Herald Newsletter 02-19-2026

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Kentucky bill would extend ICE’s reach in Warren County

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025,

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in Volume 101, Issue 4 of the Herald magazine.

Abill proposed in the Kentucky Senate in January would require state and local law enforcement to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Kentucky Senate Bill 86, sponsored by Senator Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, would integrate Kentucky law enforcement agencies into ICE’s Section 287(g) Program, derived from the Immigration and NationalityAct.

New legislation looking to raise KEES amount

Kentucky legislation seeks to adjust the Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship amount for the first time since its creation in 1998.

The proposed bill, House Bill 130, would adjust how much is awarded to students yearly to reflect the current economy. Representative Chad

Aull, D-Fayette County, and Representative Deanna Gordon, R-Madison County, sponsored the bill, which would allow KEES to mirror the Consumer Price Index. The CPI run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks changes in the price of goods and services over time.

Read more by Bradlee

Reed-Whalen

Myers late game heroics brings Hilltoppers third-straight win

WKU Men’s Basketball trailed 87-86 with four seconds left in overtime, needing a basket to extend its two-game win streak.Abroken play led to senior guard Ryan Myers heaving a desperation shot with one second left to no avail.

Then the whistle blew.

‘Expect the unexpected’: Richard Gutierrez wins Coming Home King

When hisAlpha Tau Omega brothers nominated Richard Gutierrez to run for coming home king, he felt gratitude simply for being considered.

Gutierrez is a sophomore healthcare administration major and secretary of his fraternity. Prior to his secretary role, he served as philanthropy director, in charge of raising money for organizations such as Make-AWish and the NationalAlliance on Mental Health (NAMI). Through his leadership, the fraternity was able to grant a wish to a child in the spring

of 2025. When it came time to cast nominations, the executive board unanimously voted for Gutierrez to representATO.

Campus community gains perspective in Poverty Simulation

When faced with all of the responsibilities of someone living with lowincome, one WKU student was overcome with emotion.

“I need a tissue,” 71-year-old student Vickie Iglehart said tearfully. “I’m just thankful, I’m very blessed.”

When she was shown the responsibilities carried by someone who’s homeless, Vickie Iglehart was overwhelmed. She never knew how hard it could get.

Ahomeless shelter, a bank and many other essential services lined the Feix Ballroom in theAlumni CenterWednesday afternoon as students learned what it’s like to live on a low income during WKU’s Poverty Simulation.

Bachelor” as shares her moments from the show and what her life looks like today on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.(Hallie Stafford)

“Final roses” floated down the aisles of the Capitol Theatre Tuesday as eager attendees sat down to listen to and chat with a former star of ABC’s hit network show, “The Bachelorette.”

MichelleYoung, runner-up of season 25 of “The Bachelor” and star of its female counterpart in 2021, “The Bachelorette,” was interviewed over a range of topics, including her time on set, navigating starring on a television show during the height of the COVID-19 epidemic and her current education non-profit.

Chai Chat teaches about German culture

Haribo Gummy Bears and Spezi soda were passed around as the WKU Global Chai Chat began its weekly event on all things Germany.

Wes Watkins, manager of WKU Global Learning and Student Success, shared a short presentation about Germany that included statistics and fun facts.According to the presentation, over 83.2 million people currently live in the central European country, where 35 different dialects of the German language are spoken. Its capital city, Berlin, is nine times larger in size than Paris.

WKU Baseball prepares for series versus Southeast Missouri

WKU Baseball welcomes Southeast Missouri State Redhawks for a fourgame series this weekend at Nick Denes Field. The Hilltoppers are coming off a four-game series split against BYU.Across the series, the teams both scored 19 runs.

Read more by Peyton Reid

The College Heights Herald is the independent, student-run news organization operating on the campus of Western Kentucky University, emphasizing accuracy and truth while being a public forum for the fair display of diverse opinions and viewpoints. The Herald works to be steadfast and unwavering in its pursuit of truth while being true to the tenets of the WKU Student Publications mission to grow exceptional journalists and innovative leaders through real-world experiences and a strong educational and ethical foundation centered on principled journalism. All creative and editorial decisions are made by the Herald’s student leadership, and all consequences of those decisions are the sole responsibility of these student leaders. While editorially and operationally independent from the university, the Herald participates in the mission of WKU to prepare students of all backgrounds to be productive, engaged and socially responsible citizen-leaders of a global society, both within and outside of its newsroom. Views expressed are diverse and, as an independent publication, should not be taken as representative of views of WKU and any of its administration, faculty, staff, student body or other constituency

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