Kentucky News Now – March 7th 2016

TOP STORIES:

GOP 2016-KENTUCKY CAUCUS

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin pointed to a packed auditorium at Seneca High School in Louisville on Saturday morning, wowed by the turnout for the Republican presidential caucus. By Adam Beam. SENT at 855 words.

With:

GOP 2016-KENTUCKY CAUCUS-THE LATEST: SENT at 717 words.

GOP 2016-KENTUCKY CAUCUS-NEWS GUIDE: SENT at 600 words.

GOP 2016-ELECTION RDP: SENT at 837 words.

GOP 2016-ELECTION RDP-THE LATEST: SENT at 897 words.

Also:

EXCHANGE-ORGAN RECIPIENTS

PADUCAH, Ky. — Despite hushed whispers, the tapping of nervous feet, the clicking of iPhone cameras, all was silent for West Kentucky Community & Technical College's men's basketball coach Michael Chumbler on Feb. 27 as he stood to meet two complete strangers in the campus gymnasium. An AP Member Exchange. SENT at 630 words.

IN BRIEF:

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS-PRESERVATION: Harlan County officials are looking to preserve two unique attractions in an effort to increase tourism. SENT.

CONSTABLE-SHOOTING: Authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a man by a constable in Laurel County. SENT.

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If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to aplouisville@ap.org. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, statephotos@ap.org or (888) 273-6867. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or (877) 836-9477.

MARKETPLACE: Calling your attention to the Marketplace in AP Exchange, where you can find member-contributed content from Kentucky and other states. The Marketplace is accessible on the left navigational pane of the AP Exchange home page, near the bottom. For both national and state, you can click "All" or search for content by topics such as education, politics and business.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A new award is available to blacksmiths who want to enter pieces in the Kentucky State Fair.

The winner of the forged metalwork category will receive $500, according to a statement from Kaviar Forge & Gallery, which is sponsoring the award. The deadline for entries into the new category is July 1.

Pieces entered into the contest will be exhibited in the Fine Art section of the state fair.

The fair, which is held in Louisville, begins on Aug. 18 and lasts through Aug. 28. Last year, it attracted more than 600,000 people.

GOLDEN POND, Ky. (AP) — Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area says wildlife refuges that have been closed since last fall will reopen next week.

The areas reopening on March 16 are Rushing Bay, Duncan Bay, Duncan Lake, Smith Bay, Fulton/Honker Bay, Honker Lake Refuge, Long Creek Waterfowl Refuge and portions of Energy Lake. Hematite Lake will also open for bank fishing only.

Wildlife Program Manager Steve Bloemer says the areas are closed from Nov. 1 to March 15, mostly to serve as waterfowl and eagle refuges. He says most begin migration north by early to mid-March.

Land Between The Lakes manages more than 170,000 acres in western Kentucky and Tennessee as part of the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Agriculture's public lands program. It draws more than 1.4 million visitors annually.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

Men:

T25-LSU-KENTUCKY

LEXINGTON, Ky. — No. 22 Kentucky hosts LSU in the regular season finale for both teams. The visiting Tigers won the earlier meeting 85-67 on Jan. 5 in Baton Rouge. By Gary B. Graves. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game starts at 2 p.m. ET

T25-LOUISVILLE-VIRGINIA

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — No. 4 Virginia looks to complete an unbeaten season at home as it closes the regular season with a game against No. 11 Louisville. By Hank Kurz Jr. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts at 8:30 p.m.

Women:

OVC-EASTERN KENTUCKY-BELMONT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fourth-seeded Eastern Kentucky plays No. 2 seed Belmont on Saturday in the Ohio Valley Conference women's tournament with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line. UPCOMING: 150 words. Game starts at noon CT.

T25-ACC-SYRACUSE-LOUISVILLE

GREENSBORO, N.C. — No. 7 Louisville meets No. 17 Syracuse on Saturday in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference women's tournament. By Aaron Beard. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game starts at 2:30 p.m.

T25-SEC-KENTUCKY-SOUTH CAROLINA

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Southeastern Conference's hottest and highest-ranked women's teams, No. 3 South Carolina and No. 13 Kentucky, meet in the semifinals of the league tournament Saturday. The Gamecocks have won seven in a row; the Wildcats has won eight straight. By Mark Long. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Begins at 5 p.m.

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If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to aplouisville@ap.org. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, statephotos@ap.org or (888) 273-6867. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or (877) 836-9477.

MARKETPLACE: Calling your attention to the Marketplace in AP Exchange, where you can find member-contributed content from Kentucky and other states. The Marketplace is accessible on the left navigational pane of the AP Exchange home page, near the bottom. For both national and state, you can click "All" or search for content by topics such as education, politics and business.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.