WQXE News

As outbreaks of measles are reported in the southwest, health officials have announced a confirmed case in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health and the Franklin County Health Department say they have confirmed a case of measles in an adult Kentucky resident who recently traveled internationally to an area with ongoing measles transmission. Health officials are working to identify and contact individuals who may have been exposed to the virus after the infected resident visited a fitness center in Frankfort.

The KDPH says “measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus that can cause serious health complications, especially in young children.” Early symptoms begin eight to 12 days after exposure and include high fever, cough, runny nose, and red/watery eyes, with the characteristic measles rash appearing three to five days after symptoms begin.

While health officials say measles is one of the most contagious viruses in the world, it can be prevented with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Recent estimates, however, show that MMR vaccine coverage in Kentucky kindergartners is only 90 percent, which is less than the national average.

The Kentucky measles case is the first confirmed case in the state since 2023, and comes as ongoing measles outbreaks are occurring in Texas and New Mexico. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 93 cases have been reported in 2025, and Texas officials this week announced the death of an unvaccinated child from the virus.

The City of Elizabethtown is announcing several street closures that are set to begin Monday.

The following streets will be closed to through traffic from March 3 until construction is completed later in the summer:

-Helm Street between South Mulberry and South Miles streets
-Terry Court
-Park Avenue between South Miles Street and College Avenue

The city says the closures are related to the Helm Street, Terry Court, and Park Avenue Street Improvements Project, and a pipe in the road needs to be replaced on Park Avenue. All closures will have barricades at each intersection with detours posted.

Contact the City of Elizabethtown for more information.

Greenspace and the City of Elizabethtown are partnering to host a public meeting at the Pritchard Community Center Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. to gather public input on the bicycle and pedestrian master plan Greenspace began developing about two years ago, with the organization contracting engineering firm Gresham Smith.

Greenspace President David Haines told the Elizabethtown City Council earlier this month the public meeting will be preceded by a series of stakeholder meetings.

“It’s going to be the first day for public engagement here at Pritchard Community Center and there’s going to be a series of meetings,” Haines said. “One for the project advisory committee, one for a stakeholder group that was identified and includes city leaders, business leaders, tourism, and user groups to kind of start getting ramped up on the bike pedestrian plan, where it’s at, giving input.”

Those meetings will be followed by the public engagement session from 5 to 7 p.m. and the launch of a website for the collection of feedback. Haines said the goal is to identify what the city has and what it needs going forward.

“What I told Gresham Smith is what I would like is a top three or five high-priority, high-payoff street projects that the city can look at and budget for in the next five to ten years,” Haines said. “That makes sense, and then beyond that a best practices manual that incorporates what they did with Complete Streets, but tailors it a little bit more towards Elizabethtown.”

More information and a list of contacts can be found on the City of Elizabethtown Government Facebook page.