From Pews to Punchlines

“We buy old buildings.” Jacoba Wells explained how Commonwealth Sanctuary, Northern Kentucky’s only comedy club, began. Her partner, Nathan Kroeger, nodded in agreement. But there’s much more to how this empty church has found renewed purpose in the middle of residential Dayton, Kentucky.

Wells and Kroeger moved here in 2019 because of sailboats. They were in Cincinnati for a show; he wanted to scope out the local…