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Kentucky’s chief medical examiner confirms body is suspect in Interstate 75 shootings
Kentucky’s chief medical examiner and state crime lab staff have confirmed through a DNA analysis the body found near the site of the Interstate 75 shootings in Laurel County is the shooting suspect Joseph Couch.? Chief Medical Examiner Bill Ralston in a Friday statement said DNA testing of the body’s soft tissue was inconclusive because […]
Planned battery recycling plant in Western Kentucky receives $125 million federal boost
The company behind a planned battery recycling plant in Western Kentucky is receiving another $125 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a part of a broader federal effort to boost battery production and recycling for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electric grid.? Massachusetts-based Ascend Elements is receiving the federal award […]
Eastern Kentucky sheriff charged with murder in shooting death of judge at courthouse in Whitesburg
A sheriff in Eastern Kentucky has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting a district court judge Thursday at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg.? Kentucky State Police said District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds. Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. “Mickey” Stines, 43, was charged with […]
Police think body found near site of Interstate 75 shootings is suspect Joseph Couch
Law enforcement officials in a Wednesday evening news conference said they think a body found near where five people were shot on Interstate 75 in Laurel County is the alleged shooter.? Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. said confirmation that the body was Joseph Couch, 32, would have to await an autopsy Thursday in […]
Growth in clean energy jobs spurred by incentives congressional GOP opposes, says advocacy group
Kentucky for the second straight year had the nation’s second fastest growth in clean energy jobs, though the state still lags in the actual number of such jobs, according to an annual report that focuses on economic development and energy. The report from E2, which describes itself as a nonpartisan business group that advocates “for […]
From grassroots to government, Kentuckians will gather this month to talk about climate change
Lauren Cagle wants to make something clear. Despite popular assumptions about Kentuckians’ priorities and politics, they do care about climate change. Cagle, a University of Kentucky professor of writing, rhetoric and digital studies, told the Lantern despite narratives that “red states have a certain point of view on climate change,” the reality of what’s happening […]
Beshear names former Democratic state lawmaker to board regulating utilities in Kentucky
A former elected official from Eastern Kentucky who was part of Democratic leadership in the Kentucky House has been appointed to a powerful board regulating Kentucky utilities.?? Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear named John Will Stacy of West Liberty, a state representative from 1993 to 2015, to the three-member Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC). Stacy was […]
Throwing some good shade on a historically neglected neighborhood in Bowling Green
It began with the smell. Joyce Tann, 75, had lived in her Bowling Green neighborhood of Delafield for close to a decade when she started conversations on her front porch with women from a local nonprofit trying to solve neighborhood problems: The loud truck traffic rumbling past. Landlords who have let properties become “rundown.” And […]
East Kentucky Power Co-op selected for federal funding to build or buy renewable energy
A Kentucky electric utility serving more than 570,000 homes, farms and businesses across 89 counties is getting a federal funding boost to invest in renewable energy.? East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), based in Winchester, is one of 16 rural electric utilities across the country selected to receive a portion of $7.3 billion through the U.S. […]
No dice for ‘risk-free’ gaming machines in Kentucky, advises AG Coleman
The manufacturer of a so-called “risk-free” gaming machine is hitting the pause button in Kentucky after Attorney General Russell Coleman said the machines are illegal under a ban passed by lawmakers last year.? Bob Heleringer, an attorney for Prominent Technologies, told the Lantern the company strongly disagrees with Coleman’s advisory but is directing businesses with […]
New 4-year contract approved for KY Fish and Wildlife chief who has clashed with Beshear
The board overseeing Kentucky’s wildlife management agency has reappointed its chief executive Rich Storm, including board members appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear who in the past has clashed with Storm and the department. With no discussion, the state Fish and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously on Aug. 30 to give Storm a new four-year contract as […]
Utilities that opposed Kentucky’s new energy planning commission are now part of it
Gov. Andy Beshear has filled two seats on a new energy planning commission with utility executives who, like Beshear, opposed the commission’s creation. Kentucky lawmakers earlier this year created the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC) to slow the retirement of power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Investor-owned utilities and environmentalists opposed the […]