♪ >> Why Kentucky secretary of state is telling lawmakers it's critical.

They KET know.

We still use early voting.

Survivors of the old National Bank mass shooting in Louisville are suing a gun shop.

The red flags they say were missed.

>> The biggest benefits going to the individuals that were actually with those individuals that are in crisis.

>> The city of Lexington is about to change the way it responds to mental health emergency calls.

>> Hallowed and hands-on projects and the Solar light.

>> Plus, students in South Central Kentucky are learning about renewable energy in and outside the classroom.

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

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Monday, January, the 22nd, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you so much for starting off your Monday night with us.

It's day 14 of the 2024 Kentucky General Assembly in regular session.

Tonight's Legislative Update, big ends and the House where lawmakers unanimously passed a bill that would ease hunting and fishing restrictions on some Kentucky ends House Bill 2.17, sponsored by Representative David Hale would amend a new law just passed last year.

That requires landowners with less than 5 acres of property to be able to hunt and fish on their own land.

>> So in simple terms what this bill does, $0.2 House bill to 17 in a man's krs.

One, 50 dot, a dash one, 70 to allow hunting and fishing on your property.

If you're the landowner, regardless of the size without perch having or without being required to purchase a hunting or fishing license to do so.

So it strikes that.

5 words, which stated 5 acres or more.

This has an emergency clause which will become effective immediately upon passage in the chambers and the governor's approval or becoming law.

Otherwise.

>> A similar bill unanimously passed in the Senate just a few days ago.

The House also voted to form a task force on artificial intelligence.

The state would study how public agencies could use AI to their advantage as well as recommend regulations that could protect consumers from its pitfalls.

House members say AI AI AI is already making its mark on Kentucky's economy and education.

A legislative committee would make to hear the findings.

The House Speaker and Senate president would appoint 4 members each including one member from the minority party.

The resolution now heads to the Senate for consideration there.

A programming note about a major anti-crime bill.

We're going to talk about the pros and cons of House Bill 5.

The proposed say for Kentucky Act.

That's tonight on Kentucky tonight at 8 Eastern 7 central.

Our panel includes 3 members of the Kentucky General Assembly.

Plus, members of the ACLU of Kentucky Coalition for the Homeless and Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police hear from them and send us your questions.

That's tonight at 8 Eastern 7 central right here on KET.

Moving Kentucky's elections for constitutional offices to even numbered years would save cities more than previously expected.

That's according to an updated fiscal analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Research Commission or Lrc.

The group looked at Senate Bill 10, which is sponsored by Senate Budget Chairman Chris McDaniel.

Newly released estimates suggest the bill would save local government to nearly 20 million dollars.

That's up from the initial estimates of nearly 14 Million.

It's also expected to save state government close to 2 million dollars.

Senate Bill 10 past the full Senate last week.

If it also passes the House, it would then appear on November's ballot as a constitutional amendment for Kentucky voters to decide.

And speaking of voters, Kentucky's Republican secretary of state is imploring lawmakers to KET early voting as an option.

Secretary Michael Adams points to increase voter registration is a sign of voters being interested in this year's presidential election.

He says 6500 voters registered to vote last month alone expects more than 2 million Kentucky ends will vote in November, testifying before lawmakers last week.

Secretary of State Adams says giving voters early access to the polls is critical.

>> My first requested used to not go backwards to be catastrophic, going into a presidential election with very high turnout anticipated the takeaway 3 of our 4 voting days.

It will be challenge enough to shoot more.

An unexpected 2 million voters in 4 days.

I don't know how we set this many voters into just one day be without major problems.

>> Adams, defense of Kentucky's current election law, allowing 3 days of no excuse in-person early voting is in contrast to a new bill being discussed in Frankfort.

Republican Senator John Schickel of Union is the primary sponsor of Senate Bill.

61.

It calls for eliminating the 3 days of early voting and allowing Kentuckians to cast absentee ballots.

A designated places at least 13 working days before an election.

The bill has at least a half-a-dozen co-sponsors.

This currently waiting to be heard in the Senate state and local government committee.

♪ ♪ ♪ Congressman Hal Rogers of the 5th Kentucky continues to improve after a car crash wy Mt.

Says Rogers is now out of the hospital and getting physical therapy after hurting his back.

The crash happened nearly 2 weeks ago near Washington, D.C., Rogers is 86 years old and is running for a 23rd term.

And Kentucky's 5th congressional district.

He has 3 challengers in them.

A Republican primary.

Turning now to national politics, Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky is 4th Congressional district was on FOX News yesterday to support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president.

>> But hours later, DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race.

What was once a crowded field in the GOP primary is now down to 2 former President Donald Trump and his former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.

We reached out to Congressman Massa's office to see if he will now throw his support behind either candidate and have yet to receive a response.

Congressman Andy Barr of Kentucky's 6th congressional district has endorsed the former president for a second term.

And other news survivors of the mass shooting in Louisville have filed a lawsuit accusing a local gun store of missing several red flags.

That's according to the Courier Journal.

5 people were killed and 8 others were hurt when a gunman opened fire inside Old National Bank last April.

The lawsuit says River City firearms sold the AR 15 style weapon to the shooter despite a witness in the store saying he, quote, demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge or experience with firearms, unquote.

The gunman was also sold 3 additional magazines, a site to help with accuracy and an extra grip for the weapon.

Something the suit says, quote, emboldened the novice shooter and made it more deadly quote, a police report regarding the shooting says the gunman wrote about his plans days ahead of time saying it was too easy for him to get the weapon and that he hoped his actions would lead to political action on guns.

A memorial service was held at the state Capitol in the Rotunda over the weekend for Jay Michael Brown, a longtime public servant and former top official and Governor Andy Beshear's administration Brown passed away earlier this month after a short illness.

He served as Governor Beshear secretary and executive cabinet before leaving in 2022.

To take a position at Simmons College, a private HBCU in Louisville.

Brown was a judge at an attorney who also served in former governor Steve, the shares cabinet at Saturday's Memorial.

Governor Beshear remembered his friend and adviser is someone who touched the lives of many to think carefully.

>> Today it's hard because of how selflessly he held.

So many of us.

Maybe all of us in this room to advance our careers and our allies and gave us good advice on some days and tough to my son was needed as If you close your eyes.

Any picture, Michael, you can remember in least one great conversation.

Or maybe one inspirational or maybe even start speech that he gave you.

I got to witness so many of them.

>> Jay Michael Brown was 73 years old.

♪ ♪ Lexington is taking a different approach in its response to mental health emergencies.

The city recently received an $850,000 Grant to start a community-based crisis response team made up of members of the city's police and fire departments and a full-time mental health professional city officials and emergency responders are calling the new team a game changer.

>> The reality is that time we make a lot of that off.

A lot of them are maybe disguises of the But we look at the wrong numbers.

9-1-1, are now one senator answered for the fireside took 3,000, 9-1-1, calls 4.

Behavioral mental health concerns, war suicide ideation.

And now we're calls coming in police officers and maybe the fire department has responded and they've gone out and and solve the immediate crisis we're getting are full of hope is now that we can maybe get engaged in the front and a little bit more maybe as opposed to being reactionary after after a few days to pass whatever.

>> We do not have a lot of options for people who are in mental health crisis.

Sometimes they go to jail.

Sometimes they go to a one of the hospitals.

just an emergency.

>> Short >> a lot of times they kept there.

And it's not really something that we can deal with with this person who helps respond to these crises.

It will really improve the outcomes of people, something that's happening.

A lot of other communities is is teaming up a police officer with a mental health resource and and engaging the community in at the time of the call.

The plan is that we're going to be utilizing.

>> Off-duty Lexington Police officers teamed up with this mental health resource in the car together.

Really.

I was taken on one instead of it going to a patrol officer, the good intentions, the police officer to be there to provide the and in the middle from parks will be able to provide the the new de-escalation that may need to take place, provide the resources.

This was a recommendation of my 2020 >> commission on Racial Justice and equality.

And so right there it is.

And we have been focused on doing something like this.

I think that will help us build a better system for response to people in an emergency.

They have a health.

It's short.

And I think this also helps destigmatize the mental health, the news that a lot of people have.

I think the biggest benefits going to be the individual that we're acting with those individuals that are in crisis, you know.

>> It's providing the right service in the right care at the right time to the right person and we can do that.

Meet them where they are.

That's an enormous left for us.

>> 2 have a specific.

Targeted response to someone who's not having criminal behavior, who is in a mental health crisis.

It will really improve the outcomes of people.

>> The grant is for 3 years.

Lexington plans to launch its crisis response team by August.

♪ >> Kentucky's unemployment rate was 4.3% in December.

That's on change from November.

The top 4 tenths of a percent from December of 2022.

Kentucky's jobless rate is a little bit higher than the national average of 3.7% in December.

A new report is out measuring how children of different racial groups are meeting developmental milestones and our country shows while Kentucky is making improvements, significant disparities still exist.

The Annie E Casey Foundation's race for results report looked at 4 categories of child and youth wellbeing.

Those categories were early childhood education and early work experiences, family, resources and neighborhood context.

We spoke to Kentucky youth advocates about our state's results and what they say needs to be done to help close the gaps.

>> The race for results report is laser-focused on looking at parallel data with the winds around racial disparities between kids.

So it really is an effort to figure out.

What's going on with kids in Kentucky in general and then more specifically to to dig in to see.

>> How do kids of color?

Compare to what kids?

What are the differences?

Waters of >> What are the areas that we should be focused on for all kids in the commonwealth, as you would guess those results were missed.

Mixed bag of some are improving.

Some are declining in General reflects national We have that mixed results as well.

I think the real takeaway from both the national report, but it's just amplified in Kentucky.

Is that neither the color.

Of a kid skin your frankly, his zip code should be a determinant reading or writing or economic will be or health conditions.

And so what we want to do again is is use this data to lift up.

>> Some core areas where we see opportunities for a common growled in policy and Frankfort.

>> To lose all kids up.

But perhaps especially kids of color.

Now.

>> What's critical and again, just being a real is politically we're not going to get an array of equity based policy measures passed in Frankfort.

That's just not going to happen.

So what we try to do is lift up the idea that, for instance.

If a state earned income tax credit was passed.

Or a dependent child care tax credit was passed.

That's going to help all 200,000 kids who live in poverty, whether they're black, brown, white or purple.

But we know that those kind of measures we'll have particular residents.

In communities of color.

You know, I worry a lot that we are in a political climate, especially in Kentucky.

That if we even mention.

Disparities are disproportionality ease.

Alarm bells go off.

And I just want to again, reiterate.

That good policy.

Is good policy for all kids.

And again, if if certain policies disproportionately and positive impact impact ruled kids or are been kids for black kids, then we need to celebrate that.

Not to avoid not to minimize the impact.

that theme of common ground policies for all kids believe is the vehicle in Kentucky.

To lived those kids of color so that in 3 or 4 years.

When this annual race for results report comes out.

We're going to be talking about gap closing, not gap widened.

>> On a related note, this is children's advocacy week at the state capitol sponsored by the Kentucky Youth Advocates, Governor Beshear as well as House and Senate leadership will deliver remarks during a rally at the Capitol on Wednesday, which has been designated as children's advocacy day.

A South Central Kentucky School district is getting students career ready.

They're introducing them to new technologies, teaching valuable skills and technical education.

Our Laura Rogers has more and this education matters.

Reports.

>> Anderson County public schools doubling down on career and technical education.

Last year, the state awarded the school District 10 million dollars for renovations and expansion at the high school's vocational Education Center.

TVA also gave the district to grant to invest in solar energy.

Jane Wilson spent 30 years in engineering before taking that experience and knowledge to the classroom at Edmonson County High School.

>> Lot of our students >> are getting jobs but not really strong careers.

>> It is Wilson's Bowl to change that.

Making sure students know they have choices when they graduate for a long time.

You know, it was you go to.

>> College after high school four-year degree or you're sort of a failure.

That's not the case.

We had a mission statement that we want all of our students to be able to.

No, there are options have different pathways.

We're learning a little bit of it.

Everything to do with engineering.

We've learned about the career systems we've learned about fasteners.

>> Which are not some boats and Pope things together.

We've learned about the solar project.

>> The Solar project is the result of a TV, a school uplift energy grant.

With a solar panels actually work the till with the way the Sun News.

It's supposed to.

The school district purchased the solar panels back in the fall and installation began in November.

>> People know about solar, but they really don't know what it all entails or what our students here have learned.

>> Is the technology behind it?

We have been studying how to put news energy from it.

>> The solar panels will power 18,000 kilowatts.

Students are learning the technical process is behind how the panels generate electricity from the sun's rays.

So we learned that it goes to a batter.

It's going to be converted back with an inverter to make a C voted you can actually use in the house.

So it's not just the plug and play theirs.

>> A couple processes in there that takes the sun's energy converted to battery energy that converts it to AC energy that you can use.

And it's out of a building.

>> The students say it's been interesting to get an up close look at how renewable energy works as well as their robotics and 3 D printing projects they're doing in class.

>> You want hands-on and creative and also like making things working with engineering also helps with their communication skills, working with other people.

>> We've learned about how to program a row, why we've been learning a lot about careers area employers, including Louisville, SK and a ESE have visited the school to show support for their program.

Really, we felt like if we can get.

>> So relationships with some businesses, local businesses.

>> Factories, industry and we became pipelines for those workforce spots.

>> Then that would really do.

Our students will best benefit.

>> Saying Wilson says future plans include offering more industry certifications like CDL and forklift.

Trainings.

They also offer dual credit classes through sky CTC, apprenticeships and co-ops for Kentucky edition.

I'm Laura Rogers.

>> Thank you, Laura Iraq Elementary School in Edmonson County is also involved in the Solar Panel project.

They'll use it to power a greenhouse at the school.

TVA says the solar panels help reduce energy costs by 10%.

♪ ♪ We get this.

The city of Lexington is inviting extraterrestrial travelers to the bluegrass.

>> By banning a message into outer space.

>> The message contains a big match up with prime numbers.

The elements of life molecules for water at the mall and dopamine plus courses in Lexington's iconic Blue grass lands.

>> The message also contained a collection of >> pretty cool.

The Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau hopes that by contacting potential intergalactic visitors, they'll get the attention of earthly ones as >> That was really kind of, you know, the inspiration behind it is that, you know, we think we have this amazing destination.

You know, we were laughing about space travel is like, is that really anywhere?

More beautiful.

Then wet suit.

And when you are making that dissent out of the blue Grass airport, we're just about 3 billion media impressions which from a traditional ad spend.

You know, that's not something that I would have been able to purchase in terms of awareness media.

So it's been really exciting to know that there's been that many on Lexington and introduce a Lexington in a really fine, creative way.

I also hope it just helps create a perception of Lexington that people may not happen.

You know, I think often times when people think about Kentucky, even think about the Derby or local.

And so I always love and we have an opportunity to highlight, you know, our beautiful blue dress landscapes, our farms, our urban, and then all the unique things that make Lexington special.

So this provided an opportunity to do just that and be able to also share, hey, we've got this really innovative, cool creative community but you've got to experience.

>> Sure thing, though, the agency says it could take 80 years before we hear back from the aliens.

If you run a little green men between now and then you'll know why from a historic flight to a first of its kind transplant and a local connection to the Super Bowl.

Our Toby Gibbs takes a look at what happened this week in Kentucky.

History.

♪ >> On January, 24th 1937, during the great Louisville flan.

Every part of the Ohio River reached flood stage for damage.

Totaled 250 million dollars.

Fred Vinson, Kentuckyian chief justice of the United States was born January 22nd 18, 90 in Lawrence County and he became chief justice on January.

24th 1946. and for his appointment by President Harry S Truman.

One of Kentucky's longest-serving U.S.

Senators Wendell Ford died on January 22nd 2015.

He served 4 terms in the U.S. Senate.

>> And Rose to become Senate majority whip and he was Kentucky's 53rd governor serving from 1971.

To 1974.

Governor Ned breath inside the Kentucky Civil Rights Act on January.

27 in 1966.

The first statewide civil Rights Act ever signed south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Doctor Martin Luther King Junior called it the strongest civil rights bill passed in the southern State.

Doctors at Louisville's Jewish Hospital performed the first hand transplant in the United States on January.

25th 1999, to 14 and a half hours.

The patient Matthew Scott lost his left hand in a fireworks accident.

Morehead State, a LA Bill Sam's led the New York Giants to a Super Bowl title on January.

25th 1987 Sanders was named the game's most Valuable player.

And that's a look back at this week in Kentucky history.

I'm Joe begins.

>> Thank you as always.

To be Gibbs of the Louisville Orchestra is on the last leg of its in Harmony Tour.

>> This is a huge part of our identity.

Now we forged this definition for the orchestra as belonging Kentuckyian Louisville Orchestra is not just for Louisville.

Now it's for everybody in our great Commonwealth.

>> Sure thing we talked to conduct or Teddy Abrams about the orchestra's two-year musical journey around the Bluegrass.

Plus, his new project focused on the life of boxing legend and Louisville native.

The late great Muhammad Ali.

That story is coming at you tomorrow on Kentucky EDITION, which, you know, to join us for its 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire subscribe talk.

Kentucky Edition email newsletters and watch full episodes and clips.

>> At KET Dot Org.

You can also find us on the PBS video app on your smart device or your tablet.

Send us a story idea.

And public affairs at KET Dot Org and of course, follow KET on Facebook X, formerly known as Twitter and Instagram to stay in the loop.

Thank you so much for watching tonight.

At 8 o'clock tonight for the safer Kentucky at we're going to break it down for you right here on KET.

See you then.

♪