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Evansville
Monday, July 14, 2025

Close to Home

How was your summer? Mine was fine, and short. A July summer-fun injury has kept me close to home as the summer winds down. Don’t feel too badly about me missing out. While recovering, I still was able to travel to Indianapolis to see my youngest son and his teammates swim at the Indiana Age Group State Swimming Finals at the IUPUI Natatorium, visit the Indianapolis Zoo, see Steely Dan in concert at the Louisville Palace, and visit relatives in Greeneville, Tenn. Still, with a black eye and broken ankle, I haven’t felt much like getting out here in town. So, I spent much of July and August in my home, a place I like a lot.

What did I do with the extra time at home? I wasn’t industrious enough to organize all the family pictures scattered about and in boxes. I cooked plenty, but can’t say that I prepared anything remarkable. We have entertained recently. That’s really what I like about being at home — the ease and comfort of spending time with visiting relatives, a family friend in town from Houston, or 20 sixth-graders dancing around our bonfire.

Since I’ve worked more from home, I’ve spent extra time with our 16-month-old Mountain Cur rescue dog, Jed. I’ve played with him lots; trained him not so much. He’s been good company and solid guidance for me as we’ve curated content for the September/October Evansville Living — Dog vs. Cat — our clever cover presentation (we think) of our feature on pets, “For Pets’ Sake” (page 42). Your comments and requests, along with our observations on the importance and success of social media in placing pets for adoption and finding lost pets, helped guide our content. We know there are so many pet stories to be told. I suspect we will hear from readers eager to share how they have connected with their unique pets, and we welcome that. I am quite sure this will not be the last time we feature pets.

We introduce with this issue a new story in the Good Living section of the magazine, “Why Not Evansville?” This magazine was borne from those three words. That, and inspiration from a peer magazine posing the same question, set us about asking “Why Not Evansville?” We brainstormed for ideas. In Amsterdam, Netherlands, I saw car dealerships and a luxury mall built into interstate sound barriers, and a laser tag arena built into an overpass along the port. Why not Evansville?  We’ll save those ideas for later. (Please read about my tour of the Netherlands and Belgium on page 36.) We were inspired by a fun event in Louisville, Ky., a trolley hop, to investigate as our first topic (page 23). Do you find yourself asking, “Why not Evansville?” Please share your ideas with us.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

Kristen K. Tucker
Publisher & Editor

Read “300 Words,” the editor’s blog, at evansvilleliving.com/blog, each week.

Kristen K. Tucker
Kristen K. Tucker
Kristen K. Tucker formed Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., along with her husband, Todd, in September 1999 and published the first issue of Evansville Living in March 2000. Kristen, publisher and editor of Evansville Living, holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and English from Western Kentucky University and a master’s degree in liberal studies from the University of Southern Indiana. Kristen has recently served on the board of directors of The Catholic Foundation of Evansville, the Board of Advisors for the IU Medical School Evansville, and Indiana Landmarks. In 2007, she helped found the Women’s Fund of Vanderburgh County. She also is a member of the 125-year-old Social Literary Club. Kristen is the 2003 Athena Award recipient and the 2006 recipient of the Indiana Commission for Women’s Torchbearer Award. Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., magazines have won dozens of awards through the years from the City & Regional Magazine Association, the Advertising Federation of Evansville, the Evansville Design Group, and the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Kristen moved with her family to Evansville, her father’s hometown, in 1971. She attended Caze Elementary School, and Castle Jr. and Castle Sr. High Schools in Newburgh, Indiana. Kristen and Todd have two adult sons, Maxwell and Jackson. Kristen enjoys walking, travel, Pilates, and reading.

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