October 2, 2025

Governor Andy Beshear says Kentucky is doing all it can to cope with the continuing federal government shutdown that started at midnight Wednesday, a look at the protections and limitations of free speech on university campuses, and preventing seniors from becoming the target of scammers.

Episode Transcript

(00:08):
>> And we should be checking on
all those Kentucky families
that work for the federal
government.
>> Day two of the government
shutdown. How's Kentucky coping?
>> This is why we have the
courts. When people feel that
their First Amendment rights
have been violated, we may see
the courts have say that some
institutions have gone too far.

(00:28):
>> A brief explainer and
history of campus free speech.
>> They can fall for scams and
lose quite a bit of money in
different ways.
>> And seniors are often scam
targets and they can lose big,
big money.
>> Production of Kentucky
Edition is made possible in
part by the KET Millennium Fund.

(01:02):
>> Good evening and welcome to
Kentucky Edition for this
Thursday, October the 2nd. I'm
Renee Shaw, and we thank you
for spending some of your
Thursday night with us.
Governor Andy Beshear says
Kentucky is doing all it can to
cope with the continuing
federal government shutdown
that started at midnight
Wednesday. The governor says
some programs that help

(01:22):
Kentuckians will continue. That
includes Snap, the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program,
often called food stamps, and
the Supplemental Nutrition
Program for women, Infants and
Children. This afternoon, the
governor urged Kentuckians to
look out for one another.
>> So we are in day two of a

(01:43):
federal government shutdown.
You never want to see a
government shutdown. And we are
thinking about and we should be
checking on all those Kentucky
families that work for the
federal government that are
currently furloughed and not
receiving their salaries. It is
going to be really difficult on
them. But what we're seeing in
Washington, D.C. is, is

(02:05):
Democrats fighting to keep the
cost of health care affordable.
What Republicans have, have
done, and without intervention,
what will happen is a loss of
of help for those that get
their insurance through the
Affordable Care Act marketplace.
And that will cause on about

(02:26):
100,000 Kentuckians significant
increases in premiums, but it
impacts the entire market. And
so just about everyone's health
care costs, which are already
too high, will go up. Pair that
with the significant cuts in
Medicaid, where 200,000
Kentuckians are going to lose
their coverage and 20,000
Kentuckians are going to lose
their job. And what you see is

(02:46):
people fighting so that the
American, the American family,
the average American family can
actually pay their bills and
see a doctor. So it's it's it's
complicated and it's tough. But
certainly we're thinking about
each of those families. Most
programs that come through
Kentucky will continue. We've
done it before. We'll do it

(03:07):
again, but we'll be monitoring
it day to day.
>> The governor also said if
President Donald Trump
permanently fires government
workers during this shutdown,
he says that's on him. The
governor said that's not
necessary and didn't happen
during other government
shutdowns. Governor Beshear
appeared on NPR, National
Public Radio's Morning Edition

(03:28):
this morning. He talked about
the federal government shutdown
and was also asked about
whether he will run for
president in 2028. He again
said he would make that
decision later. Host Steve
Inskeep asked the governor
about the Democrats focus if
they take the white House.
>> We ought to be talking about
how to create a better life for

(03:49):
Americans, how to make people's
lives just a little bit easier.
Right now, the most concerning
poll I've seen is the number of
people who think the American
dream is slipping away. The
American Dream is so
fundamental to our country that
if you play by the rules and
you work hard, that you can get
ahead. So we need to be looking
at all those areas that people

(04:10):
are struggling, that lead them
to believe that they're not
going to be able to achieve.
And addressing them, you know,
that young couple has to be
able to buy a house in the same
decade that their parents did.
If you work a full time job,
you ought to be able to pay
your bills and not have to be
working an extra 1 or 2 at
night.
>> Congressman Andy Barr, a

(04:30):
Republican from the sixth
district, wants legislation
making government shutdowns
impossible. Barr says his End
Government Shutdowns Act, if
passed, would keep the
government open. If Congress
can't reach a budget deal, the
government would operate at 99%
of the previous year's funding
level for 30 days. It would go

(04:50):
down another 1% each 30 days
until a deal is reached. Barr
wrote about this in an opinion
piece in the Lexington Herald
Leader. He said, quote, the
stakes are too high to continue
lurching from crisis to crisis.
Our men and women in uniform
should never be pawns in
political fights. Our families
shouldn't wonder whether
they'll receive their next
paycheck to keep the lights on

(05:11):
and food on the table.
Americans shouldn't wonder if
the airport security line will
be staffed. End quote. Tuesday,
President Donald Trump and the
Secretary of Defense Pete
Hegseth spoke to hundreds of
generals and admirals in
Virginia. Hegseth said the days
of a, quote, woke military are
over. President Trump talked

(05:31):
about the, quote, enemy within
and using the military for law
enforcement. That bothered Amy
McGrath, the retired Marine
Corps colonel who ran for U.S.
House and U.S. Senate from
Kentucky. She appeared on CNN
Tuesday night.
>> That, to me, was the most
scary part of the entire speech.
I mean, there was a lot of
rambling. There was a ton of

(05:53):
lies. But the scariest part was
when the president talked about
using the military and using
our cities as a training ground
for the United States military.
Now, the military has done
training in cities before, but
that's not what I think he's
talking about here. He's
talking about using the

(06:15):
military in ways that we should
not see in America. And I'm
very worried about this. I
think that that the whole part
of bringing these generals and
admirals back here was to
discuss this type of thing. And
it should it should scare us
all. This is something that we

(06:35):
just don't do in America.
>> McGrath was also critical of
Secretary Hegseth for saying
the military needs to return to
a, quote, male standard.
McGrath says, has it has always
been a standard for male and
female service members. Last
month, a professor at the
University of Kentucky hosted a

(06:56):
forum on the protections and
limitations of free speech on
campus. The talk was one week
after the shooting death of
conservative activist Charlie
Kirk. After the murder, some
universities, including UK,
started investigating their
employees social media posts.
We talked to that professor
yesterday about what a history
of case ruling suggests about

(07:17):
this moment in higher education.
>> Free speech cases for
students, and this would be for
K-12 and college students. We
can look to the 1960s. There
was a very famous case, the the
Tinker case, and it involved
students wanting to wear
armbands and silent protest of
the Vietnam War. And Mary Beth

(07:39):
Tinker, who was a high school
student. And if you see
pictures of Mary Beth, is
really quite young to be taking
this stand. She did it with her
brothers and other students,
and the Supreme Court ruled
that students don't forfeit
their rights to speech and
expression just because they're
in an educational environment.
For employees who work for

(08:03):
public agencies, such as public
colleges and universities, the
Supreme Court, and you have
lower court decisions that that
carry the standard out. The the
general rule is that just
because you're a public
employee, you don't forfeit all
your First Amendment speech
rights. There's a balancing
component where courts have
said, well, even if your speech

(08:25):
is protected, there can be
reasons to limit this speech.
So, for instance, if it's
interfering with the operations
of the institution, or in this
case, we certainly see some
institutions around the country
that believe that their
employees have engaged in
speech. I've seen terms like
vile and that because these

(08:46):
individuals are representative
of the representatives of the
institution, it should subject
them to sanction or even firing.
In some ways, the more senior
you are in a position, in your
position, higher level you are.
It might be at an institution,
maybe a provost or a dean or a
department chair. You may be

(09:06):
viewed as more of a
representative, and an
institution might be able to
argue, well, we really you are
a symbol of the institution,
someone who maybe doesn't have
a higher seniority in in the
institution. Maybe I'll say,
well, people aren't going to
get so confused that I'm
speaking for the institution.
But what we may see is that
some courts, and this is why we

(09:27):
have the courts, when people
feel that their First Amendment
rights have been violated, we
may see the courts have say
that some institutions have
gone too far. And while the the
speech may be something that is
not palatable or pleasant, or
other people may find it
distasteful, a court may say
that that still should be
protected speech. And this this

(09:50):
balancing component isn't
enough to knock it out of the
box for First Amendment
protection. And that's
traditionally been a role of
courts. When we have moments
like this that are very tense,
actions are taken, institutions
and leaders are under lots of
pressure, is that the courts
are supposed to be that safety
valve for the First Amendment.

(10:10):
>> Last month, the University
of Kentucky opened an
investigation into an
employee's online post about
Charlie Kirk. In a statement,
UK says it values free speech
but also recognizes its
employees need to be civil and
treat people with respect. Now
turning to some medical news
now. Jefferson County now has
nine confirmed cases of the

(10:31):
West Nile virus in 2025. There
was just one case in 2024. This
is the biggest total in the
last ten years. The Louisville
Metro Department of Public
Health and Wellness urges
people to be aware of
mosquitoes and try to avoid
being bitten. All nine cases
this year involve people
between the ages of 40 and 70.

(10:53):
Kentucky as a whole has had 19
cases this year with one death.
Four of those cases are in
Fayette County. Northern
Kentucky has a new addition to
its health care network, which
will serve the growing
population in Boone County.
More as we continue with
tonight's medical news. Saint
Elizabeth cut the ribbon

(11:14):
earlier this week on its newest
Ridgewood location. The 33,000
square foot center will offer
urgent care, primary care,
women's health and specialty
services. You may remember
earlier this summer, Saint
Elizabeth Health Care, which is
primarily located in northern
Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati,
was recognized as the number
one hospital in Kentucky.

(11:35):
Leaders of the health care
organization say the newest
location will bring that same
high quality care to everyday
services.
>> Our vision is to lead our
communities to be among the
healthiest in the nation. We
are absolutely dedicated to
taking care of patients not
just for acute needs, but for
preventative care and overall

(11:57):
health maintenance and
improvement.
>> Saint Elizabeth actually
purchased this property
probably 25 years ago, with the
idea that someday there would
be a need for a facility of
some kind here. Unincorporated
Boone County now consists of
nearly 100,000 people. We talk
about building infrastructure.
Well, the infrastructure of
health care is just as

(12:19):
important.
>> The new facility is expected
to see up to 400 patients per
day and employ nearly 60
workers. Doctor Merly said it's
her hope that the new primary
care and women's health
services will allow Saint
Elizabeth to treat patients
throughout their lifespan. The
CEO also said the office was
designed with several thousand

(12:39):
square feet of shelf space, so
they can expand their services
if needed. The lead physician
said Saint Elizabeth is looking
to increase its presence in
other growing parts of the
region, but she couldn't
disclose where just yet. The
Ridgewood office will
officially be open to patients
on October the 22nd. Is your
electric bill about to go up?

(13:00):
And some Winchester businesses
hurt by construction work are
getting some relief. Our Toby
Gibbs tells us more in this
look at headlines around
Kentucky.
>> Help is on the way to
downtown Winchester. Businesses

(13:21):
hurt by the Main Street High
Side construction project, the
Winchester Sun reports. The
Winchester Board of
Commissioners approved relief
funds for businesses affected
by the work. Businesses in the
Downtown Development Investment
Fund District are eligible for
$3,000. Businesses in the
construction zone itself are
eligible for 10,000. LG and E

(13:44):
and COO want to raise utility
rates. COO wants an 11.5% hike,
LG and EE wants to up electric
rates by 8.3% and natural gas
by 14%. These are the first
proposed rate hikes since 2020.
The companies say the money
will pay for infrastructure
upgrades and rising costs
related to severe weather and

(14:06):
tariffs. The Grayson County
News says the Public Service
Commission plans public comment
hearings at locations
throughout Kentucky. The next
is October 13th in Madisonville.
Secretary of Transportation
Sean Duffy praised Kentucky and
Indiana for their teamwork
working on an Interstate 69

(14:27):
overpass. Duffy visited the
site in September. The
Andersonian quotes Duffy is
saying it's an important
project, not just for the two
states, but for all of America.
Country music star Dierks
Bentley stopped off at the
green River Distilling Company
in Owensboro to celebrate the
release of his ro 94 fool proof

(14:47):
bourbon. The Owensboro
Messenger-inquirer says his
interest in his own Bourbon
line began when he opened a bar
in Arizona in 2012. With
headlines around Kentucky. I'm
Toby Gibbs.

(15:15):
>> From annoying calls during
dinner or strange texts from
unfamiliar numbers. Scammers
have likely had you in their
sights. If you're not careful,
you could be tricked out of
hundreds or even thousands of
dollars and have your identity
compromised. Fraudsters use
clever, sometimes overly
friendly, or at times downright
aggressive and even threatening

(15:35):
approaches, and being trapped
by their schemes can come at a
hefty cost. Heather Clary, with
the Better Business Bureau of
Greater Kentucky and Southern
Indiana, tells us what to look
out for and says that seniors
are less gullible than you
might think, but still wind up
doling out more when they're
victimized. This is part of our
ongoing aging series, The Next
Chapter, that explores the

(15:57):
rewards and challenges of
growing older.
>> The Better Business Bureau
Scam Tracker report from 2024
indicates that of all the scams
that were reported and fallen
for, unfortunately, across the
nation, fewer of the seniors
actually fell for scams.
However, when they did, they

(16:17):
lost more money than other age
groups. So you could chalk that
up to been alive for a long
time and know what to look for
or any number of things. So
that was an interesting point.
And that happens from year to
year. But it's still a problem.
They can fall for scams and
lose quite a bit of money in

(16:37):
different ways. And that's why
we do want to reach out, help
them help their caretakers,
their family members, whoever
that can. Help them keep their
money in their pockets and
continue into their senior
years without worrying.
>> And to your point, and we're
going to put this on the screen
that ages 65 and up, 41.9%
susceptibility for falling for

(16:59):
these scams, but ages 55 to 64,
a little bit more, 45.1%. So
but to your point, if you're 65
and older and you have fallen
for one of these scams, you
lose $160 on average as opposed
to someone younger by five, six,
ten years, $125.
>> So if you lose it, you lose
it hard. Yeah, but and we want

(17:20):
to keep that from happening.
And that's why again, the
Better Business Bureau can be
such a proactive step for folks
to take to avoid those types of
scams. And if someone has
fallen for one of these, it's
also an opportunity to reach
out for resources and
possibilities to mitigate it,
keep it from happening further
so that it doesn't get worse.
And our services are free, and
we want to make people aware of

(17:42):
that. And we don't want anyone
to hesitate to call us to be
ashamed or embarrassed. I mean,
that's why we're here. And
we'll often hear from family
members of an older person
stating, you know, my
grandmother or my dad or
whoever it is is getting some
suspicious phone calls. They're
receiving weird things in the
mail. They're writing an awful

(18:03):
lot of checks for sweepstakes
prize. They say they want any
number of things like that. And
we've learned to recognize
those, and we're happy to talk
to those folks and see if we
can help them help their family
member.
>> Let's talk about some of the
common scams that tend to
target the elderly. Are they
different than younger
populations?
>> They can vary. For instance,
one of the most reported scams,

(18:24):
believe it or not, in 2024, was
a cryptocurrency investment
scams. And there are seniors
out there who might have a nice
retirement nest egg, and those
con artists want to get their
hands on it. And cryptocurrency
is still very mysterious to a
lot of folks and complicated
even though it's been out there
for some time. And they can be
led down the primrose path, as

(18:45):
they say, to invest your money.
It's a sure thing. Would I lie
to you? You know, that kind of
thing. And so they can tend to
lose money to any of those
investment scams and not be
able to recover that,
especially if those people just
ghost them and disappear.
>> Well, and we've heard and in
fact, a program we did, we
profiled someone who lost
hundreds of thousands of
dollars. Yes. Right. And and
actually, you know, when you

(19:06):
hear the story that the person
had kind of they kind of met
each other. I mean, it was like
this, you know, there were all
kinds of signs that pointed to
this being a nefarious scheme.
But yet, you know, the senior
now in the back end realizes it,
but at the time really thought
it was legitimate. I mean,
these are really good con
artists.
>> They are very good at it.
And any more even AI and

(19:27):
artificial intelligence and
those types of technologies can
make it even easier to make
someone fall for something. For
instance, another scam, the
grandparent scam or emergency
call scam. It can happen in
different ways, but it does hit
seniors a lot. Where the person
poses as a grandchild in some
sort of trouble or distress.
We've heard the tales of I'm on

(19:47):
spring break with a bunch of
folks, and we were in a car
accident, and now we're in a
jail in Florida somewhere, and
they think they want to arrest
us. I need some bail money. And
please don't tell Mom and Dad.
That kind of.
>> Sounds legit.
>> Yeah, and, you know, the
grandparent wants to help out
once in a while. I mean, we'll
have these folks tell us. Well,
it didn't sound like him too

(20:08):
much. And they'll give you a
reason. Like, well, we were in
a car accident, and I hit my
nose on the dashboard. And so
that's why I don't sound the
same. Or they make up all the
reasons or I've been crying and.
But they're quick to hand that
phone over to an attorney, so
to speak. If you can just give
some financial information to
this guy, he'll get me out of
this and I'll be fine, you know?

(20:29):
And then that's when they want
the untraceable payment methods,
the PayPal or Venmo, the Cash
App. They want gift cards that
you buy loaded with money.
Those are all big red flags.
Call the parents if they say,
don't call mom and dad, do it,
or whoever else you can. Or if
you have a cell number for the
child or whoever it is, call
them directly. See if it's true.

(20:49):
You're going to find out it
isn't.
>> Some really good advice
there. And here's some more. Be
leery of free, low cost or buy
one get one deals. Request for
unusual payment types like
prepaid debit or credit cards
and wired funds, and hang up on
solicitors who pressure you to
act now for more information on
how to protect you and your
loved ones from these scams,

(21:11):
check out scams dot k y.gov and
I'll have more with Heather
Clary next week. When we talk
about Medicare scams,
especially during this time of
open enrollment that starts
soon. Bellarmine University

(21:33):
celebrates 75 years in
Louisville this year.
Originally founded as an
independent Catholic college
for men, Bellarmine University
is now a nationally recognized
coed university. This week on
Inside Louisville, Kelsie
Starks sits down with
university president Doctor
Susan Donovan to talk about how
it's changed in 75 years.

(21:55):
>> What have been your biggest
challenges since being here? I
would assume Covid was one of
the big.
>> Covid was Covid was tough. I
think, you know, we are we're a
small college. So it was those
those times were very tough.
You're you fluctuate when

(22:15):
students and we're such a high
impact residential campus. So
when people are afraid to come
to campus, that's tough.
However, I was really proud of
our staff. We did a lot of
outside programing and that,
you know, having also seeing
what we do to impact health
care and business and as we

(22:37):
mentioned, education in the
community. You know, those were
challenging times as well for
for nurses going back. And that
dropped off a little bit. But
now coming back, I think we
have something like 750 that
are from from one point either
at the undergraduate second
degree or our graduate programs,

(22:57):
750 that are going into some
part of the nursing profession.
Wow.
>> Yeah. That's incredible.
>> Yeah. And you know, that's
servicing a great demand. And
they're to have really caring,
compassionate a lot of people
say to me in town you can
recognize a Bellarmine alum,
whether that's in a hospital or
whether that's in a business.

(23:17):
And I do think they move into
leadership in their roles and
are just very proud of our
outcomes.
>> That's got to be a great
compliment. When you hear that.
>> It is, you know, one of the
other things is just we were
just named this isn't something
you apply for, but Opportunity
Campus. And that was really for

(23:38):
those highest access and
highest yield or highest
earnings really. And so we're
seeing those accolades come in
daily. You don't do things for
the ratings. But it's nice when
you when you see it coming in
multiple areas then you know
you're doing right.
>> Sure. What do you foresee as

(23:58):
being some of the biggest
challenges that still lie ahead
for Bellarmine University? I
know a lot of higher education
is worried about federal
funding cuts, budgets. What do
you think is the biggest
challenge for you?
>> Well, federal aid is
incredibly important to all of
our students. It's not just our

(24:20):
undergraduate students, but our
second degree students, our
graduate students. So that's
that's really important to this.
If if that aid is is taken away,
we're we're very strong
advocates for that because this
is how you transform lives and
transform cities and states for
that matter. So hopefully that

(24:40):
will stay. But if also the
Kentucky aid is incredibly
important to us and just the
partnerships we have in the
city, I mean, we have wonderful
partnerships with Norton
Healthcare, with our accounting
firms, with JC. So all of those
are important. I don't think
those will change, but we may
have to rely more on them.

(25:02):
>> You can see the entire
conversation when we explore
Bellarmine University this
Sunday on Inside Louisville
with Kelsey starts at 12 noon
11 central right here on KET.

(25:22):
Parkinson's disease often leads
to a host of problems,
including trouble with speech
and swallowing.
>> It's really important for
people to have access to these
programs so that they can ward
off the progression of the
illness.
>> I'm just hoping and praying
that this works because I'm
trying to stay, at least even
with Parkinson's, because they

(25:44):
say there's no cure for it.
>> Friday on Kentucky Edition,
a therapy program helping those
with Parkinson's regain their
voice. That, and we go inside
Kentucky politics to break down
what's happened in Kentucky on
the scene of politics this week.
You don't want to miss that.
Tomorrow night on Kentucky
Edition at 630 eastern, 530
central, where we inform,
connect and inspire. We hope

(26:05):
that you'll connect with us all
the ways you see on your screen,
Facebook and Instagram. To stay
in the loop, we encourage you
to send us an email, a story
idea at Public Affairs at
ket.org and look for us on the
PBS and KET video apps that you
can download on your mobile
device and smart TV. Thanks so
very much for watching. I'm
Renee Shaw, and I'll see you

(26:26):
right back here again on Friday
night. Take good care.