Although city pools are closed and many other summer activities have been cancelled due to COVID-19, the Evansville Department of Parks & Recreation is offering another way for kids to have fun through its Summer Play Daze program.
The program for children ages 5-14 will take place 1-2 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday through July 16 at different neighborhood parks.
Read MoreAs the Mesker Zoo Park & Botanic Garden reopened Monday, Kateryna Krasin said she couldn't wait to take her 10-month old daughter to see their favorite animals on display.
After the zoo closed due to the novel coronavirus, Krasin and other local families were relegated to Google searches and virtual tours online to get their exotic animal fix. But with Mesker staff welcoming back locals for the first time since March, dozens of families joined Krasin as she roamed through the zoo's grounds.
Read MoreWhile facilities are closed through July 6 due to restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Southern Indiana is providing another way for prospective students to tour the school's grounds in-person.
Led by a Screagle Pride admissions van, families can tour the university's academic buildings, sports arenas, residential spaces and future development sites from their cars during USI's drive-thru campus tours.
Read MoreProtester Janice King, who has taken part in the recent rallies in Evansville to protest racial injustice, said she will continue protesting for equality and the end of police brutality toward unarmed black men.
"I'm a black woman, and I've felt racism all my life. I'm 69 years old and hoping to see something change before I pass... I just don't want to see black people go away."
Read MoreAfter the closing of the Henderson County Family YMCA during the pandemic, long-time member Anthony Burrus said most of his exercise time has been spent at his kitchen table.
"I've been working a fork or spoon, that's about it," he said jokingly. "It's time to get rid of this quarantine belly."
Read MoreIn a press release Thursday evening, University of Evansville officials announced the school's plans to reopen campus for in-person instruction no later than Aug. 26.
Based on feedback from students, faculty and staff, UE President Christopher Pietruszkiewicz said the university is committed to shifting back to traditional, face-to-face courses in the fall.
Read MoreThe University of Southern Indiana Thursday, after a special meeting of the Board of Trustees, announced changes for the next school year as well as the approval of a tentative operating budget.
The announcements came from the USI Steering Committee, which represents more than 125 members of the COVID-19 task force.
Read MoreWhile stay-at-home restrictions have been lifted, area colleges and school districts remain tight-lipped about how local campuses and facilities will welcome students this fall.
Read MoreJust a few weeks ago, local high school seniors were bracing to miss out on a traditional graduation ceremony, a milestone many have counted on throughout their school years.
Having missed out on prom, traditional award banquets and other events due to the coronavirus, many expected graduations to take place virtually or through some other non-traditional approach.
Read MoreIn an effort to distribute books to local families, Read Evansville has joined forces with Feed Evansville for a community-wide project.
The two organizations, along with other volunteers and youth-serving agencies, have combined their resources to ensure students avoid learning loss this summer.
Read MoreAfter conducting phone surveys across the district to decide how to honor graduating seniors, the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. plans to host traditional commencement celebrations this summer.
Out of the 899 senior families that responded to the survey, 80% favored in-person celebrations to take place in July.
Read MoreThere were warm smiles, "air hugs" and streams of tears Thursday, as teachers and staff said their good byes to students during item exchanges at each Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. building.
Read MoreWhile the state of many area high school graduations was still being determined, Ivy Tech Community College Evansville held a virtual ceremony to honor 18 students graduating the Early College High School program.
The students joined Chancellor Daniela Vidal and other Ivy Tech administrators Thursday afternoon during the celebratory event that highlighted their accomplishments throughout their four years in the dual-program.
Read MoreAs she earns prestigious recognition for her accomplishments as a medical student at Vanderbilt University, Signature School graduate Kianna Jackson is proving her hometown supporters right.
The first person in her extended family to become a doctor, the Evansville native has distinguished herself as a leader, mentor and student.
Read MoreFollowing a turbulent distribution of meal kits Wednesday, which left tens of area families without food boxes, parents voiced frustrations about the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp.'s latest initiative.
Despite the EVSC's partnership with AmeriQual Group, who jointly produced and distributed 8,000 meal kits Wednesday afternoon, many families waited up to an hour in line and received no food.
Read MoreNearly an hour before volunteers began loading up milk creates and handing out boxes of food, cars filled Central High School's parking lot waiting for the district's second meal kit pickup to start.
And they didn't leave empty handed.
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