October 28, 2025 • 26 mins
Journalists from around the state discuss the news of the week with host Bill Bryant, including Gov. Andy Beshear's allotment of money from the state budget to help fund a hunger relief program for seniors. Panelists: Laura Cullen Glasscock, The Kentucky Gazette; Russ Cassady, Appalachian Newspapers; and Sylvia Goodman, Kentucky Public Radio.
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(00:10):
Governor Beshear shifts money
to keep a meal program for
senior citizens going. A
challenger to Congressman
Thomas Massie, with President
Trump's backing, jumps into the
race. Democrats and Republicans
choose their candidates in a
special state Senate election
in Louisville. A key lawmaker
again pushes an amendment to
restrict a governor's power to
(00:32):
pardon. Heading into the week
that leads to Halloween and
then November. Comment is next
on KET. You can feel that fall.
Chill out there. Good evening,
I'm Bill Bryant. We welcome you
(00:52):
to comment on Kentucky, a look
back at and some analysis of
the week's news in the
Commonwealth and the guests on
our panel of working Kentucky
journalists tonight are Sylvia
Goodman, Capitol reporter for
Kentucky Public Radio, Laura
Cullen, Glasscock, editor and
publisher of the Kentucky
Gazette. And joining us
remotely is Russ Cassidy,
(01:14):
regional editor of Appalachian
Newspapers. Also tonight, a new
emphasis on tourism in eastern
Kentucky, and no Kings rallies
were held across the state.
We'll start with the move this
week to keep a senior meal
program going. Governor Beshear
shifted around about $9 million
in what he calls a temporary
(01:34):
solution.
>> No Kentuckian should face
hunger. And while I'm glad we
found a temporary solution, we
must ensure that we understand
our people's needs as well as
the cost controls and
procedures for the senior meal
program to appropriately budget
and run these programs in the
future.
(01:56):
>> Sylvia $305 million state
budget shortfall and the end of
the Covid era dollars means
these programs were on the
verge of being substantially
cut, right?
>> And essentially, they were.
So during the Covid era when
there was these extra funds
coming to the state, Beshear
told area development districts
that they should get rid of
(02:17):
their wait lists, that they
should use this extra funding
to significantly increase their
rolls. And they did. And so for
some of these places, their
rolls doubled or even tripled
in some cases, especially in
some rural areas where need was
very great. And then, you know,
as federal dollars dwindled
post Covid, you know, there
(02:37):
wasn't as much money to fund
those programs. But Beshear was
able to find different places
to keep that program going, at
least for the last year.
There's also, for the first
time, state budget dollars
directed towards this program.
But then mid budget year, the
Beshear, the Beshear
administration told area
development districts that
there would be no more funds
coming, that they were just
getting the budgeted amount for
(02:58):
the year. Many of them had
already spent close to or up to
that budgeted amount on their
expanded roles. But this
funding means that they will be
able to continue largely at
that expanded level, at least
till the end of the fiscal year.
Like you said. Like Beshear
said, I should say it is a
temporary solution.
>> Well, so there's quite a
(03:18):
demand apparently for this,
right?
>> Definitely, definitely.
>> Laura, there's a temporary
solution now that the governor
mentioned. And then an effort
to find a long term solution. I
know the Republicans, like
Senator Greg Elkins, are
leading the charge for these
senior meal programs to be part
of the spending plan, but when
they start talking about that
budget, there is going to be a
(03:40):
lot of competition. For every
dollar.
>> There is going to be a lot
of competition. And that's
typical every year or every two
years, I should say. People
come to Frankfort with their
wish lists and they want their
projects and programs funded.
And besides the usual schools
and transportation and, you
know, the infrastructure stuff
that has to be funded. There
(04:01):
are these other programs that
they still have to be funded to.
Of course, I didn't mean it
like that, but the, the, the
social programs that might be
more at risk because of cuts to
federal dollars. So there is
going to be a lot of shifting
around. You're also seeing
organizations getting in front
of that. The Kctcs Board of
(04:21):
Regents has already made its
budget request public for the
biennium. So we're seeing
people jockeying early earlier
than normal. I think.
>> I also think it's worth
noting that we're also seeing
the effects of income tax cuts,
too. We're going to see some
reduced state budget dollars
revenue dollars. So that's
definitely going to be coming
into play as well.
>> And then you might end up
(04:43):
dipping into the rainy day fund.
Right. So there is going to be
a lot of that shifting around
of what money.
>> Goes where someone will dip
into the rainy day fund for new
initiatives so that yeah, a lot
of discussion about money. And
Russ, I know you've been
following this issue closely
with the the programs for the
seniors. And poverty is highest
in our state in eastern
Kentucky.
(05:05):
>> It is. And we also have an
aging population. This isn't
just an issue about meals, even
though that's obviously part of
it. But for some of these
seniors who are, for example,
shut ins, this may be the only
contact they have with the
person outside their home. So,
you know, these programs are
absolutely vital. A lot of the
discussion right now is about
(05:26):
who's to blame. State Auditor
Alison Ball and Commonwealth
Ombudsman Jonathan Great sent a
letter to legislators this week
blaming the Beshear
administration and saying this
was all preventable. And I'm
sure this is going to be talked
about a lot. But as we go
forward, we're also going to be
watching to see if this money
is allocated in future budgets.
(05:46):
And I know there's going to be
a lot of people really pushing
for that, especially here in
eastern Kentucky.
>> Russ, is the federal
government shutdown goes on.
There are now real questions
about whether Snap benefits
will be added on to the cards
on November 1st. That's next
weekend. We note that the fifth
Congressional District in
eastern and southern Kentucky
(06:08):
is a place where nearly 23% of
people get benefits. What would
be the impact if those benefits
don't show up?
>> Well, the impact will be
great. I mean, some of the
counties in our four county
coverage area in eastern
Kentucky have as much as a
quarter of the population that
receives Snap benefits. So
you're going to have families
that are impacted, that aren't
(06:29):
able to afford food, that are
putting more pressure on food
pantries that are already
stretched due to high food
prices. And then, you know, you
add all this up and it really
does cause like this crisis
that's growing. And I don't
think people are really paying
enough attention to it. I mean,
businesses are going to be
affected from Snap and
employees. So, I mean, you know,
(06:51):
this is a wide ranging
potential, really big issue.
>> And we'll all be watching in
the days ahead. Let's talk some
politics. There were no Kings
rallies around the nation last
weekend, and that included
several in Kentucky. Russ,
those demonstrations were maybe
most robust in the metropolitan
areas of the state and the
larger cities. But there were
(07:13):
protests in eastern Kentucky as
well.
>> Oh, absolutely. There were
small protests in hazard,
Pikeville and Prestonsburg.
Like I said, you know, small
crowds came out. They were very
peaceful rallies holding signs
asking for community support.
They didn't receive a whole lot
of opposition in person.
(07:34):
There's been a lot more social
media activity regarding those
and back and forth on social
media regarding them. And there
was there in person. So, you
know, the opposition is there.
It's small, but there are some
people who who felt strongly
enough to go out there.
>> Laura, we know this is a
(07:55):
very divided time in our
country. The level of political
activism on, on all sides seems
to be much higher these days
than it had been in years past.
>> Yeah, it seems like we're
definitely divided into two
camps. And what we see, too is,
is some of these no Kings
rallies and other protests are
involving a lot of young people.
They're still older folks out
(08:16):
there, too, of course, but a
study from the United Way in
Washington, D.C. found that
about a third of Gen Zers say
that they participate in
activism, and about over 50%,
just over 50% said that they
have attended a rally or a
protest at some point. So there
are a lot of younger people who
(08:36):
feel like to make their voices
heard as a group, because those
in power are not listening to
them.
>> All right. Let's talk about
some of the races. The fourth
district U.S. House race has
come to life as President
Trump's choice to challenge
Congressman Thomas Massie
officially entered the race
this week. Retired Navy Seal Ed
(08:57):
Gallrein is taking on Massie,
who will be well funded and who
has turned back challengers
before Sylvia. Will this be one
to watch?
>> Oh, it's going to be a
really interesting one to watch.
Obviously, Thomas Massie is is
very popular in his own
district. He's been there a
long time. He has great name
recognition. But I mean, you
can't discount President
(09:17):
Trump's name recognition either.
And he has already indicated he
is extremely interested in this
race, and he's going to put a
lot of pressure on his
candidate, on his allies to
support this race and make it
competitive. Obviously, like
you said, Massie has turned
back challengers. Before. It
seemed like Trump was really
working to even get a candidate
going in this race. He's been
(09:38):
talking about finding a
challenger for a while. I do
not envy people in this
district. They've already
started seeing ads. They're
going to see a lot more before
primary day comes. It's going
to be a lot of money going into
this race and a lot of, I think,
national watchers, watchers to
yeah.
>> Massie has drawn a lot of
national attention. Excuse me
for opposing Trump. To me, it's
(09:59):
going to be interesting to see
how Ed Gallrein shifts his
campaign focus from being the
establishment candidate he was
when he ran for the state
Senate in District seven last
year, 2024, and he lost that
race to current state Senator
Aaron Reed by only 118 votes.
So that was a very close race.
(10:19):
But again, the point we've made
many times is the name
recognition is going to be a
deterrent for Gallrein, I think,
because Massie is so well known
to get to come from Shelbyville,
which is, you know, that
western part of that district
to try to get your name out
there might be a little tough
for him.
>> I would think the population
center of that would be
(10:41):
Northern Kentucky. Yeah, yeah.
So we will certainly be
watching there in the fourth
district now in the fifth
district, Congressman Hal
Rogers is the longest serving
member of the U.S. House. He
was elected in 1980. Laura, you
made the point that we were in
high school then.
>> Yeah.
>> Democratic challenger Ned
Pillersdorf is taking him on.
Can Pillersdorf for us gain
(11:02):
traction with the now the
criticism of the budget cuts
that Rogers supported or with
this government shutdown, which
I understand he is attempting
to criticize and gain with?
>> Yeah, I was going to say,
you know, whether it will work
or not. He's definitely doing
it. I mean, you know,
(11:23):
Congressman Rogers votes on
these issues are going to play
a role in this race. How much?
We don't know. I mean, I think
a lot of that's going to depend
on the actual impacts of any
kind of cuts or shortfalls or
temporary pauses or extended
pauses in programs. I think
people are going to be
factoring that in. You know,
(11:44):
we're still a ways off from
that potential race. So we've
got a lot of time to see what's
going to happen. But yeah, I
mean, it is going to be a
factor for Eastern Kentuckians.
As I said, we rely a lot on
those programs. A lot of our
people do. So they're going to
be thinking about that when
they go into the polling place.
>> Rogers, of course, said he
(12:04):
wanted to make programs leaner
and more effective, and so they
could be sustained. Was his
reason in supporting the budget.
You would anticipate, though,
that he would campaign
vigorously to to hold on to his
seat, right?
>> Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I mean,
Congressman Rogers has a
reputation for bringing money
home. That's kind of been his
his primary attribute that he's
(12:28):
put out there. And so I don't
think that's going to end
anytime soon. So, you know,
there's going to be a lot to
kind of parse out as we go over
the next year.
>> All right. In Central
Kentucky, in the sixth district
race, where Andy Barr is hoping
to go to the Senate, there's a
there are crowded primaries on
both sides. And, Laura, you
(12:48):
argue that really nobody has an
advantage on either side.
>> I don't see it yet. It's
still so early and people don't
pay attention. You know, the
average citizens don't.
Obviously we are. And I think
in the sixth district you had
mentioned earlier when we were
talking, if wondering if
(13:09):
senator, former state Senator
Ralph Alvarado, Doctor Alvarado
and former state Representative
Sherilyn Stephenson had a
natural advantage because
they're former state lawmakers.
And I would submit they don't
at this point because of the
campaigning, the the name
recognition, the fact that most
people don't pay a lot of
(13:30):
attention to state affairs,
unfortunately, you know, we can
bring in a conversation about
civics education at this point.
But but it still kind of early.
Also, Sherilyn Stephenson is
having money troubles. She is
in the hole. She has negative
balance on her FEC report of of
(13:51):
September 30th. Alvarado has
$376,000 in 320 cash on hand,
but Stevenson was 30 in the
hole, 30,000 in the hole at the
end of that reporting period.
So is she going to raise the
money? That's what you have to
wonder. And then you look at
others. Democrats like David
(14:12):
Kloiber, who ran for Lexington
Mayor, his name got out there.
He can self-fund a campaign.
And in fact, he is, because
he's given himself $127,000
loan already. So there's
there's still a lot of money
that's in the in the race that
could change things.
Fundraising does not
necessarily equal votes, but it
does let you get your name out
(14:34):
there. And so, you know, the
the money is going to matter
for name recognition for all of
these folks outside of
Lexington.
>> Well, it's interesting to
see how much some of them are
investing in their own campaign.
Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. All right.
At the top of Kentucky's ballot
next year will be that race to
fill the seat that U.S. Senator
Mitch McConnell is leaving open.
(14:55):
We'll look at the race right
now. On the Republican side,
the best known candidates are
Attorney General Daniel Cameron,
Congressman Andy Barr,
businessman Nate Morris. We're
also hearing more now about
Michael Farris, who has far
less money but is managing to
get his word out there.
>> Yeah, he is a veteran and he
(15:16):
owns a helicopter repair
business. And so he is in his
website's really nice. I mean,
I looked at it, it's very
professional, very well done.
So yeah, he's he's working that
race really hard to.
>> On the Democratic side, we
are hearing the name Charles
Booker once again that the
(15:37):
report today from Austin Horn
at the Lexington Herald Leader.
They have a crowded field to
Amy McGrath. House Minority
Leader Pamela Stephenson, a
former CIA agent Joel Willett,
former Secret Service agent.
Logan Forsythe McGrath has name
recognition, obviously, but we
all remember that Booker ran
quite a primary race against
(15:59):
her in 2020.
>> And a former Senate race, of
course, against Rand Paul. Yeah,
no, it's going to be a really
interesting race. I think
you're right that McGrath does.
And Booker too. They both have
some name recognition benefits.
But also they've both lost a
race. So you know I think that
there's still a lot of movement
possible here. Just kind of
depends on, you know, both
(16:20):
their fundraising potential,
especially for those newcomers
to see how they do and then
also to see, you know, how they
create their their brand in
this race that, you know,
frankly, most people still
think, most pundits think will
go towards Republicans. How
will Democrats be able to show
that they can launch a
competitive race here?
>> Yeah. And Booker did not
comment as to whether he has
interest. But apparently Austin
(16:42):
was hearing quite a bit of that.
>> I've heard sources say that
to write that book and that
excuse me, the D triple C has
talked with Booker.
>> Apparently we had thought
there'd be no elections in 2025,
but there will be a special
election in Louisville in
December to fill the seat of
David Yates, who's been
appointed Jefferson County
clerk. Both parties have now
(17:02):
chosen their nominees. Sylvia,
we have there names and
pictures there on screen. Gary
Clemons, who will represent the
Democrats, and Calvin Leach for
the Republicans.
>> Right. We also have a third,
Wendy Higdon, who's running as
a libertarian. Those are the
three who filed. Filing
deadline has passed, I
understand. And so those are
(17:23):
the three names that will be on
the ballot. Gary Clemons, local
union leader in south
Louisville. Calvin Leach,
retired U.S. Army veteran. And
it's going to be an interesting
race since it's such a close,
tight deadline. Now, I should
note that today I actually I
published a story about Calvin
Leach. I unearthed a 2018 blog
(17:46):
post from him in which he
pretty strongly denigrated
women, especially of his own
generation. He used some pretty
crass epithets to refer to
women, calling them promiscuous
and untrustworthy. A lot of
other things, too. He has
defended that post to me as of
when I talked to him on
(18:06):
Thursday, you know, saying that
it was mostly dating advice,
not political, but, you know,
so that's something to keep in
mind also. But this race is
really just starting to get
going at all.
>> Has he since responded to
your reporting?
>> He hasn't responded to my
article itself. As far as I'm
aware, the Louisville GOP did
tell the Courier-Journal that
(18:27):
they were not aware of that.
The article that he wrote when
they picked him for the nominee.
>> All right. It will be an
interesting race to watch.
They'll be campaigning during
the holidays. But former Vice
President Kamala Harris carried
that district with 52% of the
vote. Yates was popular,
usually had a larger margin,
(18:48):
but we'll be watching that very
closely. It could affect the
the the margin in the Senate,
which it's.
>> It's it's it's not a close
margin in the Senate.
>> Democrats only hold five
seats. Yates was.
>> The sixth.
>> 33 for Republicans. So it
wouldn't exactly change the
balance of power. But it is you
know, Democrats need to hold on
(19:09):
to the seats that they have.
>> So in Frankfort, the 2026
legislative session now just
over two months away. And
there's a push, again, for a
constitutional amendment to
limit a governor's pardoning
power. State Senator Chris
McDaniel unsuccessfully pushed
this before, but he is bringing
it back up again. Laura, the
catalyst for this is that the
pardons the former governor,
(19:30):
Matt Bevin, issued.
>> That's right. This actually
is the seventh time. So maybe
for Senator McDaniel, this will
be lucky. Number seven. And
he's basically using that as a,
as you said, as a catalyst with
Bevin's pardons after he when
he was leaving office, he
pardoned a lot of people who
(19:50):
later went on to or not a lot,
but he pardoned people who went
on to commit other crimes. And
the constitutional amendment
that Senator McDaniel is
proposing would create a window
during which governors would
not be able to pardon people.
So it would it would be
(20:11):
centered around the election
itself.
>> All right. Fluoride in the
water is back as an issue.
There are proposals to allow
local water providers to handle
that question as they as they
are dentists, of course, don't
like that approach.
>> We have 79 years of quality
(20:31):
science showing that this is
effective. And, you know, it's
no different than the done in
the salt, which when was the
last time you saw somebody with
a goiter, you know, or the
vitamin D in the milk. So I
think, you know, there's
different ways to look at a lot
of different things. This is
considered one of the top
(20:51):
public health campaigns in the
history of the United States of
America. Is the fluoridation of
water.
>> Okay. So this is something
that Sylvia were watching very
closely right now. It failed
last time, but is back again,
right?
>> It's been proposed quite a
few times at this point, but it
seems in the past couple of
years at least, it's been
(21:12):
moving, inching further and
further closer to reaching the
end of the line. So, you know,
when I first covered the
legislature two years ago, it
made it past a committee vote.
Last year, it made it this year,
I suppose this year it made it
past a House vote. It died in
the Senate. But it's definitely
really interesting to watch.
(21:33):
It's all part of the this
campaign. I think Robert F
Kennedy Jr has pushed that, you
know, promotes some fears about
public health campaigns. This
is was considered one of the
greatest public health
campaigns of the 20th century.
Now some people are pointing to
newer research that higher
levels of fluoride higher than
(21:53):
is in Kentucky water double
actually more than double than
Kentucky water can have some
negative impacts on child brain
development. And essentially
this would just give the water
districts the ability not to
put fluoride. It would reverse
the mandate that is currently
in effect.
>> Russ, this issue comes up. A
lot of cities provide water to
county water districts. And
what if one wants it and the
(22:15):
other doesn't? Would a system
be capable of splitting its
supply?
>> Well, I think more likely
what would happen, because we
do have conflicts that arise
between city and county water
districts over, you know,
issues of rates and things of
that nature. I mean, they would
have to come to the table and
figure it out, or it would more
(22:37):
than most likely just end up in
court and be decided there,
that that's kind of the
direction that these kinds of
issues, the conflicts between
districts go.
>> So Senator Rand Paul is
hoping to develop a
non-government tourism trail in
eastern Kentucky. He visited
and he talked about the beauty
of the mountains. I think we
have a bite from Senator Paul.
(22:57):
>> I think we can compete with
Tennessee and North Carolina.
Our mountains are every bit as
beautiful, if not more
beautiful. And but they're
getting a lot of traffic. And
it's so crowded down in
Tennessee and places that I
think we can siphon off a lot
of that business. I think we're
talking about millions of
dollars of business. I think
the future of Eastern Kentucky,
(23:18):
a lot of it is tourism.
>> Yes, correct.
>> Russ Paul wants something,
he says, similar to the Bourbon
Trail with with known
attractions and stopping points.
But he says this can be done
with private dollars.
>> Yeah. In speaking with the
senator last week, you know,
his focus is on building a
system that self-sustaining in
that the businesses that would
(23:40):
benefit from the tourists
coming in would be the ones
kind of funding it, and they
would all kind of work together.
And, you know, I asked about,
you know, what happens if an
area like the Red River Gorge
starts getting overrun with
tourists. And he said, you know,
that a system like this would
allow people to direct to a
community like Whitesburg,
(24:01):
which might not be seeing as
many tourists. But yeah, he's
he was big on the no government
funding for it and allowing it
to sustain itself.
>> State Representative Bobby
McCool published an op ed in
your papers indicating he will
push other tourism measures.
One bill would say that local
landowners would not be liable
for rock climbing accidents or
(24:22):
falls and such as that.
>> Yeah, that's been a massive
factor in the establishment of
the ATV trails that we have
been able to establish in
eastern Kentucky. Obviously, if
a landowner is ultimately held
liable for what happens on
their property, they're not
going to allow potentially
dangerous activities like rock
climbing or ATVs on that
(24:45):
property. So yeah, it if you
want these kinds of adventure
tourism things to occur, then
there has to be some
forgiveness of liability for
these property owners, or
they're just not going to let
these activities occur.
>> Russell's talk. Cole, just a
moment. The Trump
administration and the Kentucky
legislature trying to reverse
some policies. You have some
numbers that show just how
(25:06):
steep the decline is in terms
of the number of those now
employed in coal mining.
>> Yeah, absolutely. So
according to data from the
Appalachian Regional Commission,
in 2000, we had just over
12,000 people employed in the
mining industry in Appalachian
Kentucky. By 2023, that had
fallen to about 3200. It's
(25:27):
about a 73% decline. And you
know that right there is you
know, what has happened to
Eastern Kentucky's economy in a
nutshell. So, you know, there's
a lot of talk about making
changes to regulations to make
coal mining more palatable, or
at least to do more of it. And,
you know, really, though, in
(25:49):
talking with numerous experts
on economics and politics and
things of that nature there.
The word of the day is
uncertainty when it comes to
coal, because there's there's
really no way to know whether
these policy changes will
reverse the move away from coal
that has already occurred over
the past two decades.
>> And Eastern Kentuckians are
remembering Steve Cawood, who
(26:10):
passed away last week. Cawood
was a lawyer who was known as a
champion for coal miners, clean
water, better schools, governor
Beshear said Steve dedicated
himself to work that helped
build a brighter future for
Kentuckians. Steve Cawood was
82 years old. That's common on
Kentucky. We thank you for
joining us, and you make it a
(26:31):
good week ahead.
Governor Beshear shifts money
to keep a meal program for
senior citizens going. A
challenger to Congressman
Thomas Massie, with President
Trump's backing, jumps into the
race. Democrats and Republicans
choose their candidates in a
special state Senate election
in Louisville. A key lawmaker
again pushes an amendment to
restrict a governor's power to
(00:32):
pardon. Heading into the week
that leads to Halloween and
then November. Comment is next
on KET. You can feel that fall.
Chill out there. Good evening,
I'm Bill Bryant. We welcome you
(00:52):
to comment on Kentucky, a look
back at and some analysis of
the week's news in the
Commonwealth and the guests on
our panel of working Kentucky
journalists tonight are Sylvia
Goodman, Capitol reporter for
Kentucky Public Radio, Laura
Cullen, Glasscock, editor and
publisher of the Kentucky
Gazette. And joining us
remotely is Russ Cassidy,
(01:14):
regional editor of Appalachian
Newspapers. Also tonight, a new
emphasis on tourism in eastern
Kentucky, and no Kings rallies
were held across the state.
We'll start with the move this
week to keep a senior meal
program going. Governor Beshear
shifted around about $9 million
in what he calls a temporary
(01:34):
solution.
>> No Kentuckian should face
hunger. And while I'm glad we
found a temporary solution, we
must ensure that we understand
our people's needs as well as
the cost controls and
procedures for the senior meal
program to appropriately budget
and run these programs in the
future.
(01:56):
>> Sylvia $305 million state
budget shortfall and the end of
the Covid era dollars means
these programs were on the
verge of being substantially
cut, right?
>> And essentially, they were.
So during the Covid era when
there was these extra funds
coming to the state, Beshear
told area development districts
that they should get rid of
(02:17):
their wait lists, that they
should use this extra funding
to significantly increase their
rolls. And they did. And so for
some of these places, their
rolls doubled or even tripled
in some cases, especially in
some rural areas where need was
very great. And then, you know,
as federal dollars dwindled
post Covid, you know, there
(02:37):
wasn't as much money to fund
those programs. But Beshear was
able to find different places
to keep that program going, at
least for the last year.
There's also, for the first
time, state budget dollars
directed towards this program.
But then mid budget year, the
Beshear, the Beshear
administration told area
development districts that
there would be no more funds
coming, that they were just
getting the budgeted amount for
(02:58):
the year. Many of them had
already spent close to or up to
that budgeted amount on their
expanded roles. But this
funding means that they will be
able to continue largely at
that expanded level, at least
till the end of the fiscal year.
Like you said. Like Beshear
said, I should say it is a
temporary solution.
>> Well, so there's quite a
(03:18):
demand apparently for this,
right?
>> Definitely, definitely.
>> Laura, there's a temporary
solution now that the governor
mentioned. And then an effort
to find a long term solution. I
know the Republicans, like
Senator Greg Elkins, are
leading the charge for these
senior meal programs to be part
of the spending plan, but when
they start talking about that
budget, there is going to be a
(03:40):
lot of competition. For every
dollar.
>> There is going to be a lot
of competition. And that's
typical every year or every two
years, I should say. People
come to Frankfort with their
wish lists and they want their
projects and programs funded.
And besides the usual schools
and transportation and, you
know, the infrastructure stuff
that has to be funded. There
(04:01):
are these other programs that
they still have to be funded to.
Of course, I didn't mean it
like that, but the, the, the
social programs that might be
more at risk because of cuts to
federal dollars. So there is
going to be a lot of shifting
around. You're also seeing
organizations getting in front
of that. The Kctcs Board of
(04:21):
Regents has already made its
budget request public for the
biennium. So we're seeing
people jockeying early earlier
than normal. I think.
>> I also think it's worth
noting that we're also seeing
the effects of income tax cuts,
too. We're going to see some
reduced state budget dollars
revenue dollars. So that's
definitely going to be coming
into play as well.
>> And then you might end up
(04:43):
dipping into the rainy day fund.
Right. So there is going to be
a lot of that shifting around
of what money.
>> Goes where someone will dip
into the rainy day fund for new
initiatives so that yeah, a lot
of discussion about money. And
Russ, I know you've been
following this issue closely
with the the programs for the
seniors. And poverty is highest
in our state in eastern
Kentucky.
(05:05):
>> It is. And we also have an
aging population. This isn't
just an issue about meals, even
though that's obviously part of
it. But for some of these
seniors who are, for example,
shut ins, this may be the only
contact they have with the
person outside their home. So,
you know, these programs are
absolutely vital. A lot of the
discussion right now is about
(05:26):
who's to blame. State Auditor
Alison Ball and Commonwealth
Ombudsman Jonathan Great sent a
letter to legislators this week
blaming the Beshear
administration and saying this
was all preventable. And I'm
sure this is going to be talked
about a lot. But as we go
forward, we're also going to be
watching to see if this money
is allocated in future budgets.
(05:46):
And I know there's going to be
a lot of people really pushing
for that, especially here in
eastern Kentucky.
>> Russ, is the federal
government shutdown goes on.
There are now real questions
about whether Snap benefits
will be added on to the cards
on November 1st. That's next
weekend. We note that the fifth
Congressional District in
eastern and southern Kentucky
(06:08):
is a place where nearly 23% of
people get benefits. What would
be the impact if those benefits
don't show up?
>> Well, the impact will be
great. I mean, some of the
counties in our four county
coverage area in eastern
Kentucky have as much as a
quarter of the population that
receives Snap benefits. So
you're going to have families
that are impacted, that aren't
(06:29):
able to afford food, that are
putting more pressure on food
pantries that are already
stretched due to high food
prices. And then, you know, you
add all this up and it really
does cause like this crisis
that's growing. And I don't
think people are really paying
enough attention to it. I mean,
businesses are going to be
affected from Snap and
employees. So, I mean, you know,
(06:51):
this is a wide ranging
potential, really big issue.
>> And we'll all be watching in
the days ahead. Let's talk some
politics. There were no Kings
rallies around the nation last
weekend, and that included
several in Kentucky. Russ,
those demonstrations were maybe
most robust in the metropolitan
areas of the state and the
larger cities. But there were
(07:13):
protests in eastern Kentucky as
well.
>> Oh, absolutely. There were
small protests in hazard,
Pikeville and Prestonsburg.
Like I said, you know, small
crowds came out. They were very
peaceful rallies holding signs
asking for community support.
They didn't receive a whole lot
of opposition in person.
(07:34):
There's been a lot more social
media activity regarding those
and back and forth on social
media regarding them. And there
was there in person. So, you
know, the opposition is there.
It's small, but there are some
people who who felt strongly
enough to go out there.
>> Laura, we know this is a
(07:55):
very divided time in our
country. The level of political
activism on, on all sides seems
to be much higher these days
than it had been in years past.
>> Yeah, it seems like we're
definitely divided into two
camps. And what we see, too is,
is some of these no Kings
rallies and other protests are
involving a lot of young people.
They're still older folks out
(08:16):
there, too, of course, but a
study from the United Way in
Washington, D.C. found that
about a third of Gen Zers say
that they participate in
activism, and about over 50%,
just over 50% said that they
have attended a rally or a
protest at some point. So there
are a lot of younger people who
(08:36):
feel like to make their voices
heard as a group, because those
in power are not listening to
them.
>> All right. Let's talk about
some of the races. The fourth
district U.S. House race has
come to life as President
Trump's choice to challenge
Congressman Thomas Massie
officially entered the race
this week. Retired Navy Seal Ed
(08:57):
Gallrein is taking on Massie,
who will be well funded and who
has turned back challengers
before Sylvia. Will this be one
to watch?
>> Oh, it's going to be a
really interesting one to watch.
Obviously, Thomas Massie is is
very popular in his own
district. He's been there a
long time. He has great name
recognition. But I mean, you
can't discount President
(09:17):
Trump's name recognition either.
And he has already indicated he
is extremely interested in this
race, and he's going to put a
lot of pressure on his
candidate, on his allies to
support this race and make it
competitive. Obviously, like
you said, Massie has turned
back challengers. Before. It
seemed like Trump was really
working to even get a candidate
going in this race. He's been
(09:38):
talking about finding a
challenger for a while. I do
not envy people in this
district. They've already
started seeing ads. They're
going to see a lot more before
primary day comes. It's going
to be a lot of money going into
this race and a lot of, I think,
national watchers, watchers to
yeah.
>> Massie has drawn a lot of
national attention. Excuse me
for opposing Trump. To me, it's
(09:59):
going to be interesting to see
how Ed Gallrein shifts his
campaign focus from being the
establishment candidate he was
when he ran for the state
Senate in District seven last
year, 2024, and he lost that
race to current state Senator
Aaron Reed by only 118 votes.
So that was a very close race.
(10:19):
But again, the point we've made
many times is the name
recognition is going to be a
deterrent for Gallrein, I think,
because Massie is so well known
to get to come from Shelbyville,
which is, you know, that
western part of that district
to try to get your name out
there might be a little tough
for him.
>> I would think the population
center of that would be
(10:41):
Northern Kentucky. Yeah, yeah.
So we will certainly be
watching there in the fourth
district now in the fifth
district, Congressman Hal
Rogers is the longest serving
member of the U.S. House. He
was elected in 1980. Laura, you
made the point that we were in
high school then.
>> Yeah.
>> Democratic challenger Ned
Pillersdorf is taking him on.
Can Pillersdorf for us gain
(11:02):
traction with the now the
criticism of the budget cuts
that Rogers supported or with
this government shutdown, which
I understand he is attempting
to criticize and gain with?
>> Yeah, I was going to say,
you know, whether it will work
or not. He's definitely doing
it. I mean, you know,
(11:23):
Congressman Rogers votes on
these issues are going to play
a role in this race. How much?
We don't know. I mean, I think
a lot of that's going to depend
on the actual impacts of any
kind of cuts or shortfalls or
temporary pauses or extended
pauses in programs. I think
people are going to be
factoring that in. You know,
(11:44):
we're still a ways off from
that potential race. So we've
got a lot of time to see what's
going to happen. But yeah, I
mean, it is going to be a
factor for Eastern Kentuckians.
As I said, we rely a lot on
those programs. A lot of our
people do. So they're going to
be thinking about that when
they go into the polling place.
>> Rogers, of course, said he
(12:04):
wanted to make programs leaner
and more effective, and so they
could be sustained. Was his
reason in supporting the budget.
You would anticipate, though,
that he would campaign
vigorously to to hold on to his
seat, right?
>> Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I mean,
Congressman Rogers has a
reputation for bringing money
home. That's kind of been his
his primary attribute that he's
(12:28):
put out there. And so I don't
think that's going to end
anytime soon. So, you know,
there's going to be a lot to
kind of parse out as we go over
the next year.
>> All right. In Central
Kentucky, in the sixth district
race, where Andy Barr is hoping
to go to the Senate, there's a
there are crowded primaries on
both sides. And, Laura, you
(12:48):
argue that really nobody has an
advantage on either side.
>> I don't see it yet. It's
still so early and people don't
pay attention. You know, the
average citizens don't.
Obviously we are. And I think
in the sixth district you had
mentioned earlier when we were
talking, if wondering if
(13:09):
senator, former state Senator
Ralph Alvarado, Doctor Alvarado
and former state Representative
Sherilyn Stephenson had a
natural advantage because
they're former state lawmakers.
And I would submit they don't
at this point because of the
campaigning, the the name
recognition, the fact that most
people don't pay a lot of
(13:30):
attention to state affairs,
unfortunately, you know, we can
bring in a conversation about
civics education at this point.
But but it still kind of early.
Also, Sherilyn Stephenson is
having money troubles. She is
in the hole. She has negative
balance on her FEC report of of
(13:51):
September 30th. Alvarado has
$376,000 in 320 cash on hand,
but Stevenson was 30 in the
hole, 30,000 in the hole at the
end of that reporting period.
So is she going to raise the
money? That's what you have to
wonder. And then you look at
others. Democrats like David
(14:12):
Kloiber, who ran for Lexington
Mayor, his name got out there.
He can self-fund a campaign.
And in fact, he is, because
he's given himself $127,000
loan already. So there's
there's still a lot of money
that's in the in the race that
could change things.
Fundraising does not
necessarily equal votes, but it
does let you get your name out
(14:34):
there. And so, you know, the
the money is going to matter
for name recognition for all of
these folks outside of
Lexington.
>> Well, it's interesting to
see how much some of them are
investing in their own campaign.
Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. All right.
At the top of Kentucky's ballot
next year will be that race to
fill the seat that U.S. Senator
Mitch McConnell is leaving open.
(14:55):
We'll look at the race right
now. On the Republican side,
the best known candidates are
Attorney General Daniel Cameron,
Congressman Andy Barr,
businessman Nate Morris. We're
also hearing more now about
Michael Farris, who has far
less money but is managing to
get his word out there.
>> Yeah, he is a veteran and he
(15:16):
owns a helicopter repair
business. And so he is in his
website's really nice. I mean,
I looked at it, it's very
professional, very well done.
So yeah, he's he's working that
race really hard to.
>> On the Democratic side, we
are hearing the name Charles
Booker once again that the
(15:37):
report today from Austin Horn
at the Lexington Herald Leader.
They have a crowded field to
Amy McGrath. House Minority
Leader Pamela Stephenson, a
former CIA agent Joel Willett,
former Secret Service agent.
Logan Forsythe McGrath has name
recognition, obviously, but we
all remember that Booker ran
quite a primary race against
(15:59):
her in 2020.
>> And a former Senate race, of
course, against Rand Paul. Yeah,
no, it's going to be a really
interesting race. I think
you're right that McGrath does.
And Booker too. They both have
some name recognition benefits.
But also they've both lost a
race. So you know I think that
there's still a lot of movement
possible here. Just kind of
depends on, you know, both
(16:20):
their fundraising potential,
especially for those newcomers
to see how they do and then
also to see, you know, how they
create their their brand in
this race that, you know,
frankly, most people still
think, most pundits think will
go towards Republicans. How
will Democrats be able to show
that they can launch a
competitive race here?
>> Yeah. And Booker did not
comment as to whether he has
interest. But apparently Austin
(16:42):
was hearing quite a bit of that.
>> I've heard sources say that
to write that book and that
excuse me, the D triple C has
talked with Booker.
>> Apparently we had thought
there'd be no elections in 2025,
but there will be a special
election in Louisville in
December to fill the seat of
David Yates, who's been
appointed Jefferson County
clerk. Both parties have now
(17:02):
chosen their nominees. Sylvia,
we have there names and
pictures there on screen. Gary
Clemons, who will represent the
Democrats, and Calvin Leach for
the Republicans.
>> Right. We also have a third,
Wendy Higdon, who's running as
a libertarian. Those are the
three who filed. Filing
deadline has passed, I
understand. And so those are
(17:23):
the three names that will be on
the ballot. Gary Clemons, local
union leader in south
Louisville. Calvin Leach,
retired U.S. Army veteran. And
it's going to be an interesting
race since it's such a close,
tight deadline. Now, I should
note that today I actually I
published a story about Calvin
Leach. I unearthed a 2018 blog
(17:46):
post from him in which he
pretty strongly denigrated
women, especially of his own
generation. He used some pretty
crass epithets to refer to
women, calling them promiscuous
and untrustworthy. A lot of
other things, too. He has
defended that post to me as of
when I talked to him on
(18:06):
Thursday, you know, saying that
it was mostly dating advice,
not political, but, you know,
so that's something to keep in
mind also. But this race is
really just starting to get
going at all.
>> Has he since responded to
your reporting?
>> He hasn't responded to my
article itself. As far as I'm
aware, the Louisville GOP did
tell the Courier-Journal that
(18:27):
they were not aware of that.
The article that he wrote when
they picked him for the nominee.
>> All right. It will be an
interesting race to watch.
They'll be campaigning during
the holidays. But former Vice
President Kamala Harris carried
that district with 52% of the
vote. Yates was popular,
usually had a larger margin,
(18:48):
but we'll be watching that very
closely. It could affect the
the the margin in the Senate,
which it's.
>> It's it's it's not a close
margin in the Senate.
>> Democrats only hold five
seats. Yates was.
>> The sixth.
>> 33 for Republicans. So it
wouldn't exactly change the
balance of power. But it is you
know, Democrats need to hold on
(19:09):
to the seats that they have.
>> So in Frankfort, the 2026
legislative session now just
over two months away. And
there's a push, again, for a
constitutional amendment to
limit a governor's pardoning
power. State Senator Chris
McDaniel unsuccessfully pushed
this before, but he is bringing
it back up again. Laura, the
catalyst for this is that the
pardons the former governor,
(19:30):
Matt Bevin, issued.
>> That's right. This actually
is the seventh time. So maybe
for Senator McDaniel, this will
be lucky. Number seven. And
he's basically using that as a,
as you said, as a catalyst with
Bevin's pardons after he when
he was leaving office, he
pardoned a lot of people who
(19:50):
later went on to or not a lot,
but he pardoned people who went
on to commit other crimes. And
the constitutional amendment
that Senator McDaniel is
proposing would create a window
during which governors would
not be able to pardon people.
So it would it would be
(20:11):
centered around the election
itself.
>> All right. Fluoride in the
water is back as an issue.
There are proposals to allow
local water providers to handle
that question as they as they
are dentists, of course, don't
like that approach.
>> We have 79 years of quality
(20:31):
science showing that this is
effective. And, you know, it's
no different than the done in
the salt, which when was the
last time you saw somebody with
a goiter, you know, or the
vitamin D in the milk. So I
think, you know, there's
different ways to look at a lot
of different things. This is
considered one of the top
(20:51):
public health campaigns in the
history of the United States of
America. Is the fluoridation of
water.
>> Okay. So this is something
that Sylvia were watching very
closely right now. It failed
last time, but is back again,
right?
>> It's been proposed quite a
few times at this point, but it
seems in the past couple of
years at least, it's been
(21:12):
moving, inching further and
further closer to reaching the
end of the line. So, you know,
when I first covered the
legislature two years ago, it
made it past a committee vote.
Last year, it made it this year,
I suppose this year it made it
past a House vote. It died in
the Senate. But it's definitely
really interesting to watch.
(21:33):
It's all part of the this
campaign. I think Robert F
Kennedy Jr has pushed that, you
know, promotes some fears about
public health campaigns. This
is was considered one of the
greatest public health
campaigns of the 20th century.
Now some people are pointing to
newer research that higher
levels of fluoride higher than
(21:53):
is in Kentucky water double
actually more than double than
Kentucky water can have some
negative impacts on child brain
development. And essentially
this would just give the water
districts the ability not to
put fluoride. It would reverse
the mandate that is currently
in effect.
>> Russ, this issue comes up. A
lot of cities provide water to
county water districts. And
what if one wants it and the
(22:15):
other doesn't? Would a system
be capable of splitting its
supply?
>> Well, I think more likely
what would happen, because we
do have conflicts that arise
between city and county water
districts over, you know,
issues of rates and things of
that nature. I mean, they would
have to come to the table and
figure it out, or it would more
(22:37):
than most likely just end up in
court and be decided there,
that that's kind of the
direction that these kinds of
issues, the conflicts between
districts go.
>> So Senator Rand Paul is
hoping to develop a
non-government tourism trail in
eastern Kentucky. He visited
and he talked about the beauty
of the mountains. I think we
have a bite from Senator Paul.
(22:57):
>> I think we can compete with
Tennessee and North Carolina.
Our mountains are every bit as
beautiful, if not more
beautiful. And but they're
getting a lot of traffic. And
it's so crowded down in
Tennessee and places that I
think we can siphon off a lot
of that business. I think we're
talking about millions of
dollars of business. I think
the future of Eastern Kentucky,
(23:18):
a lot of it is tourism.
>> Yes, correct.
>> Russ Paul wants something,
he says, similar to the Bourbon
Trail with with known
attractions and stopping points.
But he says this can be done
with private dollars.
>> Yeah. In speaking with the
senator last week, you know,
his focus is on building a
system that self-sustaining in
that the businesses that would
(23:40):
benefit from the tourists
coming in would be the ones
kind of funding it, and they
would all kind of work together.
And, you know, I asked about,
you know, what happens if an
area like the Red River Gorge
starts getting overrun with
tourists. And he said, you know,
that a system like this would
allow people to direct to a
community like Whitesburg,
(24:01):
which might not be seeing as
many tourists. But yeah, he's
he was big on the no government
funding for it and allowing it
to sustain itself.
>> State Representative Bobby
McCool published an op ed in
your papers indicating he will
push other tourism measures.
One bill would say that local
landowners would not be liable
for rock climbing accidents or
(24:22):
falls and such as that.
>> Yeah, that's been a massive
factor in the establishment of
the ATV trails that we have
been able to establish in
eastern Kentucky. Obviously, if
a landowner is ultimately held
liable for what happens on
their property, they're not
going to allow potentially
dangerous activities like rock
climbing or ATVs on that
(24:45):
property. So yeah, it if you
want these kinds of adventure
tourism things to occur, then
there has to be some
forgiveness of liability for
these property owners, or
they're just not going to let
these activities occur.
>> Russell's talk. Cole, just a
moment. The Trump
administration and the Kentucky
legislature trying to reverse
some policies. You have some
numbers that show just how
(25:06):
steep the decline is in terms
of the number of those now
employed in coal mining.
>> Yeah, absolutely. So
according to data from the
Appalachian Regional Commission,
in 2000, we had just over
12,000 people employed in the
mining industry in Appalachian
Kentucky. By 2023, that had
fallen to about 3200. It's
(25:27):
about a 73% decline. And you
know that right there is you
know, what has happened to
Eastern Kentucky's economy in a
nutshell. So, you know, there's
a lot of talk about making
changes to regulations to make
coal mining more palatable, or
at least to do more of it. And,
you know, really, though, in
(25:49):
talking with numerous experts
on economics and politics and
things of that nature there.
The word of the day is
uncertainty when it comes to
coal, because there's there's
really no way to know whether
these policy changes will
reverse the move away from coal
that has already occurred over
the past two decades.
>> And Eastern Kentuckians are
remembering Steve Cawood, who
(26:10):
passed away last week. Cawood
was a lawyer who was known as a
champion for coal miners, clean
water, better schools, governor
Beshear said Steve dedicated
himself to work that helped
build a brighter future for
Kentuckians. Steve Cawood was
82 years old. That's common on
Kentucky. We thank you for
joining us, and you make it a
(26:31):
good week ahead.
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My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.