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Derek Operle

20,000 people watched a Black man hang in Kentucky 90 years ago. A new book looks at why

By Derek Operle

October 20, 2025

In 1936, in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators, Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro at the last public execution in the United States. A new book by an Owensboro native examines Bethea's case and lynch culture in America.

A new book from a Kentucky native details the last public hanging in the United States, which took place in Owensboro 1936, and examines it through the lens of lynch culture in America.

Filed Under: History, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, lynching

National Quilt Museum program aims to stitch together math, fiber arts for students

By Derek Operle

September 25, 2025

Paducah Tilghman High School students measure angles on display in quilt during a field trip to the National Quilt Museum.

A new initiative pieced together by the National Quilt Museum is using the fiber arts to teach K-12 students about geometry and other mathematical principles.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, Education, WPLN News Tagged With: Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, Murray State University, National Quilt Museum, topstory

Floods may have damaged 800-year-old Native American cave art in Clarksville

By Derek Operle

February 28, 2025

Dunbar Cave State Park announced that floodwaters had “completely submerged” the cave art, something park manager David Britton said had “never happened before.” Archeologists are examining potential impacts to the cave drawings and bracing for the worst.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, History, WPLN News Tagged With: Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, clarksville, Dunbar Cave State Park, Tennessee State Parks

One of Kentucky’s last remaining movie rental stores is still fighting in the age of streaming

By Derek Operle

February 10, 2025

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Symsonia, a one-stoplight town, is home to one of the last movie rental shops in the region. Carol Turner has run Symsonia Video for more than 35 years.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, WPLN News Tagged With: Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, film, Kentucky, Weekend Adventure

Construction of massive Kentucky Lock project hits milestone after nearly 25 years

By Derek Operle

November 25, 2024

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The Kentucky Lock Addition Project — a more than $1.5 billion federal construction effort — aims to solve the logjam by doubling the length of the lock that flows resources and products to 20 states.

Filed Under: Business, Environment, WPLN News Tagged With: Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, Kentucky, WKMS

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