Living in Kentucky

Game mammals include the raccoon, muskrat, opossum, mink, gray and red foxes, and beaver; the eastern chipmunk and flying squirrel are common small mammals.

At least 300 bird species have been recorded, of which 200 are common. Blackbirds are a serious pest, with some roosts numbering 5–6 million; more desirable avian natives include the cardinal (the state bird), robin, and brown thrasher, while eagles are winter visitors. More than 100 types of fish have been identified.

Rare animal species include the swamp rabbit, black bear, raven (Corvus corax), and mud darter. Among the 38 animal species listed as threatened or endangered in Kentucky as of 2003 are three species of bat (Indiana, Virginia big-eared, and gray), bald eagle, puma, piping plover, Kentucky cave shrimp, and three species of pearlymussel.

Government

The elected executive officers of Kentucky are the governor and lieutenant governor (elected jointly), secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor of public accounts, and commissioner of agriculture. All serve four-year terms, and a recent constitutional amendment allows a second term for those offices. The governor and lieutenant governor must be at least 30 years old, US citizens, and citizens and residents of Kentucky for six years. To vote in Kentucky, one must be a US citizen, be at least 18 years old, have been a resident in the county for at least 28 days prior to election day, and not able to claim the right to vote elsewhere. Restrictions apply to convicted felons and those declared mentally incompetent by the court.

Attractions

Amusement Parks

Beech Bend Park is an amusement park, campground and automobile race track located in Warren County, in the U.S. state of Kentucky, just outside the limits of the city of Bowling Green. In 2015, the park added 5 new rides. The Tornado and Sizzler rides were replaced with new versions. Power Surge was replaced by Air Race, as well as the park added a children's monster truck ride, and Bluegrass Breeze a Flying Carousel make their way to Beech Bend for the 2015 season. For the 2016 year, Beech Bend invested in a multimillion-dollar expansion to the water park, involving four new slides manufactured by ProSlide. One slide, the Cyclone Saucers, is the first of its kind in North America. Because of the expansion, several rides had to be relocated. Also, the Dragon coaster was removed to make way for Spinning Out, a new family coaster that was a hit at the IAAPA Attractions Expo.

Kentucky Kingdom (formerly named Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom) is an amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky. The 63-acre park includes a collection of amusement rides and a water park named Hurricane Bay The park reopened to the public on May 24, 2014. In 2016, the park added their fifth roller coaster, Storm Chaser. For the 2017 season Kentucky Kingdom announced Eye of the Storm, a high-speed flat ride with a seven-story loop, continuous rotations and inversions, and forward and backward motions. Thunder Run, meanwhile, received a new train as well as modifications to its track at a cost of about $500,000.

The train replaced the original Thunder Run train first put into service in 1990 and provided a smoother and faster ride. Other planned upgrades to the park included the installation of more shade at Hurricane Bay water park and ride waiting lines throughout the park, additional locker room space and upgraded air conditioning in the park's restroom and dining areas. Additional improvements consisted of more ticket windows, a new entrance to Hurricane Bay and more children's rides The park had a record 2017 season drawing more than 9,000 visitors a day during the summer peak. For the 2018 season, Scream Xtreme (a Zamperla Endeavour) replaced Enterprise. Rock'n'Roller, a small Himalaya-style family ride was also added. A double feature for 5D Cinema (The Ultimate Roller Coaster & Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) was added, along with more cabanas for the wave pool, improved infrastructure such as new shade and additional seating installation.

National Parks

For over a century people from around the world have come to rural Central Kentucky to honor the humble beginnings of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. His early life on Kentucky's frontier shaped his character and prepared him to lead the nation through Civil War. The country's first memorial to Lincoln, built with donations from young and old, enshrines the symbolic birthplace cabin.

Encompassing 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area protects the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. The area boasts miles of scenic gorges and sandstone bluffs, is rich with natural and historic features and has been developed to provide visitors with a wide range of outdoor recreational activities.

At Cumberland Gap, the first great gateway to the west, follow the buffalo, the Native American, the longhunter, the pioneer... all traveled this route through the mountains into the wilderness of Kentucky. Modern day explorers and travelers stand in awe at this great gateway and the many miles of trails and scenic features found in the park.

Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant was becoming quite famous as he wrote these words following the surrender of Confederate Fort Donelson on Sunday, February 16, 1862. The Union victory at Fort Donelson elated the North, and stunned the South. Within days of the surrender, Clarksville and Nashville would fall into Union hands. Grant and his troops had created a pathway to victory for the Union.

Mammoth Cave National Park preserves the cave system and a part of the Green River valley and hilly country of south central Kentucky. This is the world's longest known cave system, with more than 400 miles (643 km) explored. Early guide Stephen Bishop called the cave a "grand, gloomy and peculiar place," but its vast chambers and complex labyrinths have earned its name - Mammoth.

Remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people, forcefully removed from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to live in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They traveled by foot, horse, wagon, or steamboat in 1838-1839.

National Forests

Land Between the Lakes National Forest

Land Between The Lakes National Recreation area is located in Western Kentucky and Tennessee, and encompasses over 170,000 acres of forests, wetlands, and open lands on the largest inland peninsula in the United States. It is located between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.

Encompassing part of the Cumberland Plateau and Appalachian Mountains, Daniel Boone National Forest has two wilderness areas and several reservoirs. Scenic areas include Cumberland Falls, Red River Gorge, Yahoo Arch and many caves.

Sports

The northern part of the state lies across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, which is home to a National Football League team, the Bengals, and a Major League Baseball team, the Reds. It is not uncommon for fans to park in the city of Newport and use the Newport Southbank Pedestrian Bridge, locally known as the "Purple People Bridge", to walk to these games in Cincinnati. Also, Georgetown College in Georgetown was the location for the Bengals' summer training camp, until it was announced in 2012 that the Bengals would no longer use the facilities. As in many states, especially those without major league professional sport teams, college athletics are prominent.

Taxes

Quick Tax Facts

• State income tax: 5%
• Local income taxes: 0.015% - 3.55%
• Sales tax: 6%
• Property tax: 0.85% average effective rate
• Gas tax: 26 cents per gallon of regular gasoline, 23 cents per gallon of diesel

Transportation

Aviation

The Louisville International Airport receives nearly 4 million passengers annually. The airport connects to 28 cities in the US. It has private hangars and a four-level car park to accommodate the heavy traffic that flows into the airport. The airlines operating from this airport are AA, Continental Airlines, Delta, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlink, United Express, Southwest Airlines and US Airways Express.

Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport is one of the busiest airports in Kentucky. Its annual traffic exceeds 2 million passengers. The terminals have subway shuttles that connect one hall to another. The airlines of this airport fly daily in more than 120 cities. The airlines serving this airport are Air France, American, Continental, Northwest, United, US Airways and USA 3000.

Ports

Many of the largest ports in the United States are located in or adjacent to Kentucky, including:

The only natural obstacle along the entire length of the Ohio River is the Falls of the Ohio, located just west of Downtown Louisville.

Rail

Norfolk Southern Railway passes through the Central and Southern parts of the Commonwealth, via its Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Texas Pacific (CNO&TP) subsidiary. The line originates in Cincinnati and terminates 338 miles south in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

There are approximately 2,640 miles of railways in Kentucky, with about 65% of those being operated by CSX Transportation. Coal is by far the most common cargo, accounting for 76% of cargo loaded and 61% of cargo delivered.

Bardstown features a tourist attraction known as My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. Run along a 20-mile (30 km) stretch of rail purchased from CSX in 1987, guests are served a four-course meal as they make a two-and-a-half hour round-trip between Bardstown and Limestone Springs. The Kentucky Railway Museum is located in nearby New Haven.

Other areas in Kentucky are reclaiming old railways in rail trail projects. One such project is Louisville's Big Four Bridge. When the bridge's Indiana approach ramps opened in 2014, completing the pedestrian connection across the Ohio River, the Big Four Bridge rail trail became the second-longest pedestrian-only bridge in the world.] The longest pedestrian-only bridge is also found in Kentucky—the Newport Southbank Bridge, popularly known as the "Purple People Bridge", connecting Newport to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Roads

Kentucky Cities, & Towns

Kentucky Housing

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Kentucky - Unbridled Spirit History, Geography, Homes, and State Resources of Kentucky Kentucky USA Map There are community activities of all types along with desirable housing in the Kentucky Commonwealth plus the Kentucky government provides online relocation assistance. The 2000 census showed a population of a little more than 4 million in he Kentucky Commonwealth's 120 counties. The eastern Kentucky mountains are situated near the Virginia and also West Virginia borders which have streaming water flowing through rock-covered gorges. Forests comprise more than 40% of Kentucky, while a good part of the land is located at the spot the Appalachian Mountains sit on the state's border. Due to this natural terrain, economic growth has been arrested. Likewise, there is not plentiful housing there as in other areas of the state. Cities located in this region are Ashland, Harlan, Hazard, and Richmond . Northern Kentucky communities belong to the Cincinnati metropolitan region and are subsequently more closely linked to Ohio than are other Kentucky regions. The International Airport of Cincinnati is located within northern Kentucky, which helped this region to rapidly expand. Covington, Newport and Florence, are the cities in this area. Kentucky was the first region west of the Allegheny Mountains to be settled by American pioneers. James Harrod established the first permanent settlement at Harrodsburg in 1774; the following year Daniel Boone, who had explored the area in 1767, blazed the Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland Gap and founded Boonesboro. Politically, the Kentucky region was originally part of Virginia, but statehood was gained in 1792. Gen. Anthony Wayne's victory in 1794 at Fallen Timbers in Ohio marked the end of Native American resistance in the area and secured the Kentucky frontier. As a slaveholding state with a considerable abolitionist population, Kentucky was caught in the middle during the Civil War, supplying both Union and Confederate forces with thousands of troops. Climate Because of Kentucky's location, the state has a moderate humid subtropical climate, with plenty of rainfall. It has four distinct seasons, but rarely has the extreme cold as far northern states, nor the high heat of the states in the Deep South. Temperatures seldom drop below 0 degrees or rise over 100 degrees. Demography Kentucky Geography, Facts and History Kentucky Facts & Trivia Kentucky Flags Famous People from Kentucky Kentucky Timeline Kentucky Official Song Education Kentucky Colleges. Kentucky provides eight public four-year universities. There are two general levels: major research institutions (the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville) and regional universities comprising the remaining 6 schools. The regional schools have specific target districts that host many of their programs (such as Forestry at Eastern Kentucky University or Cave Management at Western Kentucky University), but most of their curricula are very similar to other public universities Economy Kentucky's economy is based upon manufacturing, trade, mining, agriculture, and tourism and other services It varies by region. ... Although manufacturing is the greatest income producer for the state, eastern Kentucky has little manufacturing activity, and a few other areas have no manufacturing activity at all. Flora and Fauna Kentucky State Flower - Goldenrod Kentucky State Tree - Tulip Tree