This Week on Hardin Local: S2026E22 Summer Kickoff

What We Covered This Week

The first Tuesday with school out for the summer arrived wet — Rachel Brantingham opened the show drenched, hair in a ponytail, telling stories of people wading through water to get to work — but the mood was pure summer kickoff. Memorial Day was behind us, the kids were home, and the whole show was built around one question: how do you actually enjoy a Hardin County summer?

The answer came in pieces all hour long: where to take the kids (Malibu Jack's, live), what's happening this week (a soggy-but-stacked events slate), where to eat (a brand-new wood-fired pizza truck), and a little civic pride to go with it — Elizabethtown was just named Kentucky's #1 best place to live for the second year running. The team also rolled out a full Hardin County Summer Camp Guide for parents staring down a long break.

Watch the full episode: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rd94AOh2eF8

In This Episode

Malibu Jack's First-Ever Family Glow Night

Event Spotlight

Samantha Sansone from Malibu Jack's Etown joined live to announce the first-ever Family Glow Night — Thursday, June 11, 6–9 PM, with a live DJ, glow everything, and tiered family tickets. Bigger picture: as an indoor, climate-controlled park, Malibu Jack's is pitching itself as the beat-the-heat family destination all summer.

Watch this segment: https://youtube.com/watch?v=oOpuGigzgEI

A Soggy but Stacked First Week of Summer

Hardin County This Week — with Jon O'Brien

Jon walked through a full week — Farmer's Market food trucks, a Pearl Clutch oyster pop-up at The Straight and Narrow, free bluegrass at the Brown-Pusey House, a Class of 2026 block party at Cosmic Golf, and a Sunday community conversation in Vine Grove — with one running note: call ahead, it's raining.

Watch this segment: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qp3AGebaoV8

Elizabethtown is Kentucky's #1 Best Place to Live — Again

Nate's Business Buzz

Nate Bryan led with the U.S. News & World Report ranking (second year at #1 in Kentucky, top 127 nationally), then covered 7 Brew breaking ground amid a coffee surge, Chicken Salad Chick slipping to 2027, and Sabor Cubano's grand opening — plus the full Hardin County Summer Camp Guide.

Watch this segment: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uXCcUvmsODQ

A Slower, Seasonal Week — Still a Seller's Market

Hardin County Housing Market — with Rachel Brantingham

Rachel reported the slowest week for homes under contract since January, but framed it as seasonal — Memorial Day, graduations, school letting out — with a tightening list-to-sold gap and a market that still favors sellers. Her advice: list in the next couple of weeks.

Watch this segment: https://youtube.com/watch?v=99WlRIAIx0I

The Experienced Eater: Bussin Pizza

The Experienced Eater — Britten & Michele McDowell

Britten and Michele caught Bussin Pizza — the new wood-fired Neapolitan truck from the Bussin Bites team — at the Phillips Grove rally. An 866-degree oven, a 90-second bake, and a Hot Honey Pepperoni that earned the line of the night: "winner winner pizza dinner."

Watch this segment: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rbwr6Ppr8rg

Episode Highlights

"This is just straight data… Etown came in number one in Kentucky again." — Nate, on Elizabethtown's #1 best-place-to-live ranking

"It's the first of its kind. I'm super excited — I wanted to bring something different. It's all about the experience." — Samantha Sansone, Malibu Jack's Etown, on Family Glow Night

"Oh, that's my new favorite pizza. Winner winner pizza dinner." — Britten, The Experienced Eater, on Bussin Pizza

"This is seasonal normalization. It's still truly a seller's market." — Rachel, on the Hardin County housing market

"You don't have to go the full hike. You just get out there." — Jon, on the Buffalo Lake hike as an easy family outing