You don’t need us to tell you it's hot out there, LOU, just step outside and let your glasses fog up.
However, something you might not have noticed between yesterday’s heat-related power outages downtown + the sweat dripping down your forehead, are the city’s Air Quality Alerts.
Today, we’re unpacking these alerts, how to track them, and what you can do to help.
Air Quality Alerts are issued based on the Air Quality Index (AQI), which tells us the cleanliness of outdoor air. While there are five major air pollutants, the primary two Metro’s Air Pollution Control District (APCD) — which has been around since 1945 — are concerned with are ground-level ozone and particle pollution.
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Sign up to receive air quality alerts for Louisville below. | Photo by @thedaviswonder |
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Let’s break those down: - Ground-level ozone (O3) — Not emitted directly in the air, but is created when other pollutants, such as vehicle + industry emissions, mix with heat and sunlight, which makes the pollutant more prevalent in the summer months
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Particulate matter (PM10 + PM 2.5) — Composed of super small, solid particles and droplets suspended in the air + comes from a variety of components like metals, soil, dust, and organic chemicals
The APCD monitors and predicts these pollutants via the ten air stations across the Greater Louisville area. Interact with the stations on this map.
AQI is metered from zero-500 and uses six color variations — from green to dark red — to denote how hazardous the air is for our health — from aggravating existing diseases like asthma to triggering heart attacks.
For example, yesterday, Derby City had a yellow rating of 83 meaning it was a good day to be outside for just about everyone except those considered to be part of sensitive populations (those with lung or heart disease, asthma + children and older adults).
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Yesterday's AQI was 83. | Screenshot from Louisville’s Air Quality Index |
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Use the buttons below to alert three friends about air quality. |
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Today - Retro Wednesday | Wed., June 15 | 9:30-11:55 p.m. | Sauerback Family Drive-In | $10 per carload | See the 1980s throwbacks “Back to the Future” + “Clue” on the big screen.
Thursday
- Garden Highlights Walk & Talk | Thurs., June 16 | 6-7:15 p.m. | Waterfront Botanical Gardens | $10 | Tour the summer gardens with horticulturist staff + learn growing tips. 🌻
Friday -
Fully Loaded Comedy Festival | Fri., June 17 | 7 p.m. | KFC Yum! Center | $49+ | Crack up with a lineup of all-star comedians featuring podcast host + author Bert Kreischer — who performs shirtless on stage.
Saturday - Deep Roots Music Fest | Sat., June 18 | 6 p.m. | Iroquois Amphitheater | Free | Hear musicians like Gary Brewer & the Kentucky Ramblers at this inaugural bluegrass fest. 🪕
Sunday
- The Cookout | Sun., June 19 | 12-4 p.m. | Petersburg Park, 5008 E. Indian Trl. | Free | Celebrate Juneteenth at the park’s recently completed mini-pitch with professional soccer players + free food from Boss Hog’s BBQ food truck while supplies last.
Tuesday -
The Moth StorySLAM | Tues., June 21 | 8 p.m. | Headliners Music Hall | $15 | Watch five randomly selected storytellers tell five minute stories on the spot revolving around the theme of birthdays. 🎙️
- Dog Day at the Park | Tues., June 21 | 12:05 p.m. | Louisville Slugger Field | $9+ | Bring your four-legged friend to the field to see the Bats take on the Iowa Cubs + it’s $1 menu night. ⚾
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We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends. |
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Weather -
99º | Sunny | 10% chance of rain
Open -
Clean Eatz, a cafe offering healthy snacks, wraps, smoothies + meal prepping, is open at 3565 Springhurst Blvd. — across from the St. Matthews' Target. The new business aims to make healthy eating more convenient and affordable with weekly meal plans starting at $41 for five meals. 🥘 (WLKY)
Coming Soon -
Local florist, Bloomed Roots, will be blossoming into a NuLu brick-and-mortar next month. A grand opening is being planned for Sat., July 9 in the new digs at 746 E. Market St. Flower friends can expect a fresh floral bar, dried arrangements (aka forever flowers), modern vases + greeting cards. 💐
Drink -
The famous whiskey and Coca-Cola highball will soon be available in an aluminum can. The soda giant and Louisville-based Jack Daniel’s distiller Brown-Forman have teamed up to launch the premixed cocktail later this year. DYK: “Jack and Coke” was renamed to “The Lemmy” after the lead singer of Motorhead. 🥃 (WHAS11)
Biz -
Derby City-based Feeders Supply is rebranding. The well-known pet business will be adding “pet” to the name, making it Feeders Pet Supply + changing the store and logo design to a brighter, fresher look. A new store being planned on Dixie Highway will showcase the new designs. (Louisville Business First)
Community -
The Community Foundation of Louisville will announce plans for an appraised $1 million vacant Smoketown property today, June 15, at 10 a.m. The land was given to the foundation in 2015 by the Hillerich & Bradsby Co., the River City sporting goods manufacturer responsible for the Louisville Slugger.
Featured -
Six hotels and two restaurants in Louisville have earned the Four Diamond designation from AAA. The rating indicates that a hotel has “upscale style and amenities” and a restaurant has a “culinary experience to savor.” Among the eight businesses are 21c Museum Hotel, The Brown Hotel + Vincenzo’s. See the others. 💎 (The Courier-Journal)
Real Estate -
Five homes in Louisville sold for more than $1 million from May 12-19 according Louisville Business First’s most expensive home sale series. See the houses and their hefty price tags. 🏘️
Sports -
An independent Name Image Likeness (NIL) Collective, 502Circle, has been established at the University of Louisville. The company will provide opportunities for UofL student athletes to make money off of their NIL — which was instituted in July of 2021. The platform will launch Mon., August 29.
Learn -
Agave spirits are more than just tequila and mezcal, much more. Learn about this agricultural gem at Nouvelle Bar & Bottle’s next education class happening on Mon., June 27 from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $60 + include a presentation and guided tasting of four agave-based spirits. 🍸
Art -
The next Speed Art Museum After Hours on Fri., June 17 from 5-10 p.m. is totally tubular. The event this month is 1980s-themed + features scrunchie and slap bracelet making, a screening of Spike Lee’s “School Daze,” and tours of the “Codeswitch” quilt exhibit — which is closing on Sun., June 26. Tickets are $20.
Announced -
Last week, we asked you to submit your best dad joke for a chance to be featured on a t-shirt or mug sold in Six & Main, our online store. Congrats to readers Jeff M., Natalie J., Anne M., and Elizabeth C. for submitting winning dad jokes that will be featured on merch (just in time for Father’s Day). All winners have been contacted, and thanks to everyone who submitted. Shop the dad joke collection.
Eat -
Planning a backyard celebration for Father’s Day? Kroger has tons of BBQ and grilling recipes that Dad will love. (Flank steak with chimichurri? Yes, please.) 🥩*
A health message from our sponsor
- Number: 100. The individual hairs that the average person sheds in a day. But if you’re losing substantial volume, it could point to hormone imbalances or other underlying conditions. Learn more.*
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We already know the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library downtown is beautiful thanks to its Beaux-Arts architecture, vaulted-ceilings, and marble columns — but now we have the credentials to back it up.
The branch — which opened in 1908 — was ranked No. 9 out of eleven on Fodor’s Travel’s “11 Most Beautiful Libraries in the United States” list.
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Editor's pick: I’m not much into Facebook, but I am into Facebook groups. Louisville Freegans is a mecca of, well, free things — just yesterday I saw 8mm movie projector, sling-back beach chairs, and 30 three-ring binders.
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