as Twitter, Google, and Amazon Echo. And the city is beginning to offer services through the new digital kiosks being installed in and around downtown.
All that helped Louisville rank first among the 2018 government experience award winners in the city category. The full list follows:
2018 GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE AWARD WINNERS
Overall City Government Experience Winners:
- City of Louisville, KY
- City of Los Angeles, CA
- City of Tuscaloosa, AL
- City of San Diego, CA
- City of Baton Rouge, LA
- City and County of Denver, CO
Adverse weather rates available at all resort parks through Sept. 30
Kentucky State Resort Parks are offering a discounted rate of $49.95/night on lodge rooms to residents of any East Coast state seeking shelter from Hurricane Florence. The rate for one bedroom cottages is $69.95/night and for two bedrooms, $79.95/night.
These adverse weather rates are available at all resort parks until September 30th by calling the park front desk direct. An out of state driver’s license must be presented at check-in to receive this rate.
Park locations and phone numbers are available at https://parks.ky.gov.
As in past years, Kentucky State Parks support surrounding states during adverse weather in the same manner we support Kentucky communities in a crisis.
Declaration waives certain commercial motor carrier regulations for operators providing relief to affected areas
In anticipation of Hurricane Florence and its potential to cause damage to the southeastern United States, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Greg Thomas has waived certain regulations on commercial motor carriers involved in the relief effort.
Secretary Thomas issued the emergency declaration that provides temporary regulatory relief for crews heading to the affected areas to deliver goods, restore utilities and remove debris.
“Lifting these restrictions allows crews to assist with the relief effort as quickly as possible,” Secretary Thomas
said.
The order exempts a driver’s hours of service limitation and weigh station stoppage, suspends registration requirements and waives permit fees for overweight/over-dimensional vehicles. All other safety requirements will remain in effect for drivers.
The declaration expires on Oct. 11.
Additional information is available here http://transportation.ky.gov/
The second-annual “Family Kite Festival” will take place on the grounds of the historic home and farm, located in southwest Louisville at 7410 Moorman Road. Admission to the Kite Festival is free, although concessions will be offered for sale. The first 300 children in attendance at the festival will receive a free kite. Activities include performances from the Chicago Kite Team and Pigs Aloft Stationary Kites; stilt walkers; bubble making, kite making, jugglers, children’s games and complimentary tours (donations accepted) of the Farnsley-Moremen House. The LMPD display helicopter will also be at the festival for kids to enjoy.
“The Family Kite Festival is quickly becoming a tradition in its second year at Riverside, one of the true gems in beautiful southwest Louisville. Last year, several hundred children attended and we’re hoping to see more smiling faces on the banks of the Ohio once again this year,” said Mayor Greg Fischer.
“This is a unique event for Louisville and we hope it becomes a popular tradition for years to come,” said Seve Ghose, Director of Parks and Recreation. “It should be a lot of fun for the entire family, whether you’re an experienced kite maker or just interested in trying out something new.”
“I’m excited to have the kite festival back for a second year at the lovely Riverside, the Farnsley-Moreman Landing. This will be a great event for young and old alike. Please plan on attending this free event on September 16,” said Councilwoman Cindi Fowler, who represents District 14 in southwest Louisville.
Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing is celebrating its 25th anniversary of public ownership this year. It exists to promote, preserve, restore and interpret historic farm life on the Ohio River. Standing atop a gentle rise overlooking the Ohio River, the Farnsley-Moremen House is the centerpiece of a 300-acre historic site in Louisville, Kentucky, called Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing. Built circa 1837, the house stands as a testament to the important role agriculture along the river played in the development of our country.
Mecum Auctions, the world’s largest collector-car auction company, returns to Louisville to sell an estimated 600 American muscle car, classic, Corvette, hot rod, Resto Mod, and more. There will also be a free muscle car thrill ride experience where guests can ride along with a trained driver on a closed course.
The event starts at 10AM this Friday and Saturday in the Kentucky Exposition Center. Admission is $30 per day (Children 12 and younger are admitted free). As always, parking for the Exposition Center is $10 per vehicle or $20 per bus. More information can be found online at the Mecum website.
