Kentucky

Updated 6:06 PM (Eastern)

At this year’s Fancy Farm picnic, Kentucky politicians tried to sandbag their opponents by tying them to national issues.

About 48,000 Kentuckians wouldn’t have met the community engagement requirements — otherwise known as work requirements — if Gov. Matt Bevin’s changes to Medicaid had gone into effect as planned last year. That’s a smaller number than the 95,000 people over five years that were originally estimated by the state to be at risk of losing coverage.

The new estimate comes from a study from the University of Pennsylvania released last month. Those proposed community engagement requirements include making some enrollees work, volunteer, take GED courses or other activities for 80 hours a month to keep Medicaid insurance.

Throughout his career, Mitch McConnell has relished insults like “Grim Reaper,” “Darth Vader” and “Cocaine Mitch,” neutralizing the nicknames by embracing them.

But after he blocked two bills that sought to prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections last week and the moniker “Moscow Mitch” started floating around the internet, McConnell took to the Senate floor to denounce the insult in a lengthy speech.

Some coal miners left without pay by the bankruptcy of coal company Blackjewel LLC are protesting by blocking a coal train in eastern Kentucky.

The stand-off began early Monday when five miners blocked the train from leaving the Cumberland, Kentucky, plant. Despite police asking them to leave, miners spent the night blocking the railroad to protest Blackjewel moving coal while miners have yet to be paid.

Kentucky voters head to the polls this November to choose the state's next set of constitutional officers, including the position of governor. While most are familiar with Republican incumbent Matt Bevin and Democratic challenger, Attorney General Andy Beshear, some may not be aware of a third option: Libertarian candidate, business consultant John Hicks. 

Most Kentucky schools will kick off a new academic year next month with 5,000 fewer teachers than what the commonwealth needs. 

Kentucky is experiencing a teacher shortage created by educators leaving the profession and fewer college students majoring in education. 

While there have traditionally been shortages in foreign languages and special education, some districts have open positions in the most popular disciplines. 

Come next year, Kentucky lawmakers will be asked to enact an excise tax on electronic cigarettes. The proposal calls for a tax on vaping products and e-cigs at the same level as traditional cigarettes.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has been granted another extension on compliance with the REAL ID Act. This will allow current state driver’s licenses to be used for air travel until October 2020.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has determined that the Commonwealth is fully compliant with the new ID regulations. This follows a pilot launch of new driver’s licenses, permits, and IDs in Franklin and Woodford counties.

When the pilot period ends a county-by-county rollout will begin. The REAL ID Act of 2005 set new nationwide requirements for identification.

The number of sweltering summer days will only increase as climate change takes its toll on Kentucky, according to a study released Tuesday.

A statewide forum on medical marijuana will take place in Kentucky this fall. 

The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky will host the forum on September 23 in Lexington.  The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. 

Foundation CEO Ben Chandler said in a statement that it will be a 'balanced' forum designed to answer a lot of questions with experts on all sides. 

Democrats in Kentucky’s House of Representatives have unveiled two bills to try and address surging pension costs currently being experienced by the state’s regional universities and small agencies like health departments.

The proposals come as Gov. Matt Bevin has been trying to rally support for his own bill and has promised to call a special session for state lawmakers to vote on it.

The woman hoping to challenge U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in this fall’s general election is off to a record-setting fundraising start.  

Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, took to MSNBC Tuesday morning to announce her bid for the Senate seat held by McConnell since 1985.

Within 24 hours, McGrath’s campaign raised $2.5 million. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says that dwarfs the previous record of $1 million dollars raised during the first 24 hours of a Democratic Senate bid.

Non-profits in Kentucky are being urged to take steps that will help ensure an accurate count in the U.S. census. 

From health and education to nutrition and housing assistance, Kentucky has many statewide programs supported by federal funding that’s appropriated based on census results. 

One study finds that an inaccurate count may cause the commonwealth to lose more than $2,000 per person, per year in federal funding. 

Charles Bowers takes long, quick strides down a worn, dirt path and stops in front of a tall thicket of bushes. He lifts a hand to signal that he's spied something.

He's leading me on a tour of camps made by homeless people in wooded corners of Fayette County, Kentucky, and there, slightly up the hill, is a patch of blue. A tent.

He keeps his voice low to avoid startling those inside.

Rows of silver and pink plastic packages sit on the bathroom counter inside Bean, a Louisville coffee shop. Each package carries these words: emergency contraception.

The medication? It’s called Preventeza, from the company that also makes Vagisil. It was on the market for less than a year and didn’t do well, and now the company has donated $2 million worth of the pills to advocacy groups in Kentucky, Indiana and other states. 

These “morning after” pills have made their way into places like Bean, as well as community centers in eastern Kentucky, festivals in Lexington — even the trunks of ride-share drivers.

The Kentucky Distillers Association has added four distilleries to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, bringing the total to 20.

Those 20 distilleries are now grouped into four regions across the state and the distillers association has added incentives, including collectible coins and a tasting glass, to encourage visiters to stop at all the sites on the Craft Tour.

Those four distilleries new on the Craft Tour are Dueling Grounds in Franklin, Casey Jones in Hopkinsville, Boundary Oak in Radcliff and Second Sight in northern Kentucky.

Dueling Grounds founding owner Marc Dottore said being on the Bourbon Trail Craft Tour is important for his distillery.