News

The Hilltoppers have been named the Sun Belt preseason favorite in The Sporting News college football preview. WKU is followed in the ranking by Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State.

Also, senior running back Antonio Andrews has been named a preseason All-America selection by the organization.

Andrews is a third-team selection to the 2013 Sporting News All-America Team as an all-purpose player.

An airplane with an amazing local connection will make its public debut at the Bowling Green’s Aviation Heritage Park on Saturday, June 8. The F-111 joining the park took part in the 1986 U.S. air raid against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya—a raid led by a WKU graduate and native of south-central Kentucky.

Sitting in a hangar near the Bowling Green Regional Airport is a plane known  as the “Warhorse” because of its many years of service. If you didn’t know any better, you might assume this relic from the military’s not-too-distant past could take off and fly right now.

Not having an engine keeps this bird on the ground, but it sure looks nice.

For Arnie Franklin, seeing this F-111 look just the way it did back in 1986 brings forward a flood of memories.

“It brings all of those emotions that I remember from that mission back to the forefront, and even though it was 27 years ago, in a lot of ways it seems like it was yesterday," Franklin told WKU Public Radio.

This is the story of a Kentucky pilot, a war plane, and a mission.

Authorities say they've recovered the body of 34-year-old Joshua Kimbrough, one of four men who have drowned in the Gulf off Alabama's coast since Sunday.

Baldwin County sheriff's officials says they found Kimbrough on the Fort Morgan peninsula Monday night. His body was recovered more than 24 hours after he disappeared in the surf.

Kimbrough was last seen swimming Sunday afternoon in the Gulf at the Beach Club and was found at the nearby Martinique subdivision.

Gulf Shores officials on Monday posted double red flags on all beaches in the city, meaning that extremely hazardous conditions are present and all waters are closed to the public. The city said that underlying rip currents posed a significant risk to anyone entering the Gulf.

The Kentucky and Indiana Planned Parenthood affiliates will merge next month, creating a new non-profit that will operate 28 centers across the two states.

It will be known as Planned Parenthood of Kentucky and Indiana.   The centers will offer services such as pregnancy tests, birth control, breast exams and Pap tests.

Planned Parenthood of Kentucky Chairwoman Kim Greene says the combined affiliate will have 190 employees at the centers and its administrative headquarters in Indianapolis, with a few job duplications in IT and finance.

“We have had to consolidate three of those sorts of positions, but other than that, there will be no other employee changes, employee losses.”

Greene says the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has made the merger necessary to more effective serve patients.

The merger becomes official on July 1st.

Update at 12:28am:   According to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service, the path width of damage is 300 yards, with maximum winds of 135 mph, making it an EF2 tornado.  One home was completely demolished, three houses and numerous outbuildings were severely damaged, and several livestock were killed. 

Original Post: A tornado touched down in southern Kentucky Monday afternoon, damaging farm structures and some homes. 

The twister hit in Logan and Simpson counties.  It was visible for miles.

Michael Cook, who took this photo, was working on a farm just west of Franklin when the tornado hit.  It destroyed several grain bins and damaged some homes.