Hardin Local E44: Your Ballot Tuesday, Airport Reveal

What We Covered This Week

"Tuesday, Hardin County votes." That is how this week's show opened, and it set the tone for the whole hour. This was the last Hardin Local Weekly before Election Day, so Phil Taul rode shotgun with Rachel Brantingham, and the heart of the show went to one thing: making sure you know what's on your ballot before you walk in.

Rachel opened by hoping everybody had a great Halloween and enjoyed the extra hour of sleep. Then it was the voter guide, a quick round of would you rather, and Nate Bryan's footage from two big reveals he shot himself, the renovated SpringHill Suites and the new terminal at the Elizabethtown Regional Airport. Jon O'Brien and Rachel ran a busy week ahead, and Rachel closed with the housing numbers.

In This Episode

Airport Terminal and SpringHill Suites Reveals, USA Bridal Closing and Three Grand Openings

Nate's Business Buzz

Nate was at the SpringHill Suites renovations reveal on Wednesday and the airport terminal reveal on Thursday, with his own footage from both. Plus USA Bridal's closing date and three grand openings, from a Ring Road boutique to a 5 a.m. donut shop opening.

Hardin County Events, November 2 to 8

Hardin County This Week, with Jon O'Brien and Rachel Brantingham

Election Day leads off the week, then Confederate Railroad at the Historic State Theater, the Vine Grove Veterans Day Parade and Car Show, a soccer-packed weekend at the Elizabethtown Sports Park, and a Service of Remembrance on Sunday.

Hardin County Housing: Inventory Climbs to 4.5 Months

Hardin County Housing Market, with Rachel Brantingham

Rachel's numbers for October 22 to 28: 432 active listings, 95 sold in 30 days, and 4.5 months of inventory, up from 4.1. Her take: the market is slowing into the holidays, and every price range is its own market.

Election Day Is Tuesday

Election Day in Hardin County is Tuesday, November 3. Polls are open from 6 AM to 6 PM, and you can vote at any of the county's 16 vote centers, no matter where you live in the county.

"We're spending the heart of this show on one thing: making sure you know what's on your ballot before you walk in," Phil said. The Hardin Local voter guide, he said, treats every candidate exactly the same.

There are 20 contested races on the ballot in Hardin County this year, and every one has its own page in the Hardin Local voter guide, laid out the same way for every candidate. If a candidate sat down with Hardin Local, the interview is right there on the race page. Twenty-seven candidates did, all in the same 20-minute format, with the same questions for everyone running for the same office. "No gotchas. You hear it in their own words," Phil said.

Not sure what's on your ballot? The guide has a lookup. Find your precinct, and the guide shows you the races on your ballot. You do not have to watch every interview, Phil said: pick the race you know the least about and start there. The list of vote centers is in the guide, and the Hardin County Clerk's office has the official information if you need a quick answer.

Hardin Local will have election night coverage. Follow Hardin Local so you don't miss it.

The Icebreaker

With the clocks just fallen back, the first question was a seasonal one: keep the extra hour of sleep, or keep the extra hour of daylight in the evening, locked in forever? Nate said getting dark at six in the fall and winter "just hurts the heck out of me." Next, the leftover Halloween candy: throw it all out, or eat one piece a day until it's gone? Jon, who is not big on sweets, said he would take it to the bar and give it away. And with Thanksgiving three weeks out, would you rather host 20 people or drive four hours to someone else's? Rachel, a self-described hostess, picked hosting, and admitted she wings it instead of planning with a spreadsheet.

Episode Highlights

"Same 20-minute format. Same questions for everybody running for the same office. No gotchas. You hear it in their own words." - Phil Taul, on the voter guide

"It looks like a brand new hotel. It really does." - Nate Bryan, on SpringHill Suites

"There's not a resale site, so don't be scammed." - Rachel Brantingham, on Confederate Railroad tickets

"We moved from 4.1 months of inventory last week to 4.5 months of inventory this week." - Rachel Brantingham, Hardin County Housing Market

Question of the Week

When are you voting Tuesday: first thing in the morning, on your lunch break, or after work? Rachel's family has its own twist: in the Brantingham family group chat, it is a race to see who gets to the polls first and posts a picture with their sticker. Tell us yours in the comments.

Tell Us What You Want

If you have a high school athlete, check out the sports portal on the Hardin Local website and tell us what you think. It is newer, so give us your feedback: what is missing, what is wrong, and what would make you use it every week.

Keep Hardin Local Going

This Week's Sponsor: philtaul.com

Phil Taul builds AI automation for businesses: not chatbots, not robots taking over the world, but the boring stuff that eats your week. His example, kept anonymous: a large auto group went from 20 to 30 hours a week of title data entry to two to three hours a week, and the system has caught errors their manual process missed. A person still reviews everything. "The robots don't get the car keys," Phil said.

The way in is a Workflow Roadmap Session: a look at how you actually work, then a written roadmap of what is worth automating, in what order, and what to leave alone. It is $450, and if you have Phil build something within 30 days, the whole $450 comes off the project. There is no form to fill out. Just get in touch at philtaul.com/consulting and tell him what your business is and what is eating your time.

One More Show

Bourbon Local, Hardin Local's sister show about bourbon and the people who make it, airs Sundays at 9 PM ET, right after Hardin Local.

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