From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighMiniature wedding portraits of Kentucky’s first United States senator and his wife have been stolen from Liberty Hall, the couple's historic home in Frankfort. As a Virginia congressman, John Brown introduced the petition that made Kentucky a state. In June 1792, he was elected Kentucky’s first U-S senator. Liberty Hall, his stately brick home in Frankfort, still stands. And it is there that someone has stolen from a display case, two, miniature wedding portraits of John and his wife, Margaretta."They were married in February, 1799, and these portraits were drawn probably within the first year of their marriage. They passed down through four generations of the family and then came to us when we opened their house here in Frankfort as a museum," said Karla Nicholson, director of Liberty Hall.Nicholson says the staff is deeply saddened by the loss, which is under investigation by Frankfort police. Nicholson says the portraits, valued at around $2,500 each, would be very difficult to sell, now that word of their theft is spreading.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.