By Rick HowlettThe Kentucky Department of Agriculture has fined the Louisville Zoo $37,000 in connection with the wreck of a small open-air train last year that sent nearly two dozen people to the hospital.The department's report, released Thursday, concluded that the ride was in poor condition, was traveling too fast and the driver was not adequately trained to operate it.The fines are the maximum allowed by law.The train was carrying nearly 30 passengers when it derailed June 1st near the zoo's Gorilla Forest exhibit.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.