Holiday World & Splashin' Safari acquires Santa's Cottages resort
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)- Holiday World & Splashin' Safari theme park is now officially in the lodging business.
Today, the park announces that is has acquired Santa's Cottages- a 23 acre lakeside resort complete with walking trails, lakes, playgrounds and a pool in Santa Claus, Indiana. This marks the first business acquisition for the park's 79 year history.
Illinois Oil and Gas convention hopes to bring new interest to industry
Santa's Cottages offers nature-filled stays, with fully furnished units, lakes available for cat-and-release fishing and recreational areas. Park officials say they hope that as they grow into the lodging industry they hope families will choose to visit the parks as a multi-day destination rather than a single-day trip.
Holiday World recently announced that 2025 will be their longest season in recent history. The park opens for select Season Passholders during the weekend of May 3, and opens to the public on May 10. Splashin' Safari will open on May 17, and both parks are open daily beginning May 23. Events such as Holiday in the Sky, Friday Night Live! and Happy Halloween Weekends are also returning for the 2025 season.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Kentucky gas tax to see reduction next month
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)- Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says his administration has taken another step to help bring down costs for Kentuckians. Owensboro's blue bridge to close for up to 3 months Starting July 1, the state gas tax will drop by 1.4 cents per gallon. The Beshear administration says it has decreased the gas tax by 12% over the last two years, with a total of 3.7 cents in reduction. Regarding the reduction, Beshear said, 'I am laser-focused on helping bring down costs for our Kentucky families… Whether you are driving to school or work, or setting out on a family trip, you should see these savings at the pump.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
J. Todd Inman speaks about national transportation safety in Owensboro
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — An Owensboro native who has reached national acclaim returns home to speak to members of the city's chamber of commerce. National Transportation Safety Board Member J. Todd Inman spoke at this morning's rooster booster breakfast. He served in several roles while living in Owensboro. Most recently he was the spokesperson for the investigation into that mid-air collision over the Potomac River. Trump EPA rollbacks would weaken rules projected to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives From the frontlines of national transportation crises, back to Owensboro. J. Todd Inman reflects on what leadership, community and service really mean to him. Inman served as Chair of the Greater Owensboro Chamber board in 2006. He returned Thursday as a proud Western Kentucky University alum and now national figure at the center of transportation safety conversations. 'We would like to be able to prevent disasters from happening rather than investigating them and then making recommendations. I was there on the two Boeing Max crashes occurred. I thought the first was a tragedy. The second was a travesty. So, I wanted to try to make a difference so I could try to help not let that second travesty occur again,' says Inman. Earlier this year, he was the spokesperson for the Potomac River crash investigation. 67 lives were lost when an American Airlines jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter collided. Inman offered transparency and compassion as he addressed the public and family members of crash victims, before helping to implement new safety recommendations regarding helicopter proximity. 'We found that the current configuration around DCA had to high of a level of risk in that planes could get too close. We saw that happen on January 28th…where slight variations outside of parameters were catastrophic. We need to build in additional buffers…You hope something else captures it. In this case, nothing caught it. You saw devastation. It's been 19 years since we've seen something like that. We'll get better. We'll learn from it,' says Inman. Rooster Booster also honored the newest Leadership Owensboro graduates. Future leaders heard from someone who was once in their shoes. 'Calvert City, Kentucky… 3000 people, two stoplights ,a national spokesperson. I came because they asked. I think they're proud, but I also want them to know it could be them at any point,' says Inman. Inman now lives in Arlington, Virginia. He says the streets he walked in Owensboro were the beginnings of his pursuit of purpose. 'I don't know a single person who lives in out building in Arlington, Virginia, I don't know their name, but here you're getting hugs. You're talking about children. You have ties [and] bonds. There are good people around, and I like being around good people,' says Inman. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Impact of Trumps travel ban in the Tri-State
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — President Donald Trump's complete travel ban of 12 countries and a partial ban of 7 others certainly has implications on an international level, but a University of Evansville professor says even locally some impacts can be felt. Dr. Amanda Krause is the dean of the college of arts and sciences with her phd in political science. She says that message comes with ripple effects. 'It kind of sends a message to the international community that the United States as a country wants to limit the influx of people into the country,' Krause said. 'The way you would see that in a community like Evansville is that you might see a decrease in some economic activity.' This policy from the Trump administration is similar to the one that went into effect during the president's first term in 2016. Since the first travel ban UE leaders say the university has seen a decline in international students. Dr. Krause says a number of factors can contribute to that decline but these bans play a role. 'This particular travel ban and more broadly speaking this administrations' policies in the last 100 days are probably sending a message internationally that will result in lower international student enrollment across the country, likely I can't say 100 percent,' Krause said. Away from campus some in the community say they were shocked by the decision. Haiti was one of the 12 countries completely banned from travel into the U.S. The Haitian Group of Evansville provided a statement. Below is their full statement: 'Like many, we were surprised by the President's announcement of a travel ban last night. Weare actively researching the details of this policy to ensure we can provide clear, accurateinformation to our Haitian neighbors in Evansville and across Southwest Haitian Resource Center is a nonprofit organization that empowers the Haitian communityby offering vital resources, opportunities, and support. Our top priority at this time is to ensureour community is informed and prepared, and we remain committed to standing with themthrough this uncertainty.' Director, Haitian Center of Evansville Gelina Mascoe Dr. Krause says she doesn't expect the bans and restrictions to be as contentious as it was in 2016 because the administration gave a more detailed list as to why countries were banned. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
