Seven oh five here Kentucky and this morning News on News Radio eight forty whas Nick coffee with you. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. We've got Mayor Greenberg set to join us coming up here at eight forty five. He'll be sharing some special news with us. And it's news that if you're a Louisville Cardinal fan, you can take it however you want. I can't predict how anybody's gonna feel. I assume that it's going to
be some news that you're excited about. But maybe I'm wrong, But either way, I think you'll want to hear it. So again, at eight forty five, Mayor Greenberg going to join us. He's currently in Omaha. He was set to be in studio to discuss this when we had talked about it a few weeks back. But obviously the trip to Omaha that has been a long well, you don't
really know if you ever gonna get to Omaha. And they're there, and now they're you know, now that they've got a chance to win and keep this thing going. They play at two o'clock Eastern. It'll be one o'clock Central today. So again may Greenberg going to join us about about eight forty five, if you are just now getting your day started. We did lead with what is a continued situation, and that is what we're learning about the shooter in the the murder that took place on Saturday,
early early morning in Minnesota. Vance Bolter is the suspect, but he's now facing federal charges as well. Here and we'll talk with Riy O'Neil coming up a little bit later on get the latest on that. Also. This is certainly a big piece of news that I imagine, and I don't think this was something that that developed over night, so you probably were aware, but we'll find out more today. As far as Donald Trump his plans when it comes to dealing with the the I mean, let's just be real.
The Iran, the Iran Israel situation is only getting worse. And he left early from a a he was where was he he was in? He was in Canada somewhere was it Alberta? Yeah, So he left the second day of the G seven summit in Alberta, and it's it's due to the ongoing situation. And we'll we'll get we'll get he We'll keep you up to date as best we can when it comes to that again. Roy O'Neil going to join us coming up here at about about
eight thirty, so we'll get you updated on that. Something else we talked about earlier as the crash that took place on Friday, right after we wrapped up the show, where the semi was on fire and somehow, some way, this driver he was able to get out of the cab before it completely went up in flames and became just a sight to see, but not for good reason, a very scary situation almost doesn't seem real. Again, I
said this yesterday, I'll say it again. I can continue to see pictures and videos that surface of those that were near this accident as everything unfolded, and it is just it is it is wild to see. That's putting it lightly. But now we know who it was that was in the vehicle and he did survive, which is a miracle. But he's not well. This gentleman is going to have a long road to recovery the injuries that he currently has. He's got a broken ankle, broken leg
and foot, so no life threatening injuries. But when you jump twenty feet from the cab, obviously you can have those type of injuries, so hoping he has a speedy recovery. Currently, the cause of this crash is still an investigation, but with it being the third semi incident in the area in a month, obviously safety concerns. That's been a big talking point and something that Scott brought up yesterday when we were talking about this is it's not an accusation.
It's just thinking, Okay, maybe there is a real demand here for truck drivers and maybe they're not going through the same type of training they once did just because they're being rushed through it. And on our talkback feature, which again if you guys listen to the show on the Aheart Radio app, just you should know that you can interact with us and share your thoughts on certain things by just clicking that microphone button on the app and then you'll be able to I think it's thirty seconds.
It gives you to share whatever you want. But we had a truck driver that heard that conversation we were having yesterday and wanted to share this.
I'm a truck driver here. I went to CDL school in twenty fifteen and instructors told us we're not here to teach you how to drive. We're here to teach you how to pass the test. And I think the real problem lies with these trucking companies that hire new drivers. They only spend a week or two behind the wheel with a trainer, and they turn them loose. I think companies need to spend more time with new drivers to get them ready to be on the road on their own. Thanks.
I just love that talkback feature because our audience are some of the best people, the most qualified to answer some of these questions, and instead of waiting to try to call the station, now we get listeners like this that respond yeah.
And I don't know if this is I don't know if are there's data that shows that this is an issue everywhere as far as newer truck drivers not getting the proper training and there being more accidents with semis because of that. I don't know if that data exists, but certainly, when you have as many accidents around here as we've had with semis, especially in that area, I think more than anything. And again, I don't know this for certain, but I just think it's just a crazy coincidence.
But you can't just run with that and just assume, yeah, you know, nothing to see here, just a random coincidence. Obviously, they're going to look into whatever they can to make it sure everybody, to make sure everybody is safe, especially those big eighteen wheelers making their way in those areas where there's just been more collisions than you would expect.
I've seen I've seen, you know, driving along the highway. I see more ads from attorneys looking for cases involving semis too. So there's there's and.
They see that. I see that as a big payday. Yeah they do.
But yeah, I think to your point, and again, if you use the talk back feature, you know, truckers that are out there are best resource for this because they know, like this gentleman seemed well verse, seemed to know exactly what he was talking about. So it's it's a shame. Maybe this changes things. I'd be interested to see how other communities are dealing with this as.
Well, or if they're dealing with it at all. You just don't know. Yeah, all right, let's get an update on traffic and weather right here on news radio eight forty whas. It is seven seventeen here Kentucky, and it's Morning News with Nick Coffee on news Radio eight forty
whas I know that many of you listening have. In fact, I find it impossible to think that there's anybody listening that hasn't gone to a grocery store, a convenience store, a retail store, purchased something online, or paid the bill at a fast food restaurant and thought to yourself, Wow, when did this get so expensive? Well, it's a real thing.
And we've got a study that tells us of all the fast food places that of course increase prices like everybody else, which one is the cheapest fast food chain
in America. This is a study according to Cashiano. I don't know if I'm saying that correctly, but they've got I guess a portion of their outlet is eat this not that it studies fast food trends and whatnot, and they analyze fifty four menu items across six categories from nine major US as fast food chains to find the best value and the the restaurant that takes the crown as far as far as being the cheapest overall with
the most affordable items. Is a surprise to me. Maybe it's not to you guys, but it's Taco Bell.
Makes sense, Okay, I can see that it's not who I would have guessed.
See, I just think it all comes down to what you get, Yeah, because you can. You can go to Taco Bell and get enough food to where when you look at the price, I mean, it's probably not what you paid years ago, because again, prices go up everywhere, but you end up probably getting more for your buck than elsewhere. Like just I can go to Taco Bell and just get a few tacos and it's not as cheap as it once was. But that's actually a lot of food. So therefore, you know, I get it from
that aspect. But I when I go to Taco Bell, I get a Chicken Quesadia, I get a you know, if they have it, I get the Kee so rito. If it's on the it's on the menu at the time. And now those are items that you know, two of those together, I'm looking at just easily over ten bucks, and that doesn't feel like it's cheap at all to me.
You remember the five dollars value meals they had, and I think that kind of said the gold standard, and I guess that's what I kind of I've eaten fast food in a while, but that's kind of where my mind defaults to.
Well, let me tell you this is an say I can tell you this gut is as somebody who does not eat much fast food, like yourself, they still call it a value meal. It ain't much of a value
in most places. It's like you think this call anything a sale and say that it's a sale, and they can they can doctor it whatever way they want to let you, to try to manipulate you that you're saving big money because you know, Wendy's is a close second, and I haven't had Wendy's in a long time and have Guess's being second, right, Burger King rounds out the top three, and then uh Popeyes is the winner when it comes to just chicken places. So uh yeah, I don't.
To me right now, the only place that I can think of that I just know is going to be expensive because this was this was always the case, even long before we had prices skyrocketing like they have in recent years. But Arby's, to me, it's just always been, you know, I need to finance my meal for my family because it's you know, can get can I get you know interest here if I pay you back in a week. Arby's, your roast beef is good, But man, it's expensive.
Remember the twenty nine cent Hamburg's at McDonald's.
Long before my time. Can we go back to that time, Scot, Right, let's do that. That's that's good stuff there.
Yeah.
So fast food is convenient, but it's to me and everybody's perception of what is affordable and what is not as different depending upon your situation. But for me, I don't think you can really save a whole. I mean I think you can. Actually, I think you can pay. I don't know. Everybody's different, but I'll just say this, I don't think it's that cheap in the grand scheme of things. Anymore convenient, but not cheap. All right, We've got another update of traffick and weather coming your way,
and another update in sports with Scott FitzGeralds. So stick around. It's Kentucky and it's Morning News with Nick Coffee on news Radio eight forty whas. Thank you, John. It is seven thirty five here at Kentucky and as morning News. Thank you for hanging out with us, helping you start your day. Maybe you're ending your day just wrapped up third shift, whatever it is. However you're listening, we appreciate you. Nick Coffee that's me, Scott Fitzgerald, alongside John Alden and
as well John Shannon. You just heard there. So this is something that is good news. There's really no way to debate it. And I like to be able to share good news with our listeners here at Kentucky and is morning news. And it's good news for the state of Kentucky and the city of Louisville. So the Kentucky tourism has Kentucky tourism generated thirteen point eight billion here recently. Wow, And that, of course is I mean, that's I believe
that's a record. Let me check. Yeah, it's a record year in tourism last year in the state of Kentucky. And as you could expect, Louisville played a big part of that. But yes, thirteen point eight billion in in economic impact. That's supporting ninety five one hundred and twenty six jobs and contributing to two point nine billion in wages. Visitor spending was a big factor, as you could expect. Visitors spent nine point seven billion across sectors like lodging, food, beverage, transportation,
retail and recreation. Louisville of course, salt. I mean, I don't know this for certain, But clearly Louisville being the biggest city within this state, you would imagine that they are usually the biggest producers when it comes to tourism revenue that is there. But nineteen million visitors in Louisville last year, they contributed four point two billion and economic impact with two point eight billion from direct visitor spending.
So the city's hospitality sectors supported over twenty six thousand jobs and one billion dollars in wages. So that's good news, right, people come into Kentucky and Louisville or you know, clearly, if you're in louisvill you're in Kentucky. But there's also other areas within this state that I'm sure they've got
tourism dollars that have been coming their way. But what I love to see, and I've kind of found myself nerding out on this where when we have a big event, whether it be Derby that's the biggest event we have every year here, or a convention or that a lot of people would even know is going on, I like to peruse social media to see people who are hashtagging Louisville. Rather it be Instagram, TikTok and I enjoy seeing people who are here, maybe for the first time, and they're
sharing their experience and they're talking about how cool it is. Yeah, because I feel like it comes people around here. Not to say that we live in the best place in the world. I mean I believe that I would. I would never want to live anywhere else. This has been my home forever and I don't plan on changing that. So I don't like we've got no problems, were the best ever. But I do think at times, and this probably isn't unique to Louisville. I'm sure others are the
same way. That you don't realize that you should enjoy and not take and not take for granted some aspects of where you live that others think is really cool.
Well, that's how I've been trying to tell my wife and daughter, who a big bourbon of ficionados, and well, you live in Louisville. Let me take you down to Heaven Hill, let me take you to Loretto, and let me take you within the Commonwealth. And I'm sure there's people in other parts of the states say hey, let's I think Louisville sometimes gets a bad rap statewide. I've talked with.
Folks who you think. I would say it's a fact, but again, I can't prove that.
I just yeah, but you see when you leave here on Saturdays, you know, I can see it. People walking around. You know they're in from out of town because they have the coffee cup in hand, and they're walking around.
With no predetermined judgment. They're just enjoying what this city has to offer. And I love seeing that, and I wish, you know, I don't think the noise is as loud as it once was, but that downtown Louisville is some boarded up war zone. It's not that there's a lot of I mean again, yes, can you get potentially harmed by a criminal, Yeah you can. That can happen to you anywhere exactly. Mean, even in places that you would assume you're the most safe in this city, it can happen.
I've been to parts of the Natty where you're like, oh, okay, no, we stumbled into the wrong part of town. I mean, that happens. That's any metropolitan area. Or when you look long term, you look down here. We have new Brazilian steakhouse that's downstairs. We have a couple of new restaurants, that are down there, not Brazil in Stakes. There's another new restaurant down here. There's plans for other restaurants going in. We've got over here by the Derby Gaming.
Not just downtown, but I mean newlu is is a phenomenal areas. I mean, there are a lot of great places in Louisville that that I just think people should, you know, do what you want with your time and your money and all that. But I think we have more to offer as as a city when it comes to just not not necessarily just like nightlife, but just we've got a lot of stuff to do and there's a lot of I mean, I'm a nerd for downtown Louisville.
I walked to meet my mom for lunch last week, and I mean there there's I feel like there's areas of downtown that have businesses that I never knew about. Anytime I go on a walk downtown, I'm like, I didn't know that was there. That's pretty cool. And I'm sure a lot of the visitors that give these these businesses money are travelers, right, People that are tourists, And that's that's that's what you want. You want people coming to your city and spending money and impacting the economy.
But also I just I'll never shy away from telling people, hey, like you should maybe spend a little time looking at what all we have to do around here. I think you may be surprised that you know, this city's pretty awesome. And again to said, we don't have our own problems. We do just like everybody else.
Well, and that's why I love to your point TikTok, because I interview the guys. Gucci Man reviews is what he does on TikTok, and he goes and footy reviews are real popular right now in TikTok. There's a lot of people doing them, which I'm okay with because the more the better. And he goes into places, you know, Big Nita's cheesecake factory, you know where Big Nita does that. I didn't know about that place at all. And through these I drive to different parts of the town just
to see, you know what I can see it. Recently, I was over at Catholic and Richmond Center over in the West End. There's good stuff happening in the West End. You know, you got to get yourself beyond the headlines and start reading what's happening and get out and look.
You know, or just go see for yourself, and I think you'll realize, oh yeah, it's it's not again. It sounds extreme, but I'm sure there are people that would would just say, O, yeah, downtown Louisville, I'm never going there. It's again a boarded up warzone. Like I've heard people say that, and it stuck out to me because that's ridiculous. It's not that at all, really never was, but clearly
what was going on in twenty twenty. I mean, I think we've recovered from that, at least in my opinion, as far as you know what downtown is and can be. I just want more people that live here to get out and enjoy it and experience it. And hopefully, hopefully you guys will do that. Yep, I'm telling you to, so please do it. Get out all right. We've got another update of traffick and weather coming your way right
here on news Radio eight forty whas. It is seven forty seven here at Kentucky, and it's morning news on news Radio eight forty whas. Don't forget. Coming up at eight forty five. Will be joined by Mayor Greenberg as he is set to share some special news. I think if you're a Louisville fan, you'll want to stick around and hear that news and again at about eight forty five, so roughly an hour away. So make sure you keep
that in mind. And if you are in your vehicle and you're going to be getting out of your vehicle, you can take us with You can listen live on the Aheart Radio Apple also listen live at WHAS dot com. So we've got sports coming your way here in about eight minutes with Scott Fitzgerald. But one thing that I think college sports fans need to be aware of that you may see big increases when it comes to what
these universities are asking of you. You may see small increases, but in a lot of different areas because they're making a lot of money as far as the big time college athletic programs. And what I mean is if you're getting that annual check from the TV deal that the Big ten has and the SEC has, and even the ACC and the Big twelve for that matter, those are the those are the Big four. I mean, it's called the Power four now no longer the Power five because
the PAC twelve is dead. So they're not hurting for money like the smaller schools are. They've got a budget. They've got the ability to pay their coaches an insane amount of money and even pay multiple coaches at one time because they've had to get rid of a coach. So they've been able to exist with I would say a budget that is that is doable. And what's happening this year starting this upcoming against the next when the next school year essentially starts the fall semester, it's a
different world as far as as far as money. Players have been getting ANIL money for a while now, that's that's that's not new. But now these universities are they're not being forced to share twenty point five million annually in revenue with athletes. But if you want to compete, good luck getting players to come and play for you. If you're going to say, yeah, we're not sharing that much money, so those of the power for are going to have to pay the twenty point five million. Again,
you're now paying athletes directly. It's called revenue sharing. Basically, what it's going to be, I feel like, is a stipend. So the reason I bring this up is because that's not a little amount of money. So almost anybody, maybe the Texas A and M's, the Texas Techs, the the Ohio States, maybe the Georgia's. Maybe they have enough funding coming in from from from outside the university and the athletic department to where bills are going to be paid and it's not going to be such a drastic change.
But you have programs in the power levels that bring in a lot of money annually that are having to make some adjustments because again, twenty point five million dollars that is now there every year that you have to pay and it's only going to grow. That that's something that that's not just the drop in the bucket. That
that's substantial. So I don't know exactly what we should expect around here when it comes to ways in which they're going to try to to bring in revenue to where it's not I mean, again, we're talking about twenty point five million dollars. So as far as plans for the University of Louisville, I'd say their strategy is still unfolding and and and we'll see. But when it comes to you know, programs like Michigan, I mean, Scott, you know,
Michigan they're not. They're not hurting for money least less least I've checked, right, ye, and they've cut ten percent of their athletic staff because there's a big shortfall. Yeah, And it's all part of this new day and age.
And that's what we said. And I think folks are starting to kind of get used to it now to some degree. I don't think we ever fully will, but this is the new day and age of college athletics. It is really it's gone almost beyond semi pro ball. And that was some of the numbers you're throwing out. Sure, yeah, it's become pro ball.
Yeah. And UK last week it was in the news that they had a big, big shortfall. So what they're doing to help with that is they're actually going to invest a bunch of money. I think they're going to ask for it from the university because they're going to invest in things that give them revenue streams to help bring in more money. I mean, you're going to see a lot of creativity with college athletic departments administration that just realized, hey, if there's something we can do, you know,
everything helps yep. And certainly it's now a big money business. It always has been, but now they got to share some of that revenue and that changes a lot of things. All right, let's get an update on traffic and weather. Also another update on sports Scott right here on news radio forty WHA s