Whip-poor-wills in the state and across the eastern half of the country are experiencing a severe “rapid and sustained” decline that scientists say has been happening for decades.
The Murray community was invited to speak in a public hearing on the Murray Planning Commission’s draft for a data center ordinance , which would locally regulate the rising national concern. …
New rules would change how federal research dollars are awarded.
Lexington and Louisville have begun the process to control or ban hyperscale data centers.
Zach Dembo is the guy to flip Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, the state’s top Democrats say. However, Republicans believe Central Kentucky is solid red territory.
Not all jurisdictions requested an extension
Former Kentucky Democratic Senate Whip Dennis Parrett died Sunday. He was 66.
Daviess County Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen said he hadn’t heard of the term “hyperscale” before. That is until news broke that an enormous, hyperscale data center was being planned at the site of an idled aluminum mill in Hancock County next door. “There’s much to learn,” Castlen told the Lantern in a recent phone interview. “People […]
Kentucky's open records laws are under increasing attack by the legislature and courts.
Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has been ordered to serve 60 days in jail after he failed to meet Friday’s noon deadline for producing complete financial information in a court battle involving his estranged son, Jonah Bevin. Bevin previously avoided two jail sentences for contempt of court in the case — once by trying to […]
The fight over hyperscale data centers in Kentucky reminds me of a similar fight decades ago over mega-landfills. Then, as now, Kentucky had cheap land and lots of it, with very little zoning. Then, as now, Kentuckians found themselves on the receiving end of huge decisions over which they had no say. What Kentucky did […]
FRANKFORT — As communities around Kentucky protest planned data centers, a new state energy group says data centers can be part of the state’s future, thanks to its cheap power and available land. The state can bring in hyperscale data centers while also ensuring electricity ratepayers are protected, the executive director of the Energy Planning […]
When I published “Annihilating the Hillbilly” in 1971, the manifesto argued that the stereotyping of Appalachian people was not folklore but a tool. Coal operators, federal agencies, national media, and political elites used the hillbilly caricature to blame mountain people for conditions created by absentee ownership and extractive industries. The image was a weapon. The […]
The chairman of the Fayette County Board of Education is suing to block a new Kentucky law that would remove him from office. Tyler Murphy, who has been on the school board since 2019, filed a lawsuit against Senate Bill 4 in Franklin County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Before the General Assembly passed the legislation […]
Boyd County residents packed a raucous public meeting about a proposed data center on Monday night, sometimes yelling and booing over non-disclosure agreements signed by local elected officials and whether the environment and ratepayers would be protected. Attendees packed the Boyd County Convention and Arts Center just days after the data center developer TeraWulf announced […]
President Donald Trump has nominated former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Nate Morris to become ambassador to Colombia. Morris’ nomination was among dozens sent to the U.S. Senate Monday evening. The chamber has confirmation power over the president’s appointees. Morris had been one of several Republicans vying to succeed Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, but he […]
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has again gone to court to challenge Republican-backed efforts to shift powers within Kentucky’s executive branch. Beshear’s latest lawsuit, filed in Franklin Circuit Court after the 2026 legislative session ended, is aimed at blocking House Bill 10. The legislation, which the GOP-controlled General Assembly approved over the governor’s veto, would give […]
FRANKFORT, Ky. – In April Gov. Andy Beshear delivered a strong warning about partisan donors exerting “undue outside influence” on the direction of the University of Kentucky. Yet, a different kind of partisan donor – insiders – officially oversee Kentucky’s flagship state university. They are the governors’ appointees to the UK Board of Trustees, and […]
We won. I keep typing that and staring at it. On May 1, 2026, Jefferson Circuit Judge Brian C. Edwards ruled in Sobel v. Cameron that Kentucky’s statutory definition of “human being” as beginning at fertilization was unconstitutionally vague. With this ruling, the Court recognized that Kentucky’s laws created real fear and real confusion. The […]
Like many Kentuckians, state Sen. Chris McDaniel was horrified when he found out that Gov. Matt Bevin had pardoned a group of hardened criminals just as he was leaving Frankfort. The Ryland Heights Republican was so horrified that he embarked on a seven-year journey to make sure it couldn’t happen again. “There were lots of […]