As interest in Kentucky bourbon grows, construction has begun on a $4 million visitor center for the Wild Turkey distillery in Lawrenceburg.

The AP reports:

Gov. Steve Beshear was among officials who attended a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the facility, which is expected to open in April, ahead of a new 125,000-square-foot packaging facility, which is set to open next fall.

Republican Congressional candidate Andy Barr focused on coal in his national debut at the Republican National Convention.

Barr is running against Congressman Ben Chandler in Kentucky’s Sixth District, which covers much of the central part of the state. In a short speech at the convention today, Barr repeatedly said President Barack Obama doesn’t care about coal issues.

In contrast, Barr says he and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney do care about the coal industry in Kentucky.

The Obama Administration has announced new fuel economy standards for cars and small trucks that will go into effect in five years.

Starting in 2017, cars and light trucks will have to be more fuel efficient than they are now. By 2025, the average car’s fuel economy will be 54.5 miles per gallon.

Wendell Berry, Helen Keller, Malcolm X and Eleanor Roosevelt are just a few of the prominent figures whose portraits have been painted by artist Robert Shetterly for his Americans Who Tell the Truth series, a portrait exhibit celebrating courageous citizens who have spoken out for democracy and human rights.

A Jefferson District Circuit Judge will open the files surrounding the Savannah Dietrich case.

The County Attorney's office confirms that Judge Angela McCormick Bisig has ordered the case to be opened in response to a request filed by the Courier-Journal newspaper. 

Dietrich, 17, first made national headlines earlier this summer. She was sexually assaulted, then, after a juvenile court proceeding, tweeted the names of her attackers in response to what she felt was too light a sentence from the judge.

In Indiana's Ninth Congressional District race, Democrat Shelli Yoder is calling on Republican incumbent Todd Young to get serious about a series of debates she has proposed.

Last month, Yoder challenged Young to 13 town-hall-style debates, one in each county in the southern Indiana district. In response, the Young campaign called the request a political stunt meant to gain media attention because Yoder's staff delivered a letter requesting the debates only 15 minutes before sending it to the press.

Yoder told WFPL in a recent interview that the two camps met since her initial request, but she now accuses Young's campaign of "stalling" and "wasting time" while voters want to hear the issues.

The Jefferson County School Board has approved a 3.4 property tax increase.

The increase was proposed in light of dwindling state and federal funding. It will generate about $17 million for the district, and cost homeowners about $23 for every $100,000 their houses are worth.

The revenue will be used to support the district's dozens of new assistant principals and updates to the JCPS transportation plan.

A new book about Kentucky’s minor league baseball teams is out. Written by journalist Katya Cengel,  “Bluegrass Baseball” (University of Nebraska Press) is an intimate look inside the 2010 baseball season, starring Kentucky’s minor league teams: the Lexington Legends, the Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Florence Freedom and the Louisville Bats. The book documents the highs and lows of the players, groundskeepers, managers and fans of the game’s smaller outfits. 

The Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats open their football seasons against each other next weekend.

U of L and UK will battle for the Governor’s Cup Sunday at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.

Coach Charlie Strong’s Cardinals are coming off two consecutive bowl appearances and were the Big East co-champions last season.