The Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet has cancelled its contract with a British marketing firm and the state’s tourism commissioner has resigned following an uproar over material posted on the firm’s website. The cabinet had a $179,000 per year contract with gosh pr to promote Kentucky in the United Kingdom. But officials asked the firm to take down the website this week, saying it contained derogatory stereotypes about the state. One of them suggested visitors could play a “roadkill bingo” game while listening to bluegrass music on the car radio.The site also contained factual errors about the state, including the community where Col. Harland Sanders created the recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken. The material had apparently been on the website for several months. State tourism commissioner Mike Cooper (pictured) submitted his resignation late Wednesday, saying he failed in his duty to oversee the state’s contract with Gosh P.R.(Information for this story came from the Associated Press)
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.