Genova was signed to give a 50 minute lecture followed by a 10 minute question and answer session. In addition, WKU was responsible for “professional commercially insured round trip ground transportation from hotel to venue and hotel accommodations up to two nights,” according to the contract between WKU and the Washington Speakers Bureau, the agency representing Genova. All other travel and event costs were included in the fee.

The contract was signed in May 2024 and included an itinerary for the day of the talk. This included an “Informal Q&A session with select students” for an hour, as well as two 30 minute periods of downtime, one before dinner with “University and guest VIPs” and one just prior to her lecture.

$33,500 of the full price was due to WSB on July 15, and the remaining $33,000 was due by Oct. 1. WKU was unable to publicize the event until full payment was made, according to the contract.

Genova spoke as the second installment of the Presidential Lecture Series. Her lecture followed last fall’s lecture by deep sea explorer and oceanographer Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreckage of the Titanic. The lecture was held in Van Meter Hall and was free for all students, faculty, staff and the Bowling Green community.

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu.

A second person was arrested in connection to a Sept. 28 shooting that took place near the 1500 block of Chestnut Street. This comes as the Bowling Green Police Department has continued to investigate the shooting.

Police arrested 18-year-old Tanner May on Tuesday, Oct. 1, according to a press release posted on the BGPD Facebook page.

“May is accused of firing multiple rounds from a semi-automatic rifle, with most of the shots striking a nearby house not related to the disturbance,” the press release states.

This follows an arrest made over the weekend of a 17-year-old who was also involved in the incident. 

BGPD believes the shooting was the result of a dispute between two groups known to each other, according to the press release sent at the time of the first arrest.

BGPD continues to search for others involved in the shooting. Those with any information are encouraged to call the agency at 270-393-4000.

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu.

A 17-year-old was arrested following a shooting in the 1500 block of Chestnut Street on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Multiple houses were struck by gunfire in the shooting, according to a press release posted to Facebook by the Bowling Green Police Department.

“We believe this shooting occurred as the result of a dispute between two groups known to each other,” the press release stated.

The individual was arrested following a review of video surveillance, the press release said. BGPD has identified others involved in the shooting, and additional charges may be filed.

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu.

A 17-year-old Gatton Academy student died while swimming in the Barren River after going missing on Friday. 

First responders and officials found the student’s body on Sunday after a multi-day search involving the Bowling Green Fire Department, Barren County Rescue, Richardsville Fire Department, Warren County Emergency Management and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, according to WBKO News.

“The Gatton Academy community has experienced a terrible tragedy. We mourn the loss of a remarkable student who was impactful and beloved within the Gatton Academy as well as his home community,” Jace Lux, WKU spokesperson, said in an email to the Herald on behalf of the Gatton Academy. “We extend our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the student’s family and loved ones. Gatton and WKU counselors are available to students. Gatton families and staff are also supporting our students as they navigate this difficult time.”

The Herald has reached out to the Bowling Green Fire Department for additional details. This story will be updated.

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu.

Content Editor Ali Costellow can be reached at ali.costellow453@topper.wku.edu.

A WKU student has tested positive for measles, the university announced in an email to students, faculty and staff on Tuesday afternoon.

“We have been informed that a student has tested positive for measles,” the email stated. “The university is collaborating with public health officials to identify and notify individuals during the next 24 hours who may have been in close contact with the students.”

According to the email, the student has not been on campus since August 30. There is no immediate risk to the campus community, the university said.

In an email sent to WKU students, faculty and staff Tuesday night, the Barren River District Health Department provided an update, which included a list of locations, days and times where individuals could have been exposed to the measles virus on campus. The locations include:

• The Commons at Helm Library
  • Aug. 28 from 7:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
  • Aug. 29 from 7:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
  • Aug. 30 from 7:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
• Starbucks in Downing Student Union on Aug. 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• Papa John’s in Downing Student Union on Aug. 28 from 1:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
• Einstein Bagels in Jody Richards Hall on Aug. 29 from 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

“If you are unvaccinated and were potentially exposed at any of the locations described above, you should isolate yourself from others for 21 days after your exposure,” the email stated.

The Barren River District Health Department will contact those exposed to the individual in other locations such as classrooms or offices, according to the email.

David Oliver, WKU director of environmental health and safety and emergency manager, said that the university was first notified that there was a potential case of measles late Monday by state and local health officials. In cases like these, the university activates its communicable disease protocol, which is part of its Emergency Operations Plan. The plan, however, is driven “exclusively by public health,” Oliver said.

“Public health has the lead, the university really doesn’t,” Oliver said. “We support public health.”

When the university was first notified, public health officials were in the early stages of gathering information, Oliver said. WKU provided officials with the identity of the student, as well as contact information for the person involved and potential contacts.

According to Oliver, the individual resides outside of Kentucky.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages individuals to get vaccinated, as the disease can be contagious. Symptoms can begin as late as 14 days after infection. The CDC also states that 90.8% of individuals are vaccinated by the age of 24 months. That number increases to 91.9% of adolescents aged 13 to 17.

“The positive is that most people are vaccinated,” Oliver said. “They get vaccinated as infants or in early childhood.”

Oliver said that while public health officials are taking every precaution necessary, they are not anticipating a public health emergency on the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s not going to be any widespread masking or anything of that nature with this. It’s a totally different approach, but we will follow (public health officials’) direction.”

Oliver said individuals should continue going about their day-to-day business. He encouraged individuals to verify their vaccination status and be aware of the disease.

“I encourage people to get vaccinated, understand the potential symptoms and, if they feel like they have those symptoms, they should immediately go to their healthcare provider or a local clinic to get examined,” Oliver said.

Oliver also said anyone contacted by public health officials should cooperate.

“It’s something we’re taking very seriously,” Oliver said. “We’re working with public health, we’ll follow their direction with anything they ask us to do.”

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on X at @pricewilborn.

WKU President Timothy C. Caboni first announced these overspends at the Sept. 4, 2024, meeting of the Staff Senate. Following the meeting, the Herald submitted an open records request to the general counsel’s office for WKU’s budgeted and actual expenditures and revenues for fiscal year 2024.

“For the two portions of your request seeking ‘actuals’ for fiscal year 2024, beginning on July 1, 2023, and ending on June 30, 2024, please be advised that these documents are still in draft form and are not yet final,” Assistant General Counsel Lindsey Carter wrote in an email response to the request. Draft documents are exempted from disclosure by Kentucky law.

“We expect these documents to be finalized in early October, and once final, they are subject to the Open Records Act,” Carter continued.

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on X at @pricewilborn.