Kentucky

Worth the Drive: East Kentucky museum preserves the legacy of country music legends

Published

6 months ago

July 12, 2025

Worth the Drive: East Kentucky museum preserves the legacy of country music legends

Country music is a way of life for many in Kentucky, and one Eastern Kentucky museum embodies the spirit of the music and Bluegrass State musicians like none other.

In Paintsville, the county seat of Johnson County in far-east Kentucky, the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum highlights the lives and careers of dozens of Kentucky-born stars whose contributions to the country music genre landed them a spot on the Country Music Highway — a stretch of U.S. 23 that winds through Kentucky and is designated as a national scenic byway.

Paintsville is located at the “heart” of the Country Music Highway, making it an apt location for the museum, said Jeremiah Parsons, executive director for Paintsville Tourism, which operates the museum.

“The museum was opened in April of 2005 as a way to encapsulate and forever enshrine those country music artists from the Country Music Highway,” Parsons said. “It’s a way to show the legacy and to continue on their music.”

How the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum honors musicians

The U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum has no shortage of artists from the areas surrounding the highway to honor.

“We have more country music artists per capita than anywhere else in the world from this section of highway,” Parsons said.

The museum includes items from the careers of star musicians like Chris Stapleton, Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus and many more. All items on display are donated by the artists or their families to ensure authenticity, Parsons said.

A few standout items include Stapleton’s boots, Lynn’s guitars, Tom T. Hall’s upright bass and Ricky Skaggs’ family photos.

While not every artist recognized along the Country Music Highway is represented in the museum, Parsons hopes to change that. The museum has reached its space capacity but is hoping to expand in the coming years to allow space for artists without exhibits, Parsons said.

“The Country Music Highway is very dynamic. We always have rising stars,” he said. “We want to give them their proper space, as well.”

What else to know about the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum

Throughout the year on Thursdays, the museum hosts “Front Porch Pickin’” events where musicians can play for a live crowd.

Admission to the museum is $5, which includes the weekly jam sessions for those who come on Thursday evenings.

For Parsons, commemorating country music in Eastern Kentucky bigger than saluting individuals — it’s about paying homage to the Appalachian region and its people.

“It’s an awesome responsibility because you’ve got a lot that you have to manage,” Parsons said. “It’s also a burden, because you’re making sure that you continue to tell the story of the mountains, of the people and of the legacy of these artists.”

Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at kbaarlaer@gannett.com or @bkillian72 on X.

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Kentucky

Kentucky Women’s Basketball gets historic win over No. 5 Oklahoma

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Kentucky Women’s Basketball gets historic win over No. 5 Oklahoma

The No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats moved to 16-2 on the season after a massive win over the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners by a final score of 63-57. Kenny Brooks’ squad’s successful season rolls on with a second top-five win, the most the UK women’s team has ever had in a single season.

The Wildcats pulled out a close win thanks to senior Tonie Morgan, who totaled 22 points (8/19 FG), eight rebounds, and four assists. Morgan also played all 40 minutes on Sunday evening against the Sooners as her stellar season continues.

The Wildcats also played strong defense all night. As a team, they totaled four steals and eight blocks. Clara Strack, the 6-foot-5 senior, led the team with three blocks. Strack also recorded her ninth double-double of the season. They held the Sooners to 24-67 shooting (36%) from FG range and 2-19 from deep (11%).

The Wildcats held the Sooners scoreless in the last four minutes and moved to 3-1 in SEC play and now have three top-25 wins this season after previously winning at Louisville and at LSU.

Between the transfer portal, a men’s basketball win, and a women’s basketball win, it has been a great weekend in the Bluegrass!

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Kentucky

Mark Pope updates injury status of Jayden Quaintance

Published

14 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Mark Pope updates injury status of Jayden Quaintance

The Kentucky Wildcats had to return to the court Saturday night without their star center in Jayden Quaintance.

Coming back to the court from an ACL tear last season, Quaintance shined in his opening game against St. John’s and has eased himself back into game-play after nine months off the court. That is why it came as a surprise on Friday night when he was listed as out on the injury report.

Well, we got some more insight into why he was held out against Mississippi State in the pregame radio show. When asked about the injury, here is what Mark Pope had to say.

“He’s (Quaintance) just had a little bit of swelling, so we’re just kind of monitoring it,” Pope said. “And the most important thing is just his health. So, it’s going to be a little start and stop as we go. That’s just the process.”

So, for now, it doesn’t sound like anything that will keep JQ out for too long, though it’s unknown if he’ll return for either of next week’s games at LSU and at Tennessee.

The Cats have started to piece it together in the front court, but there is no denying the potential Quaintance has. When healthy, he is an NBA lottery pick. Now let’s hope he can get back onto the court soon to help the Cats make a run.

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Kentucky

Kentucky vs Mississippi State score today, UK basketball game updates

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Kentucky vs Mississippi State score today, UK basketball game updates

LEXINGTON — Two days after Kentucky basketball gave up a game-ending 15-2 run in a 73-68 loss to Missouri, Mark Pope was asked to explain what went wrong.

In a sense, Pope answered it with another question: What didn’t go wrong for his club in those final 4 ½ minutes?

“It was everything, actually,” Pope said during a news conference Friday. “It was so much misfortune. It was so much stuff in our wheelhouse that we inexplicably didn’t execute the way we normally do. It was some poor communication. It was some poor internalization of the scout. It was some missed shots. It was some coaching error.

“… (All) of those things lead to that terrible, terrible 4 ½ minutes.”

Stream Kentucky vs. Mississippi State

After falling to 0-2 in SEC play for the first time in two decades (2005-06), the Wildcats have no time to feel sorry for themselves. And Pope won’t allow it.

“I think everybody has mental fatigue everywhere right now — if you’re putting your whole heart and soul into it,” he said of his team (9-6). “But that’s our job: to not let that have any impact on today or yesterday or tomorrow. One of the things I love about sports is it teaches you that you have to. It doesn’t matter how bad things get. You can’t go back and rewrite what happened.”

Kentucky only can look forward, which begins with tonight’s matchup with Mississippi State at Rupp Arena. The Bulldogs (10-5, 2-0) enter on a six-game win streak.

Courier Journal sports reporter Ryan Black is at Rupp Arena and will have live updates throughout the game — here and on X, formerly known as Twitter — and complete coverage after. You can follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

Follow along with live updates from today’s game between the Wildcats and Bulldogs below:

TV channel: SEC Network
Livestream: Fubo (free trial)

The game between the Wildcats and Bulldogs will air nationally on SEC Network.

Authenticated subscribers can access SEC Network via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN app.

Those without cable can access SEC Network via streaming services, with Fubo offering a free trial.

Stream Kentucky vs. Mississippi State on SEC Network

Betting odds: Kentucky is a 10 ⅟₂-point favorite (-112) on DraftKings, which set the over/under at 153 ⅟₂ points (-112/-108).

Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.

You can also listen online via UKAthletics.com.

Oct. 17: Blue-White game (Click here to read takeaways from the intrasquad scrimmage.)
Oct. 24: exhibition vs. Purdue (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 78, Purdue 65
Oct. 30: exhibition vs. Georgetown University (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Georgetown 84, Kentucky 70
Nov. 4: Nicholls (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 77, Nicholls 51
Nov. 7: Valparaiso (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 107, Valparaiso 59
Nov. 11: at Louisville (KFC Yum! Center) | SCORE: Louisville 96, Kentucky 88
Nov. 14: Eastern Illinois (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 99, Eastern Illinois 53
Nov. 18: vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York) | SCORE: Michigan State 83, Kentucky 66
Nov. 21: Loyola University Maryland (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 88, Loyola Maryland 46
Nov. 26: Tennessee Tech (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 104, Tennessee Tech 54
Dec. 2: North Carolina (Rupp Arena; ACC/SEC Challenge) | SCORE: North Carolina 67, Kentucky 64
Dec. 5: vs. Gonzaga (Bridgestone Arena; Nashville) | SCORE: Gonzaga 94, Kentucky 59
Dec. 9: North Carolina Central (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 103, North Carolina Central 67
Dec. 13: Indiana (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 72, Indiana 60
Dec. 20: vs. St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta) | SCORE: Kentucky 78, St. John’s 66
Dec. 23: Bellarmine (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 99, Bellarmine 85
Jan. 3: at Alabama | SCORE: Alabama 89, Kentucky 74
Jan. 7: Missouri (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Missouri 73, Kentucky 68
Jan. 10: Mississippi State (Rupp Arena), 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 14: at LSU, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17: at Tennessee, noon
Jan. 21: Texas (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.
Jan. 24: Ole Miss (Rupp Arena), noon
Jan. 27: at Vanderbilt, 9 p.m.
Jan. 31: at Arkansas, 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 4: Oklahoma (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m.
Feb. 7: Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 14: at Florida, 3 p.m.
Feb. 17: Georgia (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m.
Feb. 21: at Auburn, 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 24: at South Carolina, 7 p.m.
Feb. 28: Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 2 p.m.
March 3: at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.
March 7: Florida (Rupp Arena), 4 p.m.