News
Few differences emerge among top Republicans in first debate of Kentucky governor’s race
LOUISVILLE —? Four top Republican governor candidates agreed on school choice and lowering the state income tax, but differed on abortion and legalizing medical marijuana Tuesday night.? The debate at The Henry Clay in Louisville was the first ahead of the May 16 primary election.? Five of the 12 Republicans seeking their party’s nomination for […]
Kentucky House passes bill nixing any COVID-19 vaccine mandates for minors
A bill that would state only Kentucky parents or other guardians can make people under the age of 18 take?COVID-19 vaccines passed the House Tuesday 79-17. House Bill 101, sponsored by Shawn McPherson, R-Scottsville, states: “no person, entity, corporation, company, organization, or government agency, public or private, shall require or coerce in any manner any […]
Prospects dim for freestanding birth centers in this session
FRANKFORT —?Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said Tuesday that bills aimed at revising the state’s certificate of need requirements “are not moving forward this session.”? Among those bills are pieces of legislation aimed at making freestanding birth centers more accessible in the state.? Thayer’s comments came during Tuesday’s meeting of the Senate Licensing & Occupations […]
Juvenile justice would get more money, more scrutiny under bills approved by Kentucky Senate
FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Senate Tuesday unanimously passed two bills aimed at stemming what lawmakers called a crisis in Kentucky’s Department of Juvenile Justice. Senate Bill 162, sponsored by Sen. ?Danny Carroll, R-Benton, would allot more than $50 million for salaries, retention, new workers and security upgrades, including $30 million for workers in the adult […]
An unrelated bill became a vehicle for allowing concealed weapons on Kentucky’s college campuses
FRANKFORT — Republican legislation that would ban colleges, universities and any other “postsecondary education facility” from restricting or banning concealed-carry firearms on campuses advanced out of a Tuesday morning House committee meeting.? House Bill 542, sponsored by Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, was previously an unrelated bill about “workforce development” before the title and content […]
U.S. agriculture secretary unveils initiatives aimed at small and midsized farms
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday announced new steps the Department of Agriculture is taking to recenter U.S. agriculture and benefit small and midsized operations, including a proposed new “Product of USA” labeling rule and an $89 million expansion of the USDA intermediary lending program. At the National Farmers Union conference in San Francisco, […]
3 years after its first reported case, Kentucky has nation’s third-highest COVID-19 infection rate
This week marks the third anniversary of the announcement of Kentucky’s first case of COVID-19, a disease that has infected more than 1.7 million Kentuckians and killed 18,130 of them. And while the Covid-19 national emergency and public-health emergency declarations that have been in place since early 2020 will end May 11 and the state […]
Kentucky senator whose Twitter account ‘liked’ obscene tweets says he was hacked
Editor’s Note: This report relies in part on screenshots, emails and other documentation gathered in May 2021 by Kentucky Lantern reporter Liam Niemeyer when he was a reporter for WKMS Public Radio in Murray. FRANKFORT — The sponsor of a bill mandating a complaint process for removing “obscene” materials from Kentucky’s public schools had, as […]
Borderline personality disorder is highly stigmatized and lonely
This story discusses suicide and self harm. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.? When Mo Lewis was 11 years old, his dad died.? In the following years, he developed traits of borderline personality disorder. He became suicidal, harmed himself and repeatedly […]
Bill could pave way for online news outlets to publish legally-required public notices
FRANKFORT — Without a daily or weekly printed newspaper of record in Northern Kentucky, local leaders are seeking a way to get public notices out to readers digitally.? The House Local Government Committee on March 3 gave its favor to House Bill 534, which would create qualifications for a digital news publication to be considered […]
Kentuckians angered by Forest Service plan to log mature trees in Daniel Boone National Forest
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here. ?The story is part of Deforestation Inc., a global investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. WILLIAMSBURG — Brandon Bowlin learned of the […]
KCTCS supports Stivers’ proposed review of Kentucky’s higher education system
FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s two-year college system supports Senate President Robert Stivers’ call for? a comprehensive review of higher education, says the system’s acting president. Among the ideas Stivers wants considered: Leave technical education with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, while moving traditional academic subjects from the two-year colleges to regional four-year public universities. […]