Kentucky

Go inside the fun and fanciful Plaid Elephant Books in Kentucky

Published

1 year ago

August 24, 2024

Go inside the fun and fanciful Plaid Elephant Books in Kentucky

Independent bookstores are the heartbeats of their communities. They provide culture and community, generate local jobs and sales tax revenue, promote literacy and education, champion and center diverse and new authors, connect readers to books in a personal and authentic way, and actively support the right to read and access to books in their communities.

Each week we profile an independent bookstore, sharing what makes each one special and getting their expert and unique book recommendations.

This week we have Kate Snyder, owner of Plaid Elephant Books in Danville, Kentucky!

What’s your store’s story?

Founded in 2021, Plaid Elephant Books is the only independent children’s bookstore in Central Kentucky. We are a mom-owned store that is deeply invested in our community’s flourishing. Located in historic downtown Danville, Plaid Elephant Books has quickly become a cornerstone of our community through events and programs for families.

What makes your independent bookstore unique?

Shopping isn’t just transactional – it’s an experience. That is what sets brick-and-mortar bookstores apart from online vendors. So we work hard to make the experience of visiting Plaid Elephant Books magical. Children don’t get to visit many places designed specifically for them. They love the kid-sized chairs, interactive play spaces (like the Tiny Zoo!), and the opportunity to “hunt” for our store mascot, Penelope the Plaid Elephant, who hides around the store.

What’s your favorite section in your store?

I’m partial to our middle grade room. Middle grade readers are special. They’re just spreading their wings and are ready to really embrace all that the literary world has to offer. These are the books that capture children’s hearts and minds for a lifetime. This is where they meet Harry Potter, visit Narnia, fall in love with Wilbur, and laugh out loud with Dogman. This section has a whole room in our shop, with a table to play games on, a nugget couch for lounging, and twinkle lights for ambience!

What book do you love to recommend to customers and why?

The Greenwild series by Pari Thomson is my favorite middle grade fantasy series because it’s such an inventive world.

For picture books, I can’t get enough of “I Eat Poop” by Mark Pett. It has a hilarious title and a fantastic storyline about playground empathy.

And for early readers, I’m a sucker for the grumpy cat that stars in “Flubby Is Not a Good Pet!” by Jennifer E. Morris.

What book do you think deserves more attention and why?

There’s a YA novel that I think everyone should read. It’s called “Dear Medusa” by Olivia A. Cole and it is a searing novel in verse that tackles the aftermath of sexual trauma. It’s heavy, but amazing. My teenage daughter and I read it together and it sparked really good, really important conversations.

Why is shopping at local, independent bookstores important?

Particularly for kids books, the online shopping experience just does not compare. You need to be able to feel and interact with the books to appreciate and understand them. Test the flaps, feel the paper weight, and really look carefully at the illustrations. Or for sound books? You have to push the buttons! You just can’t duplicate that experience online.

Indie bookstores also contribute so much to their communities. We host events, connect people with authors, sponsor local teams and organizations, and bring vibrancy to our downtown locations.

What are some of your store’s events, programs, or partnerships coming up this quarter that you would like to share?

The big upcoming event is our third Anniversary Celebration, which we do as a birthday party for Penelope the Plaid Elephant, our store mascot/logo. It is on Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Create your own birthday crown or design a personalized bookmark. Enjoy snacks and prizes, while supplies last.

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Kentucky

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

Published

16 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

1 day 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

2 days 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.