The 2026 Frankfort Press Corps + Women’s Press Corps* *Minus a few people who couldn’t make it

Just had a full body matrix-style memory of what it Feels Like to be in Louisville Kentucky. people who have not lived in Louisville Kentucky cannot understand this

maybe the real sine die was the friends we made along the way #kyga26

Over time, we've gotten a lot of reader questions about the big bonuses, big salaries, and big restaurant bills under VisitLEX, the city's tourism bureau. Here's what they had to say about their finances and work, with our hero, oir savior @piperjhansen.bsky.social. www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

the bill, filed monday, gives local governments the ability to use bonds and other incentive tools in order to support large residential developments in their communities as well as their infrastructure and utility needs www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

the ky house formed an impeachment committee and met for the first time yesterday to discuss rules to review petitions filed against elected officials for their removal. it's having its second meeting right now and has been in closed session for over an hour www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

we have the first bill from the ky senate to be sent to the house of representatives for consideration: a proposal allowing counties without a regional licensing office the option to run driver’s license renewal and duplication services. more from today's vote: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

though carrying out immigration law typically falls to federal officers, some kentucky lawmakers want to see local law enforcement enter agreements in order to aid ICE. updated with comments from gov. andy beshear: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

wrote about a proposed policy that would allow the state to award eligible applicants enough money to cover one-third of the cost of applying for federal permits for a kentucky nuclear site: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

i am finally back to writing about housing policy. three still-to-be-filed bills aim to close the state’s affordable housing gap, improve access, continue economic development. more on each, who is sponsoring, etc. watch this space, as they say: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

A couple hundred folks out in Louisville tonight to protest the ICE killing of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was shot while trying to drive away from authorities in Minneapolis last night.

in his first team kentucky update of the year, ky gov. andy beshear took a stance on ice and described the fatal shooting of a minnesota woman by on of the agency’s officers yesterday “foreseeable,” “preventable” and “tragic.” more: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

also new from me: a bill to protect medical privacy and prevent criminalization of those who seek reproductive care outside the commonwealth was filed this week the same day a kentucky woman was indicted for fetal homicide after taking abortion medication www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

ky gov. andy beshear’s state of the commonwealth speech doubled as his final budget address, which sounded a lot like the governor - now half way through his second term - already has his eyes on what’s next. some key takeaways from last night: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

hey y'all, i'll be in frankfort this session aiding in coverage @kentucky.com of #kyga26, budget talks and daily goings on at the capitol. i'm eager to take on the task. send tips, advice, say hi, add me to your press list: [email protected]

In November, I submitted an open records request for Gov. Andy Beshear's past schedule. Today, the H-L sued over their denial (citing an old appellate ruling classifying gov schedule as "preliminary") of that request. Read the full lawsuit & story here. www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

We're suing Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for access to his calendar.

The joint venture’s end means BlueOval SK will cease operations at the Hardin County plant and all employees will be terminated on or shortly after Feb. 14. www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

attempted to summarize what’s happened to/at/with blueoval in the past week. hope it’s helpful: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

major job loss incoming at blueoval sk in kentucky as ford announces a pivot to ... using the facilities in glendale for battery energy storage systems instead of ev batteries. 'tis developing, i may have more soon but for now, new from moi: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

The South Korean battery maker SK On that had partnered with Ford Motor Co. for U.S. production of parts for electric vehicles, including in Kentucky, is ending the joint venture. New from @piperjhansen.bsky.social:

South Korea-based SK On and Ford Motor Co. said Dec. 11 the businesses will break apart their agreement to collaborate and will instead run their BlueOval SK battery plants separately. www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

We've got a new audience editor at The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom. Andrew Henderson, formerly of McClatchy, will lead audience strategy, ensuring our reporting is not only excellent but also accessible, engaging and trusted.

The investment is part of a larger $912 million announcement across five of the automaker’s American manufacturing plants that will add a total 252 jobs in Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi, to increase hybrid vehicle capacity. www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

I'm happy to share that I've joined @kentucky.com as their new Lexington Government Reporter! It's a big change, but familiar territory - I am way too committed to this beat to go too far. If you have any news tips, story ideas, or just want to chat, please reach out at [email protected].

The tenured full professor in UK’s J. David Rosenberg College of Law, told the Herald-Leader Friday this instance of his speech comes from research conclusions about Israel and colonization. www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

“I think we did hit the triggers in Kentucky, and even if we didn’t — but we did — we should, we need to reduce the taxes anyway.” www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Everyone will be shocked to know Grok is spreading misinformation.

kentucky's largest power company can move forward with a plan to spend $3 billion on two gas plants for future data centers, the state's regulators said in a more than 200-page order i read so you don't have to www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

Journalists of Bluesky: The Lexington Herald-Leader is looking for a new Kentucky government and politics reporter to join our team. This person will be our lead reporter on all things General Assembly and Gov. Andy Beshear. Interested? Drop me a line. Listing:

Latest from me: The Jefferson County Republican party has selected a candidate for a special election in Louisville’s South End that railed against the women of his generation through online posts, using vulgar epithets. www.lpm.org/news/2025-10...

“In a current world economy when people don’t know what the trade policy of the US is going to look like tomorrow ..., (it’s important to) be a governor that can sit across the table from an international CEO and say, ‘We will make sure that you are successful.'" www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

One of Kentucky’s largest for-profit residential addiction care treatment providers, which has been the subject of an FBI investigation for more than a year, is being sold, administrators confirmed Wednesday. New from @aacquisto.bsky.social & @taylorsixhl.bsky.social:

I just parallel parked SO WELL a stranger unrolled his window to holler his admiration That’s that DuPont Manual education for you, baby.

my latest is a 700 word story about how kentucky and peanut butter and jelly are the center of the universe and a recent legal dispute over crimped edges and product packaging www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

The Lexington Herald-Leader has been chosen for a competitive partnership with an award-winning national publication.

girl formerly afraid of space writes again about local company designing very cool science experiments to study the very thing she used to be scared of. incredibly cool stuff, hope you think so, too: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

half a billion dollars' worth of thoroughbred horses were sold at keeneland's recent auction. i delved into why that matters, how it happened and what's likely to come next www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

Reminder for who needs reminding: Government officials only answering one question from you, once a week, in person, is not transparency.

it was an 11-vote margin, and some ballots are being challenged but the uaw is claiming victory in kentucky's growing electric vehicle battery industry. the labor union says it was a hard fought win to represent workers at blueoval. more/to be updated: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

School district officials would not say Wednesday afternoon why they were waiting a day to share the fund balance with the public. Liggins told the Herald-Leader in an interview earlier this month that he needed to be a better communicator. Read more at: www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

KY Politics Insider: Rand Paul for president in 2028? Kentucky's GOP Senate candidates hit Fox News & more www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article311763601.html#storylink=cpy

some interesting bits and bobs from andys beshear and barr toward the end of my latest about electric vehicle battery production starting at blueoval yesterday in glendale: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

in the past week, three global companies have made high dollar investments, btwn ~$500m and ~$3b, to reshore some of their manufacturing operations in kentucky. the latest is ge appliances which is moving some of its washing machine production lines to louisville www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

ford, the automaker that employs about 12,000 people in kentucky, released its electric vehicle strategy today. the ceo called it a model t moment and a huge bet on itself. made a final round of updates on this, now’s a good time to read: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

Local reporting uncovered Amazon was behind the water-guzzling data center slated for the desert. Residents fought against the data center. Today, the city council unanimously voted against Project Blue. If you care about local journalism that drives impact, consider donating to @azluminaria.org!

recent announcements from the feds and private investors along with local support in paducah send a strong signal to data center companies and utility providers the western kentucky city is keen to welcome nuclear again www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

employees at kentucky's blueoval sk battery plant will vote aug 26 and 27 to join the united auto workers union, according to a thursday labor board announcement. workers there are going to make batteries for ford's electric vehicles. here's how we got here: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

linda gorton is the first mayor in the history of the merged urban county government, which recently celebrated its 50th birthday, to run for a third term www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

eight months after the state program’s launch, medical marijuana sales still haven’t begun in kentucky. lots of really great detail and data here: www.kentucky.com/news/state/k...