A group of economists in charge of forecasting how much revenue Kentucky will bring in the next two fiscal years predicted a more pessimistic financial outlook in the coming years, citing a number of uncertainties in the economy.  During a Tuesday meeting, the Consensus Forecasting Group, made up of economists from around the state, chose […]

This story first appeared on Louisville Public Media. It’s republished here as part of the Appalachian News Exchange reporting partnership to strength Kentucky journalism. For the first time, Kentuckians will be able to direct some of their tax dollars toward private or homeschool education. Starting Jan. 1, Kentuckians can get a one-for-one tax credit on up to $1,700 […]

Kentucky will receive $17 million in federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday.  The money will be used to support the 988 suicide prevention lifeline, youth mental health, addiction recovery, doula services and more. “Mental health is just as important as physical health, and devoting more […]

This commentary is about suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to connect with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24/7 for confidential support. Other resources include the Veterans Crisis Line for Military Veterans (call 988, press 1) and the Trevor Lifeline, the only national 24/7 lifeline for LGBTQ […]

PAINT LICK — Kevin Brown, an attorney whose family has owned a subsistence farm in Garrard County for several generations, says cost of living is a big issue in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District race.  Brown’s farm was the site of a meet-and-greet for the Democratic candidate, Zach Dembo, in the election in mid-September. A few dozen […]

The mayor of Russell learned in June that a Barcelona company wanted to build a two-gigawatt data center on the old AK Steel site in his town. He learned it from a consultant’s email, and the consultant’s first concern was that the moratorium Russell had just passed might get in the way. That is how […]

Republican Louisville Metro Council member Anthony Piagentini interrupted a committee meeting last week because he wanted someone to stop the blaring noise he heard from the gallery.  That blaring noise was the recorded sound of a data center coming from the phone from a member of the group No Data Center 502, according to group […]

Late last week, I woke in the middle of the night with vertigo. The floating ear-crystals kind where the room spins and spins, floor-to-ceiling, and for which the cure is to do something called the Epley maneuver which, for seconds that feel like hours, intensifies the spinning, making you feel like you have slipped gravity […]

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Andy Beshear this week appointed Lexington businessman Joseph Palumbo and retired Circuit Judge Phillip Patton to fill vacancies on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees. The appointments come at a critical time for Kentucky’s flagship state university in the wake of Beshear’ social media post last spring saying he was […]

Federal authorities have charged five people in Kentucky in connection with cockfighting in cases that show the state remains a key player in the illegal activity, according to animal-welfare groups. Those groups have argued that a relatively weak state law is one reason Kentucky has been a key player in the bloody activity, not just […]

Kenneth Anderson’s father taught him what to look for in high-quality tobacco, cured for weeks in the rafters of a Clark County barn. How to “grade” or rate the quality of the different parts of the plant, looking for slight variations of the deep brown color of the dried leaves.  “Tobacco’s always been a crop […]

What happens when politicians dislike what a professor teaches, an employee says, or a university prints? Across 829 pages I obtained from the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, and thousands more from Kentucky universities, I found courses altered and words, missions, programs, and philanthropic initiatives erased or renamed because of perceived ties to diversity, equity, and […]

Tenants at several properties in Shelbyville owned by a Lexington-based property management company are launching a tenant union to make demands on a range of concerns they have on unresolved maintenance issues and more.  A press release announcing the launch of the Shelbyville Tenant Union states that more than 75 residents at seven properties in […]

Former Gov. Matt Bevin will be immediately released from a 60-day jail sentence while the Kentucky Court of Appeals decides whether his incarceration was the proper punishment for his contempt of court charges, the Appeals Court ruled late Wednesday. Bevin, 59, was arrested Sept. 3 and lodged in the Jefferson County jail to serve a 60-day sentence […]

This story first appeared on WEKU. It’s republished here as part of the Appalachian News Exchange reporting partnership to strength Kentucky journalism. The Trump administration has taken steps to boost coal’s fortunes in recent years, but the government still forecasts an industry decline this year and next. Coal generation is expected to decline 8% in 2026 and […]

Dr. Ralph Alvarado’s campaign pushed out a press release this week on a curious piece in the Daily Caller, the right-wing website about Alvarado’s opponent in the 6th District Congressional race, Zach Dembo. In it, author Derek VanBuskirk cited Dembo’s 2024 interview on a podcast called The Good Guy Guide, in which Dembo talked about […]

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is directing $2.5 million in state funding meant for housing to a national nonprofit with plans to forgive outstanding medical debt for tens of thousands of low-income Kentuckians.  In a Tuesday afternoon press conference announcing the move, Beshear said the poor credit scores that some Kentuckians have who carry medical […]

Kentucky U.S. Rep. James Comer will not seek another term as the chairman of the House Oversight Committee.  Comer, a Republican who represents the state’s 1st Congressional District, first became chairman of the committee in 2023. The committee gave him a second term starting in 2025.  Austin Hacker, a spokesperson for Comer, said that chairs […]

Since being hospitalized more than 90 days ago, Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell says he plans to return to the Senate Monday evening.  McConnell, 84, was hospitalized in June and said on July 12 he would enter a rehabilitation center after a fall at home. In a statement late Monday, the Republican said after the […]

Both the state Supreme Court and a state Appeals Court judge have now rejected emergency efforts to block the reunification of a one-year-old girl in foster care with her mother who is scheduled to be deported to Guatemala and currently is in custody of U.S. Immigration and Enforcement. In a series of rulings late last […]