Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Editor's Note: There will be no Herald newsletter for the rest of the week due to Thanksgiving Break. The newsletter will return to your inbox on Monday, Dec. 1.
Bowling Green issues bonds for Regents, Normal repairs
Construction workers tear down the ceiling in the main lobby in Regents Hall on Friday, Nov 21, 2025 (Summer Crawford)
The WKU Student Life Foundation will borrow up to $55 million to pay for repairs of Normal and Regens Halls after the Bowling Green City Commission approved issuing bonds to the SLF, the nonprofit that owns WKU’s residence halls, last week.
The repairs follow the May closures of both Regents and Normal due to structural issues. Both halls will be closed for at least the 2025-26 academic year.
The SLF also received $42 million in bonds from the city in 2019 for the initial construction of Normal and Regents halls. WKU also used bonds from the city in 2010 for renovations to Diddle Arena.
Read more by Anthony Clauson
Sophie Burns, a freshman from Nashville and business major, waits for her plate from the food service workers at Fresh Foods Company for her first Friendsgiving on Thursday Nov 20, 2025 (Kane Smith)
Miles from home, Hilltoppers came together with their campus families to celebrate the Thanksgiving season.
Friendsgiving dinner, put on by Fresh Foods Company, served over 1,200 members of the campus community on Thursday.
WKU Restaurant Group Director of Marketing Nena Shomler said it takes over 30 people, including Fresh employees and managers from other restaurants, to ensure the success of the dinner.
Read more by Diego Alcaraz-Monje, Josh Baumgardner, Anthony Clauson and Kane Smith
Downtown BGKY hosts annual Duck Drop fundraiser
300 rubber ducks were dropped from an aerial lift for the second annual “Duck Drop” fundraiser in downtown Bowling Green, Ky on Monday, Nov 24, 2025 (Caroline Chubb)
The arm of an aerial lift truck holding a bucket of 300 ducks extended to the sky as onlookers watched from below during the second Annual Downtown Duck Drop, Monday.
The event, which took place on Eighth Avenue in Downtown Bowling Green, was a collaborative effort by The City of Bowling Green, Houchens Food Group and Warren County Public Library.
Described on its website as a “hilariously simple fundraiser,” the event partnered with 22 local businesses to raise money for various downtown festivals throughout the year, including Duncan Hines Festival, Harvest Festival and Light Up BGKY.
Read more by Caroline Chubb
Gathering around the radio in ‘Bowling Green’s Living Room’
Hundreds of patrons packed White Squirrel Brewery all day Saturday for 17 live performances from local bands at the inaugural Pints for Public Media.
White Squirrel opened its doors to the event free of charge, for a day of music that spanned genres, including Bluegrass, classic rock, R&B, funk and jazz fusion. The event, organized by local musicians and community figures Alan Simpson, Ernie Small and Eddie Mills, raised more than $25,000 for WKU Public Media.
“Live music and public media do the same thing, they bring people together,” said Jordan Basham, interim executive director of WKU Public Media. “I think we’ve seen that hundreds of times over tonight.”
Mike Drop: WKU falls just short at LSU
The
were
LSU fired its head coach, offensive
The Mighty Figtones performed in the crowded backroom of White Squirrel Brewery on Saturday, Nov 22, 2025 for the Pints for Public Media benefit concert Every table in the backroom was sold out (Sam Huffman)
Read more by Brendan Culler
(FILE PHOTO) WKU tight end Jack Doyle (82) reaches to tackle LSU safety Brandon Taylor (82) after Taylor intercepted a pass by WKU quarterback Kawaun Jakes during the Hilltoppers’ 42-9 loss to the Tigers Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La
Death Valley is where dreams come to die, and WKU’s dream of defeating LSU was shattered, falling 13-10 to the team from Baton Rouge.
Tigers
vulnerable.
coordinator and athletic director. The Tigers’ starting quarterback, Garrett Nussmeier, was benched for a second straight game due to injury.
The Hilltoppers and Tigers combined for 14 punts, seven thirddown conversions on 31 attempts, and one converted fourth down. A truly defensive battle that saw WKU come up short.
Read more by Michael Givner
Jr.
Horticulture Club relaxes with Christmas crafts
When senior Meara Wilcox joined the Horticulture club her freshman year, it wasn’t nearly as big as it is now.
“It was like six people, and half of them were our friend group,” Wilcox said.
The Horticulture club, according to its Instagram, gives members a community where they can “Find joy and happiness through plants.” They go on hikes, maintain the greenhouse and take trips to arboretums and gardens near WKU.
Morgan Thomas, a freshman meteorology major, makes a flower out orange felt with small rocks in the center during WKU’s Horticulture Club DIY Ornament night at the greenhouse on Monday, Nov 24, 2025 (Natasha Gomez)
Read more by Isaiah Merricks
For the second year in a row, the WKU Choirs brought the spirit of its cherished Winterfest tradition beyond Bowling Green, filling a packed Nashville church Sunday night with music, community and holiday warmth.
Each year, five of these choirs participate in Winterfest, a holiday performance in Bowling Green that the department’s director of choral activities, Paul Hondorp, described as its “gift to the community.”
The event has become a seasonal marker for many Bowling Green residents, Ellen Pardue, senior vocal music major, said.
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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(FILE PHOTO) Lauren Whitman, associate director conducts during Western Kentucky University’s spring choir concert on Friday, March 8, 2024 (Eli Randolph)
Read more by Alexis Fizer