Today I’m remembering what Lela Scopes told me about her famous brother for my Paducah Sun story going on 46 years ago. She said before John Thomas Scopes left to teach science and coach football at Rhea County High School in Dayton, Tenn., in 1924, he explained, “I’m going there because it’s a small town […]

Kentucky State University will again ask the General Assembly to fund construction of a Health Sciences Center, representatives told lawmakers Wednesday.  In 2024, the historically Black university requested $50 million to build a nursing school for its growing class of future health care providers. The legislature ultimately rejected the request, giving KSU money to design […]

A Central Kentucky measles outbreak has now spread to nine cases, according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.  The department posted to Facebook on Tuesday that the five new measles cases in Fayette County are all “household contacts of the first” case in the county. The patients have all been in quarantine, the health department […]

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission has found “probable cause” that Rep. Daniel Grossberg, a Louisville Democrat accused of inappropriate behavior toward women, committed ethics violations, clearing the way for the first public airing of the charges against him.  The commission’s votes came after a closed-door hours-long meeting last month which included appearances by Grossberg and […]

State Rep. Deanna Gordon, R-Richmond, is running for the U.S. House seat currently occupied by Republican Andy Barr. On her campaign website, Gordon touts her support of President Donald Trump on a variety of issues, including immigration, guns and energy.  Gordon is the fourth candidate to enter the closely-watched race in Central Kentucky’s 6th Congressional […]

Some Appalachian leaders are urging Congress to stop a Trump administration plan to slash funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission.  President Donald Trump’s discretionary budget proposal released in May calls for cutting funding to the economic development agency by 93%, or from $200 million to $14 million for fiscal year 2026.  More than 80 elected […]

In what’s already becoming a sizzling U.S. Senate primary, the top three Republican candidates plan to participate in a Kentucky tradition known for politicians’ trading jabs in front of a crowd.  Former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Lexington businessman Nate Morris confirmed with event organizers their plans to speak at the annual Fancy Farm Picnic […]

The giant tax and spending bill President Donald Trump signed into law over the weekend includes the biggest health care spending cuts in U.S. history. In response, states are scrambling to shield their hospitals from the looming loss of hundreds of millions in federal funding. In Georgia, a key state panel late last month took […]

The commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health and a former Kentucky state senator is considering running for Congress in a Central Kentucky district.  Dr. Ralph Alvarado, the 2019 running mate of former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, announced in a social media post that he is considering a run after Republican state Sen. Amanda Mays […]

President Donald Trump’s massive spending and tax package includes provisions that will affect Kentucky’s Thoroughbred racing and breeding industries — an incentive for horse owners and a provision that makes it harder for bettors to turn a profit.  Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr of Lexington is hailing the former, saying it will provide racing with security […]

BOWLING GREEN — When the Family Enrichment Center was established in 1977 with the goal of addressing child abuse, staff immediately set aside an open — free — seat for a child in need.  Despite tumultuous challenges facing the child care industry, that seat stays open thanks to grant funding. Staff say it’s a key […]

The U.S. Department of Education’s decision last week to hold back $6.8 billion in federal K-12 funds next year has triggered alarm among state education officials, school leaders and advocacy groups nationwide over how the lack of funds will affect their after-school, enrichment and language-learning services. The Trump administration’s decision to freeze the funding has […]

FRANKFORT — The Republican Party of Kentucky Building Fund raised another $375,000 in the past three months, bringing the total it has raised to pay for the expansion of its headquarters to more than $4 million. Nearly all the money came in a few big contributions by special interest corporations that lobby in Washington and/or […]

Prestonsburg attorney Ned Pillersdorf is hoping to unseat longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers next year.  Pillersdorf was scheduled to formally announce his candidacy at the Rosenberg Square in the Floyd County seat Friday afternoon, but he spoke with the Kentucky Lantern earlier this week about his plans. Pillersdorf, a Democrat, said his decision to […]

A study published Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open found that emergency room clinicians were much less likely to refer Black opioid overdose patients for outpatient treatment compared with white patients. The researchers looked at the medical records of 1,683 opioid overdose patients from emergency rooms in nine states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, […]

Despite Kentucky hospitals’ warnings of “devastating” consequences, four of the six Kentuckians in the U.S. House voted “yes” Thursday to President Donald Trump’s tax and spending plan. Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Morgan McGarvey opposed the measure but not for the same reasons. Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, whose Appalachian district is one of the […]

Kentucky’s independent pharmacies, facing ongoing financial pressure, had hoped for relief from a new law meant to give them more clout against prescription drug industry middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. “Most pharmacies were just hanging on for Senate Bill 188,” said independent pharmacist Rosemary Smith, referring to the 2024 legislation sponsored by […]

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.  Most perpetrators and victims of domestic violence in Kentucky are between the ages of 25 and 39, […]

Louisville-based Volunteers of America Mid-States ended a health outreach and prevention program on June 30, citing holds on federal funding. The program provided HIV and hepatitis C testing, education, safe sex supplies and “linkage to care,” VOA Chief Operating Officer Anyah Hoang-Ansert said. “Funding for the program has been on indefinite hold at the federal […]

Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball announced that a special examination of the Kentucky Department of Education found “widespread improvements needed across the agency.”  Ball’s office released the examination, which is more than 550 pages, late Monday evening. The General Assembly passed legislation in 2024 directing the auditor to review the state agency that oversees public K-12 […]