This week on Hardin Local Weekly: National Small Business Week meets Donato's Pizza Elizabethtown's one-year anniversary with owner Phillip Justice, plus a no-stress Mother's Day weekend game plan, fresh Hardin County housing numbers, and five Business Buzz stories — Towne Mall's 8-figure renovation, JD Sports replacing Finish Line, Visionworks relocating, Cubano in Radcliff, and a new German-American cafe coming to N. Mulberry.

Chapters:0:00 - Introduction & Icebreaker12:46 - Events with Jon O'Brien23:18 - Housing Market Update32:18 - Business Buzz with Nate Bryan48:30 - The Experienced Eater - Donato's Pizza One-Year Anniversary1:05:36 - Closing & Final CTAs

Hosted by Rachel Brantingham, Phil Taul, and Scott Lucas, with Jon O'Brien (Events), Nate Bryan (Business Buzz), and Britten & Michele McDowell (The Experienced Eater).

24 of our 28 Hardin County 2026 Primary Election interviews are live — sorted by race at HardinLocal.com. Primary is Tuesday, May 19.

Visit HardinLocal.com for show notes, links, and more.

#HardinLocal #HardinCounty #Elizabethtown #LocalPodcast #SmallBusinessWeek #KentuckyPodcast

Hardin Local Weekly S2026E18 — recorded live April 28, 2026. Rachel Brantingham leads with the full crew back: Phil Taul, Scott Lucas, Jon O'Brien, Nate Bryan, and Britten & Michele McDowell of The Experienced Eater.

No outside guest this week. Instead — Rachel sits down with Phil for a Hardin Local Election Spotlight on the Primary Interview series. Ten interviews already aired in five days; Wednesday's marathon adds thirteen more. The series is fully sponsored by Omni Design Group and The Plumbing Doctor — both stepped up to make sure every contested-primary candidate gets a free, fair, non-partisan seat on the show before the May 19 primary.

Rachel also pulls Jon aside before the events block for an inspirational beat on something he just finished: 75 Hard. Two daily 45-minute workouts (one outdoors no matter the weather), no alcohol, no cheats, daily progress photo, 10 pages of nonfiction a day, a gallon of water — 75 straight days. Miss any of it and you start over from day one.

Plus: Jon's full events lineup heading into Derby Saturday. Rachel's housing update. Nate Bryan's Business Buzz with the Domino's-at-Publix paper trail, Donato's first anniversary, Nothing Bundt Cakes opening, and Big Sandy officially confirmed for the Movie Palace location. And Britten & Michele do a live reaction — narrating in real time over a raw video Britten shot at Backstreet Cafe in Muldraugh on German night.

⏱️ CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Intro + Icebreaker14:17 - 75 Hard Inspirational Interview - Rachel x Jon20:20 - Events with Jon O'Brien29:35 - Business Buzz with Nate Bryan40:14 - Hardin Local Election Spotlight - Rachel x Phil47:52 - Housing Market Update54:33 - The Experienced Eater - Backstreet Cafe (Muldraugh)1:03:44 - Closing & Final CTAs

🗳️ ELECTION INTERVIEW SERIES SPONSORS:
• The Plumbing Doctor — 24/7 Hardin County plumbing — call 765-PLUM (765-7586)• Omni Design Group — new construction + remodeling — call/text Cory at 270-769-8339

📅 PRIMARY ELECTION COVERAGE STATUS:• 10 interviews aired so far (Friday 4/24 + Monday 4/27)• Wednesday 4/29 — full-day marathon, 13 more candidates• Booking through May 12• Primary Election: Tuesday May 19• Watch all interviews: HardinLocal.com → Election Interviews

📅 SMALL BUSINESS WEEK HEADS-UP (May 4–10):
• Coffee and Cards — Friday May 1, 8–9 AM, Apostoli Coffee, 158 W. Vine St., Radcliff• Hosted by the Radcliff Small Business Alliance — connection event, not a pitch room

🏇 DERBY WEEK (Kentucky Derby = Saturday May 2):• Kentucky Oaks — Friday May 1, NBC primetime 8:00–9:00 PM ET, post ~8:40 PM ET• Kentucky Derby — Saturday May 2, post ~6:57 PM ET, NBC + Peacock from 2:30 PM ET• Local Derby parties: Artie Ray's Sundown Lounge (best hat contest), Phillips Grove after-Derby concert with Cole Chaney + Brady Turner, the chess open at Family Buffet, and more

🏠 HOUSING MARKET SNAPSHOT (Week of April 21–28):
• 35 new listings · 29 under contract · 26 closed• Avg days on market: 77 (falling)• 356 active homes · 113 sold last 30 days · 3.1 months inventory (tightest of 2026)• Avg list $359,143 · Avg sold $309,095 · Median sold $294,700
• Rates: VA/FHA/USDA ~5.75% · Conventional ~5.99%

🏪 BUSINESS BUZZ HEADLINES:
• Domino's "Elizabethtown, KY" project listed on PlanHub at 1311 Pear Orchard Rd. Suite 122 — The Shops at Pear Orchard (Publix plaza). 1,416 sq ft, ~$350K build-out. Not officially announced yet.
• Donato's celebrates 1 year in Elizabethtown
• Nothing Bundt Cakes opened Friday morning to crowds
• Big Sandy officially confirmed for the former Movie Palace location

🍽️ THE EXPERIENCED EATER:
• Backstreet Cafe — Muldraugh, KY
• German night Saturday (and Thursday)
• Live reaction format — Britten & Michele narrate raw on-location video in real time

🔗 THIS WEEK'S LINKS:
• This week's events calendar: https://philtaul.github.io/hardin-local-this-week/
• Full episode + past shows: https://hardinlocal.com
• Election Interviews: https://hardinlocal.com

Hardin Local Weekly S2026E17 — Sponsored by The Getaway (Getaway Campgrounds in Glendale). Rachel Brantingham leads the show — with Phil Taul, Jon O'Brien, Nate Bryan, and Britten & Michele McDowell of The Experienced Eater. Scott Lucas is out this week.

Big announcement this episode: Hardin Local's 2026 Primary Election Coverage launches next week with 11 candidate interviews booked across Fri/Mon/Wed leading up to the May 19th primary — non-partisan, one-on-one conversations with candidates for US Senate, State Representative, Hardin County Magistrate, Hardin County Sheriff, Vine Grove Mayor, Radcliff Mayor, and Radcliff City Council.

Plus — Jon O'Brien's got a Hardin County Earth Day week of events. Rachel's housing update shows a market tightening into seller-leaning territory. Nate Bryan breaks news on Bluegrass Blast Inflatables on the south side, Ray Minton Boone's closing downtown, The Treadwell Society opening, and Cold Stone Creamery signs going up in Radcliff. And The Experienced Eater — Britten & Michele McDowell — review Laker on Dixie, the downtown Elizabethtown expansion of the beloved Laker Drive-In in Stephensburg.

CHAPTERS

• 0:00 - Intro + Icebreaker (incl. Election Coverage Announcement + Getaway Sponsor Intro)
• 18:19 - Events with Jon O'Brien (Earth Day week)
• 28:32 - Housing Market Update
• 34:36 - Business Buzz with Nate Bryan
• 42:32 - Business Spotlight - The Getaway Campgrounds
• 46:06 - The Experienced Eater - Laker on Dixie
• 54:50 - Closing + Final CTAs

🏕️ THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR — THE GETAWAY:
• Getaway Campgrounds in Glendale• 4566 Sportsman Lake Road, Glendale KY• 270-369-7755• https://getawaycampgrounds.com · also on Camp Spot• Facebook: The Getaway Retreat• 30 acres · RV sites · one-room cabins · playground · fishing pond · laundry · pool opening soon• Long-term monthly: $800/mo (includes utilities + internet) · nightly + weekly available

🗳️ PRIMARY ELECTION COVERAGE (launching Friday April 24):
• Fri 4/24: Joseph Redman · Pam Ogden · Andrea Jackson · Vincent Thompson• Mon 4/27: T. Stacey Reynolds · Christy Gordon• Wed 4/29: Michael Ferris · Selena Hudson · Willie Odin · Toshi Mural · Zach Humphrey

🔗 THIS WEEK'S LINKS:
• This week's events calendar: https://philtaul.github.io/hardin-local-this-week/• Full episode + past shows: https://hardinlocal.com• Laker on Dixie: downtown Elizabethtown (Dixie Highway)• Laker Drive-In (original): Stephensburg, KY · second location in Munfordville

📱 CONNECT WITH HARDIN LOCAL:
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/HardinLocal• Instagram: @HardinLocal• TikTok: @HardinLocal• Spotify: Hardin Local Weekly• Apple Podcasts: Hardin Local Weekly

Hosts: Rachel Brantingham, Phil Taul, Jon O'Brien, Nate Bryan, Britten & Michele McDowell (The Experienced Eater)

Special thanks to this week's sponsor, The Getaway — Getaway Campgrounds in Glendale.

#HardinLocal #PodcastClips #LocalNews #Kentucky #GetawayCampgrounds