BEREA, Ky. — When The Spotlight Playhouse stages Shakespeare this spring and summer, it is not just because his work is a benchmark for actors. It is because inside this particular theater, Shakespeare is quite literally considered family. In the Spotlight lobby sits a bust of the Bard that staff and regulars affectionately call “Grandpa…

BEREA, Ky. — A proposed Berea ordinance aimed at inoperative vehicles is quickly becoming one of the most debated items on the City Council docket—not because anyone loves seeing a car on flats sitting for weeks, but because residents disagree on what enforcement should look like and who it could impact. Council heard a first…

BEREA, Ky. — Temporal, the company behind an open-source workflow platform used to keep long-running software tasks from failing midstream, says it has raised $300 million in a Series D round at a $5 billion valuation. The company is pitching the raise as infrastructure for the next wave of “agentic AI,” meaning AI systems that…

BEREA, Ky. — The Spotlight Acting School is opening its spring season with Disney’s “The Lion King KIDS,” a youth production built for young performers and family audiences, running Feb. 20 to March 1 at The Spotlight Playhouse. The show features students ages 4 to 11, with a “Blue Cast” and a “Purple Cast” so…

BEREA, Ky. — Berea College’s Spring 2026 convocation series continues Thursday, Feb. 19, with an 8:00 p.m. Stephenson Memorial Concert event billed as a documentary screening of The Wisdom of Happiness in Phelps Stokes Auditorium. The convocation schedule lists the event simply as a screening, which is a little different from the live performance many…

BEREA, Ky. — On Wednesday, Feb. 25, the international hit The Choir of Man comes to the EKU Center for the Arts for a 7:00 p.m. performance, bringing a high-energy pub atmosphere to the stage for a midweek night out. 🎶 What Kind of Show It Is The EKU Center describes The Choir of Man…

BEREA, Ky. — The Berea Arts Council (BAC) is inviting the community to Churchill’s on Saturday, Feb. 21, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. for Chili Night Out, a benefit dinner and concert featuring live music by Mud Pi and a chili dinner catered by Honeysuckle (with vegan options available). 🎟️ Tickets & Details 💡 Where…

BEREA, Ky. — Pirate Pride was on full display this week as the Berea Community Elementary School Academic Team earned 1st place overall at the District Governor’s Cup, according to an announcement posted by Berea Independent School District. The district also recognized individual first-place winners who helped secure the team victory: Source: Berea Independent Schools…

BEREA, Ky. — Farristown Middle School has been named a Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School after completing an extensive evaluation through Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, a process designed to identify a school’s strengths and build a practical plan for improvement. Madison County Schools said Farristown went through the evaluation during the 2024–2025 school year, which…

BEREA, Ky. — As the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) continues its transition away from the chemical weapons destruction era, local and state officials say a new mission is taking shape that could help stabilize employment in southern Madison County. The most concrete public step so far is federal funding for the planning and design…

BEREA, Ky. — Hutchins Library is marking Black History Month with month-long displays and related events in collaboration with Special Collections and Archives, inviting the public to explore materials that connect Berea’s local story to national Black history. A central thread this month is the legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the Berea College alumnus…

BEREA, Ky. — Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley’s annual State of the City message put the spotlight on finances, with the City of Berea emphasizing budget savings and reserves as evidence the city is on steady footing. In the city’s recap, officials reported Berea finished the 2023–2024 fiscal year having spent $1.75 million less than budgeted.…

BEREA, Ky. — The legal fight between Berea College and East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) is headed toward a major court hearing. According to reporting by The Edge, Madison County Circuit Court Judge Kristin Clouse has set a hearing for Feb. 26, 2026, in EKPC’s case seeking the right to take about one mile of…

BEREA, Ky. — Berea gets a two-part Louisville Orchestra visit on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with an intimate afternoon performance downtown and a full orchestra concert that evening. First, a string quintet from the orchestra will perform at the Berea Arts Council at 2:30 p.m. Later the same day, the full Louisville Orchestra will present a…

BEREA, Ky. — Berea’s cultural DNA has always included the unamplified kind of music—the kind passed hand-to-hand, voice-to-voice, where the story matters as much as the sound. That tradition gets a spotlight on Friday, Feb. 13, when the Berea College Folk Roots Ensemble hosts Ballad Night at 7:30 p.m. in the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center.…

BEREA, Ky. — A survivor-support project years in the making is nearing a major milestone. In a recent public update, Redeeming Hope confirmed that its new facility is now “under roof” and debt-free—a key step toward opening a safe, trauma-informed home for girls who have survived trafficking and sexual exploitation. Plans described in prior updates…

BEREA, Ky. — If you’re looking for a simple “what are we doing this weekend?” answer, The Spotlight Playhouse has a strong late-winter run lined up: a Valentine’s-weekend murder mystery dinner, a youth “Lion King” double-cast run, and a teen-led Shakespeare comedy. Here’s the full preview—with a little more about what each show actually is.…

BEREA, Ky. — If you want a snapshot of how fast “agentic AI” is moving from demo to disruption, look at what happened this week: Anthropic shipped new Claude “Cowork” plug-ins aimed at legal, sales, marketing, and data work—and markets reacted immediately. In U.S. trading, Thomson Reuters fell nearly 18% in a single session, while…

BEREA, Ky. — The Madison County Sports Hall of Fame, a volunteer-led organization with its public exhibit housed inside the Madison County Public Library in Richmond, has announced its Class of 2026—a group that includes former NFL players Damien Harris and Luke Stocker. Even if you’re not a sports fan, the Hall’s purpose is easy…

There’s no shortage of controversy around AI right now—some of it deserved. We argue about job loss, deepfakes, privacy, and whether we’re building systems faster than we can understand or regulate them. But this is the part worth holding onto: when AI is built for a narrow job, tested in the real world, and kept…