News

Morehead State University will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, for the Wayne D. and Susan H. Andrews Residence Hall.

The hall was built on the site of the former Regents and Wilson Halls. At a cost of $28 million, the new hall will provide space for 550 residents. It will provide suite style rooms, student/study meeting areas, and will have Wi-Fi connectivity throughout. Sherman Carter Barnhart of Lexington designed the building.

The residence hall is funded with institutional bonds paid by rental fees from residents.

Morehead State University’s Concert Choir will host the 2nd annual Chili Cook-off Dinner on Thursday, Sept. 29, from 5:30 until 7:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 123 East Main Street, Morehead.

Proceeds from the dinner will support the choir’s next international tour.

The meal will consist of competition chili and your choice of pimento cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students, and $5 for children 12 and under. Children 2 and under are free.

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Board of Regents received an update on a number of innovative academic programs designed to align KCTCS curriculum with the needs of the state’s business and industry during its quarterly meeting today at Ashland Community and Technical College. The programs include the integration of soft skills education into the KCTCS curriculum and a Joint Associate-Bachelors (A2B) Nursing Career Pathway Program. 

Former Morehead State all-star quarterback Phil Simms is one of 94 athletes on the list of modern-era 2017 nominees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The list of nominees consists of 45 offensive players, 32 defensive players, six special teams players, and 11 coaches. The modern-era nominees will be trimmed to 25 semifinalists in November and, from there, to 15 finalists in January.

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for August 2016 was 4.9 percent from a revised 5 percent in July 2016, according to the Office of Employment and Training (OET), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

The preliminary August 2016 jobless rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than the 5.3 percent rate recorded for the state in August 2015.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for August 2016 was 4.9 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) received reports of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases, indicating the presence of flu circulating in Kentucky. The cases are from Bullitt, Fayette and Jefferson counties.

Beginning in October, DPH officials will begin to report weekly influenza activity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of statewide flu surveillance efforts.

The flu season in Kentucky may be starting early this year, as the flu season typically begins in October or November.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will hold a meeting later this month to share information about construction activities starting in Salyersville as part of the Mountain Parkway Expansion.

The meeting will serve as a preview of the three-year construction project to improve safety and mobility along Salyersville’s Restaurant Row.  The project runs along a nearly 2 ½ mile corridor – from just east of the end of the current Mountain Parkway to just east of the KY 114/US 460 junction (Rock House Road).

Morehead State Athletics has announced that it will be selling Eagle Spirit Packs.

Included in the Eagle Spirit Pack will be a stand-up Eagle head table decal, a 24/7 Eagles sticker decal, blue and gold pom-poms and streamers, and two Eagle Excellence Fund t-shirts.

Spirit packs can be purchased for $50 from the Morehead State Athletic Department and are available to all fans, alumni, and local businesses.

Senior Anna Magnusson closed with a round of 72 and finished at three-under to win the Golfweek Program Challenge by three strokes. The win marks the third of her career at Morehead State and for the second straight year she has won the first tournament of the fall season.

Attorney General Andy Beshear partnered with sexual assault prevention advocates to hold a summit in Frankfort today to support individuals working to end Kentucky’s sexual assault forensic exam kit (SAFE kit) backlog.

The SAFE Summit was convened by the Office of the Attorney General and the Sexual Assault Response Team Advisory Committee (SART-AC) ahead of the results from the more than 3,000 backlogged kits returning in the coming days to local police offices across the state.

The American Red Cross is looking for volunteers to help with disasters, assist military families, and serve the community in Olive Hill and surrounding areas.  

No matter what the disaster may be, floods, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes; American Red Cross Volunteers are always there to lend a helping hand to support their community.

A new gallery exhibit “Have a Seat: Chairs by Kentucky Artisans” opened Sept. 17 at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, showcasing the work of 33 Kentucky artists.

The definition of a chair varies, but the most basic description declares that a chair has a seat or surface to sit upon and legs. This exhibit follows that sentiment, offering ingeniously designed chairs of all sizes. Artists have created newly made functional seating as well as non-functional miniatures, repurposed chairs and whimsical interpretations of the form.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes continued her statewide voter registration effort – one of the largest and longest in recent memory – by kicking off a tour on September 12th to tout Kentucky's online voter registration system at GoVoteKY.com. She is encouraging Kentuckians to register to vote using the portal and to participate in the Nov. 8 general election.

American musical legend Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, Jr.—leader of the band Buckwheat Zydeco—died on September 24, 2016 of lung cancer at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The Grammy and Emmy winning artist was the preeminent ambassador of Louisiana zydeco music. NPR’s Weekend Edition called him "the go-to guy for zydeco music...a master of accordion and organ."

Sunday Night Jazz Showcase

Program #135 (September 25 at 8:00PM)

Eddie Palmieri is one of the foremost Latin jazz pianists, blessed with a technique that fuses such ubiquitous jazz influences as the styles of Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, and McCoy Tyner into a Latin context. No purist, he has also shown a welcome willingness to experiment with fusions of Latin and non-Latin music.

Highway crews plan to upgrade the US 60 and KY 519 traffic signal at Morehead next week, Tuesday, Sept. 27, to provide new flashing yellow arrow indicators.

On Tuesday morning, motorists should watch for brief lane closures and delays during new signal installation.

Morehead State University’s Kentucky Folk Art Center has announced its upcoming exhibition, “The Devil Made Us Do It: Depiction of Satan in Kentucky Folk Art.” 

The opening reception will be held on Thursday, Sept. 29, from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m.

Muddy Bottom Blues

Program #80 (September 23 at 8:00PM)

Fearless ambassadors for string-band music, Uncle Earl uses tradition as a springboard, coloring a vast and varied legacy with their own unique perspectives as vocalists, instrumentalists, and songwriters.

Independently, Kristin Andreassen (guitar, fiddle, ukulele, harmonica, vocals, clogging), Rayna Gellert (fiddle, guitar, vocals), KC Groves (mandolin, guitar, bass, vocals), and Abigail Washburn (banjo, vocals), have each emerged as adventurous, compelling voices in the ongoing old-time renaissance.

Officials have discovered the presence of hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant, in several areas of Cave Run Lake near Morehead. State and federal officials are asking boaters and anglers using Cave Run Lake to take precautions to help prevent the spread of this plant.

Morehead State University’s Blue and Gold Marching Band Championship will be held on the MSU campus Saturday, Sept. 24. A total of 12 high school bands from Indiana and Kentucky will participate in the event at Jayne Stadium.

Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site, which will host thousands of Civil War re-enactors and guests Oct. 8-9 as part of the re-enactment of the Battle of Perryville, is participating in a project aimed at restoring native species and returning the land to the way it looked in 1862.

Several park organizations have formed a partnership to improve the habitat for Bobwhite quail and other species by converting fescue to native grasses and wildflowers on 625 acres at the park.

Ilona N. Burdette is the new director of the Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL), a program of the Council on Postsecondary Education.

Burdette comes to the Council from St. Catharine College, where she served 17 years as director of library services. Prior to this role, she spent three years as director of the Marion County Public Library in Lebanon, Ky.

Morehead State made its 2016 football debut at Jayne Stadium on September 10th, resulting in a 17-13 loss to the Keydets of VMI. However, it proved to be an historic night for more than one player in an Eagle uniform.

Morehead State soccer improved to a 3-2-1 record after a 2-1 defeat of Western Carolina on September 9th.

"(Western Carolina) was a team that played with a lot of heart, a lot of fight," said Eagles' head coach Warren Lipka. "We'll take the win."

Morehead State Athletic Hall of Fame member Howard Murphy's No. 33 football jersey was officially retired September 9th in a ceremony at the Morehead Conference Center.

The late Murphy was a standout tailback and defensive back for MSU from 1960-63. His wife Jennie and several of his family were on hand as his jersey plaque was unveiled. It is the 12th to adorn Jayne Stadium.