WKU Public Radio | By Jacob Martin With the Kentucky General Assembly wrapping up this week, multiple bills that would impact classrooms across the state are in the hands of Gov. Andy Beshear. The Democratic governor has been a proponent of increasing educators’ wages and put forth a proposal that would both increase teacher pay by 5% and…
Louisville Public Media | By Ryan Van Velzer Energy utilities now have to prove to regulators their plans to retire fossil-fueled power plants won’t compromise the reliability and resilience of the electric grid in Kentucky. It takes effect immediately. The legislation emerged following a winter storm that wiped out electricity for around 1.6 million people in the days…
WKU Public Radio | By Lisa Autry Like all states, Kentucky finds itself in a new drug war. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of overdose deaths in the commonwealth. The state Office of Drug Control Policy says fentanyl was involved in over 70% of the 2,250 overdose deaths in Kentucky in 2021. Fentanyl is not…
Jack Brammer Kentucky Lantern Seven lame-duck lawmakers were among 26 members of the Kentucky General Assembly who attended a conference last December in Hawaii. The trip cost taxpayers more than $86,000. The conference of the Council of State Governments in Honolulu, which attracted more than 1,000 state legislators from across the country, offered workshops on various…
Side Effects Public Media | By Ryan Levi, Dan Gorenstein The pandemic pushed Medicare to start paying for “hospital-at-home” care for the first time, launching the largest test ever of home-based hospital care. David Mercurio’s problems in the hospital started right away. “The first two nights when I was there, about 3 in the morning, two…
WEKU | By Stu Johnson Kentucky’s public health commissioner anticipates a change in COVID case data later this spring. The national coronavirus public health emergency is slated to end on May 11th. Dr. Steven Stack said the information from the CDC will decline and the community-level COVID maps may go away. “There may be the guidance…
By Mariah Congedo LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The tragic death of a young Kentucky boy has brought attention to the subject of organ donation. The Fayette County Coroner’s Office says 8-year-old Eli Hill was killed in a freak accident Monday while playing basketball at his home in Corbin. His parents say they made the decision to donate his…
WEKU | By John McGary In 1961, Congress designated the third week of March as National Poison Prevention Week. Area agencies are spreading the word about the danger of household items and drugs, prescription or otherwise, to young children. Sherri Hannan is a nurse at the Kentucky Children’s Hospital and coordinator for the Safe Kids Fayette…
Louisville Public Media | By Morgan Watkins Wikimedia Commons / LPM Congress approved a change in federal law that will require Kentucky officials to resume verifying people’s eligibility before renewing their Medicaid benefits. That process begins next month. The main thing people with Medicaid coverage can do to prepare for the change is update their contact…
Louisville Public Media | By Ryland Barton A former prosecutor from eastern Kentucky allegedly solicited nude photos from defendants in exchange for favors in court. Now the state Senate is considering an impeachment conviction against him. For the first time in 135 years, a Kentucky Senate impeachment committee heard testimony against a former elected official. Ronnie…
