LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- This year was filled with some big news. There were stories that shaped our community, stories that kept your family safe, and stories that simply made us smile.

Here are some of the stories on 2024 that reminded us of all the good out there.

JCPS bus driver going viral after he bought PJs for 1st grader who didn't have any for Pajama Day

A Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) bus driver went the extra mile for a first grader. It was Pajama Day at school but 6-year-old Levi didn't have any PJs.

"As he saw that I was upset, he saw my head looking down, and when I got on the bus he asked me what was wrong," Levi said. "When I looked up tears came out of my eyes."

Levi's bus driver later surprised him at school with some brand new pajamas. 

People as far as England and Portugal reached out to JCPS after their photo went viral.

To read more, click here.

Yared Nuguse takes bronze medal with a furious rally in historic Olympic 1500m

In August, Louisville watched one of its own race in the Olympics.

Manual graduate Yared Nuguse won a bronze medal in the men's 1500 meter race in Paris.

"It’s been a long time since the Olympics, and I've just been taking it in for what it is, and just really believing internally that I am an Olympic bronze medalist," Nuguse said. 

The runner got his start in high school when a teacher noticed him sprinting to McDonald's. Several years later, he sprinted across the finish line at the summer Olympics.

"Honestly, it's been pretty normal," he said. "I only just finished my running season this weekend, so a lot of it has been normal training and stuff. But I'll get recognized at the grocery store a lot more, or little things like that. People are like, 'Oh my God, it's Yared.' And I'll be like, 'Oh, hi. What's up?'"

To read more, click here.

Louisville's littlest lunch lady | Kind 2-year-old makes meals for trashmen every week

Trash day was more than that for a 2-year-old girl in south Louisville. Little Haley and her mom makes sandwiches every Monday.

Then they hand deliver them to the guys who pick up their trash. It shows just how much a little kindness can mean.

"She hears their brakes, oh it's on," said her mother Rosa Moran.

To read more, click here.

Clarksville residents are going crazy over mystery chicken that crosses busy road

What the cluck is going on in Clarksville?

Drivers along Brown Station Way reported a mysterious chicken hanging around the road for months.

"It's a really odd, random thing to see a chicken casually strolling through a suburban neighborhood like this," Clarksville resident Matt Harris said.

WDRB checked it out and found the elusive bird. The town's public works office later adopted the chicken after it laid an egg in someone's pickup truck. It's not clear why the chicken crossed the road though.

To read more, click here.

Louisville attorney surprises teen with Taylor Swift tickets

A Swiftie's wildest dreams came true this fall.

WDRB was there as Louisville injury lawyer Sam Aguiar surprised 14-year-old Lola with tickets to the Taylor Swift concert in Indianapolis. The family has two children with down syndrome and got emotional at the surprise.

“We looked around at several deserving families, and when I saw Lola’s smile and learned more about the Rosenbaum family, I was hooked,” Aguiar said.

Lola and her mom stood in the Swift merchandise line for hours before the concert and said it was worth it.

To read more, click here.

Mechanic proves Hoosiers are not lying about UFO sightings with his flying saucer car

WDRB tracked down a street-legal UFO in southern Indiana. The mechanic behind it is Steve Anderson.

The Hoosier made headlines over the summer when he kept getting pulled over on the way to the UFO Festival in Roswell, New Mexico.

"The guy pulls me over, I have these glasses on and I go, 'I come in peace.' He starts laughing," Anderson said.

To read more, click here.

More stories about memorable moments in 2024

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