October 3, 2025

Journalists from around the state discuss the news of the week with host Bill Bryant, including the possible impacts of a federal government shutdown on the commonwealth. Panelists: Austin Horn, Lexington Herald-Leader; Jess Clark, Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting; and Liam Niemeyer, Kentucky Lantern.

Episode Transcript

(00:12):
government shutdown.
Congressional candidates talk
issues in the race to replace
Andy Barr, who is running for
the U.S. Senate. More hints
emerge about the 2020 race for
Kentucky governor. The state's
two largest school districts
deal with financial challenges
and audits from the state. The
horses areunngn e ll
me aeelandomntisexonET. Good ev.

(00:46):
I'm Bill Bryant and we welcome
you 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 Liam
Niemeyer, reporter for the
Kentucky Lantern. Jess Clark,
education reporter for the
Kentucky Center for

(01:06):
Investigative Reporting, and
Austin Horn, senior political
reporter for the Lexington
Herald-Leader. Also tonight,
what Senator Rand Paul has to
say about possibly running for
president in 2028. And Kentucky
issues a statewide health alert
about West Nile virus. But
first, Kentuckians deal with
the federal government shutdown.

(01:27):
More than 23,000 federal
civilian employees work here in
Kentucky, and some programs and
services are uncertain at the
moment. Governor Andy Beshear
had this to say.
>> 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

(01:48):
currently furloughed and not
receiving their salaries. It is
going to be really difficult on
them. Most programs that come
through Kentucky will continue.
We've done it before. 'ldo
S tre ia ewrotongt d tda
t everybody seems to thinke bmea

(02:16):
this is no way to run the
federal government.
>> Yeah, I mean, it's
absolutely a blame game. And
what we know from the early
polling is that a slight
plurality, I don't think a
majority, but a plurality of
voters tend to blame the
Republican Party and President
Trump. That could shift. This
is a narrative game where
everybody's kind of taking

(02:37):
their their side on this. But
this is just not the normal
appropriations process. Even
before we were on continuing
resolutions, and that's what
was debated before we went into
this shutdown, was another
continuing resolution. Usually
there are 12 separate
appropriations bills filed, and
those have just been stalled.
>> Liam, as we noted, Democrats

(02:59):
are demanding action on health
care costs. Republicans say
that can be handled later and
that this is just being thrown
into the discussion when it
need not be. What is the health
insurance issue? And that could
cause some to pay more?
>> It you know, a big line of
contention is this subsidy for
Affordable Care Act health care

(03:20):
plans called Advanced Premium
Tax Credits, which is basically,
you know, they they were
enhanced through the American
Rescue Plan back in 2021.
Basically, for example, if
you're a person with an income
of 100 to 150% of the poverty

(03:41):
line, you can get potentially
$0 on a premium for specific
plans. And it also the cap for
premiums were lowered for for
all sorts of plans through this
enhancement. And basically
without, you know, without any
action by Congress to extend

(04:02):
these subsidies, they could
expire. And, you know, there's
been analyzes done by the
Congressional Budget Office,
the progressive think tank in
Kentucky. Kentucky Center for
Economic Policy has done an
analysis stating that tens of
thousands of Kentuckians could
see significant increases in
their health insurance cost.

(04:24):
And that's also coming on the
heels of provisions and the One
Big Beautiful Bill act that
that put, I guess, you know,
depending on who you talk to,
you know, barriers on specific
plans in the Affordable Care
Act. And again, as you said,
Republicans say, you know, this

(04:45):
doesn't need to be debated. Now,
the government can be funded
through a continuing resolution,
and Democrats are trying to put
a line in the sand that we need
to address.
>> This now seems to be where
we are. Yes, we're all trying
to figure out the impact of
this shutdown on Kentucky. A
lot of school districts were on
fall break this week, but could
there be some impacts on

(05:05):
schools if this shutdown
continues.
>> Right now? No. Most of the
federal funding that comes to
Kentucky schools was made
available in July for the year.
There is, however, a question
about the child nutrition
program. That's what provides
school lunches to kids. That is

(05:26):
kind of a reimbursement based
program. So they already are
reimbursed for they'll get
reimbursed for September. But
once districts try to reimburse
for for the state tries to
reimburse for October, that
could be an issue if the
shutdown has continued. So
bottom line is, if it goes on a
month, there could be some

(05:46):
issues. But for now, there's
not.
>> Some programs that are
ancillary maybe to schools. But
we know health departments
indicate they could fall behind
in their programs.
>> Right. There are some health
departments that rely on
federal grants. And so there
could be a delay in those funds
coming down. The other issue in
terms of, you know, health and
food, is that Snap benefits

(06:09):
those. Also, if the if the
shutdown extends longer than a
month, then those Snap benefits
could, you know, come into
question whether we can get
reimbursed for those.
>> And, you know, this early in
the shutdown, it sort of
remains to be seen. You know,
how significant the effects
could be. It seems to be pretty
limited in the first few days.

(06:31):
You know, I mean, take, for
example, national parks,
Mammoth Cave National Park
still open. It has limited
services. And there's been
concerns from, you know, the
union representing park
employees of staffing levels
and being able to provide
maintenance to parks,
especially with understaffing
and and limited staffing amid

(06:52):
the shutdown. But as of now, I
mean, things such as that
they're still operating.
>> Yeah. Austin, as we all try
to figure out how this
eventually ends, members of
Congress still get paid. But
Democratic Congressman Morgan
McGarvey and Republican Brett
Guthrie are asking that their
pay be withheld.
>> Yeah, this is generally a
good political move, you know,

(07:13):
to to express somewhat of
solidarity with federal workers.
And it just goes to show all
the different kind of smaller
facets that that the shutdown
really affects. Senator
McConnell just sent a letter to
Secretary of Defense Pete
Hegseth, and he even wrote out
in all caps with two

(07:34):
exclamation points, urgent
about two football programs.
That's Fort Campbell and Fort
Knox who can't hold football
practices or games. I believe
their game tonight was canceled
and it was homecoming for
McLean County. So it just this
affects a lot of areas that we

(07:56):
might not suspect it.
>> Yeah. Yet to be seen as as
Liam was saying, we have talked
a lot about Governor Andy
Beshear potentially running for
president, but I interviewed
Senator Rand Paul this week. He
made it clear that he is
keeping that door open to
running for president in 2028.
>> I think there need to be
voices like mine who think that

(08:16):
deficits are wrong, no matter
which party is in power. I will
continue to vote to have
international trade. I think
international trade has made us
rich as a country and has made
the world a better place. And I
think there needs to be a voice
for that in the Republican
Party. And I feel that the tide
has been going the other way.
ana norheredey.hether that

(08:36):
Ati cldhe bar
rtnlbeefitawan
whal, as he said, would
push for robust international
trade?
>> I think so, and I think what
he's doing right now, you could
really see it as savvy. A lot
of potential political

(08:57):
contenders try to read The Room
as it is right now. And in the
Republican Party, that is
loyalty to Trump in every way,
shape or form. But what Paul is
doing here, as I see it, is a
little bit more reading the tea
leaves and kind of carving out
this, I told you so sort of

(09:17):
lane, because you can imagine a
future, you know, there's a
possibility that we're in a
recession. Trump is about the
same age at this point in his
term as Joe Biden was in his
last term. So maybe there are
similar questions around old
age and competency that pop up.
And, you know, if his approval
rating is underwater, we're in
a recession. You could really

(09:39):
see somebody like Rand Paul who
is not tied to the
administration in the way that
the current vice president or
the current secretary of state
is present himself as a
legitimate alternative.
>> When Paul ran for reelection
and for president in 2016, the
Republicans had to hold a
caucus because he could not be
on the ballot twice. That
situation would be likely again.

(10:01):
>> Remains to be seen. I think
he's indicated that he'd try to
make both happen in the same
way. That could happen via the
Republican Party as it did last
time. Or it could happen. You
know, the General Assembly
could pass a law. They've
passed plenty of laws at the
request of Mitch McConnell, and
they could very well do one at
the request of Paul.

(10:22):
>> So what says the pan,
ndaubo i t re r
e ssily. Wll s.mn,he'sefity
nar tc MonllwhisPa wld n cosafae
reri nt ar. He told me

(10:44):
that he is unlikely to endorse
a candidate.
>> Yeah, I think he's playing
it safe at this point. You know,
all three candidates, in my
view, have a real lane to this.
As of this point in the race,
Paul has been connected in the
past more so to Maurice and

(11:05):
Cameron. Maurice was somebody
who opened up his Rolodex to
Rand Paul when he was running
for president in 2016. He was a
key ally because he had all his
contacts from raising a bunch
of money for his business,
Rubicon. At the same time, Paul
campaigned a good amount with
Cameron in 2023, and PACs
affiliated with Paul helped him

(11:25):
out. But now you know the PAC
club for growth, or at least
their own affiliate PAC, which
is very much tied to the Rand
Paul network, is going against
Andy Barr, the third candidate
here. So you kind of you get
the sense that he might support
Cameron or Maurice and maybe
not Barr. I don't want to speak

(11:45):
for him, but that's kind of
where we stand at now.
>> Well, the Democrats may
potentially be getting another
Senate candidate. We're hearing.
>> Yeah, I mean, this is a
crowded field already. There
are three very legitimate US
Senate candidates running right
now. We know that. Or at least
I've heard from people that Amy

(12:07):
McGrath is seriously
considering the race. We
reported that we can change ago.
Don't think anything has
changed. She's somebody who is
very familiar to the state
through her past couple runs.
And it also seems like we might
get sort of an outsider
candidate from Louisville in in
Dale Romans, who's a sort of a

(12:27):
famous in the industry horse
trainer who I think he's won
his horses have won $125
million. He he could sort of
play this outsider businessman
role who maybe wouldn't have to
play by the same kind of party
rules as, as some other people
would.
>> And the Republican race just
continues, along with the

(12:49):
heated ads and the the
candidates trying to become
better known.
>> Yeah. And both Andy Barr and
Nate Morris have a lot of money
at their at their dispense. And
they can they can make a bunch
of noise on TV. That said,
Daniel Cameron has very high
name ID, so it's going to be
tough to chip away at at a
politician that voters already

(13:10):
know.
>> All right. The Republican
candidates for the US House in
the sixth district appeared
together this week. Ryan Dodson
and Deanna Gordon are state
representatives. Former state
senator Ralph Alvarado. They
went before the college
Republicans at UK. How did they
distinguish themselves?
>> Yeah, I would say the way to
think about it right now is

(13:31):
Alvarado is trying to cast
himself as the favorite. I
think, given his past
experience, it's probably fair
to say that at this point in
the race, he is he's somebody
who we know is going toai a
o n eaerwe.oua t

(13:57):
know, he knows what to say to
the base, and he's casting
himself as the most
conservative, which we know is
usually a pretty good tactic.
>> Particularly on cultural
issues.
>> Yes. You know, he's he's
really beat the drum on
anti-LGBTQ issues, things like
that that are really hot in the

(14:18):
Republican Party. And then
you've got Dana Gordon, the
representative from Richmond,
who is sort of playing a
similar playbook when it comes
to being tied to Trump, tied to
MAGA, but is also kind of
adding this extra wrinkle of
I'm somebody who's relatable to
maybe a more moderate voter,
not necessarily calling herself

(14:39):
moderate, but somebody who
could be more relatable. And
the weird thing about this
district, I think, is there are
a lot of registered Republicans
in Lexington who haven't really
bothered to change their
registration. There will be a
contingent of legitimately
moderate voters out there. I
don't think that's as true in a

(14:59):
statewide race, but in this
district, that's a group that
is out there that's up for
grabs when everybody else is
singing from the Trump hymnal.
>> All right. The Democrats
have a crowded primary. Former
state representative Sherilyn
Stevenson, Aaron Petrie, former
federal prosecutor Zach Dembo
and former Lexington Council
member David Kloiber round out
that field. You think there may

(15:19):
be a favorite?
>> I think so, I think it's
fair at this point to call
Sherilyn Stevenson the favorite.
Similar to Ralph Alvarado,
she's the most connected in the
party. She got the endorsement
from Lieutenant Governor
Jacqueline Coleman. But at the
same time, we know Zach Dembo
is out there raising a bunch of
money. He's a talented speaker.

(15:41):
Erin Petrie made a splash with
her entry as sort of a bourbon
oriented candidate. It was a
cool video that she made, and
David Kloiber is somebody who
has name ID in the district and
we know has resources to spend.
>> All right. We will get back
to some politics, but let's
talk education and schools.
Jess, an agreement has been
made between the University of
Kentucky and the federal

(16:02):
Department of Education after
the department said UK violated
the federal Civil Rights Act,
and the president has released
a letter in response.
>> Yes. So the US Department of
Education found that UK
violated the Civil Rights Act
because it participated in this
program called the PhD project,
and this was a nonprofit that

(16:25):
helps underrepresented students,
minorities get into
postgraduate business school.
And the department decided that
because it made its decisions,
gave opportunities to students
based on their race, that it
violated the Civil Rights Act
and the University of Kentucky,
you know, agreed with the the

(16:50):
federal government to stop its
ties with this program and then
also agreed to cut ties with
any other similar programs. And
so it has, I think, 60 days to
find any other programs that
consider race in, in, in any
way and to cut ties with those
programs as well.
>> Kentucky's two largest
school districts are facing
audits. In Fayette County,

(17:11):
there's a $16 million deficit,
and auditor Alison Ball says
she wants to know how it
happened and how a similar
scenario can be avoided in the
future. Your goal, then, is
what you're saying here is to
give them a corrective plan.
>> Yes, that is exactly right.
So we're going to get in there.
We're doing a penny by penny.
We're going to review it
thoroughly, figure out how we
got to the spot that we're in,

(17:32):
and then what needs to be done
to fix it, because my goal is
to get them in good footing for
the future. So one of the nice
things about our ability as
enfyg obmsr atat we're not jus
aitf e PS, and thatinyo tlsnday
could come soon. And then she's

(17:53):
just beginning her look at
Fayette County.
>> Right. Both of these
districts are facing some
budget problems. As you
mentioned, Fayette County
Public Schools has a $16
million deficit. There's a lot
of community argument over how
that happened and why. The
Herald-Leader did some great
reporting this week about
lavish spending by top
executives. JCPS has $188

(18:15):
million shortfall. That kind of
ballooned suddenly. And so ball
is looking into both of those
school districts. And so it'll
be really interesting to see
what she finds. Both those
districts are also pursuing
external audits on their own as
well.
>> And she also told me she's
getting more tips and more
questions about other school

(18:36):
districts now that there's so
much news about the largest two
districts.
>> Yeah, I'm not surprised. I
mean, both of these districts,
one of the issues appears to be
that all this hundreds of
millions of dollars in Esser
funding and federal pandemic
relief funding was was used to
fund positions that were then
kind of looped into the general

(18:57):
fund, even though there may not
have been actually the funds to
continue to pay for them year
after year after year. And so
if it's happening and both of
these districts, I wouldn't be
surprised if it was happening
in other districts as well.
>> Kentucky school districts
are considering moral
dea w w tt oves
Rhto this law basically

(19:19):
outlines a process so that an
applicant in Kentucky, it's
generally been this company
called Lifewise that applies to
the school board and says, hey,
we're going to come to your
school. We're going to pick
your kids up and take them to
an off site location and give
them an hour of Bible study.
And so school districts under

(19:39):
the state law have the ability
to either approve that
application or not approve it.
And different school districts
have been doing different
things across the state.
>> All right, back to some
politics. We'll try to do some
more education. David Yates is
the current state Senate
minority whip, and one of six
Democrats in the Kentucky
Senate will be the new interim
Jefferson County clerk,

(20:00):
replacing Bobbie Holsclaw, who
passed away September 10th. He
says he feels prepared for the
job based on past experience.
>> As I look back on my path
from Assistant Attorney general,
the UAW legal, the Metro
Council to Metro Council
president, the State Senate,
the state Senate leadership,

(20:20):
all while being a litigator for
Lm Yesiler uilve that his l
thneleiofocotyclkn . aslrdyruine
is the choice of the mayor of

(20:40):
Louisville, correct?
>> Yeah. The mayor will vote.
Craig Greenberg also appointed
interim county sheriff as well.
And it leaves the Democrats in
the Senate with only five
remaining Democrats until
Beshear comes and sets a
special election. And, you know,

(21:00):
it remains to be seen. You know
who will replace Yates. Yates
was asked about it, and he told
a media outlet in Louisville
that, you know, it would be up
to the Louisville Democratic
Party, each respective parties
to put up a candidate for the
special election. So, yeah,
we'll see.
>> And the governor will call
that. And presumably it will be
before the session. The 2027
governor's race moving into

(21:22):
view now, this week's Wendell
Ford dinner in Montgomery
County may have offered some
clues about the Democratic side.
Austin Democrats headed toward
a Rocky Adkins versus
Jacqueline Coleman primary.
>> All signs point to yes.
Rocky Adkins. I think he
delivered a 19 20 minute speech,

(21:43):
and he had that crowd rocking
puntde Iue. And, you
know, he just has this kind of
old timey political stump feel
to him that he's still got that,
said Jacqueline Coleman, at the
same time, has raised her name

(22:04):
ID significantly as lieutenant
governor, has been an effective
politician. As lieutenant
governor, she's she's going to,
you know, all the events that
one would expect of a potential
future governor candidate. The
question to me is, do they
decide to run a campaign where
they throw barbs at each other,

(22:26):
or do they not, because Rocky
Adkins noted in his speech that
he and Beshear, when they ran
in 2019, notably did not hit
each other. That came from Adam
Edelen and them to Adam Edelen.
Now, do they have some kind of
agreement where they agree to
work together in the general

(22:46):
election? If they if one of
them wins and the other loses,
I don't know.
>> Are the Republicans headed
toward a James Comer versus
Michael Adams primary?
>> Potentially. I hear Stan
Cave is a name that's thrown
out there, but a blast from the
past. But but he's somebody who
might also be thinking of this.
James Comer has really

(23:08):
assiduously worked to get the
power structure of the
Republican Party in a bunch of
different localities on his
side. But Michael Adams also
has his own sort of lane that
he's worked to carve out. He
got the most votes, as he
frequently reminds people in
2023, so things could get
interesting.
>> All right. Well, this is
interesting. Out of

(23:28):
southeastern Kentucky, a
special circuit judge, David
Williams, ruled this week that
the City council in London
improperly impeached Mayor
Randall Whittle. The city
council, which was unanimous in
its effort to remove Whittle,
is now appealing. After
returning to office. Whittle
said this.
>> The greatest coup that we've
seen, I think, in southeast

(23:49):
Kentucky has happened. A judges
overturned their decision, and
when you have individuals that
does not have any real idea of
fiscal responsibility, and they
just want to keep wasting
taxpayer money, there is the
usatn r . he
Wl,he h bn loein ts ty

(24:11):
ofra iLoon, no question
about that. Some cities have
that and others don't. Right?
>> Yeah. I mean, you know, when
I was out covering a local
governments in western Kentucky,
West Kentucky. Yeah, plenty,
plenty of drama. I mean, I
remember, you know, one case
out in Crittenden County where
they were dealing with a water

(24:31):
shortage that was precipitated
by, you know, having to drain a
lake from a failing dam. You
had a lot of local politics in
Germany going on. Obviously,
Weddle and the London situation,
its own unique circumstances,
but plenty of drama.
>> That doesn't have to be a
tough situation where the the

(24:52):
council has voted to remove the
person that they now are
working with, right.
>> Oh my God, it's bizarre. And
I think the reason why it's
such a big story in the state
and why this is getting a lot
of coverage, is because of the
scandal around Wendell Randall
Waddell's contributions to
Governor Beshear. He used one

(25:12):
credit card in a bunch of
different people's names. So
that's why this is kind of
broken through. But it's still
just a remarkable story.
>> A contribution that was
returned. Well.
>> It was yes.
>> Those were just quickly.
This marks the 50th anniversary
of racial integration in the
Jefferson County Public Schools.

(25:32):
There were bussing
controversies then. Is it all
still evolving?
>> Yes. I mean, the integration
plan has been evolving since
day one. The most recent
iteration is allowing more
students to attend school
closer to home, which was
supposed to be, you know, more
fair to black students in the

(25:54):
West End. At the same time,
it's increasing segregation
across the district. And so
that comes with its own
challenges.
>> All right. Buffalo trace
held a celebration marking its
9,000,000th barrel of bourbon
since prohibition. The
accomplishment was even more
newsworthy because it came just
months after flooding left some
of the facility under water and

(26:15):
on a warm and sunny day.
Keeneland opened its fall meet
Friday. There's a record purse
of nearly $11 million, big
crowds expected as the track is
showing off some new features
as well. That's comment o
Keuc. anyooroingusHa gd week ah.