Herald Newsletter 04-13-2026

Monday,April 13, 2026

Revolution 91.7 brings the mayhem to SOKYPavilion

Revolution 91.7, WKU’s student radio station, hosted its annual Mayhem Music Festival at the SOKY Pavilion Friday, returning rock to Bowling Green for the first time in three years.

Following Revolution 91.7’s revival last semester, its decision to restart Mayhem Music Festival is part of an ongoing effort to reestablish the station’s name and attract listeners old and new.

Third annual TopperFella trade day brings collectors

Zoey Rackovan trades her custom Topperfella to Joie Willoughby for a GivingFella during the third Topperfella trade day event in Downing Student Union on Friday,April 10, 2026. (Libby Simpson)

Jay Byrd and his wife, Cassandra Byrd, graduated from WKU in 2025, but have remained involved with the community by continuing their search forTopperFellas.

They have been involved with TopperFella since its inception, and hunting for the figures even became an important part of their relationship.

“It was like date night, you hold hands, walk around, and talk,” said Jay Byrd. “It’s like a three-in-one thing, we get to be with each other, we get to go have fun and look around, and we get to exercise all at the same time.”

Read more by DiegoAlcaraz-Monje

HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD: Why we ask the hard questions

Editor’s Note: This editorial was originally published in volume 101, issue 5 of the Herald magazine

The role of any university news organization is to cover all aspects of a campus and its community.

The Herald, at its very best, is a service to this community, accurately reflecting all walks of life that come through the Hill.At the forefront of that list is to cover the people making the most important decisions for the institution. This is our obligation as watchdogs on the powerful.

At a university so integral to its community, like WKU is to Bowling Green and Kentucky, someone has to ask the hard questions. It would be a failure as journalists not to.

Recently, WKU administrators have made asking those questions harder than necessary.

Read more by Jake McMahon

2026 SGAPresidential Debate hosted by Revolution Radio and the College Heights Herald

Herald Editor-in-Chief Jake McMahon, Senator Jaden Marshall and Senator Caden Lucas sit down for an interview in the Revolution 91.7 booth on Wednesday,April 8, 2026 as both senators prepare for the upcoming Student GovernmentAssociation election. (Ian Lewis)

In collaboration with Revolution Radio, College Heights Herald Editorin-Chief Jake McMahon andAssistant News Editor Kane Smith sat down the SGApresidential candidates Caden Lucas and Jaden Marshall for a friendly debate ahead of next week’s election.

Voting opens next Monday,April 13 at 7 p.m. on TopNet.

WKU Baseball takes weekend series over New Mexico State

Western Kentucky University pitcher Trey Reinburg (15) throws a pitch during WKU’s game

on Thursday,April 2, 2026. (Summer Crawford)

WKU Baseball took two out of three games in its Conference USAseries against New Mexico State.

The Hilltoppers improve to 19-17 overall and 6-9 in CUSAplay

WKU was in control in its two wins in games one and two, outhitting the Aggies 22-15 through two games. However, theAggies found their footing in the series closer, racking up 13 hits over the Hilltoppers four.

Read more by David Quintanilla

WKU Softball burnt by Liberty, fall 2-1 in series

WKU Softball prevented the sweep in the final day of the weekend series against Liberty The Hilltoppers had 24 hits in the series, they were unable to put runs on the board, only having eight through the weekend.

The Flames took games one and two 3-2 and 4-0 on the first two days of the series, before the Hilltoppers answered on the final day with a 6-2 win.

VISUALS: RuPaul finalist Lexi Love takes on BG with Primadonnas

Nursing students set their shoes outside Ogden College Hall to spend the first 30 minutes of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention class barefoot on the grass on Friday,April 10, 2026.

Shoes and socks laid scattered across the entrance of Ogden College Hall Friday afternoon.

Across the building’s front lawn, barefoot students frolicked and lounged about, all in the pursuit of better physical and mental health.

Ep. 22 — SGAElections, House Bill 500

This week, News EditorAnthony Clauson talks about the upcoming SGA Presidential Election, HRL’s Valleypalooza, the potential budget cuts of House Bill 500, poet Manny Grimaldi visiting campus and tattoos in the elevator of FAC

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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