♪ ♪ >> Learn about efforts to debunk the myths surrounding rural voters.

>> They had a job to do.

And they were doing it at the top of their skill level.

From enslavement to empowerment, honoring the enslaved Kentuckians who helped build Lexington.

>> Once again, it's not just welcome our 120 counties, but the whole world.

Kentucky to show what makes us uniquely its audience.

>> And step right up and sample food and fun at the Kentucky State.

Fair.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome into Kentucky EDITION on this Thursday, August, the 15th, we're one day away from Friday.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you so much for spending some of your Thursday night with us.

A Kentucky state representative accused of inappropriate interactions with women has now lost his committee assignments.

Daniel Grossberg is a Democrat from Louisville.

The Lexington Herald-Leader broke the story weeks ago saying at least 3 women claim Grossberg sent them text messages the women described as, quote, creepy and weird, unquote, the Legislative Research Commission is investigating Grossberg.

The Herald leader reported today that Democrats removed Grossberg from this House interim committees.

Gross Berg's Attorney Anne Whyte says Grossberg and his team are looking for an appropriate legal response to the move because they say removing him from his committee assignments disenfranchises the people in his district.

Grossberg is running for reelection in November and he is on a post.

Governor Andy Beshear says he plans to stay and Frankfort and serve his entire term as governor, a reporter asked him today if he would accept a cabinet post if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected president in November.

>> I don't intend to accept any position in Washington, D.C., that's where I'm supposed to pay.

And and and I had that moment during Easter, Kentucky where I KET in my heart, I KET of muscle and I'm looking forward to finishing these next 3 and a half years to rebuilding.

But more than that to revitalize, you know, these jobs that are coming in.

>> During today's news conference, Governor Beshear also announced 23 million dollars in additional state money for 6 cities, 7 counties and one school board to help with continued flood relief after the 2022 floods that killed 45 people in eastern Kentucky, Floyd County will get 2 and a half million dollars.

>> We certainly appreciate the the UK say finding the hard work that you and your administration do to ensure that the that we try to make these families whole again or or as close as we can get.

This funding goes a long ways.

Ford's filling some of those gaps and helping us that in a recovery effort there.

Still a long way to go.

You know, I tell folks on a scale from one to 10 during the flood, Floyd County was a teen.

Relative my neighbors breath and not wait for Perry.

It was the 5th thing it was.

It was just off the scale and end up.

You know, I'm I'm probably I'm happy for them that I am the folks in Floyd County and the but we appreciate everything that you There's a long road ahead.

I want to thank our legislators set that came to bat.

We were in that we're in the final stages this past session.

And I know they came to bat for us in the final days and they they put this additional funding in there.

It's going to be greatly needed.

So on behalf of the residents of Floyd County, all the folks in eastern Kentucky, thank you, Governor.

Thank ministration for everything that you do for us.

>> The state says 74 people are in shelters right now as a result of storms that hit Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend and the 4th of July holiday.

Questions about the state's open records.

Law are now before the Kentucky Supreme Court.

On Wednesday.

The court heard arguments in a case between the Louisville Courier Journal and the Shively Police Department.

The case dates back to 2020 when the newspaper was denied a request for records regarding a deadly crash.

The Courier Journal argues that and denied the request.

The police department did not explain how releasing the documents would harm the investigation.

Michael, a body is a media law attorney and represented the Courier Journal.

In this case.

>> We're not up here arguing that no records could ever be withheld or could ever compromise an investigation.

That is not our position.

But we are here saying that an agency that wants to withhold must do with the Open Records Act says and what this court interpreted city for Thomas.

And that is make some show this court said a concrete risk, which is something more than a hypothetical or speculative concern.

The agency must articulate a factual basis for applying it to particular records.

And is this court reiterated in Fort Thomas?

You cannot presume harm to possible prosecution.

Nearly from the disclosure of a record.

This court's case law is very clear and that issue, yeah, when we requested these records within 30 minutes, all 5 were denied the sole basis for denying them was what I would refer to as the law enforcement exception.

61, 8, 7, 8, 1, age.

And the city's sole reason the basis was, quote, there is an active criminal case and they cited one age, the law enforcement exception and denied them all.

That is precisely what this court in Fort Thomas cannot be done.

>> Representing the Shively Police Department was city attorney fan KET.

He argued the department did comply with its interpretation of the Open Records Act and urged the state's highest court to reverse a lower court's ruling.

>> The reporter submitted a request for its simply 5 documents.

They they are you basically narrowed it down for us.

We didn't have to go through a big file or we we KET what those were.

We examine those and we said not only with these with these the release of these cause, some harm to the agency, but also they also within the exceptions to care.

17.1, under intelligence and investigative reports.

And again, it wasn't a blanket.

Tonight we set and went through all this information.

I don't I honestly don't know what the more we could have provided to show a form than what we did.

>> The Kentucky Supreme Court did not indicate when it will issue a ruling.

Kentucky's Open records act was a topic during the 2024 General Assembly.

Our Republican backed Bill that would have shielded public information on private devices from transparency.

Laws passed the House, but it died in the Senate.

During the most recent legislative session.

Lawmakers unanimously passed and the governor signed House Bill 385.

The bill changes how the state court system interacts with people who have serious mental health needs.

It's referred to as sets law and it honors set Stevens.

He was the staff attorney for Kentucky's Judicial Commission on Mental Health and he died by suicide in 2023. and tonight's Legislative update, our Clayton Dalton brings you this report on sex law.

>> 2 years ago, the Kentucky Supreme Court announced the creation of the Judicial Commission on Mental Health.

The group is charged with helping people in the justice system who are dealing with mental health issues, substance abuse and intellectual disabilities.

House bill 385. now referred to as sets law was born out of recommendations from the commission.

The new law focuses on 2 areas.

The court system deals with the first being guardianship.

>> Guardianship in Kentucky is actually 2 things.

Guardianship is over here.

Percent say your personal affairs and then many also have what's called a conservatorship.

And that's over your finances.

So if you think of guardians guard the people and then the conservator guards, the funds and conserves those dollars.

>> Most often guardianship protect elderly people who have developed memory diseases like dementia or Alzheimer's.

A family member will take over decision making for them.

But individuals with serious mental health issues can have guardians to increasingly common.

>> Is people who have severe mental illness and that they have unfortunately gotten to a place in your life or they just came even care for their basic needs.

They're not staying compliant with their medical needs in particular, not taking them their mental health medications and the family needs to be able to step in and support them.

Oftentimes we see people who have to see guardianship because they may be bed together and never married.

But on tense and purposes have been in one another's lives.

They'd have to go through this process when they really know the wishes and desires of the person who needs the guardianship.

So it expands that to allow loved ones who art direct relatives to start making health care decisions in times of crisis.

>> Since law also deals with competency.

>> Confidence is determined by a defendant's ability to a rash of have a rational understanding of the legal proceedings and consult with their attorney.

That's a very simplistic version.

But that's the basic standard for competence prior to this new law, all felony competency evaluations happened at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center.

>> More Casey P C that process was inefficient.

>> The winds for an inpatient at Betty Kcp see had an extensive backlog simply because we have a finite number of beds and the facility and prior to Kcp see piloting an out patient evaluation process and May of 2022. every order on a felony case asking for a competency evaluation came as an inpatient patient through Kcp C so that created an extended wait time.

Of over several months.

>> These evaluations can now happen in an outpatient setting.

>> This out patient evaluation process allows that evaluation to occur so quickly that it allows the system that criminal justice process to move forward and must faster pace.

It promotes recovery, resilience across the commonwealth and also fosters swifter justice for victims of crime and their families and communities.

So it really has a lot of stakeholder buy-in and the effects are positive across the board.

>> For Kentucky edition, I'm Clayton Dalton.

>> Thank you, Clayton.

The waitlist for competency hearings averaged 12 months, but Seth Law is expected to shorten the assessment timeline to 3 to 5 weeks.

Since Donald Trump's win in the 2016 presidential election.

There have been many attempts to explain a group that helped give him an electoral edge.

He needed to win rural voters, but some believe much of the analysis by the mainstream media is botched and it ignores the realities of rural life.

That's according to producers of Backroad Ballots.

A new podcast Born out of a series of conversations with role voters.

>> It seemed with the election coming up and people.

>> Folkestone rural voters to be good time to.

>> Look.

Behind the curtain and real voting patterns.

History context.

>> I think there's just been a lot of really great research in recent years.

And and a lot experts have come up with really nuanced views are done well, politics and so the idea for back about was that in this election year, we really wanted to do a kind of tone setting exercise and just have a lot of brought a conceptual conversations about what role politics look like in 2024 and from what we've got wrong in the past.

I did 3 conversations for back about them and a lot of sort of try to talk with people whose work I was familiar with and who I thought had something to say that wasn't being said on a sort of mainstream media stage.

One conversation was economics and political economy.

Another episode.

I really want to have a sort of demographic space conversation like Israel, America simply more conservative because it's older and whiter.

Spoiler alert, know, but that does play a significant role in.

The politics of of small towns places.

It's interesting in the disrespect.

the recent elections Democrats have chosen not to contest with rural voters and Republicans have built up a substantial kind of lead among of in rural communities is so this presidential cycle, it seems like.

That's been thrown a cocked hat.

I don't think it's so much.

Because rural voters, our an overwhelming number is much of the as it is.

There is the way that people identify with rural voters and a lot of folks is in the suburbs in the U.S..

Think of themselves as girl.

They came from a rural area.

They had to go to the city to work.

So I think more more your scene, their rural, a guarantee.

>> The of be lifted up and politicians seeing in the 2 towards rural communities.

And I think that there's going to be.

Quite the political debate about who's better.

>> For rural communities and small towns, there really are different.

Levels of wealth and people with vastly different interests in the political system.

There are poor people in rural America.

They're working class people in Rome, Eric, other middle-class people enrolled at that and their wealthy individuals in rural America and those wealthy individuals.

Are more likely to vote than anyone else.

And so wealthy girl voters.

Like what wealthy urban voters are more likely to support Republicans.

So that's one thing that I think that this broad sweeping claim about rural voters voting against their own interests really, really misses.

>> I got Broady is in.

>> To do the last of the shows, which was a conversation with scholars about democracy.

What we really looked at was what are the tenets of in?

How do they play out?

And local world elections.

And that I think back to this right, that.

You know, when the Kennedys probably registered 3 to one Democrat and voted 4 to one for Trump.

But 2 years ago when we had this flood, it was devastating and people didn't ask.

What your political dedication is.

What who did you vote for?

It was amazing.

We often think of democracy is what the registration is or how people are voting.

But democracy is also how we take care of are great.

>> I hope that people who are from small towns and who don't feel represented by the mainstream media come away from these conversations thinking, okay, their people who understand my experience who are not.

Just pushing these tired ideas about like people from the place I came from.

>> The daily Yonder and rule assembly produced backyard ballots.

You can listen to the podcast by going to daily yonder dot com.

♪ >> 2 former slaves, Henry 10 D and Albert Byrd created a successful black owned construction company in Lexington.

>> During the era of Jim Crow back on July 19th on the anniversary or Byrd's death African-American cemetery.

Number 2 took a look back at their work and lax and legacy in Lexington, we sat down with you, Van Giles and Randall Vaughn, who did the research and hosted the presentation.

>> Our built Environment.

Was.

Or the labor was provided by African Americans.

Just as during the period of After emancipation African Americans still prominent in building our entire.

This was a thriving industry for African-Americans.

>> I had no idea.

It just shocked me.

The purpose of having this program is to introduce the audience and our community.

2 African-Americans presence even after and slight.

How much their work impacted.

Our built environment.

>> After American Cemetery, 2 dozen a series of seminars and workshops and I was approached by Ms Giles.

She wanted me to do this presentation on in retained an avid bird.

Henry tending that number were amazing men.

They were.

>> Not only artisans and craftsmen, but they were, you know, well, respected businessman at the turn of the century here in Lexington, Kentucky and did some amazing things.

Many of the attendees like many of the citizens election time.

What are not aware of these amazing buildings that were built by the hands of these gentlemen and their workers and I think they would.

They were astounded that, you know, at the era in which these these works were created and the ability for them to.

And number one employee, you know, up to 25 people labor's both black and white at that air during the Jim Crow South.

>> You can dwell on the situations and the disadvantage is that are presented to you.

>> Or >> you can be proactive.

Just moved to the island ahead of them.

And I think truly that's what candy in for it.

They had a job to do.

And they were doing it at the top of their skill level.

And when you're at that position, you get less criticism.

And less backlash.

There was a a physician doctor PD Robbins.

Who actually profile the company.

In the newspaper.

So we had that account of him talking about how successful they have been.

And it's been one of the comments he made.

It didn't matter their color.

That they had established a reputation and because of that, they were worn it.

Number of contracts that have been very successful.

And from what we know, they built from the time they organize their own company in 18, 93.

And they'll 16 buildings.

9 of them in central Kentucky still standing.

>> We're on the side of the courthouse where it was said they laid over a million and a half bricks for the construction of the courthouse in 18.

98 other buildings that they constructed were on the campuses of the universe.

Kentucky and eastern Kentucky University and a number of buildings in the downtown area of Lexington Miller Hall at the universe can tuck in campus.

And there's a dormitory at eastern Kentucky University.

The old Lexington, dry goods, the the the Lewis, the continent mansion at the corner of Forest Avenue and Main Street.

>> Their legacy are the buildings that are standing.

They built their own monuments.

>> Although a date hasn't been set yet.

Giles and van are doing a bus tour in October to show locals where 10 D and Birds building still stand to honor their legacy and raise awareness about their work.

♪ It's lights, cameras, action at the Kentucky Blood Center.

Details and tonight's look at medical news.

A new summer blood drive started today and runs through Saturday.

Give blood and get to movie passes.

The Blood Center needs about 400 donors a day to meet the demand for blood at Kentucky's 70 plus hospitals and donations can often lag during the summer given any of the Kentucky Blood Centers, 8 locations, appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome.

That Life Adventure Center and Woodford County is hosting the equine assisted growth and Learning Association fundamentals training or the gala training for mental health professionals, life coaches and educators looking to incorporate horses and their treatment options.

The program is focused on emotional growth and learning and it is also used for team building.

We have invited people from across the country to come to our facility for 5 days where they're going to get to learn about gala model.

>> And practice with our horses and see our beautiful property.

>> The equine assisted growth and Learning Association is we teach a modality of incorporating horses into the therapy mental health field and also using it for equine assisted growth and learning.

So if you do corporate development or team building, we can incorporate the horses into that as well.

And with our model, we always have any fun specialist in a mental health professional involved.

We teach them how to incorporate forces.

NBA team to to work with their clients.

So riding the horses can be very therapeutic.

But in this model, it's 100% on the ground.

There's no riding the force because I believe there's a different relationship when you're on the horse versus offer the horse.

And so in this model, when we're not on the horse and we're in a large space like in our arenas, the horses have the opportunity to make choices so they can they can choose to be with the clients are away from the clients and move around and take care of themselves.

And so it's all about a relationship and communication with the horses in moving forward with that process and relating those to life experiences and how they are very similar and how you can help.

We're actually the horses can help your clients move forward in their everyday life through experiences in the arena.

This.

>> Training and model is really cool because unless you're coming in trying to be an equine specialist, you don't have to have any base knowledge forces which also really aligns well with what we do here because some participants that we serve.

I have never seen a horse are very nervous around horses or I like.

Hard know when they walk through the doors.

But this is a cool program that enables them to choose.

So from the moment they walk in, they get the choice like you can enter the arena or standing outside and observed for a while.

>> please horses because they're they're very adaptable.

They're very forgiving.

They are herd animals much like people.

And their personalities.

They all have different personalities, which is very like people cause.

We are animals as well.

And so that just the connectivity there with with that aspect.

But also a lot of times it's being able to get 1000 pound animal to be able to.

Either connect to your get it to do something that you're wanting him to do, can really empower people in that aspect as well.

The people that come to the strains really have a heart and passion to help people and just being able to use the forces in that aspect, I think is really exciting because we are your billing.

2 passions to most people are passionate about horses and people in your being able to bring those 2 together and help other people in your community.

>> The gala method is recognized around the world, but it's the first time the Life Adventure Center has hosted the full training.

24 professionals are participating in the five-day program.

♪ ♪ >> Good news.

If you're in the mood for a corn dog, a ride on a Ferris wheel and a glimpse at a prize winning pig.

The Kentucky State Fair opened today in Louisville, Governor Andy Beshear was on hand to officially open the fair and share accomplishments the Commonwealth has achieved during his tenure as governor.

He noted that Kentucky has seen its highest economic impact from tourism, beating a record set the previous year.

She went on to say events like the state fair are setting the state up to hopefully beat that number again this year.

>> And this years festival of were such an important one.

This is the 100 and 20th anniversary of the Kentucky State.

Fair with all 120 counties represent it.

That's a big milestone.

Congratulations.

Also gives us a chance to celebrate just how important this event is for our overall economy.

Generate 8.9 million dollars in economic impact.

Every single year.

>> The fair last through Sunday, August.

The 25th.

Make sure you check it out and make sure you check us out tomorrow.

At 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central on Kentucky EDITION where we inform connect and inspire.

You can check us out.

Also all the ways you see on your screen, Facebook X and Instagram to stay in the loop.

Send us a story idea at public affairs at KET Dot Org.

>> And look for us on the PBS app that you can download on your mobile device and smart TV.

Thanks so very much for watching.

We've got inside Kentucky sports tomorrow as we talk with Christine Thomas about the Olympic wins by Kentuckyian all that and more tomorrow night.

I'll see you then.

Take a can.

♪