Written by Liam Niemeyer for Kentucky Lantern Sherman Neal spent many days of the summer of 2020 in the Western Kentucky college town of Murray next to a Confederate monument at the county courthouse. It was on the heels of the murder of George Floyd and the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor when Neal […]
Author Archives: Kentucky Lantern
Posted inInfrastructure, News, Politics, Top 3
Kentucky’s ‘rainy day’ fund reaches new heights due to tax revenue surplus
Written by Liam Neimeyer for Kentucky Lantern Kentucky’s budget reserve trust fund, commonly known as the “rainy day” fund, now sits at more than $3.7 billion in large part due to record tax revenues brought in by the state during the last fiscal year. State Budget Director John Hicks told state lawmakers at an interim […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics, Top 3
Beshear: It will be ‘much more challenging’ to replace education commissioner after Glass leaves
Written by McKenna Horsley for Kentucky Lantern Gov. Andy Beshear said it will be difficult to find a new education commissioner after the current one announced this week he is leaving because of political pressure. Beshear, an incumbent Democrat who is seeking reelection, told reporters Wednesday that the departure of Education Commissioner Jason Glass will […]
Posted inNews
A ‘clean slate’ for Kentuckians convicted of nonviolent or low-level crimes?
Written by McKenna Horsley for Kentucky Lantern John Bowman made mistakes, but he wants to move forward with his life, he told Kentucky lawmakers last week. The Louisa man has been in recovery for five years after overcoming an active addiction of 24 years. His drug-related felonies continue to affect him and his family today. […]
Posted inFrankfort, News, Politics, Top 3
Coleman formally joins Beshear ticket while Cameron sets running mate announcement for Wednesday
Written by McKenna Horsley for Kentucky Lantern Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman formally filed to join Gov. Andy Beshear on his reelection ticket Tuesday morning. Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s attorney general, is set to announce his choice for lieutenant governor in a Wednesday morning news conference. This year, for the first time, lieutenant […]
Posted inHealth, Infrastructure, News, Politics, Top 3
Calls up 22% in year since Kentucky launched 988 crisis lifeline
Written by Sarah Ladd for Kentucky Lantern If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. Almost a year after Kentucky launched a simplified, 3-digit suicide prevention hotline number – 988 – Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that more people are calling and texting crisis counselors. […]
Posted inNews, Politics, Top 3
Kentucky reports another record surplus. Will it lead to a third income tax cut?
Written by Liam Niemeyer for Kentucky Lantern Kentucky brought in a record $15.1 billion in general fund tax revenue during the last fiscal year — the most ever — buoyed by a strong jobs market, increasing salaries and wages and continued industry profits, the state budget director’s office announced Monday. Revenue in fiscal year 2023 […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics, Top 3
Politics, pay and too few dentists: Barriers to healing the pain in Kentuckians’ mouths
Written by Deborah Yetter for Kentucky Lantern At the Red Bird Mission dental clinic in Southeastern Kentucky, patients with few or no teeth now are eligible for dentures through an expansion of the state’s Medicaid dental services for adults. “People are tickled to death,” said Dr. Bill Collins, the dentist at the United Methodist Church […]
Posted inCrime, Health, News, Politics, Top 3
Kentucky issues first statewide report of domestic violence data
Written by Sarah Ladd for Kentucky Lantern If you or someone you know has experienced domestic violence, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. You can also contact any of Kentucky’s 15 domestic violence programs. Almost half of Kentucky women — 45% — and around […]
Posted inNews
Breaking the stigma: PTSD is complicated — and isolating
Written by Sarah Ladd for Kentucky Lantern This story discusses suicidal ideation and sexual assault. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. If you’ve been sexually assaulted, you can call the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network helpline at 800-656-4673 or chat with […]
