Will Darnall

WKMS provides readers and listeners in far western Kentucky with coverage of contested races for Congress, the state legislature and several local leadership offices that are up for grabs on Nov. 3.

Marshall County voters will be asked to decide who will lead the western Kentucky county for the next four years.

In the days before refrigeration, railway cars full of bananas were a regular sight in the Twin Cities of Fulton, Kentucky, and South Fulton, Tennessee. Last week, the towns held their 63rd annual Banana Festival – a celebration of the towns’ history as a former key stop for the country’s fruit imports.

The Cave-In-Rock Ferry, which has connected western Kentucky and southern Illinois across the Ohio River for decades, has been closed for over two months as state officials continue to negotiate with the private company that provides the service. But a local official says the closure could drag on – and potentially require legislative action to resolve.

Commercial vessels traveling down the Tennessee River at Kentucky Lock are being aided into the structure by an assist boat following recent wall damage.

A federal judge in southern Illinois issued an order Monday halting a logging project commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service in Shawnee National Forest for violating federal law.

The Oscar Devereaux Micheaux Black Film and Arts Festival is returning for its second year this Friday at Paducah’s Maiden Alley Cinema.

Under a state program, some Kentucky commercial fishermen are using “experimental” tools and methods to capture thousands of pounds of Asian Carp at a time. One western Kentucky fishing crew is seeing results.

The Tennessee Valley Authority recently gave a handful of lucky area residents the chance to tour the inside of its facilities at Kentucky Dam to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.

Early voting in Tennessee for the governor’s race and other state, federal and local offices begins Friday and will last through Aug. 1.