Kentucky ranks fourth in the country for adult smoking rates after continuously ranking first or second in previous years.

The Richmond Register reports the rate for 2022 is 17.4%, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System.

Kentucky ties with Mississippi for the fourth highest smoking rate.

Both states are behind West Virginia at 21%, Arkansas at 18.7%, and Tennessee at 18.5%.

Amanda Fallon Bennett with the Kentucky Center for Smokefree Policy says it could be because Kentuckians have good access to treatment programs and because of increases in the use of alternative tobacco products.

B.C.

will be offering the U.S. Department of Education's Prison Education program starting this fall.

The Advocate Messenger reports BC TSI has received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to offer educational programs at North Point Training Center in Bergen and Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington.

Betsy is seeking approval from the Department of Education to allow students to utilize financial aid to fund the program.

Enrollment in post-secondary education programs has reduced inmates risk of returning to prison by 28%.

Kentucky is receiving $25 million from the federal government to plug about 550 abandoned oil and gas wells.

The Winchester Sun reports.

The Department of the Interior recently announced the awarding of $36.9 million through President Biden's Investing in America.

Agenda for Kentucky.

Mississippi and Missouri to clean up legacy pollution.

The wells are polluting backyards, recreation areas and community spaces across the country.

Officials will measure methane emissions from orphaned oil and gas wells, screened for groundwater and surface water impacts, and seek to prioritize cleaning up wells near disadvantaged communities.

We previously reported that last year Kentucky received a $22 million federal grant to plug the wells, which led to more than 600 wells being plugged in 27 counties.

Eastern Kentucky University reached its highest retention rate in history at 79.62%, according to the Sentinel Echo.

That's from fall of 2022 to fall of 2023.

EKU had more than 15,000 students for the fall 2023 semester to increase enrollment.

AQ expanded its Booksmart Free Textbook initiative, created an engaging campus environment with the exceptional Eastern experience and enhanced student services.

Earlier this year, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education announced that Kentucky boasted the highest fall to fall total enrollment gains in the country for 2024.

With headlines around Kentucky, I'm told, begin.