Flower girl Scottie Russell plays with bride Kaitlin Westbrook’s dress and shouts “Princess Kaitlin of Arendelle,” thinking Westbrook resembles a princess from Disney’s Frozen. ABBY POTTER
The dreary weekend of the 25th Anniversary of Balloons Tunes and Barbecue hosted by United Way of Bowling Green, Kentucky, was closed out with a perfect morning of flying. Many of the pilots and crews participating in the event have been coming for over ten years. For some balloonists the event was a way to connect to the hot air balloon community, which kept spirits high despite the rain. ALYSE YOUNG
Fully painted, Russell Shanahan, left, and Alec Broughon cheer on the WKU football team during the season opener against Louisiana Tech on Thursday, September 10, 2015. The Hilltoppers defeated the Bulldogs 41-38. WESTON KENNEY
Luke Stang, 3, of Winchester, Kentucky hold on to his families horse Filly, while watching his grandpa take part in the Southern Kentucky Team Penning Association contest on September 5, 2015 at the L.D. Brown Agricultural Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky. MICHAEL NOBLE JR.
Cass holds onto his owner Jeana Fowler during the Puppy Paddle event, Sept. 12. The dog had never been in the water before. KATIE ROBERTS
Pilot Dave Bobel of Rochester, In. examines the external part of his hot air balloon to make sure there are no problems before taking off in the balloon race on September 13. 2015. ABBEY TANNER
Kristina Thames, left, and Jamie Davis, right, take a smoke break from attending class at WKU. The Academic Complex’s underpasses on WKU’s campus is a well-known oasis for many of the students, especially on hot September day. WESTON KENNEY
Members of the Western Kentucky University dance company rehearse for their spring performance, Evening of Dance, on Sunday, April 26, 2015. BROOK JOYNER
Physique competitors wait for their divisions to hit the stage during the annual NPC Kentucky Derby Festival Championships on April 25, 2015 at the Convention Center in Louisville, Ky. Hundreds of body builders, physique, figure, and bikini competitors from across the country competed in the festival. HARRISON HILL
Chi Omega junior Alyssa Bush, from Franklin, looks back at her team as she pulls for the Tug competition on Friday April 24, 2015 at the Ag Farm. WKU fraternities and sororities compete in Tug for Greek Week at Ag Farm on Friday April 24, 2015. AGD won Tug for the sorority team and AGR won for the fraternity. JEFF BROWN
Participants run through Iriquois Park as part of the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville, April 25, 2015. JUSTIN GILLILAND
A model stops to strike a pose at Rip the Runway, a fashion show hosted by the WKU Black Student Alliance. The show was held at the J. B. Preston Health & Activities Center on Friday, April 17, 2015. WILLIAM KOLB
Hippie Hill residents Destiny, left, and Zombie, right, share an intimate moment before a kiss in their camper on Hippie Hill in Christiana, Tenn. Hippie Hill is a home and a haven for transients in rural Tennessee. EMILY KASK
Community members move closer to the fire as the Flint fire department contains a large blaze on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at Averill Recycling in Flint. The fire started at about 5:45 p.m., and continued to burn more than five hours later, as crews could not get close enough to the flames because of debris and junk. Flint Fire Chief David Cox Jr. said crews created a fire stop, which will hold the fire from spreading, and will allow it to burn itself out. BRITTANY GREESON
Gabriela Alvarez, 4 of Northfield, Minn., isn’t impressed with the lone candle atop her birthday cake during her birthday party on Sunday, April 19, 2015. NICK WAGNER
Adam Hudson, 22, of Dayton, Ohio, performs a flip in the middle of the Grand Fountain on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at the Riverbank Park in downtown Flint. Hudson and other free running enthusiast gathered at the fountain to practice various runs and tricks as part of the Tempest Freerunning sponsored event. BRITTANY GREESON
Laura Bird, of Ypsilanti, sits in the auditorium during a rehearsal for the Flint Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 17, 2015 at The Whiting in Flint. BRITTANY GREESON
On any given 9-5 workday, Clarence Allen, 55, a mechanic at Phelps & Son Detail Shop and Small Auto Engine Repair in Bowling Green, Ky., can be found covered in sweat and grease under anything from a lawn mower to a 1951 Packard classic car. WESTON KENNEY
Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) skates over to his teammates to celebrate the game-winning goal in the third period of Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. NICK WAGNER
Looking out from his room at the Economy Inn in Bowling Green, Ky., Danny Shelton, 42, looks toward the 31W Bypass. Shelton lost his left leg five years ago after doctors failed to detect a clotting issue in his limb. Having not worked a day since his amputation, Shelton relies on a $1,289 disability check to live. He’s an everyday face at the Salvation Army’s free lunch and he currently spends $800 of his monthly check on rent for his motel room. NICK WAGNER
Sandi Rutter, of Flushing Township, sits in Paige’s Playroom, a room named in honor of her deceased daughter Paige Rutter, on Friday, April 3, 2015 at Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint. Paige was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer of the central nervous system in July 2003. She passed away shortly after her third birthday on June 30, 2004. The playroom opened two years later and has since functioned as a room where sick children can briefly escape their hospital bed. Today, Sandi is a registered nurse at Hurley alongside her Husband Andy Rutter who is a physician in the trauma department. BRITTANY GREESON
Lindsey Wilson junior Greg Smithson exits the water ditch during the Hilltopper Relays’ 3000-meter steeplechase event in Bowling Green, Ky., on Saturday, April 11, 2015. NICK WAGNER
Brad Porter, a freshman at Saginaw Valley State University, waits for the second half of his game to start. The game would determine which teams would compete in the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association Championship. Having lost the first half, Porter understands the significance of the rest of the game. “I like dodgeball because it’s fun. Even though on the court it looks like we are trying to kill each other, off the court we are all best friends,” Porter says. ABBEY TANNER
University of Kentucky fans lit t-shirts on fire to swing around while chanting “fuck Wisconsin” on State Street in Lexington, Ky., after UK lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four NCAA basketball tournament on April 4, 2015. EMILY KASK
Jessie Anderson, 20, of Benton, Ky., is a mechanical engineering major at WKU. She has been swimming for about five and a half years and competed for her high school. “I always swam and loved being outside all summer. I loved it so so much and some people get really burnt out and I didn’t get tired of it at all…It puts you somewhere else. It’s super relaxing and it’s a very good sort of tired,” Anderson said. LEAH JOHNSON
Chase Gilliland prepares to swim in the flash flood that caused cancellation of Jefferson County Public Schools, April 3, 2015. JUSTIN GILLILAND
A man squats over a fire of burning t-shirts on State Street in Lexington, Ky., after University of Kentucky lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four NCAA basketball tournament on April 4, 2015. EMILY KASK
Taylor Blair, a 19 year old custodian at the Preston Center, works the night shift in order to support her 3 year old daughter, Kaylee. Here she does her nightly job of polishing the floors, among other things. Blair says it’s often hard but, “she [her daughter] is the reason I do what I do here.” ABBEY TANNER
Morgan Moore, 19, of Louisville, Ky., is a dance and psychology major at WKU. She started dancing six years ago. “I knew when I came to college that I loved dancing and I didn’t want to stop yet. I used to be really really shy and dancing helped me open up. I don’t have to talk but I can still express myself,” Moore said. LEAH JOHNSON
A UK student flashes herself on State Street in Lexington, Kentucky, after the UK basketball team lost to Wisconsin in the NCAA Final Four, April 4, 2015. JUSTIN GILLILAND
The morning light pours through a stained glass window as a young boy looks toward the pulpit during a resurrection day service at State Street Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Sunday, April 5, 2015. ALYSSA POINTER
Chuck and Betty Ann Bosstick lay in bed and tell each other how much they love one another. Betty Ann has alzheimer’s, so she is in bed basically all day every day while Chuck will keep her company and hold her hand. “She’s my life. She’s my life. Without her, I don’t want to live, but as long as she’s alive, I want to be alive with her,” said Chuck. The couple have know each other since they were ten years old and have been married for almost 68 years. 1938 was their first date and first kiss. “[Marrying him] was the best thing I ever did,” said Betty Ann. ERICA LASFER
Carson Myers, 11, left, son of the head coach, shushes Cruz Dougherty, 4, right, son of the assistant coach, after a baseball game at the Hot Rod Stadium in Bowling Green on March 24, 2015 between WKU and UK. WKU won with a final score of 12-3. EMILY KASK
Sydney LaDonna Farrar, known as “Donna”, a resident of Hippie Hill, a haven for transient and homeless people in Christiana, Tenn., holds 10 month-old Lennon Joiner in a mobile home on Hippie Hill where Lennon and his mother, Stacey, are currently residing. Farrar has two biological children herself, but does not have custody of either of them. She helps take care of a few of the children who live on the Hill. “I’m made to be a mother, I love taking care of other people, much more than I can take care of myself” said Farrar. EMILY KASK
Caylie Hadden of the Bowling Green Thunder collides into teammates Chas Brassell and Jackson Lindsey of the Bowling Green Flames in the third period during an inline hockey game at Basil Griffin Park on March 23, 2015. HARRISON HILL
Maggie Kruger sits in her greenhouse at her home in Adair County, Ky. Maggie is a mental health advocate and is currently fighting for her son, Paul, who is in the juvenile justice system and not receiving the help he needs for his mental illness. ADAM WOLFFBRANDT
A muslim woman prays at the Islamic Center of Bowling Green, Ky. on March 20, 2015. DOROTHY EDWARDS
Buddhist youth are led in prayer at a Buddhist temple in Bowling Green, Ky.. The temple is run inside the home of Ashin Cando Bhasacara, a buddhist monk. DOROTHY EDWARDS
Scott Harkins, 50, poses for a portrait in the back of his work truck. Harkins, who moves between Bowling Green and Louisville to find work, is in his 31st year as a drywall finisher and has developed arthritis from the work. “Finishing drywall is a young man’s game,” Harkins said. ABBY POTTER
Marilyn Johnson, 17, a senior at Bowling Green High School in Bowling Green, Ky., gets ready for the final dress rehearsal of her school’s musical presentation of “Into The Woods.” WESTON KENNEY
Trainer Katie O’Dwyer leads a six week body transformation class in a stretch at Prime Fitness in Cedar Rapids on Friday, March 13, 2015. MICHAEL NOBLE, JR.
Spring Breakers lick whipped cream off of each others’ bodies in Panama City Beach, Florida. Students from over 100 schools across the country migrated to Panama City Beach for spring break to party and have a good time. HARRISON HILL
Cedar Rapids Police Officer Rob Kasper returns a child to her home in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, March 12, 2015. Funding has been allocated to hire four officers and create a police community action team. MICHAEL NOBLE, JR.
Clayton Swaniie of Dallas Texas (right) and Jordan Harrison of Houston Texas roll dice on the staircase of the Bikini Beach Resort and Motel in Panama City Beach, Florida during their Spring Break. HARRISON HILL
New Boston Huron’s Judah Caballero bows his head in disappointment following his loss in the Division 2 119lb match against Chelsea’s Nick Bleise during the first session of the 2015 MHSAA individual wrestling finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich. BRITTANY GREESON
Drag Queens Joshua Peay, right, of Morgantown, Kentucky and Hernando Q of Lexington Kentucky transform into Dutchess Divina and Adriana Fuentes before The Illusions drag show at The Compound Warehouse in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The show featured eight queens from all around Kentucky. HARRISON HILL
WKU sophomore Tony Nicholas, from Kappa Sigma, gets his hands wrap before his fight with sophomore Drew Davis, Sigma Chi, on Thursday night Feb. 26, 2015 in Bowling Green, Ky at “Compound.” Nicholas lost to Davis in a decision after 3 rounds. “You rocked my world!” Davis said to Nicholas after the fight was over. JEFF BROWN
Glasgow head coach Justin Stinson talks to the team in the locker room after a lost to Bowling Green. “One game does not define our whole season,” Stinson says as he gets a positive message out to the team to keep working hard. Glasgow girls basketball team lost to Bowling Green 65-31 in the 4th Region Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena on March 02, 2015. JEFF BROWN
Charlie Raymond explores the Bernheim Arboretum in search of clues that could point him towards finding Bigfoot. He has led up the Kentucky Bigfoot Research Organization for the past 20 years. ALYSE YOUNG
Western Kentucky University student Nick Wheeler prepares to throw a punch as University of Kentucky student Trevor Rice falls during the annual Sigma Chi “Battle of The Greeks” fight night competition at The Compound Warehouse in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The competition was put on to raise money for cancer research and featured over a dozen boxers from Kentucky and Tennessee. HARRISON HILL