October 16, 2025 • 26 mins
Hundreds of dignitaries and business leaders gather to honor the legacy of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, a state lawmaker wants new rules for criminals found legally insane, and why rural Kentucky has seen a growth in population over the last four years.
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(00:10):
>> I'm the McConnell boy. Proud
of it. Thank you, Senator
McConnell.
>> Hundreds of dignitaries and
business leaders gathered to
honor the legacy of U.S.
Senator Mitch McConnell.
>> If you're not guilty by
reason of insanity, but you've
done the crime, we cannot allow
you to just walk.
>> A state lawmaker wants new
(00:31):
rules for criminals found
legally insane.
>> We tend to be insulated at
times from natural disasters.
We have a great cost of living,
and so we're attractive to many
folks.
>> And why are so many people
moving to rural parts of
Kentucky?
>> Production of Kentucky
Edition is made possible in
(00:53):
part by the KET Millennium Fund.
>> Good evening and welcome to
Kentucky Edition for this
Wednesday, October the 15th,
(01:13):
I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank
you for winding down your
Wednesday with us. Daniel
Cameron, Kentucky's former
attorney general, leads his
main Republican opponents in
the 2020 race for the U.S.
Senate. That's according to a
poll with ties to the Cameron
campaign. The poll is from
Coefficient Polling Co, founded
(01:34):
by Brandon Moody, general
consultant to the Cameron
campaign. In the poll, Cameron
has 39% of the vote.
Congressman Andy Barr of
Kentucky's sixth district has
22%, and Lexington businessman
Nate Morris has 8%. In the poll,
4% of the people surveyed said
they supported someone else and
(01:55):
27% were undecided. In TV
commercials, both Barr and
Morris have stressed their
support for President Donald
Trump. According to the
Lexington Herald-Leader, the
poll shows 91% of Republicans
approve of President Trump's
performance in office. In
response to the poll, Andy Barr
(02:15):
says it's clear this is a two
man race. He says Nate Morris
has spent millions of dollars
on TV ads without anything to
show for it. The man they're
hoping to replace was honored
last night. He was the guest of
honor at the Kentucky Chamber's
annual meeting. Business and
civic leaders gathered in
Louisville to celebrate the
(02:36):
longtime leadership of U.S.
Senator Mitch McConnell. Our
Laura Rogers was there and has
this recap.
>> Lightning only strikes once.
It's always said, and it has
struck the state of Kentucky
and Mitch McConnell.
>> It was a night to celebrate
the longest serving party
leader in the history of the
U.S. Senate.
>> I'm a McConnell boy. Proud
(02:56):
of it.
>> With praise for his efforts
to elevate the state and
nation's business interests.
>> Longevity and leadership is
not just about years served,
but responsibility carried.
>> Kentucky Senator Mitch
McConnell has carried that
responsibility more than four
decades.
>> We are talking about the
most consequential Kentucky
leader of our time.
(03:17):
>> House Speaker David Osborne,
saying McConnell's legacy is,
quote, woven into the fabric of
Kentucky's history.
>> McConnell has always been,
first and foremost a Kentuckian.
And every decision, every vote
and every negotiation reflects
that grounding.
>> That includes infrastructure
projects like federal funding
(03:38):
for Northern Kentucky's Brant
Spence Bridge. McConnell has
also had a major impact on the
federal judiciary. Under his
leadership, the Senate has
confirmed more than 200 federal
judges and three Supreme Court
justices.
>> His impact on the United
States will last 30 and 40
years. Beyond his term.
(04:00):
Thinking of the long game.
>> McConnell sitting down with
Republican state Senator Julie
Adams. He says his current
priority is national defense
and foreign policy.
>> Having a war is a lot more
expensive than preventing one.
This is a serious challenge,
the biggest challenge in the
world.
>> As chair of the Senate
(04:21):
Defense Appropriations
Subcommittee, he'd like to see
increased military spending and
an end to the tariffs.
>> So we're in a terrible war
with our allies and not doing
enough to be ready for our
potential enemies.
>> He also continued to express
support for sending U.S. aid to
(04:41):
Ukraine.
>> I can guarantee you Ronald
Reagan would roll over in his
grave if he knew that we were
reluctant to give the
Ukrainians what they need to
shoot Russia.
>> McConnell, acknowledging the
tense political climate,
calling it a very divided time
in the country, but says
compromise is essential.
>> The Constitution itself is a
(05:03):
whole series of compromises.
And yet today, I think a lot of
people think you get results by
just being angry.
>> Much of that anger often
directed at party leadership,
lending itself to some humor.
>> So Chuck Schumer's approval
rating the other day, it was
(05:27):
21%. I'm going to talk to him
this week and say, I know what
it's like.
>> For Kentucky Edition. I'm
Laura Rogers.
>> Thank you Laura. At times,
President Donald Trump and
Senator McConnell have been at
odds. But he praised President
Trump last night for his role
in the ceasefire between Israel
(05:47):
and Hamas. Another Republican
has entered the race for
Kentucky's sixth congressional
district, Greg Luzinski is a
Wisconsin native who now lives
in Nicholasville. He moved to
Kentucky in 2002 and is a
retired president and CEO of a
small pharmaceutical
manufacturing company. In
announcing his run for Congress,
(06:09):
Plucinski said, quote, Kentucky
needs a congressman who will
work with President Trump to
improve the lives of
Kentuckians, end quote. He is
the fourth Republican to enter
the primary, alongside former
state Senator Ralph Alvarado
and current state
representatives Ryan Dotson and
Deanna Gordon. Yesterday we
(06:29):
told you about one state
lawmakers idea for correctional
change following the early
release of Ronald Exantus. He
fatally stabbed Six-Year-Old
Logan Tipton in Versailles in
2015. Exantus was found not
guilty by reason of insanity
for Logan's murder, but he was
convicted of assaulting members
of Tipton's family. Tonight,
(06:52):
our Emily Sisk spoke with
another state lawmaker who says
he wants to keep criminals like
Exantus off the streets.
>> We are joined now by
Representative Jason Nemus. We
so appreciate your time and we
want to jump in and go ahead
and start with this piece of
legislation that you would like
to file for the upcoming
(07:12):
session. We know this is
related to the case of Logan
Tipton, the six year old from
Versailles who was stabbed to
death. Representative Amos, can
you start by telling us about
this legislation and how it
came about?
>> So Logan's law is going to
try to address some of the
problems that we've had or that
we've experienced in this
situation. It's going to try to
(07:32):
improve the notifications to
the families and to the victims.
When there is going to be a
release of a criminal, it's
also going to change the law.
If you're not guilty by reason
of insanity, but you've done
the crime, then I understand
the law doesn't allow you to go
to prison, but we cannot allow
you to just walk. And so you
need to go to a maximum
security mental health
(07:53):
institution. And so that's
another change here in this
situation. The criminal was was
found not guilty by reason of
insanity for stabbing and
killing Logan, a beautiful six
year old boy, also in in my
view, my review of this the
insanity defense in Kentucky is
one of the broadest in the
country. We don't want to be
(08:14):
one of the broadest in the
country. Four states have
gotten rid of their insanity
defense, so we're going to
discuss whether to do that. But
even if we don't do that, we
need to tighten down the
insanity defense in Kentucky.
>> I want to ask you, you know,
a Republican colleague had kind
of made the comment that in
this case and sometimes in
other cases, the insanity
defense is kind of used as a
(08:34):
get out of jail free card. Was
the quote there? What's your
take? Do you agree with that?
>> Well, yeah. And I don't
agree with that. And I don't
understand what happened here.
And I don't think anybody does.
It doesn't make sense that you
could have insanity for the
murder, but not for the
assaults that occurred
simultaneously.
>> Your legislation would be
called Logan's Law, of course,
in honor of Logan Tipton. You
(08:55):
mentioned this, but I want to
ask, have you gotten to talk
with the family or heard their
thoughts about the legislation?
>> I have, yes, I talked to the
father. The first thing I did,
I can't imagine what this
family had to go through. And
so I immediately wanted to talk
to Mr. Tipton. A couple other
of his family members were on
the call as well. And and he
has he's allowing us to call it
(09:16):
Logan's Law to honor his son in
that way. Can bring him back,
obviously, but it can hopefully
do things one to protect us
against this individual
criminal, but but also protect
families in the future.
>> Well, Representative Jason
Amos, we thank you for telling
us about Logan's law, and we
will keep our eyes on it for
the upcoming session.
>> Thank you. Emily.
(09:36):
>> Another Republican state
representative, TJ Roberts,
says he would like to file
legislation to prevent juries
from giving split insanity
verdicts, which is what
happened in the Ronald Exantus
case. You can learn more about
that proposed bill by checking
out yesterday's episode of
Kentucky Edition online on
demand@ket.org. Two Kentucky
(09:58):
airports are refusing to play a
video message from Homeland
Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The video blames Democrats for
the federal government shutdown
and its impact on TSA
operations. A spokesperson for
Bluegrass Airport in Lexington
told the Herald Leader the
decision was, quote, in
accordance with our policy, not
(10:18):
to display content of a
political nature. End quote, a
statement from the Louisville
Muhammad Ali International
Airport to KY TV says the video
isn't being played there either.
Instead, the airport is showing
videos promoting tourism and to
help passengers find their way
through the terminals. In March
of this year, state
(10:39):
universities received a letter
from the Kentucky Department of
Revenue stating that it is no
longer has the resources to
collect student debt on their
behalf. Today, representatives
from the Revenue Department
spoke to the Budget Committee
in Frankfort. Our Mackenzie
Spink tells us how this is
affecting universities and how
the committee reacted that in
(10:59):
tonight's legislative update.
>> By law, the Kentucky
Department of Revenue or do has
the authority to collect debts
on behalf of state institutions
like public universities. The
door has more flexibility to
place liens on a debtor than a
third party collector. The
chief financial officer of
(11:20):
Northern Kentucky University
says they recover 54% of debts
with the door, and only about
12% with third party collectors.
He says another benefit is the
intimidation factor that comes
with your debt going to the
state.
>> We get a significant
response rate just upon
notifying our debtors that
they're going to be placed with
(11:42):
the state, so not reflected in
these numbers or the amount
that we collect before it even
goes to that, that stage.
>> However, also by statute,
the Revenue Department can
determine whether a debt
collection agreement is
workable due to short staffing,
the door has chosen to stop
collections for universities to
focus on collecting tax debt,
(12:02):
which they say is more cost
effective.
>> Collecting student debt is
discretionary. Collecting taxes
is mandatory, and is the core
mission of the Department of
Revenue for the Commonwealth of
Kentucky. As you can see, it's
the best interests in the
Commonwealth to collect taxes
versus student debts. The
(12:25):
Commonwealth generates 39 times
more revenue by collecting tax
debts instead of university
debts.
>> The Revenue Department says
that since 2020, it's gotten
harder to attract and keep
collection staff because of the
stress of the position. Some
state lawmakers suggested
changing the current laws to
allow third party entities or
(12:47):
attorneys to partner with the
door and relieve the staffing
pressure, but the department
had reservations.
>> Would you be opposed to a
statutory opportunity to work
with a third party on behalf of
the universities and utilize
the tools you have to do the
work of the Commonwealth?
>> I would like to see that in.
(13:10):
Complete form. In theory, could
a third party do what we do? I
don't think they could do it as
effectively. I'm also somewhat
concerned about the legality of
it.
>> The Revenue Department may
not have a choice in the matter,
given this from Senator Givens.
>> Respectfully, again, you're
getting ready to have something
run over you in the next
(13:30):
session in the form of statute
telling you to do this. That's
what this panel here to do, put
your thinking cap on between
now and the start of session
and decide if you'd rather have
us tell you to do it via
statutory directive, or whether
you'd like to have the latitude
of a third party assisting you
in doing it, and just come back
to us with a recommendation.
(13:52):
>> Northern Kentucky University
says it gains roughly $1
million a year from the DRS
debt collection for Kentucky
edition. I'm Mackenzie Spink.
>> Thank you Mackenzie. By
current law, the Department of
Revenue cannot currently hire
third party contractors to do
collections work. A law would
have to be passed next
legislative session to change
(14:13):
that statute. Kentucky State
University hopes to start two
new PhD programs. Agriculture
and agroecology would be the
first doctoral programs within
CSU's College of Agriculture,
Health and Natural Resources.
>> We train master's level
students in year after year. We
(14:34):
see them leaving the state and
apply for PhD program elsewhere.
If Kentucky is going to remain
the premium state in terms of
producing highly skilled
workforce, we have to train
highly specialized PhD holders.
>> KSU faculty say these
graduates could work for state
(14:54):
and federal agencies like the
Kentucky Department of
Agriculture or the U.S.
Department of AG, or private
sectors like seafood production.
KSU pitched the programs to
Kentucky lawmakers yesterday.
The Kentucky General Assembly
has to approve any new degree
programs at the state's public
universities. Jefferson County
Public Schools is changing how
(15:15):
it hands out equity funding due
to pressure from the federal
government. The Courier Journal
reports that over the last
three years, JCPS gave more
equity funds to elementary
schools with higher percentages
of students of color. That
formula took into account the
percentage of students who came
from impoverished backgrounds,
have special needs, or are
(15:35):
learning English. The U.S.
Department of Ed sent the
school system a letter saying
that's discriminatory and
illegal, so the Board of
Education will change the
funding formula starting next
year. Fayette County Public
Schools Superintendent Demetrus
Liggins charged more than
$150,000 on a special credit
(15:55):
card from January 2023 to May
of this year. The money went to
meals, hotel rooms, plane
tickets, Uber rides, rental
cars and more, according to an
analysis of 950 public records
by the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The card was also used to pay
for student field trips,
student activity supplies and
teacher trips to conferences.
(16:16):
The new information comes at a
time when some state lawmakers
have called for Liggins to
resign over the school
district's finances. With
construction work underway at
the state capitol, the state
Supreme Court hit the road
today as it heard arguments
regarding criminal cases. State
prosecutors sought to omit
police body camera footage as
(16:37):
evidence in a criminal trial,
but a public defender is asking
the state's highest court to
rule that a trial judge should
see the evidence and decide if
it would serve the jury. Our
June Leffler has more in this
report.
>> A lawyer appealing for a man
accused of raping and
strangling a woman says the
trial court should have
(16:57):
considered body cam footage
from the scene as possible
evidence for the criminal trial.
>> The Commonwealth filed a
motion in limine to, and I
quote, prevent witness opinion
about the truth of testimony of
another witness, specifically
opinions of Lexington police
officers heard in the body worn
camera worn by the officers.
(17:18):
The trial court issued an order,
and in the opinion and order
they said or she said that she
believed that it was a
statement made by an officer
under his breath that he did
not believe the victim. But
then the trial court footnoted
that statement and said, since
the body cam was not made for
(17:40):
me, I don't know for sure.
>> Justices questioned the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, the
prosecutor in the criminal case,
why it would request to
withhold evidence from a trial
judge.
>> I guess the question for all
of us is why wasn't the body
cam footage admitted during the
evidentiary hearing? Why didn't
the Commonwealth seek to do
(18:02):
that?
>> When viewing the hearing?
What seems pretty clear is that
everybody understood the nature
of these statements, so there
was no need to view, because
everybody understood the nature
of these statements, was to
exclude improper opinion
testimony. So even though it
didn't happen, it didn't happen.
The video is not in the record.
Everyone understood what the
statements were.
(18:22):
>> But the trial court is
simply don't it? Simply going
off of what the arguments of
counsel are. Wouldn't it have
been a better practice for the
trial court to view the body
cam footage and determine for
itself whether or not the
statements were as they were
represented to be?
>> Justices also questioned a
(18:43):
lawyer for the accused why any
body cam evidence would be
allowed in court.
>> Name a situation where it
would not be hearsay to to
allow the verbal part of a body
cam, the audio to be played to
a jury when it has, when it's
somebody narrating a scene or
(19:04):
vouching for a witness, or when
would it ever not be hearsay?
>> The justices met outside
their usual chambers. Arguments
this week are being heard at
the University of Kentucky's
Law School for Kentucky edition.
I'm June Leffler.
(19:31):
What was
declining is now seeing an
upswing. That's in reference to
the numbers of small town
Kentucky residents. After
nearly a decade of losses,
rural Kentucky as a whole
experienced population growth
the last four years, partly
driven by the uptick in remote
and hybrid work arrangements
during and after the Covid 19
(19:52):
pandemic. But not all rural
communities are seeing a growth
spurt. I talked earlier this
week with Alison Davis, a
professor of agricultural
economics at the University of
Kentucky and the executive
director of Blueprint Kentucky,
which is an integrated
engagement and research center.
She tells us that while the
data trend may be surprising,
(20:12):
the reasons behind them may not
be. We learn more in tonight's
Business Beat interview.
>> When a couple of years ago,
a report came out nationally
saying rural communities were
gaining population. We all sort
of twisted our head a little
bit and said, that can't be
true for all rural communities,
but when you aggregate them
together, it seems like certain
(20:33):
pockets of rural places are
inviting to new populations. In
our report, we found that a lot
of communities that are just
near an urban area tend to be
increasing in population.
Unfortunately, in some of our
our Far Eastern communities and
far western communities,
particularly those that are
right on the Mississippi River
(20:53):
and Appalachia, continue to see
a population decline. But some
communities that surprised me
are increasing in population
probably will continue to do so,
particularly as like the blue
Oval plant is coming to be.
>> That's a big Glendale. Yes.
>> Down. You know the Bowling
Green area right? E town area
was growing. And this was prior
to some of this economic
(21:14):
activity. So I expect that to
continue.
>> So I'm real curious about
what is the definition of a
rural community.
>> We are to there is you would
think by now there would.
>> Be.
>> Some consensus, but yet
there is not really. Yes. Every
federal agency has a different
definition. And so when we do
reports like this for different
(21:35):
agencies, that definition is
different and it often changes.
And it's really important
though because rural
designations determine
investments and priorities. And
so we chose one definition here
and we stuck with it. But you
could easily find a different
agency that says, well, that's
kind of rural kind of urban.
And so it's really tricky.
>> So what's your definition?
(21:56):
>> Our definition is basically
anything that is touching an
urban area okay. So we you know,
we had I think about eight
regions that were considered
urban, including even out in
like Owensboro obviously
Bowling Green down in Murray,
Paducah, even in let's see
(22:17):
obviously Northern Kentucky and
so forth. Yep.
>> But do you think about
Eastern Kentucky and I think of
like Pikeville or Prestonville
or Prestonsburg are hazard, but
they may not be considered
urban centers.
>> No, they are definitely.
They're not even micropolitan
yet. But they have I think
Perry County and Hazard saw a
(22:38):
bit of a population increase,
which was really.
>> That's encouraging.
>> An increase in per capita
income, which is great, over
50% increase in per capita, per
capita income. So it looks like
some of the great initiatives
going on in eastern Kentucky
are beginning to pay off.
>> So the big question is why
the some of these areas are
seeing population increases.
(23:00):
>> Well, you know, Covid we're
still I can't believe we're
still talking about Covid, but
we are because Covid has sort
of led to this very kind of
structural shift in how people
live and work and what what
some had hoped for is that
folks would leave sort of our
coastal areas that were really
expensive and move to any place.
Right. And so a lot of our
really small places were kind
(23:21):
of fighting for these new
populations. But really what
happened is that folks were
going kind of one tier down in
terms of kind of the population
density and sort of amenities.
And so if they left San
Francisco, they wouldn't
necessarily go to a small
pocket rural area. They would
go to sort of a suburban area
where they still had proximity
to some of those urban
amenities, but they were able
(23:41):
to enjoy kind of the rural
esthetic and quiet and peace.
And so we did see post-Covid
that folks were moving. Yeah.
And Kentucky was a good home to
them. You know, we have lots of
water. We tend to be insulated
at times from natural disasters,
and we have a great cost of
living. And so we're attractive
to many folks.
>> And what should be the take
(24:02):
away from policymakers and
decision makers when they think
about how to to buoy the entire
state's economy, but
particularly putting some
emphasis on rural communities?
What is the message to them?
>> Right. I saw a great quote
the other day that said
something about, you know,
there's urban and rural is not
urban echo. Right? And I
thought that was just it really
resounded with me. I don't
remember who said it, so I
can't give credit, but I just
(24:24):
thought we tend to treat rural
as like a smaller urban, and
that just doesn't do it justice.
And we have to recognize that
rural communities are where
food is made, where a lot of
products are made.
Manufacturing is much heavier
in rural places than urban
places, but recognizing that
infrastructure is different,
access to services is quite
(24:44):
different. Health of our folks
is very different, and so
blanket policy is just not
going to be successful across
the board. And we just tend to
think that, you know, well,
we'll do it for for urban and
it should work for rural. Maybe
we'll just take a little bit
longer. And I just don't think
that's the case.
(25:29):
>> The University of Kentucky
Sanders Brown Center on Aging
is one of just 37 designated
Alzheimer's disease research
centers in the country. It
plays an important role in
research and improved patient
care for people with dementia.
And the center is celebrating a
big milestone. We'll tell you
all about that tomorrow on
(25:49):
Kentucky Edition, which we hope
you'll join us again for at 630
eastern, 530 central, where we
inform, connect and inspire. We
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We're on those social media
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(26:12):
look for us on the PBS and KET
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And all of our programs are
streamed online at ket.org. We
thank you so much for watching
this evening. Take really good
care. Have a great night and I
will see you right back here
again tomorrow.
>> I'm the McConnell boy. Proud
of it. Thank you, Senator
McConnell.
>> Hundreds of dignitaries and
business leaders gathered to
honor the legacy of U.S.
Senator Mitch McConnell.
>> If you're not guilty by
reason of insanity, but you've
done the crime, we cannot allow
you to just walk.
>> A state lawmaker wants new
(00:31):
rules for criminals found
legally insane.
>> We tend to be insulated at
times from natural disasters.
We have a great cost of living,
and so we're attractive to many
folks.
>> And why are so many people
moving to rural parts of
Kentucky?
>> Production of Kentucky
Edition is made possible in
(00:53):
part by the KET Millennium Fund.
>> Good evening and welcome to
Kentucky Edition for this
Wednesday, October the 15th,
(01:13):
I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank
you for winding down your
Wednesday with us. Daniel
Cameron, Kentucky's former
attorney general, leads his
main Republican opponents in
the 2020 race for the U.S.
Senate. That's according to a
poll with ties to the Cameron
campaign. The poll is from
Coefficient Polling Co, founded
(01:34):
by Brandon Moody, general
consultant to the Cameron
campaign. In the poll, Cameron
has 39% of the vote.
Congressman Andy Barr of
Kentucky's sixth district has
22%, and Lexington businessman
Nate Morris has 8%. In the poll,
4% of the people surveyed said
they supported someone else and
(01:55):
27% were undecided. In TV
commercials, both Barr and
Morris have stressed their
support for President Donald
Trump. According to the
Lexington Herald-Leader, the
poll shows 91% of Republicans
approve of President Trump's
performance in office. In
response to the poll, Andy Barr
(02:15):
says it's clear this is a two
man race. He says Nate Morris
has spent millions of dollars
on TV ads without anything to
show for it. The man they're
hoping to replace was honored
last night. He was the guest of
honor at the Kentucky Chamber's
annual meeting. Business and
civic leaders gathered in
Louisville to celebrate the
(02:36):
longtime leadership of U.S.
Senator Mitch McConnell. Our
Laura Rogers was there and has
this recap.
>> Lightning only strikes once.
It's always said, and it has
struck the state of Kentucky
and Mitch McConnell.
>> It was a night to celebrate
the longest serving party
leader in the history of the
U.S. Senate.
>> I'm a McConnell boy. Proud
(02:56):
of it.
>> With praise for his efforts
to elevate the state and
nation's business interests.
>> Longevity and leadership is
not just about years served,
but responsibility carried.
>> Kentucky Senator Mitch
McConnell has carried that
responsibility more than four
decades.
>> We are talking about the
most consequential Kentucky
leader of our time.
(03:17):
>> House Speaker David Osborne,
saying McConnell's legacy is,
quote, woven into the fabric of
Kentucky's history.
>> McConnell has always been,
first and foremost a Kentuckian.
And every decision, every vote
and every negotiation reflects
that grounding.
>> That includes infrastructure
projects like federal funding
(03:38):
for Northern Kentucky's Brant
Spence Bridge. McConnell has
also had a major impact on the
federal judiciary. Under his
leadership, the Senate has
confirmed more than 200 federal
judges and three Supreme Court
justices.
>> His impact on the United
States will last 30 and 40
years. Beyond his term.
(04:00):
Thinking of the long game.
>> McConnell sitting down with
Republican state Senator Julie
Adams. He says his current
priority is national defense
and foreign policy.
>> Having a war is a lot more
expensive than preventing one.
This is a serious challenge,
the biggest challenge in the
world.
>> As chair of the Senate
(04:21):
Defense Appropriations
Subcommittee, he'd like to see
increased military spending and
an end to the tariffs.
>> So we're in a terrible war
with our allies and not doing
enough to be ready for our
potential enemies.
>> He also continued to express
support for sending U.S. aid to
(04:41):
Ukraine.
>> I can guarantee you Ronald
Reagan would roll over in his
grave if he knew that we were
reluctant to give the
Ukrainians what they need to
shoot Russia.
>> McConnell, acknowledging the
tense political climate,
calling it a very divided time
in the country, but says
compromise is essential.
>> The Constitution itself is a
(05:03):
whole series of compromises.
And yet today, I think a lot of
people think you get results by
just being angry.
>> Much of that anger often
directed at party leadership,
lending itself to some humor.
>> So Chuck Schumer's approval
rating the other day, it was
(05:27):
21%. I'm going to talk to him
this week and say, I know what
it's like.
>> For Kentucky Edition. I'm
Laura Rogers.
>> Thank you Laura. At times,
President Donald Trump and
Senator McConnell have been at
odds. But he praised President
Trump last night for his role
in the ceasefire between Israel
(05:47):
and Hamas. Another Republican
has entered the race for
Kentucky's sixth congressional
district, Greg Luzinski is a
Wisconsin native who now lives
in Nicholasville. He moved to
Kentucky in 2002 and is a
retired president and CEO of a
small pharmaceutical
manufacturing company. In
announcing his run for Congress,
(06:09):
Plucinski said, quote, Kentucky
needs a congressman who will
work with President Trump to
improve the lives of
Kentuckians, end quote. He is
the fourth Republican to enter
the primary, alongside former
state Senator Ralph Alvarado
and current state
representatives Ryan Dotson and
Deanna Gordon. Yesterday we
(06:29):
told you about one state
lawmakers idea for correctional
change following the early
release of Ronald Exantus. He
fatally stabbed Six-Year-Old
Logan Tipton in Versailles in
2015. Exantus was found not
guilty by reason of insanity
for Logan's murder, but he was
convicted of assaulting members
of Tipton's family. Tonight,
(06:52):
our Emily Sisk spoke with
another state lawmaker who says
he wants to keep criminals like
Exantus off the streets.
>> We are joined now by
Representative Jason Nemus. We
so appreciate your time and we
want to jump in and go ahead
and start with this piece of
legislation that you would like
to file for the upcoming
(07:12):
session. We know this is
related to the case of Logan
Tipton, the six year old from
Versailles who was stabbed to
death. Representative Amos, can
you start by telling us about
this legislation and how it
came about?
>> So Logan's law is going to
try to address some of the
problems that we've had or that
we've experienced in this
situation. It's going to try to
(07:32):
improve the notifications to
the families and to the victims.
When there is going to be a
release of a criminal, it's
also going to change the law.
If you're not guilty by reason
of insanity, but you've done
the crime, then I understand
the law doesn't allow you to go
to prison, but we cannot allow
you to just walk. And so you
need to go to a maximum
security mental health
(07:53):
institution. And so that's
another change here in this
situation. The criminal was was
found not guilty by reason of
insanity for stabbing and
killing Logan, a beautiful six
year old boy, also in in my
view, my review of this the
insanity defense in Kentucky is
one of the broadest in the
country. We don't want to be
(08:14):
one of the broadest in the
country. Four states have
gotten rid of their insanity
defense, so we're going to
discuss whether to do that. But
even if we don't do that, we
need to tighten down the
insanity defense in Kentucky.
>> I want to ask you, you know,
a Republican colleague had kind
of made the comment that in
this case and sometimes in
other cases, the insanity
defense is kind of used as a
(08:34):
get out of jail free card. Was
the quote there? What's your
take? Do you agree with that?
>> Well, yeah. And I don't
agree with that. And I don't
understand what happened here.
And I don't think anybody does.
It doesn't make sense that you
could have insanity for the
murder, but not for the
assaults that occurred
simultaneously.
>> Your legislation would be
called Logan's Law, of course,
in honor of Logan Tipton. You
(08:55):
mentioned this, but I want to
ask, have you gotten to talk
with the family or heard their
thoughts about the legislation?
>> I have, yes, I talked to the
father. The first thing I did,
I can't imagine what this
family had to go through. And
so I immediately wanted to talk
to Mr. Tipton. A couple other
of his family members were on
the call as well. And and he
has he's allowing us to call it
(09:16):
Logan's Law to honor his son in
that way. Can bring him back,
obviously, but it can hopefully
do things one to protect us
against this individual
criminal, but but also protect
families in the future.
>> Well, Representative Jason
Amos, we thank you for telling
us about Logan's law, and we
will keep our eyes on it for
the upcoming session.
>> Thank you. Emily.
(09:36):
>> Another Republican state
representative, TJ Roberts,
says he would like to file
legislation to prevent juries
from giving split insanity
verdicts, which is what
happened in the Ronald Exantus
case. You can learn more about
that proposed bill by checking
out yesterday's episode of
Kentucky Edition online on
demand@ket.org. Two Kentucky
(09:58):
airports are refusing to play a
video message from Homeland
Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The video blames Democrats for
the federal government shutdown
and its impact on TSA
operations. A spokesperson for
Bluegrass Airport in Lexington
told the Herald Leader the
decision was, quote, in
accordance with our policy, not
(10:18):
to display content of a
political nature. End quote, a
statement from the Louisville
Muhammad Ali International
Airport to KY TV says the video
isn't being played there either.
Instead, the airport is showing
videos promoting tourism and to
help passengers find their way
through the terminals. In March
of this year, state
(10:39):
universities received a letter
from the Kentucky Department of
Revenue stating that it is no
longer has the resources to
collect student debt on their
behalf. Today, representatives
from the Revenue Department
spoke to the Budget Committee
in Frankfort. Our Mackenzie
Spink tells us how this is
affecting universities and how
the committee reacted that in
(10:59):
tonight's legislative update.
>> By law, the Kentucky
Department of Revenue or do has
the authority to collect debts
on behalf of state institutions
like public universities. The
door has more flexibility to
place liens on a debtor than a
third party collector. The
chief financial officer of
(11:20):
Northern Kentucky University
says they recover 54% of debts
with the door, and only about
12% with third party collectors.
He says another benefit is the
intimidation factor that comes
with your debt going to the
state.
>> We get a significant
response rate just upon
notifying our debtors that
they're going to be placed with
(11:42):
the state, so not reflected in
these numbers or the amount
that we collect before it even
goes to that, that stage.
>> However, also by statute,
the Revenue Department can
determine whether a debt
collection agreement is
workable due to short staffing,
the door has chosen to stop
collections for universities to
focus on collecting tax debt,
(12:02):
which they say is more cost
effective.
>> Collecting student debt is
discretionary. Collecting taxes
is mandatory, and is the core
mission of the Department of
Revenue for the Commonwealth of
Kentucky. As you can see, it's
the best interests in the
Commonwealth to collect taxes
versus student debts. The
(12:25):
Commonwealth generates 39 times
more revenue by collecting tax
debts instead of university
debts.
>> The Revenue Department says
that since 2020, it's gotten
harder to attract and keep
collection staff because of the
stress of the position. Some
state lawmakers suggested
changing the current laws to
allow third party entities or
(12:47):
attorneys to partner with the
door and relieve the staffing
pressure, but the department
had reservations.
>> Would you be opposed to a
statutory opportunity to work
with a third party on behalf of
the universities and utilize
the tools you have to do the
work of the Commonwealth?
>> I would like to see that in.
(13:10):
Complete form. In theory, could
a third party do what we do? I
don't think they could do it as
effectively. I'm also somewhat
concerned about the legality of
it.
>> The Revenue Department may
not have a choice in the matter,
given this from Senator Givens.
>> Respectfully, again, you're
getting ready to have something
run over you in the next
(13:30):
session in the form of statute
telling you to do this. That's
what this panel here to do, put
your thinking cap on between
now and the start of session
and decide if you'd rather have
us tell you to do it via
statutory directive, or whether
you'd like to have the latitude
of a third party assisting you
in doing it, and just come back
to us with a recommendation.
(13:52):
>> Northern Kentucky University
says it gains roughly $1
million a year from the DRS
debt collection for Kentucky
edition. I'm Mackenzie Spink.
>> Thank you Mackenzie. By
current law, the Department of
Revenue cannot currently hire
third party contractors to do
collections work. A law would
have to be passed next
legislative session to change
(14:13):
that statute. Kentucky State
University hopes to start two
new PhD programs. Agriculture
and agroecology would be the
first doctoral programs within
CSU's College of Agriculture,
Health and Natural Resources.
>> We train master's level
students in year after year. We
(14:34):
see them leaving the state and
apply for PhD program elsewhere.
If Kentucky is going to remain
the premium state in terms of
producing highly skilled
workforce, we have to train
highly specialized PhD holders.
>> KSU faculty say these
graduates could work for state
(14:54):
and federal agencies like the
Kentucky Department of
Agriculture or the U.S.
Department of AG, or private
sectors like seafood production.
KSU pitched the programs to
Kentucky lawmakers yesterday.
The Kentucky General Assembly
has to approve any new degree
programs at the state's public
universities. Jefferson County
Public Schools is changing how
(15:15):
it hands out equity funding due
to pressure from the federal
government. The Courier Journal
reports that over the last
three years, JCPS gave more
equity funds to elementary
schools with higher percentages
of students of color. That
formula took into account the
percentage of students who came
from impoverished backgrounds,
have special needs, or are
(15:35):
learning English. The U.S.
Department of Ed sent the
school system a letter saying
that's discriminatory and
illegal, so the Board of
Education will change the
funding formula starting next
year. Fayette County Public
Schools Superintendent Demetrus
Liggins charged more than
$150,000 on a special credit
(15:55):
card from January 2023 to May
of this year. The money went to
meals, hotel rooms, plane
tickets, Uber rides, rental
cars and more, according to an
analysis of 950 public records
by the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The card was also used to pay
for student field trips,
student activity supplies and
teacher trips to conferences.
(16:16):
The new information comes at a
time when some state lawmakers
have called for Liggins to
resign over the school
district's finances. With
construction work underway at
the state capitol, the state
Supreme Court hit the road
today as it heard arguments
regarding criminal cases. State
prosecutors sought to omit
police body camera footage as
(16:37):
evidence in a criminal trial,
but a public defender is asking
the state's highest court to
rule that a trial judge should
see the evidence and decide if
it would serve the jury. Our
June Leffler has more in this
report.
>> A lawyer appealing for a man
accused of raping and
strangling a woman says the
trial court should have
(16:57):
considered body cam footage
from the scene as possible
evidence for the criminal trial.
>> The Commonwealth filed a
motion in limine to, and I
quote, prevent witness opinion
about the truth of testimony of
another witness, specifically
opinions of Lexington police
officers heard in the body worn
camera worn by the officers.
(17:18):
The trial court issued an order,
and in the opinion and order
they said or she said that she
believed that it was a
statement made by an officer
under his breath that he did
not believe the victim. But
then the trial court footnoted
that statement and said, since
the body cam was not made for
(17:40):
me, I don't know for sure.
>> Justices questioned the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, the
prosecutor in the criminal case,
why it would request to
withhold evidence from a trial
judge.
>> I guess the question for all
of us is why wasn't the body
cam footage admitted during the
evidentiary hearing? Why didn't
the Commonwealth seek to do
(18:02):
that?
>> When viewing the hearing?
What seems pretty clear is that
everybody understood the nature
of these statements, so there
was no need to view, because
everybody understood the nature
of these statements, was to
exclude improper opinion
testimony. So even though it
didn't happen, it didn't happen.
The video is not in the record.
Everyone understood what the
statements were.
(18:22):
>> But the trial court is
simply don't it? Simply going
off of what the arguments of
counsel are. Wouldn't it have
been a better practice for the
trial court to view the body
cam footage and determine for
itself whether or not the
statements were as they were
represented to be?
>> Justices also questioned a
(18:43):
lawyer for the accused why any
body cam evidence would be
allowed in court.
>> Name a situation where it
would not be hearsay to to
allow the verbal part of a body
cam, the audio to be played to
a jury when it has, when it's
somebody narrating a scene or
(19:04):
vouching for a witness, or when
would it ever not be hearsay?
>> The justices met outside
their usual chambers. Arguments
this week are being heard at
the University of Kentucky's
Law School for Kentucky edition.
I'm June Leffler.
(19:31):
What was
declining is now seeing an
upswing. That's in reference to
the numbers of small town
Kentucky residents. After
nearly a decade of losses,
rural Kentucky as a whole
experienced population growth
the last four years, partly
driven by the uptick in remote
and hybrid work arrangements
during and after the Covid 19
(19:52):
pandemic. But not all rural
communities are seeing a growth
spurt. I talked earlier this
week with Alison Davis, a
professor of agricultural
economics at the University of
Kentucky and the executive
director of Blueprint Kentucky,
which is an integrated
engagement and research center.
She tells us that while the
data trend may be surprising,
(20:12):
the reasons behind them may not
be. We learn more in tonight's
Business Beat interview.
>> When a couple of years ago,
a report came out nationally
saying rural communities were
gaining population. We all sort
of twisted our head a little
bit and said, that can't be
true for all rural communities,
but when you aggregate them
together, it seems like certain
(20:33):
pockets of rural places are
inviting to new populations. In
our report, we found that a lot
of communities that are just
near an urban area tend to be
increasing in population.
Unfortunately, in some of our
our Far Eastern communities and
far western communities,
particularly those that are
right on the Mississippi River
(20:53):
and Appalachia, continue to see
a population decline. But some
communities that surprised me
are increasing in population
probably will continue to do so,
particularly as like the blue
Oval plant is coming to be.
>> That's a big Glendale. Yes.
>> Down. You know the Bowling
Green area right? E town area
was growing. And this was prior
to some of this economic
(21:14):
activity. So I expect that to
continue.
>> So I'm real curious about
what is the definition of a
rural community.
>> We are to there is you would
think by now there would.
>> Be.
>> Some consensus, but yet
there is not really. Yes. Every
federal agency has a different
definition. And so when we do
reports like this for different
(21:35):
agencies, that definition is
different and it often changes.
And it's really important
though because rural
designations determine
investments and priorities. And
so we chose one definition here
and we stuck with it. But you
could easily find a different
agency that says, well, that's
kind of rural kind of urban.
And so it's really tricky.
>> So what's your definition?
(21:56):
>> Our definition is basically
anything that is touching an
urban area okay. So we you know,
we had I think about eight
regions that were considered
urban, including even out in
like Owensboro obviously
Bowling Green down in Murray,
Paducah, even in let's see
(22:17):
obviously Northern Kentucky and
so forth. Yep.
>> But do you think about
Eastern Kentucky and I think of
like Pikeville or Prestonville
or Prestonsburg are hazard, but
they may not be considered
urban centers.
>> No, they are definitely.
They're not even micropolitan
yet. But they have I think
Perry County and Hazard saw a
(22:38):
bit of a population increase,
which was really.
>> That's encouraging.
>> An increase in per capita
income, which is great, over
50% increase in per capita, per
capita income. So it looks like
some of the great initiatives
going on in eastern Kentucky
are beginning to pay off.
>> So the big question is why
the some of these areas are
seeing population increases.
(23:00):
>> Well, you know, Covid we're
still I can't believe we're
still talking about Covid, but
we are because Covid has sort
of led to this very kind of
structural shift in how people
live and work and what what
some had hoped for is that
folks would leave sort of our
coastal areas that were really
expensive and move to any place.
Right. And so a lot of our
really small places were kind
(23:21):
of fighting for these new
populations. But really what
happened is that folks were
going kind of one tier down in
terms of kind of the population
density and sort of amenities.
And so if they left San
Francisco, they wouldn't
necessarily go to a small
pocket rural area. They would
go to sort of a suburban area
where they still had proximity
to some of those urban
amenities, but they were able
(23:41):
to enjoy kind of the rural
esthetic and quiet and peace.
And so we did see post-Covid
that folks were moving. Yeah.
And Kentucky was a good home to
them. You know, we have lots of
water. We tend to be insulated
at times from natural disasters,
and we have a great cost of
living. And so we're attractive
to many folks.
>> And what should be the take
(24:02):
away from policymakers and
decision makers when they think
about how to to buoy the entire
state's economy, but
particularly putting some
emphasis on rural communities?
What is the message to them?
>> Right. I saw a great quote
the other day that said
something about, you know,
there's urban and rural is not
urban echo. Right? And I
thought that was just it really
resounded with me. I don't
remember who said it, so I
can't give credit, but I just
(24:24):
thought we tend to treat rural
as like a smaller urban, and
that just doesn't do it justice.
And we have to recognize that
rural communities are where
food is made, where a lot of
products are made.
Manufacturing is much heavier
in rural places than urban
places, but recognizing that
infrastructure is different,
access to services is quite
(24:44):
different. Health of our folks
is very different, and so
blanket policy is just not
going to be successful across
the board. And we just tend to
think that, you know, well,
we'll do it for for urban and
it should work for rural. Maybe
we'll just take a little bit
longer. And I just don't think
that's the case.
(25:29):
>> The University of Kentucky
Sanders Brown Center on Aging
is one of just 37 designated
Alzheimer's disease research
centers in the country. It
plays an important role in
research and improved patient
care for people with dementia.
And the center is celebrating a
big milestone. We'll tell you
all about that tomorrow on
(25:49):
Kentucky Edition, which we hope
you'll join us again for at 630
eastern, 530 central, where we
inform, connect and inspire. We
sure hope you'll connect with
us all the ways you see on your
screen. Facebook, Instagram and
X. Formerly known as Twitter.
We're on those social media
channels and more. We hope that
you'll send us a story idea by
email to the address you see
Public Affairs at ket.org and
(26:12):
look for us on the PBS and KET
apps at PBS app and the KET app.
And all of our programs are
streamed online at ket.org. We
thank you so much for watching
this evening. Take really good
care. Have a great night and I
will see you right back here
again tomorrow.
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