Louisville Metro Council candidate facing pandemic loan fraud charges Betty Bailey, who is running in a crowded field of candidates looking to represent District 5 on Louisville Metro Council, was recently indicted on federal charges.

Betty Bailey, who is running in a crowded field of candidates looking to represent District 5 on Louisville Metro Council, was recently indicted on federal charges. www.lpm.org/news/2026-04...

Louisville animator tackles early stop-motion techniques in film project Animator Roy Taylor depicts a tale of loss and mystery in “Crow Maiden,” his first feature-length film.

Cool local arts story from @g-nizzle.bsky.social!

Good suggestion, thanks Jeff!

Louisville lawmakers don’t want to say where city’s license plate readers keep watch Public unlikely to see where controversial license plate readers are located.

Louisville residents are unlikely to see where the city's controversial Flock license plate readers are located. Metro Council members recommended against revealing where they are this week. Meanwhile, Kentucky state lawmakers approved a new law setting some guardrails around this tech.

New reporting from me on Louisville police's fatal shooting last month of a woman having a mental health crisis.

ICE arrests, deportations up in Kentucky under Trump Fresh data sheds light on arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, operating in Kentucky, since President Trump regained office.

I analyzed newly released federal data that reveals the scope of Kentucky-based arrests by ICE since President Donald Trump regained office. Check out the findings here:

Kentucky lawmakers pass $32B state budget, send to Gov. Beshear The Kentucky General Assembly’s GOP supermajority waited until the final day before the veto period to pass a two-year state budget and a bill spending $1.7 billion on specific projects.

The Kentucky General Assembly’s GOP supermajority waited until the final day before the veto period to pass a two-year state budget and a bill spending $1.7 billion on specific projects. bit.ly/4ciqdVQ

Kentucky legislature passes bill slimming JCPS board, calls for new election Kentucky lawmakers passed a bill that would shrink the Jefferson County Board of Education to five from seven and create new district maps.

thanks to late-night magnificence of @justinhicks.lpm.org I think we are the only outlet with a map of what the new JCPS school districts would look like under SB4 (heading to the guv)

Click through to see, but let's just say they look pretty different

Kentucky AG asks judge to move toward restarting executions after 15-year pause The Kentucky attorney general wants a two-decade-old case over the death penalty thrown out. Here’s how that motion could take Kentucky a step closer to restarting executions.

The Kentucky attorney general wants a two-decade-old case over the death penalty thrown out. Here’s how that motion could take Kentucky a step closer to restarting executions.

www.lpm.org/news/2026-03...

Appeals judge recalls arrest warrant for former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin A Court of Appeals judge recalled the arrest warrant issued earlier this week against former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, who was found in contempt of court.

A Court of Appeals judge recalled the arrest warrant issued earlier this week against former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, who was found in contempt of court. www.lpm.org/news/2026-03...

Louisville police are using drones to monitor some protests Louisville residents protest to share their views on current events and social issues. Local police sometimes monitor them with drones.

Louisville residents protest to share their views on current events and social issues. Local police sometimes monitor them with drones. From @byrobertor.lpm.org with an assist from the KyCIR crew:

Geologic hydrogen: A carbon-free energy source that could be just underneath Kentuckians' feet Geologists say an untapped, carbon-free energy source could be underneath parts of Kentucky. So why isn’t anyone trying to use it?

My latest on @wkmsfm.bsky.social: Geologists say an untapped, carbon-free energy source could be just sitting underneath parts of Kentucky, particularly the far western and southcentral parts of the Bluegrass State. So ... why isn’t anyone trying to use it?
www.wkms.org/science/2026...

Pike County coal operator files for bankruptcy, owes state millions According to court filings, Clintwood owes the Kentucky State Treasury more than $3.3 million in severance taxes.

Further contraction of the coal industry in eastern Kentucky means fewer paychecks to support workers and their families. It also means lost tax revenues for state and local governments, as well as missed payments to Kentucky Power. www.weku.org/the-commonwe...

Louisville coroner says deaths of woman in garbage truck accident, man in city jail still under review Here’s why we still don’t know the cause of death for two people who died in recent, high-profile incidents involving two different Louisville Metro Government agencies.

2nd: I looked into why Louisville's coroner hasn't released a cause of death yet for Juan Miguel Munoz Penalver, who died in jail, or Tyrah Adams, who died after an accident with a city garbage truck. The coroner sometimes releases cause of death within a few days, but not this time.

Records reveal details about final hours of the man who died in Louisville jail last month Records raise questions about whether corrections staff properly monitored man who died last month in Louisville jail.

I've got two stories out this week about city investigations into the death of a man in Louisville's jail last month. 1st: Public records raise questions about if staff properly monitored him while he was experiencing mental health problems behind bars.

Professional news: I’m joining Queer Kentucky, the state's sole LGBTQ publication, to oversee editorial direction and daily news operations in its next phase.

Finally, my three favorite words: Please. Pitch. Me. (more details to come!)
queerkentucky.com/divya-karthi...

Why The World Says Breonna Taylor’s Name Breonna Taylor’s name was nearly lost, like other Black victims of police violence. But activism and unique circumstances prevented that.

The night they killed her, police did not say her name. The first news reports led with an account of a shootout that left one officer wounded and one woman dead over a drug investigation. Today we know better, today we say her name: Breonna Taylor.

EPA data show several Kentucky public water systems with PFAS levels exceeding federal limits Forever chemicals or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are human-made substances that come from substances like Teflon, non-stick coating, some cosmetics, carpets and various…

Recently released data from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that several public water systems serving customers in Kentucky had levels of forever chemicals well above federal standards.

Worth spending time with Joe's reporting here on the federal investigation into Addiction Recovery Care. I can confirm it's been hard to get good info about this over the past couple years, and he found it.

How Kentucky’s Addiction Recovery Care allegedly committed massive Medicaid fraud Kentucky-based Addiction Recovery Care is under fire in a civil lawsuit for allegedly fraudulently billing Medicaid for a service. A federal database shows ARC made up 20% of all payments for that ser...

I spent about two full years working on this story.

The FBI announced its investigation of ARC for Medicaid fraud in 2024, but there has been little indication of what they were specifically accused of. Thanks to two new pieces of information this year, I pieced it together, here:

Cool local 🏀 story from @justinhicks.lpm.org

Court records confirm Louisville activists’ warnings about immigrant arrests Court records confirm immigrants in Louisville have been arrested when they check in with ICE.

I confirmed through court records that immigrants in Louisville have been arrested when they do required check-ins with ICE. A local activist group that warned about this last summer recently started volunteer patrols outside an office in Old Louisville where people reported seeing such arrests.

A glimpse of Iran, through the eyes of its artists and journalists Understanding one of the world's oldest civilizations can't be achieved through a single film or book. But recent works of literature, journalism, music and film by Iranians are a powerful starting point.

Understanding one of the world's oldest civilizations can't be achieved through a single film or book. But recent works of literature, journalism, music and film by Iranians are a powerful starting point. n.pr/4upn1Px

Meet one of the few living patients from Waverly Hills Sanatorium's segregated ward After spending her adolescence fighting tuberculosis, 93-year-old Lillie Gilliam dedicated her life to serving others in need of care.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium is famously "haunted" in Louisville. Did you know it had a segregated ward that separated Black patients from white ones? @g-nizzle.bsky.social interviewed now-93-year-old Lillie Gilliam, one of few people still alive who was a patient there.

Records indicate the 21-year-old Hispanic man may have been experiencing mental health problems while he was behind bars. Jail officials say officers found him early this morning, unresponsive, and he was pronounced dead on-scene. No other details about his death have been released so far.

Man who died in Louisville jail was subject to ICE detainer Public records show the person who died in Louisville’s jail Thursday was subject to a detainer by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The man who died in Louisville's jail today was subject to an ICE detainer. He also faced a $20,000 bond in an assault case. He was one of more than 20 people who’ve died in custody at the city jail since 2021. Here's what we learned at KyCIR from publicly available jail and court records:

Immigrants nationwide say Trump’s ICE jailed them illegally. In Kentucky, federal judges often agree A nationwide push to get immigrants out of jail is finding success in Kentucky.

Collabed with @mjcollinsnews.bsky.social to review habeas petitions filed by immigrants who say they're illegally locked up in Kentucky jails while the Trump admin. tries to deport them. Here's what we learned:

Big education news for Kentucky families today.

Family demands answers after Louisville woman killed during alley cleanup The death of 35-year-old Tyrah Adams last week has left the family with more questions than answers.

The family of a woman who was killed by sanitation workers during an alley cleanup in west Louisville is demanding answers and accountability.

www.lpm.org/news/2026-02...

Parents call for transparency after U of L announces Early Learning Campus closure The University of Louisville’s Early Learning Campus is expected to close at the end of June, and parents say they want to know how this happened and how to stop it.

The University of Louisville’s Early Learning Campus is expected to close at the end of June, and parents say they want to know how this happened and how to stop it.

www.lpm.org/news/2026-02...