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FROM METRO STREETS TO APPALACHIAN TRAILS

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LINK IN BIO photos by Jon Cherry Along Main Street

LINK IN BIO photos by Jon Cherry Along Main Street in downtown Corbin, across the street from White Rabbit Records and bookended between the pinball museum and a local coffee shop called Folktales, Wrigley’s Taproom & Eatery celebrated its ninth birthday earlier this year. That party was, in some ways, the culmination of star chef Kristin Smith’s return to Eastern Kentucky more than 15 years ago. ⁠
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The move home for Smith (she/they) wasn’t part of their plan: Smith was at seminary school in San Francisco back in 2008 when she got a call from her grandfather. ⁠
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“I’ve got stomach cancer,” he told her. “I need to know what to do with the farm.” ⁠
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The conversation spun Smith into nightmares for a week. She feared not only losing the sixth-generation homestead, but its legacy. She was close to her grandfather, spending summers working in the garden and preserving foods in the kitchen. While it surprised her to learn she cared so much, the clues were close by: her bedside table held two books that epitomized the early aughts locavore movement – The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver – and months earlier, she’d joined a community-supported agriculture (CSA) cropshare, connecting her more intimately with the farm that grew her veggies. She was curious if the movement had made it back to her region. ⁠
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Queer Kentucky, along with the Louisville Pride Fo

Queer Kentucky, along with the Louisville Pride Foundation, have partnered with the Ryan White Foundation to raise awareness for HIV in Kentucky. Below, you will find HIV testing sites. If you wish to add any known consistent/regular testing sites, please email us at contact@queerkentucky.com⁠
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Louisville Locations⁠
-Volunteers of America - Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 2820 West Broadway⁠
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-Sweet Evening Breeze - every Thursday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 801 Barret Ave Suite 211⁠
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-Shawnee Christian Healthcare - regular business hours - 234 Amy Ave, Louisville, KY 40212⁠
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- Derby City Prep Clinic regular business hours - 1101 E Washington St Suite A

Some voters will decide if medical marijuana busin

Some voters will decide if medical marijuana businesses can operate in their area. Check out these issues and more in our Queer Election Guide.⁠
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LINK IN BIO When Kyle Scott heard former President

LINK IN BIO When Kyle Scott heard former President Donald Trump mention his town during the first and likely only debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, the feeling was not the joy of being acknowledged on a platform being watched by a reported 67 million viewers. He feared how the fallout would impact his neighbors and friends. I instantly became worried because I knew that it was like a dog whistle,” he tells Queer Kentucky, “and it appealed to some of the worst instincts and some of the worst people.”⁠
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During the debate, Trump spread a false conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants were “eating dogs” and “eating the cats” of Springfield, Ohio residents following the disappearance of a local cat, who was later found in its owner’s basement unharmed. After the Republican nominee parroted these bogus claims, at least 35 threats of violence have targeted the small Ohio town. Elementary school students had to be evacuated from their classrooms following bomb threats, and college campuses were shut down after a mysterious package was discovered at Wittenberg University. State troopers are now standing guard outside local schools to prevent children from being targeted by mass shooters, and security cameras have been placed throughout the city.⁠
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Scott, who serves as the vice president of Equality Springfield, says the town of 60,000 has never experienced anything like this before. Emergency hotlines have been flooded with 911 calls, and the day that he spoke, three stores were shuttered after experiencing bomb threats. That’s why he says that it was important for the organization to fight back against the hate aimed at their community: Equality Springfield released a joint statement with GLAAD on September 18 condemning “dangerous and baseless claims” scapegoating marginalized groups.

LINK IN BIO story by @belletownsendky With the hea

LINK IN BIO story by @belletownsendky With the heated political climate for LGBTQ+ Kentuckians, there have been many responses from communities across the state– from anger, to hope, to exhaustion.⁠
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In 2023, in response to the first legislative session with a slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, young Kentuckians rallied in the hundreds at the state capital to fight SB 150. In 2024, after the second legislative session with more anti-LGBTQ+ bills, many students were left feeling immobilized, defeated, and afraid. ⁠
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Kentucky’s LGBTQ+ youth are not alone. According to a PEW Research Study, 65% of Americans often feel exhausted when thinking of politics – more than anger, hope, or excitement. ⁠
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But for those most marginalized and therefore most impacted by political decisions, exhaustion cannot be afforded. Still, it can be hard to get involved or know how to take action.⁠
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Candidates and political parties calculate how many people they can reach through text banking, phone banking, and doorknocking. Both sides decide who they will talk to and who they will not talk to, oftentimes discarding those most impacted.⁠
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The Kentucky Civic Engagement Table (KCET) is reaching those who are systematically left out of the political process, and they are working with the Fairness Campaign to ensure LGBTQ+ Kentuckians are among that group. This program, Our People Our Vote (OPOV), is targeting 450,000 voters, also including Black Kentuckians, formerly incarcerated Kentuckians, Kentuckians under 30 years old, and Kentuckians in systematic low turnout precincts and counties.

LINK IN BIO Nothing that I describe to you, from h

LINK IN BIO Nothing that I describe to you, from her nonstop energy to her multiple successful businesses to the Bourbon that we initially intended to speak about, sums Michele Hobbs up better than her insistence on turning all conversations to the people of Whitesburg, Kentucky.⁠
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So let’s start with Whitesburg. Located in Letcher County and right on the Kentucky/Virginia border, Whitesburg is the home of 2,321 working-class and working-poor Kentuckians. It’s the place where Michele spent a large part of her childhood running around outdoors, fishing, and learning what community is all about. And if you look at Michele’s life now, it’s still filled with a lot of running around outdoors, fishing, and showing others what community is about.⁠
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Now living in Cincinnati, Michele returns to Whitesburg regularly to take her young kids fishing in the same waters that she grew up in. After the 2022 flooding that decimated parts of Whitesburg, it’s a place that she’s returned to time and time again with food, supplies, and an army of community behind her. ⁠
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When news of the flooding broke, Michele didn’t ask what she could do. She just did it. “The flood happened overnight July 27th. In Letcher County, where I call home, my family was inline with a direct hit in the floods. We turned to friends, businesses and strangers to bring attention and help to the people of Letcher County. Although the path of destruction ran from before Jackson and through Whitesburg, we chose to focus on Letcher County, specifically, Isom and Blackey. This is where I have family, and had people I could trust, whom I could work directly with, therefore getting aid in immediately.”

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