♪ >> Tonight, I'm proud to report, but the state of the common well, it's strong and it's growing stronger.

>> Hear the governor is a vision for Kentucky's future and their reaction.

>> Kind of knowing how to fall and learning how to fall.

>> This is an important skill that we can teach.

>> And if you're gonna slip on the ice, do it the right way.

>> For Wednesday, the full of creativity here.

>> And world-class art is right at home in as Southern Kentucky School District.

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

♪ ♪ >> Good Evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION for this January.

The 9th I'm Kelsey starts filling in for Renee Shaw this evening.

>> Kentucky's House of Representatives signed off on a state income tax reduction from 4% to 3.5%.

It's a small change on paper that gained much debate on the House floor, though, eventually grasping some bipartisan support.

Republicans say it's a change that will KET more money in the Kentucky INS pockets.

Democrats say state government would lose more than 700 million dollars annually.

Much more in tonight's legislative update.

♪ >> If you look at what this majority party has done, reducing income taxes from 6% to 3%.

3.5% today.

That is an average on the average Kentucky According to the Federal Reserve data, the average Kentucky you if you voted for these things, have reduced taxes on the average Kentucky about $1549.50.

Kentucky.

Is a poor state.

We are not going to tax our way to prosperity.

We all want to support the Medicaid programs and the and the and the and the schools and fun.

All the things that we all care about.

But you can't do about over taxing folks.

We do it by growth.

This cut roughly would equal about $12 a paycheck.

Average household, Kentucky.

An income of about $61,000 a year.

>> $12 a paycheck.

It.

May not seem like a lot to a lot of people in this chamber, but it could mean a whole lot to that family who's struggling?

This cut?

It helps some.

But it does not help the least among us as much as we should.

And as much as we could.

There are a litany of other policy decisions that this body could undertake that can make an immediate.

Financial significant impact on the working class families of Kentucky.

If we had the courage to move forward and do so with the funds that we have right now today.

The child tax credit.

Raising the minimum wage to an actual livable wage.

Universal preschool that the governor talked about last night in the state of the Commonwealth would mean so much mower to working class families, then $12 a paycheck.

>> Now some Democrats did side with Republicans in the end, House Democrats supported a change, lowering the income tax only for Kentuckians making less than $100,000 a year.

Republicans shot down that amendment.

The Senate stayed late to receive House Bill one.

It now heads to a Senate committee in his annual state of the Commonwealth address, Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear said the state is strong and growing stronger during his nearly 45 minute speech.

He reflected on the state's economic progress highlighting Kentucky's private sector investment, noting more than 35 billion dollars in new investments and the creation of nearly 60,000 jobs over the last 5 years.

And he urged lawmakers to focus on, quote, everyday issues like affordable health care, good paying jobs in infrastructure.

I promise you.

>> For the next 3 years, all remain focused on helping our families work on finding common ground and then using common sense to move this Commonwealth forward.

And in the spirit.

Heard's this General Assembly to be thoughtful, even prayerful about the legislation you choose to pass.

>> The governor also called for more spending on education, including increasing teacher pay and universal Pre-K for every 4 year-old in Kentucky.

>> For Kentucky to reach its full potential.

We must stop the attacks on our public school systems.

In November, Kentuckyian soundly rejected amendment 2.

The message was clear that public dollars are for public schools.

And look, it wasn't even close.

Amendment 2 was rejected in every county and by over 30 points statewide.

That's what you call a mandate to prioritize public education.

So let's stop with the attempts to defund.

Let's stop the voucher nonsense.

Let's stop the end.

Run through tax shelters instead, let's roll up our sleeves and let's do the hard work to strengthen and improve our public schools.

To do so.

Are educators need better salaries?

They deserve it.

Our kids deserve.

We should get it done.

To do so.

We must enact universal Pre-K for all 4 year-olds in Kentucky.

>> After that speech, Senate President Robert Stivers discussed why he thinks universal Pre-K isn't the best solution.

He and his Republican colleague in the lower chamber, House Speaker David Osborne, both said it's the legislature that should be credited for the state's economic ones.

>> You know, universal Pre-K, I've always said this.

That is not a solution or an answer.

What I believe anything because it does not look at a holistic approach.

School-year calendar.

Those students from 4 to 6 o'clock.

Those students who or family members who need daycare on the second weekends, those students.

Families that need daycare.

On the holidays or the summer vacations each and every school district or county or city is going have to develop a policy of their own and you're seeing in many places in Clark County, actually in court.

But in my district, we're looking at creating 100 slots for daycare without dealing with the school system.

And then you talk about our largest school system.

I don't think you see many people in the JCPS talking about how we do universal day care through the school systems with Jefferson County, Public Schools.

So I think the speaker and I are both there on the same page money.

You know, people always want to make more money.

But what is the innovative solution to get that child?

That student at level in the 4th grade bid in mathematics or in reading.

I continue to find it amazing that the the fallacy that the governor somehow thinks that we cut taxes on income is is absurd.

>> Given the fact that we vetoed it or that he veto that road matter of fact, probably the governor single largest legislative accomplishment has been the fact that we override his vetoes because the things that have driven the growth in the state, the things that have have cause prosperity.

Just about it.

I think most people would struggle to think of any pro-growth policies that he has led on that.

We have overridden by the toes on.

>> Speaking to Renee Shaw following last night's address, Democratic leadership discussed their approach to House Bill one, which as you heard earlier, passed the full House today with only 7 of the 20 Democrats voting against it.

>> You need to understand that we support the idea that if we can put more money into taxpayers pockets, Fi, we want to empower folks.

But here's what our concern is.

The I think I'm speaking for.

>> The boat, a breath of our caucus.

That is that there is a reality out there.

If you go down this road too far, what happens is the services that are now in place, some of which a steal, I would argue, underfunded.

Where is that money going to come from?

You're going to have to use some of the mechanism like sales tax, which is or if that's if tax, are you going to have to do away with certain services because you can't generate the funds for doing that.

Really interesting to me is that there's been no lame out of what we do if as we go down this road, only thing we did was put something the trigger in place.

And we do have some ideas are some indications like what happened in Kansas when they had to retreat from this very road.

We know that in Tennessee they had to raise the sales tax and people over there the Kentucky to make purchases, et cetera.

So that consequence.

>> What we have said is this.

We know Kentucky families are suffering, that they don't get up like the governor said worried about who's in charge.

They get worried about how they're going to put food on the table.

How they're gonna get to the doctor having to make sure that their family drives and they look forward to having a little bit more money in their pocket.

So we're looking at.

Well, how can we provide the services that the family can't provide roads, education, health care, and at the same time, put money back in their pockets.

We want to make sure that families thrive short term and long term because that's the only way Kentucky's gonna rise.

>> This year's speech comes as his national profile continues to grow.

He was on Vice President Kamala Harris's short list to be her VP pack after former President Donald Trump's reelection, Democratic governors picked Bashir as chair elect of the Democratic Governors Association for 2026.

You can see that entire speech.

Plus the commentary, its online on-demand at KET Dot Org.

Attorney General Russel Coleman says he's settled a suit with for hedge funds over the management of Kentucky's pension systems.

The hedge funds listed here will pay Kentucky more than 227 million dollars.

The Franklin Circuit Court still has to approve the settlement.

If that happens, the money will go to the Kentucky Public Pension Authority, the Kentucky retirement system and the county employee retirement System.

Coleman also talked today about an old opioid settlement with Kroger.

More on that tomorrow right here on Kentucky EDITION.

Workers at Hardin County's blue Oval as K plan to are a step closer to joining a union.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports workers filed yesterday to hold a union election.

Meaning workers will vote on whether to join the United Auto Workers Union.

The 6 billion dollar plant is expected to employ about 5,000 workers right now about 750 people work there, production on electric vehicle.

Batteries is supposed to start their next year.

Solar panel farm planned for Fayette County has been given the green light.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission approved the plan last month East Kentucky power plans to build the facility on nearly 400 acres of land near the Fayette Clark County Line, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton opposed the project saying it was not a good use of the city's irreplaceable farmland.

She told the Lexington Herald later the city is considering appealing the decision.

The PSC also approved a plan for the larger solar facility in Marion County East Kentucky power says both projects could generate enough power to serve 15,000 homes.

Well, we finally saw the sun today, but it's still bitterly cold with more snow on the way and it can be dangerous if you aren't careful.

The University of Louisville's Dr Martin hiker talk today about what you can do to protect yourself from.

>> Falling on ice and from hypothermia.

When you're out during this winter weather.

>> And saying good advice that I try to give myself and family is slow down.

So, you know, when you're out there, nice just have respect for it.

Even if you're in a hurry, don't try to run on the ice.

If you fall and hit your head, you have a a had bullied.

We call it an intracranial hemorrhage that and can kill you.

So you know that that's really concerning.

Of course, you fall and break a hip at an L up in an elderly person who does that has a higher mortality over the next year.

So then you have minor stuff.

That's an inconvenience but affects your life.

Break your arm, you know your legs.

So yeah, it's kids a big spectrum, but can definitely be pretty life-altering to fall.

And, you know, on this ice and kind of knowing how to fall and learning how to fall, it is an important skill that we can teach.

You know, our family members like the way you fall will have a big impact on them.

If you get injured, you kind of want to fall like down and land more on like Earthlink and chest and then kind of soften the blow and roll into it and a lot of people will land just right on the shoulder and break the humerus bone.

Here are their shoulder.

>> The Bush injury, we call it falling on an outstretched hand.

We'll have some wrist fractures.

Of course, the worst thing you can do is fall back or forward and hit your head.

I mean, you want to protect the head as much as possible.

So I'd much rather laying on my elbow or shoulder then went on my head, the exposure, the 2 big ones are hypothermia.

Accidental hypothermia, which is your whole body.

The temperature goes down, which can again be deadly.

Can cause mental status changes as you start to get cold, you might not realize you're getting so cold and and then it could come too late to to, you know, have the awareness comeback inside.

So that's hypothermia.

And then there's frostbite.

So that's injuries to the hands feet and those years.

And so those are kind of separate.

We KET those separate in our mind, someone could have a perfectly normal body temperature but have frostbite of the hands or the same time they might have protected hands and feet and not develop frostbite, but they get dangerously low core temperature in the low 90 or or even 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

And so that that can be deadly as well.

>> Dr hiker also says beware of dehydration when wearing multiple layers of clothes and sweating out in the cold.

He also says that out when warming up after you've been out in the cold to dry your hands and feet first before putting them in lukewarm water instead of hot water sense that chances of getting burned or higher due to the numbness.

You feel from that cold, good advice.

♪ ♪ Well, if the ice doesn't get you the cold and flu could, according to Norton Healthcare, Flu and COVID cases have risen significantly over the holidays.

While the numbers reflect the same path earned from last year, it's still important to do your part in preventing the spread of these viruses.

DR Ling from Norton, Healthcare tells us more in tonight's Medical News.

>> It's already looking to be a pretty busy season for respiratory viral illnesses.

Just so far we've seen that COVID has more than doubled in the trip to the terms of positive cases.

We've had flew more than quadruple.

And that's just in the past 3 weeks alone as the weather gets colder out and we're moving indoors, rather family gatherings for the holiday season, putting people together with symptoms and viruses makes them very much easier to the spread.

There's certainly they submitted it.

And I think he just doesn't want to get statement as to see this kind of season progress to get vaccinated.

When recommended in the interim this to practice good hand hygiene, wash your hands frequently, use hand sanitizer.

Look to carry a little ball around what I'm going places up.

I don't have a place where it ends.

Some of it is like wearing mask and high-risk situations.

They're going to build this.

The elderly and nursing care facility.

You know, those are people that are typically more coronavirus sections that disinfect every surface is someone here who are not just kitchen counters and if you have to cough or sneeze, try to cover it.

I like to use the Elmo mask to help move the kind of spread of viral particles in the air.

I can say anecdotally about 50% of the patients as emergency care center happened have a respiratory like symptoms such as body A's runny nose, cough congestion.

What I will say is a little more interesting that have seen in the past 3 years and be as prevalent as a lot of people coming in with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

It's been a very common to play.

And I just like to remind everybody that, you know what to think, respiratory infections, having purely respiratory symptoms, but that's just not the case.

We know a little bit 19 and influenza both who have symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, sort of really poor people that they're having any of those symptoms as well.

Probably worth getting checked out and probably also work getting tested for these respiratory viruses.

I would say you're having some symptoms like runny nose, cough congestion.

Bodies totally reasonable to COVID media care center or urgent care center and look on the line for scheduling its if you're having more severe symptoms such as pain, difficulty breathing, swelling, severe weather G item for them to go to the emergency department to get it.

It could be indicative of a more serious infection.

We know that people who do get a viral respiratory infections, such as influenza or COVID-19 mayor Bob people susceptible to bacterial infections, such as bacterial pneumonia is so the only important to get those evaluated in the present, their son.

>> And for the most up to date recommendations regarding respiratory viruses, you can visit cover your cough DOT K Y dot Gov.

♪ >> The Eastern Kentucky Humanities Commission is a trade association of museums and historical sites in eastern Kentucky with nearly 60 organizations under their banner.

The commission hopes to use that combined experience.

>> To preserve and celebrate Eastern Kentucky's art history and culture.

>> Museums are sort of like little islands out in the ocean there.

Horton on, I think of you know, they all are kind of independent of one another.

They're doing their own thing.

They're trying to fundraise on their own.

They're trying to do things in which, you know, they're very independent and largely based on the expertise of the staff they have or the financial means available to them in talking with other museums, especially local museums.

We reached out to them and they said, wow, we are actually experiencing the same problems we're having the same issues ourselves.

How did you do that?

And we invite a lot of the different museums and people representatives come see us kind of talk to them.

And it really spawned an open.

The conversation.

The commission functions pretty much.

Is it like a trade association for the humanities in eastern Kentucky, whether it be in the history with early the arts with R B music and sharing eastern Kentucky's history and also actually preserving up.

So if you would take a roundtable, know once it to the head, but everyone has an equal seat.

6 months ago, we started.

Well, we endeavored in this.

Create a new organization for the humanities and eastern Kentucky.

We out of this experience with our innovation face here at the museum, we started talking with each other and sort of a side of it.

Let's go see these other museums.

See, we have these guys are doing basically that's how it came out of that.

We wanted to have a conducive organization working for their interest for their benefit and to market for them too, provide areas of expertise for them to help provide funding for them and ways that they otherwise would not possibly be able to have as one single organization.

That's what the commission pretty much functions as a fact that now instead of one museum.

On the town.

Now you have a combines 40 counties have 120 of roughly a 3rd of the state in which you have.

Experts and planners and people from all the different museums houses taken away by some of these places.

How well Kerry did they are.

They are wonderful people.

But we we want to help elevate them and make them better.

>> They are in better than what they are now and wages really took it upon ourselves to do this out of this effort that Lee sort of out of the effort with our museum and our experience here.

That is important for us.

Primarily to preserve and promote the mistreatment of Kentucky of eastern Kentucky.

>> 2, I have it here as long as we can for future generations and to let them know to educate them about what we have.

We can be dominant.

>> It can be there's highs and lows of museums trying to make them successful, trying to make the move forward and we want to make sure that everyone knows throughout the commission that, you know, we have people, we are here to support you and in the ways we can, we want to make sure that.

You know, you have the means and unnecessary ways.

>> Eastern Kentucky Humanities Commission is planning on holding a meeting with all of its members coming up this spring.

♪ >> And students in Barron County now have a world-class art gallery right there on their high school campus.

The collection includes stunning pieces from all over the world and right here at home, Laura Rodgers takes us to the new space for this week's installment.

>> Of Tapestry.

>> I mean, to sound confident, I've been to Spain, Stan, the Cuba, China arrests.

Yeah.

I've retired physician doctor Barack Modi of Glasgow has traveled all over the world.

>> Read a lot.

I go.

I always like many people in years.

I already low cross a martyr.

Dr Modi had an extensive art collection that he loved to show people about.

>> 50 prized pieces from his international collection are now housed here at there in County high school.

>> And county schools has had a long-term commitment to the ER.

>> That led to a conversation and eventual collaboration between the school board, Dr Modi and the know-how, Chun's family to build the Trojan Art gallery.

It's an amazing space and we're so fortunate to have it here on our campus.

>> I'm very excited.

I'm very excited to submit to my own pieces.

AP art student Jakari Blackmon says Art is one of her favorite forms of expression soon as I got into here and amendments.

Simmons, I was just >> having a blast.

I wanted to do everything.

She threw my way.

We're not just limited to things here in our community are things here in our school.

We can see art works from around the world.

Lauren Simmons has taught art at Marin County for 18 years into arts sector is a huge part of our society are 2012 piece inspired by the Sea as one of the local art works on display.

Absolutely.

Love the ocean.

Amazed by the waves and just the relaxation of the Annan out there.

But the flow, she says this gallery will open students minds to the creative possibilities are.

>> These are farm of expiration gives your job.

I use your happiness.

We want a light.

You feel the sadness?

>> Are can build capacity in a community and it can teach students to appreciate art, even if they aren't a talented artist themselves.

>> Principal Leticia Hughes says it will strengthen leadership skills as student council members will be trained to service tour guides since he's going to be a hands-on learning real world learning for our students.

I always have failed our children, our future, Dr Modi, wanting to help children understand there's a world of opportunity within their reach.

Don't have to look to New York or Chicago to see this kind of a hard look.

This is definitely a world class opportunity that you don't normally find.

>> In small community Superintendent, Amy or when says Arts and humanities are part of a well rounded education.

Whether we discuss arts athletics, academics.

>> Stem steam labs, career and technical education.

That is our job as a district to find a path for every state.

It's past hoping to open their minds to the creative possibilities and pursuits that will enrich their lives for Kentucky edition.

I'm Laura Rogers.

>> And by the way, Doctor Modi is also an artist himself who creates stained glass.

The gallery just opened in December and administrators say they've already received interest from surrounding school districts as well.

Well, it has been a busy week with Jimmy President Jimmy Carter's funeral and the first few days of the Kentucky General Assembly.

We've been dealing with our first major winter storm of the season and we've got some more snow on the way tomorrow.

We'll have it all for you right here tomorrow on Kentucky EDITION.

And we do hope you'll join us again tomorrow night were here at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central for Kentucky edition where we inform connect and inspire.

You can subscribe to our Kentucky Edition, e-mail newsletters and watch full episodes and clips all at K T Dot Org.

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Thank you so much for joining us this evening.

We hope you have a great night.

♪ ♪ ♪