By: Supporters of Walter Meinshausen for Hardin County Magistrate, District 1  

Walter D. Meinshausen brings an unusually strong combination of military leadership, community service, organizational experience, and long-standing ties to the Fort Knox–Hardin County community to the 2026 race for Hardin County Magistrate, District 1.  

Meinshausen is a 1968 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He went on to serve in the United States Army and Army Reserve, attaining the rank of colonel. 

By T.W. Shortt
Former Radcliff City Councilman, Co-Founder of the Radcliff Small Business Alliance, and Radcliff Business Owner

On March 1, 2013, eight local business and community leaders gathered at Rosita Latino Grocery Store in Radcliff with a clear purpose: to create a business organization focused on the needs of Radcliff and Vine Grove. 

Attendees included TW Shortt, John Flanagan, Jacob Pearman, David Ohler, Jerry Brown, Pam Crum, Steve Walton, and Roger Stradley. 

The meeting followed a reorganization of the local chamber of commerce that left many Radcliff business owners believing their local voice had been swallowed up by a larger countywide structure. 

By T.W. Shortt
Former Radcliff City Councilman, Co-Founder of the Radcliff Small Business Alliance, and Local Business Owner for Nearly Four Decades

Before comparing résumés, memberships and community service, Radcliff voters should be asking a more basic question: 

Where are the written plans? 

With the November 3 election approaching, neither Terry Owens nor Toshie Murrell has made a detailed written plan for Radcliff’s future as the centerpiece of her campaign. That makes it difficult for voters to know what either candidate would do as mayor. 

At this point in the race, there appears to be truly little clear separation between the two candidates. Both have served on the Radcliff City Council. Both have extensive résumés. Both can point to community projects, memberships, leadership positions, and public service. 

By T.W. Shortt 
Former Radcliff City Council Member | Co-Founder, Radcliff Small Business Alliance | Local Business Owner

“Radcliff Council Wants Investigation of Code Enforcement.”

That was the headline in The News-Enterprise on September 15, 2015. 

Eleven years later, during another election cycle, that old headline is worth remembering because it raises a question voters should consider: 

How much has it really changed?