On Session’s Final Day, Lawmakers Pass New Tax Breaks for Already-Subsidized Industries - Kentucky Center for Economic Policy Passed late in the legislative session, HB 869 expands tax breaks for already-subsidized industries such as real estate developers and fuel producers.

NEW: In the final hours of the legislative session, lawmakers expanded tax breaks for already-subsidized industries, continuing a pattern of opaque decision-making that keeps the public in the dark on costly legislation that benefits powerful industries.

kypolicy.org/hb-869-tax-b...

ICYMI

I am collecting pictures of dogs/cats rescued from Kentucky shelters for the @kentuckylantern.com.

Please submit here:

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Trump’s DOJ sued over campaign to amass data on millions of voters • Kentucky Lantern Voting rights groups launched a legal challenge Tuesday against the Trump administration’s effort to sweep up sensitive data on millions of Americans with the aim of identifying noncitizen voters,

Trump’s DOJ sued over campaign to amass data on millions of voters kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/21/r...

Beshear is ‘losing confidence’ in University of Kentucky admin following recent hirings • Kentucky Lantern Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday that he is “losing confidence" in the management of the University of Kentucky.

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday that he is “losing confidence and growing increasingly concerned” with the management of the University of Kentucky following recent hiring decisions.

@mckennahorsley.bsky.social

kentuckylantern.com/briefs/beshe...

How a Kentucky county uses flowers to fight stigma around mental health • Kentucky Lantern The nonprofit promotes mental health through Hope Gardens, which encourage communities to come together and plant and care for a garden of yellow tulips.

How a blooming good idea brought international recognition to a Kentucky social worker.
@sarahelizabethladd.bsky.social
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Bears, hounds and conservation in Kentucky • Kentucky Lantern Kentucky’s bear management debate is about how we conserve wildlife, who participates and the principles that brought species like the black bear back.

Commentary by Nick Hart

Kentucky’s bear management debate is about how we conserve wildlife, who participates in that work, and whether we remain grounded in the principles that brought species like the black bear back to the landscape.

kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/20/b...

Housing, data center legislation dies on final day of 2026 session • Kentucky Lantern Republicans sent more legislation to the governor but failed to pass bills aimed at tackling the state’s housing shortage and protecting ratepayers from data centers.

Kentucky legislature fails to pass bills aimed at tackling the housing shortage and protecting ratepayers from bearing the costs of supplying data centers with electricity.
@liamniemeyer.bsky.social .
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At Carter-Lewis dinner, Andy Beshear urges Georgia Democrats to get ‘dirt on our boots’ • Kentucky Lantern Kentuky Gov. Andy Beshear tells Georgia Democrats the key to winning is “showing up and getting dirt on our boots and then governing well.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear headlines Georgia Democrats' annual Carter-Lewis dinner.
kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/12/a...

KY lawmakers could still pass a housing bill but its prospects are complicated • Kentucky Lantern Kentucky's legislature can still vote on a housing bill when it returns Tuesday and Wednesday to override vetoes and wrap up this year’s session.

With just two days left, Kentucky legislature has yet to act on a slew of proposals for tackling the state's worsening housing shortage.
They could still enact a housing bill but its prospects are complicated.
@liamniemeyer.bsky.social
kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/13/k...

Sexually grooming children now a crime in KY among other legislation signed by governor • Kentucky Lantern During this veto break, Beshear has signed a slew of bills into law, including several pieces of health and child welfare policy.

From required expulsions for violent students to safety protocols around organ donation, Kentucky has several new laws affecting health and children. Here's a round.
@sarahelizabethladd.bsky.social
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Eastern Kentucky is running out of people — and time • Kentucky Lantern Eastern Kentucky’scoalfield counties are now experiencing natural decrease — more people dying each year than are being born.

Commentary by James Branscome

For most of the 20th century, the story of Eastern Kentucky’s population loss was about young people leaving.
The new Census data tells a different story.
A harder one.

kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/13/e...

April 20 is deadline to register to vote in Kentucky's May primary election • Kentucky Lantern Kentuckians have until 4 p.m. local time Monday, April 20, to register to vote in the May 19 primary election.

Kentuckians have a week to register to vote in the May 19 primary election.
The deadline is 4 p.m. local time April 20.
You can register online or in person at your county clerk’s office.
kentuckylantern.com/briefs/april...

Got questions about the upcoming Kentucky primaries? Check out our 2026 voter guide. Learn about the candidates, figure out how to check your voter registration and see the latest election news from the Lantern.

kentuckylantern.com/voter-guides...

Ethics complaint against KY lawmaker alleges improper payments from lobbying interests  • Kentucky Lantern Secretary of Louisville Democratic Party files ethics complaint against Republican Sen. Julie Raque Adams seeking investigation of payments from nonprofit.

Louisville Democratic Party secretary files complaint with Legislative Ethics Commission seeking an investigation of Republican Sen. Julie Raque Adams’ compensation from a nonprofit that has been funded exclusively by lobbying interests in recent years.
kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/13/e...

KY’s Beshear gives veto pen a workout but GOP has votes to override • Kentucky Lantern Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed bills backed by the state legislature on topics like Medicaid and firearms.

Gov. Andy Beshear has issued more than two dozen vetoes of bills approved by Kentucky’s GOP-controlled legislature ranging from Medicaid copays to lowering the legal age to carry a concealed firearm.

@mckennahorsley.bsky.social @sarahelizabethladd.bsky.social

kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/13/k...

In veto message, Beshear cites warning that budget bill would force cutbacks on KY courts  • Kentucky Lantern Decrying what he characterized as underfunding and unfunded mandates, Gov. Andy Beshear issued vetoes on the budget bills passed by the General Assembly.

In veto message, Beshear cites warning that budget bill would force cutbacks on KY courts 
@sarahelizabethladd.bsky.social kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/13/i...

KY Hospital Association CEO out after decades with organization. No explanation given. • Kentucky Lantern News of Galvagni’s departure comes about a month after Senate President Robert Stivers condemned the association from the Kentucky statehouse.

No explanation for Kentucky Hospital Association CEO Nancy Galvagni's departure.
Senate President Robert Stivers last month had criticized her salary.
@sarahelizabethladd.bsky.social
kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/14/k...

Under Trump, US Department of Agriculture has ditched conservation and climate efforts • Kentucky Lantern The U.S. Department of Agriculture loses 21% of its workforce — compared to a 12% cut across the federal government — under the second Trump administration.

Many of the soil scientists and engineers who consult with farmers on conservation practices are now gone, and those still serving are often stretched thin.
@insideclimatenews.org kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/14/u...

The Truth About Mary Todd Lincoln www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/o...

This @sarayasin.bsky.social essay launching "The Key" is excellent. This line captures so much. "It just takes far too much effort to make these stories happen." She means the necessary, moral, honest stories, like calling a genocide a genocide. Must-read. www.thekeymagazine.com/p/western-jo...

I love this framing bc even well-meaning, reasonable people believe that type 2 diabetes can be reversed through food choices.

Thinking legacy, McConnell says he tried to help KY punch above its weight • Kentucky Lantern Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell defended NATO and said he supported “taking the fight to Iran” while fielding questions Wednesday at the University of Kentucky.

Sen. Mitch McConnell defends NATO and supports “taking the fight to Iran.”
McConnell did not get to respond to a question about Trump’s threat to wipe out Iran’s civilization after an aide abruptly ended the availability.
@jamielucke.bsky.social
kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/08/t...

Reagan funded the Contras in Nicaragua by secretly selling arms to IRAN.

Stivers The Inscrutable

How Trump’s expansion of federal power threatens states’ authority • Kentucky Lantern As the United States of America marks its 250th anniversary this year, the relationship between the states and the federal government is approaching a breaking point.

As the United States of America marks its 250th anniversary this year, the relationship between the states and the federal government is approaching a breaking point. kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/07/r...

KY Democratic Senate candidates talk government shutdowns and Trump’s Iran war in forum • Kentucky Lantern Four Democrats vying to represent Kentucky in the U.S. Senate are questioned about Trump's war in Iraq, government shutdowns in Louisville forum.

Four Democratic candidates vying to represent Kentucky in the U.S. Senate were asked in a forum Tuesday evening whether they would support government shutdowns if elected and discussed Republican President Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
@mckennahorsley.bsky.social kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/07/k...

Could cheek swabs someday diagnose schizophrenia? Kentucky scientist believes so. • Kentucky Lantern About 1% of the U.S. population is on the schizophrenia spectrum, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

A University of Kentucky scientist has found two markers that can be collected through a cheek swab and indicate the presence of schizophrenia.

She hopes to have an easy-to-use test available to patients within a decade.

@sarahelizabethladd.bsky.social
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Kentuckians want a senator, not a rubber stamp • Kentucky Lantern Democrats running in Kentucky for a U.S. Senate seat long held by a Republican, can argue, with fresh evidence, that President Trump’s influence is waning.

Commentary by Al Cross

Kentuckians want a senator, not a rubber stamp

kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/08/k...

6 Takeaways From the Story of Trump’s Decision to Go to War With Iran

6 Takeaways From the Story of Trump’s Decision to Go to War With Iran www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/u...

Kentucky's decisions about hunting bears show why more people need to be making them • Kentucky Lantern To protect Kentucky’s recovering bears, we should broaden the conversation about who should be involved in shaping wildlife policy

Commentary by Todd Blevins

Most troubling about Kentucky’s bear policy is the use of packs of hounds to hunt bears. Hunting with hounds is not “fair chase,” as it gives hunters overwhelming advantages.
It is especially dangerous for females with newborn cubs.

kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/06/k...