Sunday November 9, 2025
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In Kentucky, the coldest weather of the year often coincides with the best waterfowl hunting. This should prove especially true this year with the unusually warm start to the waterfowl hunting season that opened Thanksgiving Day.
“Late winter seems to be our best duck and goose hunting due to the lower temperatures,” said Wes Little, migratory bird biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We should have birds moving south now with the bitter cold and snow to the north of us.”
Hunters have an extra luxury this year of concentrating on ducks in January and geese in February as there are now two extra weeks to pursue geese. Duck season closes statewide on Jan. 29 while goose season doesn’t close until Feb. 15.
“You used to wonder in January, ‘Do I hunt ducks or do I hunt geese?’, but now you can hold off the hunting pressure on geese until February,” Little said.
Ducks and geese both locate in predictable places in the late season. Food resources and open water draw birds during the stressful times of January and February.
“Find a harvested crop field that is holding birds,” Little said. “You can find both ducks and geese in corn fields when the ground is frozen.”
Little related a January goose hunt last year in a harvested corn field. “Mallard ducks were using it and we didn’t even know,” he said. “Five of us had our mallard limit in 45 minutes along with some black ducks. Some geese wanted to be about 100 yards from us, but we still harvested several of them. It was an awesome hunt.”
Hunters may take up to four mallard ducks as part of their six duck daily bag limit.
“My favorite thing in the late season is using a small number of decoys. You don’t need a mega spread,” Little said. “If you find birds while scouting, try and mimic what you saw. Are they spread out? Are they grouped together? Then, set out your decoys accordingly.”
The Ohio River also draws many ducks and geese in winter. “The Ohio River is awesome for goose hunting and ducks as well,” Little said. “If everything is frozen up, the Ohio really shines.”
The many crop fields near the river provide food for waterfowl and the river itself provides rest and loafing areas during the cold months. This draws many diving duck species not often seen by hunters in other parts of Kentucky. Hunters may harvest canvasbacks, scaup, redheads, ring-necks and occasionally a rare goldeneye.
With a hard freeze to the north and a snow line, geese also flock to the Ohio, setting up potentially fantastic goose hunting. “You have to have the right equipment,” Little said. “Hunting the Ohio River is no cake walk.”
The Ohio River is not a place for a 12-foot johnboat with a narrow beam. Wakes from barges combined with strong winds can swamp a small johnboat. Hunters pursuing waterfowl from shore must scout to find a hard bottom in the area they plan to hunt. The Ohio River drops off into deep water quickly in many places. The shoreline is often saturated with deep muck.
Zac Campbell, boating education coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, cautions waterfowl hunters in boats to keep in mind some common sense principles while on the water.
“Don’t overload your boat with gear and people,” he said. “Plan your hunt, then hunt your plan and tell someone where you are going and how long you plan to hunt. If possible, stay near shore and don’t cross large expanses of water. Most importantly, always wear your lifejacket, the water is freezing.”
Spring-fed farm ponds that don’t freeze also provide excellent late season hunting. A couple of decoys and a homemade ground blind near the pond provide all the elements for a successful hunt.
“It is critical to use a jerk string from a decoy or an electric shaker to provide a ripple on the water if there is no wind,” Little said. “You must have some movement or the birds won’t come to your decoys.”
The weather outside may be frightful, but the waterfowl hunting is delightful in the late season. Get out and shake off the winter blues by putting some birds in the bag.
Tolling on the Louisville – Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project is scheduled to begin tomorrow. Tolling is scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. Friday, December 30 on the new SR 265 Lewis and Clark Bridge, the new I-65 Abraham Lincoln Bridge and the improved I-65 Kennedy Bridge.
The Kennedy and Lincoln bridges provide 12 lanes of I-65 traffic connecting Downtown Louisville and Southern Indiana. The Lincoln Bridge carries six lanes of I-65 North traffic, and the Kennedy carries six lanes of I-65 South traffic. The Lewis and Clark Bridge, which opened to traffic Dec. 18, connects the Gene Snyder Freeway in Prospect, Ky. with State Road 265 in Utica, Ind.
RiverLink is all-electronic tolling, with no toll booths, no coin machines, no lines and no stopping.
Information for Drivers
It’s important for drivers to remember that tolling will not change their commute. They should not slow or stop while approaching the tolled bridges. All-electronic tolling means all drivers are able to move at the speed of traffic, with no slowing and no delays.
Drivers with transponders will pay the lowest rates. Sensors read transponders, and the appropriate toll is deducted from prepaid accounts. Cameras will capture the license plates of drivers without transponders, and bills will be sent in the mail.
Toll rates range from $2-12, depending on the size of the vehicle and whether the driver has a RiverLink account and transponder. A driver in a passenger vehicle with a transponder will pay $2 to cross a tolled bridge. A driver in a passenger vehicle without a transponder will pay $4.
Drivers have the option of selecting a RiverLink local transponder or a RiverLink E-ZPass transponder. A RiverLink local transponder is free, one per registered vehicle. The small sticker adheres to the inside of the windshield, is non-transferable and works only on the Lewis and Clark, Lincoln and Kennedy bridges.
A RiverLink E-ZPass transponder is $15. It’s portable from vehicle to vehicle registered to a single account and works in all 16 E-ZPass states. All E-ZPass transponders are accepted by the RiverLink system.
Drivers can register additional license plates to their RiverLink E-ZPass transponders online at www.riverlink.com, by phone or in person at a customer service center.
Mounting Transponders
Drivers need to have their transponders properly mounted before the start of tolling. Transponders are placed on the inside of the windshield near the rearview mirror, as high and as central as possible. It may be placed on the driver side or passenger side.
Transponders should be mounted three inches away from any metal, tint, antenna or defroster.
Drivers should avoid extreme temperatures when mounting their transponders. During cold weather, drivers can warm their car for a few minutes before mounting their transponder.
Drivers Waiting for Transponders
Thousands of drivers have opened RiverLink accounts over the past several days. Not all drivers have received their transponders. If accounts have been processed and transponders have been assigned to licenses plates, drivers will receive the lowest rates until they receive their transponders.
License plates will be scanned and the transponder rate applied until transponders are delivered. Drivers must receive and properly mount their transponders before crossings count toward the frequent-user discount.
Drivers Who Need to Open Accounts
It’s not too late for drivers to open their RiverLink accounts. They will begin paying the lowest rates as soon as an account is processed, and a transponder is assigned to the license plate. The sooner accounts are opened, the faster savings will begin.
Drivers can open accounts online at www.RiverLink.com, by phone at 855-RIV-LINK or in person at one of two customer service centers. The website is the fastest option to open an account. It’s open 24 hours a day/7 days a week with no wait. Customers opening accounts online or by phone will have their transponders mailed to them.
More than 150,000 RiverLink transponders have been requested to date, including more than 125,000 RiverLink local transponders and nearly 28,000 RiverLink E-ZPass transponders. Nearly 67,000 families and more than 2,200 businesses have opened RiverLink accounts.
Just over 110,000 drivers are expected to use the tolled bridges each day.
Customer service centers are located at 400 E. Main St. in Louisville and 103 Quartermaster Ct. in Jeffersonville. The centers are open 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Friday. They are also open 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday.
With tolling starting on December 30, customer service centers and the RiverLink call center will be open, as normal, on Saturday, December 31 (8 a.m. – 2 p.m.) and Monday, January 2 (7 a.m. – 7 p.m.).
Louisville Sterling, LLC has purchased two city-owned historic properties at 1300-1306 Bardstown Road in the Highlands’ commercial district, with plans to open a small brewing operation and event space.
Louisville Sterling purchased the properties for $425,000 and plans to fully restore both buildings, which were built in 1900, returning approximately 15,000 square feet of commercial space into newly designed and productive use. Plans for the buildings include Sterling’s offices, a tasting room and gathering house, event space and small brewing operation.
“Whenever we can return vacant and historic properties to productive reuse and beautiful restoration, the community wins on many levels,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “These buildings will once again house an active use and bring people together on an already active commercial corridor.”
The buildings most recently were used as offices for the Communications division of Louisville Metro’s Emergency Management Administration. Metro Council declared the properties surplus in November 2015.
Louisville Sterling acquired the Sterling Brand in 2012, after the brand had changed hands many times and moved from Louisville to Evansville and ultimately was part of the Pittsburg Brewing Company.
Sterling Brewing started in Louisville in 1863 as one of several small breweries and grew to become a regional brand referred to by many as the “Beer of the South.” Now brewed in Stevens Point, Wisc., by the award-winning Stevens Point Brewery, Louisville Sterling’s goal is to restore the historical structures on Bardstown Road mainly for the purpose of establishing a craft house and tasting room. The company plans later to relocate production to its original home of Louisville.
The City of Louisville purchased 1300 Bardstown Road from the Louisville Ballet in 1995 for $235,000. The building was originally built as a telephone exchange for BellSouth, while 1306 Bardstown Road was built as a police station by the city, and has remained under city ownership until this transaction. The MetroSafe communications offices previously housed at this location were moved to MetroSafe’s Newburg Road facility in late 2012.
Every Thursday through Sunday until Friday, December 23rd, downtown Louisville will be hosting Holiday in the City. Patrons of the event will be able to shop, ice skate, and enjoy local entertainment at 4th Street Live!.
The ice skating week is open daily. During the week, it open 4 PM until 10 PM, until JCPS goes on break, then it will be open 11 AM. Friday and Saturday hours are 11 AM until 11 PM. Sunday hours are 12 PM until 6 PM. Tickets are $10 per person and includes the skate rental. Season passes can be purchased for $45.
The Holiday Market is located on 4th Street Live!. Vendors include Home for the Holidays, Anatolian Fashion, Lucky Clover Farm, Myroslava Creations, Gyename of Louisville, Food Craft, German Sweets, Gluhwein, Don’t Forget the Flowers, and more. Some local businesses already in the area will be featured on the Gumdrop Trail. Participating businesses will be offering promotions and discounts during Holiday in the City.
The weekend has more entertainment, including free photos with Santa, live music, performances by CirqueLouis and a showing of the movie “Elf” on the giant screen at 4th Street Live!.
A full schedule of events and maps can be located on the website.
Drivers traveling in Louisville and Southern Indiana need to prepare for the start of tolling on three Ohio River bridges. Tolling on the Louisville – Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project is scheduled to begin Friday, December 30.
Tolled bridges include the two I-65 bridges connecting Downtown Louisville and Southern Indiana, the new Abraham Lincoln Bridge and the improved John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge. The new East End bridge connecting the Gene Snyder Freeway in Prospect, Ky. with State Road 265 in Utica, Ind. will also be tolled.
RiverLink is the name of the new, all-electronic tolling system that makes the project possible. There’s no stopping, no slowing, no lines and no coin machines. Toll rates range from $2-$12, depending on the size of vehicle and whether the driver has a RiverLink account and transponder.
Drivers with transponders will pay the lowest toll rates. Drivers can set up a prepaid RiverLink account to get a transponder. All E-ZPass transponders, including the I-PASS from Illinois and the Indiana Toll Road E-ZPass, will work with the RiverLink system. No further action is necessary.
Drivers without transponders will get bills in the mail, and pay higher toll rates. Drivers who do not pay their tolls will be charged a penalty and may face restrictions on vehicle registration until tolls and penalties are paid.
Opening a RiverLink Account
Drivers can open a personal account online at www.RiverLink.com, by phone at 855-RIV-LINK or in person at one of two RiverLink customer service centers. A personal account can include up to four vehicles, with a minimum balance of $20 to open the account. The account balance rolls over month to month.
The fastest way to open a RiverLink personal account is online. The website is available 24 hours a day/7 days a week with no wait. Transponders will be mailed to account holders, free of charge.
For businesses with more than four vehicles, the fastest and easiest way to open an account is by calling a specialized customer service representative at 855-RIV-LINK.
Choice of Transponders
A RiverLink local transponder is free, one per registered vehicle. The small sticker adheres to the inside of windshield, is non-transferable and will work only on tolled bridges between Louisville and Southern Indiana.
A RiverLink E-ZPass transponder is $15 per transponder. It’s mounted on the inside of the windshield, is portable from vehicle to vehicle registered to a single account and works in all 16 E-ZPass states (https://e-zpassiag.com/about-e-zpass/where-can-i-use-it).
The I-64 (Sherman Minton) and the US 31/Second Street (Clark Memorial) bridges across the Ohio River will not be tolled in connection with the project. Find more information at www.RiverLink.com.
The Louisville – Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project includes two new bridges and their approaches, an improved Kennedy Bridge and reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange, where I-65, I-64 and I-71 come together in downtown Louisville. The new Abraham Lincoln Bridge carries six lanes of I-65 northbound traffic. The improved Kennedy Bridge carries six lanes of southbound traffic. The new East End bridge will connect the Gene Snyder Freeway in Prospect, Ky. with State Road 265 (Lee Hamilton Highway) in Utica, Ind.
Find more details on the Ohio River Bridges Project at www.kyinbridges.com.
Nominations of 14 sites to the National Register of Historical Places, and a research project documenting a new statewide context to evaluate future submissions, were recommended for approval by the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board during a meeting Monday in Frankfort. Approved submissions will now be forwarded to the National Park Service (NPS) for final determination of eligibility, a process that generally takes 60 to 90 days.
The review board is charged with evaluating National Register nominations from Kentucky prior to their submission to NPS. The Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office (KHC) administers the National Register program in Kentucky and provides administrative support to the board.
Nominations approved Monday are Columbia Commercial District; the Bold House, Foster; Doyle Country Club, near Dayton; the V.W. Bush Warehouse/Sphar Building, Winchester; Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, Haury Motor Company Garage and Whiskey Row Historic District (additional documentation), Metro Louisville; Waveland, near Nicholasville; the Kentucky Hydroelectric Project, Grand Rivers; Paducah City Hall; Rowan County Courthouse; the Scearce-Roush House, Simpsonville; the J.D. Dodson House, Bowling Green; and Old Taylor Historic District, Millville. (See photos, l-r, above.)
Additionally, a research project establishing a historic context for evaluating future National Register submissions within the “Kentucky LGBTQ Historic Context Narrative” will be submitted for approval.
Listings that have been added to the National Register from Kentucky since the last review board meeting in May are Harlan Hubbard Studio, Fort Thomas; Edgewood, Fayette County; New Castle Historic District; Shawnee Steam Plant, Paducah; Johnson’s Landing House & Farm, and Woodland, Oldham County; Elks Athletic Club (additional documentation), Wood F. Afton Hall at Simmons University, E.L. Hughes Company Building and Seventh Street School, Metro Louisville; the Jonathan Bush House, and Jonathan Bush Mill, along Lower Howard’s Creek near Winchester; and a Multiple Property Nomination for “Kentucky State Tuberculosis Hospitals, 1946-1950” along with individual nominations for the London and Madisonville tuberculosis hospitals.
The National Register is the nation’s official list of historic and archaeological resources deemed worthy of preservation. Kentucky has the fourth-highest number of listings among states, with more than 3,400. Listing can be applied to buildings, objects, structures, districts and archaeological sites, and proposed sites must be significant in architecture, engineering, American history or culture.
Owners of National Register properties may qualify for state and/or federal tax credits for rehabilitation of these properties to standards set forth by the Secretary of the Interior, as certified by the Kentucky Heritage Council, or for making a charitable contribution of a preservation easement. National Register status does not affect property ownership rights, but does provide a measure of protection against adverse impacts from federally funded projects.
A meeting agenda and detailed nominations with high-resolution photos of all the proposed and recently listed sites are available at www.heritage.ky.gov/natreg/. The next review board meeting will take place in May 2017.
Angel’s Envy™, the super-premium Kentucky Straight bourbon whiskey of uncompromising character and quality, will officially open its new distillery and visitor center to the public for guided tours beginning Saturday, November 19. Online reservations, which are required, are now being accepted at www.angelsenvy.com. Admission is $15 per person and includes a tasting.
Located at 500 E. Main Street at Jackson, (the former Vermont American and Baer Fabrics Building), the new state-of-the-art facility is the first full-production whiskey distillery in downtown Louisville. Having completed a $27 million renovation since breaking ground in 2013, the brand home center houses the Angel’s Envy distillery operations (including everything from milling of grains to blending and bottling on site), as well as a visitor center and gift shop. From the exterior walls to the vaulted ceilings and arched windows, their architects worked diligently to preserve every possible feature of the original building. Their breathtaking, one-of-a-kind 35-foot-tall column still, pot still and doubler were sourced locally from Vendome Coppery & Brass Works—just four blocks away.
The small batch artisan bourbon is the culmination of the late Master Distiller Lincoln Henderson’s storied career. Each of the brand’s three current expressions (flagship Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in Port Wine Barrels, Angel’s Envy Cask Strength and Angel’s Envy Rye finished in hand-selected Caribbean rum casks), exhibit his passion for experimenting outside of conventional norms by producing unique whiskey steeped in tradition, but finished with a twist.
“Opening the Angel’s Envy distillery and visitor’s center in downtown Louisville was a dream Dad (Lincoln Henderson) and I had,” said Wes Henderson, Co-founder/Chief Innovation Officer, Louisville Distilling Company. “He would be so proud of what we’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time. My sons and I proudly carry on his legacy. The distillery is a must-see experience.”
“We are delighted that Angel’s Envy chose downtown Louisville for its new distillery and visitor center,” said Louisville Mayor, Greg Fischer. “It is evident that Angel’s Envy is not only committed to quality craftsmanship, but also the greater Louisville community.”
The Angel’s Envy distillery and visitor center is open for tours every Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00am – 5:00pm, and every Sunday, from 1:00 – 5:00pm. Tours will not be available on Tuesdays.
For more information, please visit us at www.angelsenvy.com or on facebook https://www.facebook.com/AngelsEnvyBourbon and twitter https://twitter.com/Angels_Envy (@angels_envy).
