Now to western Kentucky's Hopkins County and the city of Madisonville.

It's historically a coal mining town that has shifted to manufacturing and other economic development sectors, along with revitalization efforts around its downtown square, which I, along with Laura Rodgers as she takes us there for this week's installment of Mondays on Main.

Everybody has a story, and so does every town, especially this one where that story is still unfolding.

Madisonville itself is really that city that has infinite possibilities.

Madisonville has a bustling downtown community celebrating history and looking ahead to future growth and progress.

It's growing.

I think it's got a lot of potential.

If you can think of it, you can do it right here.

So that's what I love about Madisonville.

Mayor Kevin Cotton shares that message through one of his favorite books.

The Flower Man.

Talks about how one individual can make an impact in the entire community just by going the extra mile.

Yet something demonstrated by many in the community, including the late Doctor Merle and Glen mama, who gifted their former cattle farm and home to the city in 2009.

They wanted people to understand what it was like to just sit back and enjoy the land, and it's just an absolute masterpiece in our community.

It's really been a joy to see it come to life.

It's really just a gem.

It's beautiful.

The park officially opened as a park and arboretum ten years ago, and offers 265 acres of recreation, greenspace and wildlife habitat.

We have lots of visitors throughout the year.

Last year in 2025, we had 635,000 people come through.

And there's a nature play space, there's lakes, there's ponds for you to be able to fish in.

There's paved walking trails, there's a botanical garden, there's event space, is home.

To more than 300 native plants.

It's a level two arboretum, a nature escape, just a hop, skip and jump from Main Street.

It kind of feels like you're in a big city, but you got the small town all benefit to small town as well.

So that's kind of been a revolutionary change that we've noticed over the last few years.

State representative Wade Williams is president of the Madisonville Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation.

They're building housed in the historic train depot.

We've got a lot of things going for us, and we're making that rebound.

I think that Madisonville and Hopkins County didn't just set by and say, we need the coal industry back.

While we would love to have it and we hope that it will make a resurgence, we've kind of reinvented ourselves.

In his role, Williams helps recruit industry and foster job growth.

When a company decides they're going to move or they're going to expand, they want to do it.

Quickly, he says.

They currently have 5 or 6 sites ready to go for industry to move in.

And we're seeing a lot of investment come in.

State of Kentucky.

City leaders say as they welcome new investment, they aim to offer a lower cost of doing business with affordable energy rates and infrastructure upgrades.

City.

Madisonville is under the largest infrastructure project in its history, which is just over $25 million sewer upgrade project called the West Knoll Interceptor.

That's going to set the city up for the next 50 years.

They're also a member of the Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency, which the mayor says has stabilized rates for the past nine years.

So as we're doing recruitment and manufacturing, retail, even families, we're able to talk about the lower cost of energy that we have here in the city of Madisonville.

Other big projects in there are many include an athletic facility that's helped with tourism efforts.

We've been able to put in a new sports facility, sports factory for our youth.

That's a partnership that we have with our county judge, executive and magistrate.

There's also been strides in retail development, welcoming small businesses like this downtown floral and gift shop.

People laugh because, oh, it says the best town on earth.

And if you want a small town environment, we really do have a great, wonderful town.

Retired teacher Christa Bugg, still writing her story as she helps her neighbors through their own personal chapters.

Births.

With weddings and funerals, we see people through all their stages of life life.

They're happy to live here.

And Madisonville for Kentucky edition I'm Laura Rogers.

Thank you Laura, and Mars Park Arboretum is certainly worth checking out.

It is gorgeous.

Mayor cotton says the city is also focused on more housing.

He'd like to see a thousand homes built over the next five years.