Murray State University

University officials said they would distribute $4.5 million for students to pay for costs including tuition, food, child care, housing and COVID-19 related expenses. Current students received awards last week. Incoming students will be notified of awards later this month.

The new guidance from Murray State continues to encourage voluntary COVID-19 vaccinations as the “best defense” against COVID-19. The university is hosting a series of on-campus COVID-19 vaccination clinics in the next couple of months.

Laura Sullivan-Beckers, who first discovered the new treehopper species in her backyard garden bed in Murray, is using the crowdsourcing website iNaturalist.org to determine how widely dispersed the insect is.

Columnist Constance Alexander learned she was not alone in her passion for Girl Scout camp. From all over the country, readers shared a field of fond memories much like her own.

More than 200 people gathered Saturday in Murray for a parade through town and a picnic at a local park to celebrate the LBGTQ community, as a part of Pride month. For some, the celebration was the first Pride event they had ever attended, and the event was only the second ever Pride celebration held in the western Kentucky college town.

The station, based at Murray State University, is the first broadcast news outlet to receive the Al Smith award.

The program, part of Educators Rising Kentucky initiative, will give students a chance to explore a teaching career.

Major updates are planned at the Curris Center, Lovett Auditorium, Wrather Hall, Carr Hall, Racer Arena and Waterfield Library.

The concert will be June 12 at DeBow Recreational Complex.

Murray State University announced Friday that fully vaccinated individuals will no longer be required to wear a mask or physically distance on campus.

Liam Niemeyer won the Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion category for his December 11 piece “A Blackface Photo Resurfaces, And A Kentucky Town Confronts Its Racial Trauma.”

Public health officials in the region say vaccinating everyone remains a challenge, but that incentive programs meant to encourage people to get vaccinated may help the state reach its goals.