♪ >> Your name has also come up as a potential nominee.

If Biden stepped aside, what do you say to that?

>> Hear what the governor says about rumors he could be up for a promotion.

>> I feel like a lot of people don't really know or utilize what?

What the earth provides for us.

>> Come see the farm that's putting the sun to work.

>> The last 10 years we've had the patients roughly.

Remember, you are with firework injuries.

We've seen more than 100 and in clinic.

>> How you can have a fun, but safe 4th of July holiday.

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

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Wednesday, July 3rd, we're getting ready for the holiday.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you so much for tuning in this evening.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July.

And if you have outdoor plans tonight, this is something you need to hear.

>> Kentucky is dealing with storms again.

The state is warning people to look out for scattered thunderstorms lasting into tonight.

Western and central Kentucky are the areas most affected, damaging winds and heavy rain are possible.

Now turning to politics as Democrats consider their party's future.

The name Andy Beshear is getting new national attention.

Some Democrats are calling for President Joe Biden to withdraw as a candidate for reelection after his debate performance last Thursday.

The president is meeting with the nation's Democratic governors tonight.

Some virtually some in person at the White House.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Governor Andy Beshear is one of the governor's going to the White House with the party's plans on certain.

A new Reuters poll looks at how various Democrats stack up against former President Donald Trump.

And that poll includes Governor Beshear and the poll conducted after the debate.

President Biden and former President Trump are tied at 40% apiece.

Vice President Kamala Harris is one point behind Trump.

43 to 42, California Governor Gavin Newsom is 3 points behind.

42 to 39%.

Trump leads Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky.

40 to 36%.

Even though 70% of Democrats in the survey said they've never even heard of Andy Beshear last night on CNN.

Beshear talked about the president, the presidential race and whether he might end up on the National Democratic ticket.

>> We should note that allies of Vice President Harris are floating your name as a potential running mate.

Option for her of the president were to bow out.

Your name has also come up as a potential nominee of Biden stepped aside.

What do you say to that?

>> President Biden is our nominee and I want to speculate.

I've got a good relationship with the vice president.

She is a good person.

I've been happy to work with her on a number of initiatives, including decriminalizing marijuana.

You know, my name coming up it it's flattering as a person to hear, but I think it's more about the good things going on in Kentucky.

We lower the temperature.

We have Democrats and Republicans working to together.

We have record job growth, record exports, record tourism we've seen lower said of we see in our drug overdose deaths go down 2 years in a row, which means we're taking care of our our people better.

And so while it's nice to hear your name and and things like that, I'm just proud of what we've done is the state and the president and the vice president have been very helpful in making a lot of that happened.

>> The governor also said he continues to back President Biden as long as he is a candidate.

The Republican Party of Kentucky responded to that with this statement.

Quote, The shares chosen to continue the lie that Biden is capable of being president, but neither nor the Biden administration can deny the truth.

Because last week the American people clearly saw that Joe Biden is no longer fit to serve as our commander in chief, end quote, the Republican Party of Kentucky went on to say that only Donald Trump is capable of being president.

More on the new national conversations about Governor Beshear with NPR's Rylan Barton coming up in just a few minutes.

How Kentucky removes voters from its voting rolls is being challenged in federal court.

Alas, Laning grassroots organization called Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is suing Kentucky.

Secretary of state Michael Adams are Republican and the State Board of Elections which is made up of both Republicans and Democrats.

The group argues Kentucky's 2021 election law violates the National Registration Act of 1993 which prohibits states from removing voters that have moved out of state unless the voter confirms in writing they've moved or fails to respond to a written notice.

The Kentucky Law in question is House Bill 574, which was signed into law in 2021.

By Democratic Governor Andy Beshear pass during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The law was viewed as the largest election reform in Kentucky since the late 18, 100's allowing for multiple days of early in-person voting.

The law also requires the state Board of elections to remove or registered voter from the voter rolls.

Within 5 days of the vote are moving outside of Kentucky with no notice or chance for appeal required.

In a statement, Secretary Adams said he would work to defend the law and accused the group of trying to, quote, sow chaos in doubt and our elections and quote, in June alone, his office says 4300 voters were removed from Kentucky's voter rolls.

Most of them were deceased.

More than 500 were removed for moving out of the state since the 2021 law took effect more than 14,000 voters have been purged from moving to another state.

A farm in Shelby County is known for harvesting flowers, strawberries and now solar energy.

>> Thanks to federal dollars.

Small businesses across Kentucky are installing their own renewable energy projects at half the cost Kentucky additions.

Do Leffler has more in our look at weather and climate.

>> Just a quick rundown.

We open in April with our 10 greenhouses.

So again, extremely substantial amount of energy keeping these greenhouses heated and cooled and at the correct temperatures and running the water systems sewer hears July.

We have our fresh produce.

So we're running machines to to clean.

It's a process that produce said we pick in our green bins are again utilize.

We have squash zucchini.

We have soy beans.

We have coroner really will know for known for sweet corn.

We have field corn.

So there's there's a lot that goes on a lot of moving parts and they all require some sort of energy.

So that's why we decided to to take the take the plunge.

>> Gallery in Farms decided to install rooftop solar panels.

>> Which offsets 83% of their electrical usage and saves them.

You know, half a million dollars over the course of the 30 year warranty life for this system.

>> It's kind of me because I feel like a lot of people don't really know or utilize what?

What the earth provides for us.

>> Solar panels save money in the long run.

But federal programs have sped up the return on investment started with a tax credit that covers 30% of the installation.

And for many small businesses, a grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture that covers half of the costs.

>> In this particular case, it's an agricultural.

We really did but we've we've done a Burger King in the middle of Ashland, Kentucky.

We've auto dealerships.

I around Kentucky.

>> The real energy for America program or reap grant has helped hundreds of Kentucky businesses install their own renewable energy projects, not just solar, the grants, not new, but it wrapped up just a few years ago.

>> It's been ongoing, but on the Biden-harris administration, through the Inflation Reduction Act, which was a bipartisan act with Congress and the president in STA greatly increase the amount of money.

So we used only match 25%.

the inflation Reduction Act.

We've been able to match provide match of 50%.

In this case, we're promoting economic development, working with small businesses, unable to bring them to operate more efficiently.

So that their bottom line makes more sense to them and gives them some freedom and choice is and how they want to reinvest those dollars.

>> That's what we're always trying to do is continue to reinvest in the far reinvest in the business and reinvest in the land and when keeps us going where farm.

So, you know, we want to treat it as well as we can for as long as we can.

And this was just one other way to try and do so.

>> For Kentucky edition, I'm John Leffler.

>> Thanks, June.

Businesses aren't the only ones getting solar renters.

And people who lost their homes to a disaster.

Also getting a piece of the solar share.

We'll have those stories in the weeks to come.

♪ >> Time now to talk about some major political news with our good friend Rylan Barton, who is a senior editor with NPR States team.

Good to see your island.

It's a 2 run at back on your home Louisville turf this time, right?

We hope you had a great time and federal He's wonderful.

>> Good, good, good.

I we were talking before we started our taping that perhaps a question on NPR's Wait, Wait, don't tell me would involve a Kentucky governor where the question would be, who is a governor and a primarily southern state in all red southern state whose prospects for a vice president and president are The answer is, of course.

>> anybody this year, I this is something that we're going to.

I don't know that this conversation is going to probably sound a lot different in a couple because there's this meeting that takes place tonight between.

President Biden and Democratic governors at the White Some Democratic governors early voting, but it sure is going to be there along with some others like a Governor, JB Pritzker, a Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer and the sole worst happens after in response to.

The president's debate performance last week, which is from Democrats and 2, a lot of concern over the president's help and whether or not beaten can should continue his candidacy for re-election.

So there's a lot of talking to a Democratic bill and might be and there's some wondering whether or not and this year is going to be is one of those names if that happens.

So these are a few ifs on down the road that would take place doing.

So.

One thing is there's been some polling that happened over the last few days.

That included a teacher's name And I thought the one thing was very notable that a 70% of Democrats polled said that they had never heard of any this year a but he's still in a head to head over to Donald Trump trail of among those Democrats.

36 to 40, which just kind of records that poll showed just how deeply Democrats oppose Trump.

So I think one part of it is that we have for us Kentuckians, especially to KET it real.

Is that not everybody in the contract in the nation knows who he was.

Serious but grated.

He does have a story.

I think that you'd like to tell the nation about, you know, why you might be a good candidate.

That's saying something he's done talking a lot about is Kentucky's economic successes, but also you KET somebody you know, reassure the state and was a prominent figure throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.

You know, of all those governors are like I'm trying to help him pull back, right?

Right.

>> And has managed to be somewhat successful in his political agenda when and dealing with a Republican supermajority.

And I know a lot of people who'd like to know how he's able to do that and learn from his playbook.

We should say he is going to be in person while some of the Democrats who were invited might be doing that virtually can speak for Gretchen Whitmer and the rest.

But Andy Beshear will be in person.

So that could be equally as telling.

>> Yeah, he'll be there in person.

And he really has been making the rounds.

So he was on CNN last night.

you in an interview talking about him talking about the president's hope that I thought about was that was something it was notable that had heard from any of these Democratic rising stars that we heard from a bit, which he was really talking about the president's hope in saying that the that the president needs to KET governors mourn, going to do that.

And that seemed a step further than any A Democrat really talked about at least Democratic governor and talk about.

so these next few days.

So the president has several appearances.

He has several our campaign stops that he's going to make a I believe Gavin Newsom's actually going to be joining an M one in Michigan.

So I think we'll learn a lot how the president feels and how he's presenting himself over these next few days.

So yeah, we'll see on the way >> Haha right.

And we should say that when the governor was asked to believe it was yesterday that he was flattered to be in the talk replacement for President Biden, right?

But that he would kind of just wait and see if he'd still remain in the race.

So he's being a pretty nebulous and his responses so far, but maybe leaving the door open, Has not given a hard.

No, certainly has opposed it.

That's Let's move now and talk about an election lawsuit.

This involves the Kentucky INS for the Commonwealth.

And I believe the Kentucky chapter of the NAACP.

They're suing the Kentucky secretary of state and board of elections over a 2021 election law.

What's their beef and what they want rectified?

>> Yes, this is it's part of the law that requires people to be removed from the state's voter rolls if they move out of state.

So really when they go to register to vote in a different state, but that and alerts Kentucky by that person under this law about her son's name could be removed from Kentucky's voter rolls in 5 days.

These groups are saying that that's a little too fast and that actually erode the power of federal law, which requires the state to make an effort to reach out to the people of the newer, referred to by those names to make sure that they are that they're actually the same person that was true.

You know, really the alleged, especially in a really simple case of there's a lot of people with the same and in this country been so I'm just trying to avoid accidents with somebody.

Some buddies for him.

Voter registrations accidentally because of that, you know, somebody with the same name, but it's a different state registers.

There so, yeah, we'll see where this goes on.

This is something that this is an effort that was really championed by Republican secretary of state Michael Adams and east.

He's opposing this lawsuit.

So we'll see where it goes.

Yeah.

>> And finally, just real quick note about the former LMPD chief.

I'm Jacqueline going Barrera.

Well, who had resigned last week who just this week has said, well, I didn't resign necessarily under my own volition and she had a pretty scathing letter.

That was a deal to the press and the about her feelings about the department and the leadership that she felt caused a malaise among the department.

Can tell us a bit more about this.

>> So this letter it published online by WLKY.

but it confirms one that Mayor Craig Greenberg had asked her to resign but yeah, she she really leans into some of the department's problem.

She did say that she was a proud of the work that she had done but also some of their longstanding cultural deficiencies that permeated the agency.

She blamed that on certain members of leadership, though she didn't name any names in this.

And she said their professional and ethical apathy up throughout the the police administration there, you know, most police departments having a rough time over these last few years.

So there currently the investigation from the Department of Justice and and currently negotiating a consent decree over a pattern of her show after the DOJ show that they had a pattern and practice of violating people civil rights.

So this really comes at a turbulent time in the department and there's an interim police chief We don't really know much about what's next if there's even going to be a national search for a new police chief.

you know not I think there's a lot of hope that the that the agency can and turn itself around here.

But this is another blow after a series of 3 series of scandals from this particular point and more to come for sure.

And more to watch.

>> Well, thank you, Ryland Barton for doing the same.

Sad to say you take care.

>> For those facing food insecurity, protein is one of the hardest food types to come by.

But Kentucky hunters for the hungry is getting meat into food banks across the commonwealth through the help of local hunters.

>> One in 6 Kentucky children go to bed hungry in.

I think that's completely unacceptable.

And I want to give back in one way we can do that is by donating gourmet the way our program works.

A hunter will take a legally harvested deer field dress and drop it off at one of our 60 processors throughout the commonwealth.

And then they there's there's no cost to the hotter.

What honors for the higher doesn't pay the processor to process and made into one to 2 pound packages of ground and frozen.

And then once the process or has that done a local food bank the community mission will come and pick to meet up and distributed throughout the community or if there's not available, we work with partners such as feeding Kentucky to come pick to meet up in distribute with put their network.

One thing that the food banks are lacking is protein.

And we're blessed with a very large deer herd overpopulation of deer herd.

>> It poses many challenges from increased vehicle collisions too.

Agricultural crop damage and to disease.

One of the biggest challenge is with managing deer herd of the statewide level is really keeping the population at a manageable level, not allowing it to grow too much.

That's really where hunters come into play most near hunters and they go out the hardest one to 3 near to feed their family and they they get what they need.

They feel their freezer.

And then there's not a lot of incentive for him to want to go back out.

and that's really where partnership with Kentucky hunters for the hungry comes into play.

It it incentivizes those folks to get back out in the field and percent.

One of her favorite hobbies, but then gives them an outlet.

They'll donate that meet a very worthy cause that goes very quick >> they food banks can KET it in stock.

It goes.

It goes out as quickly as it goes back and everyone seems to like it and we've partnered University of Kentuckyian they're cooking cook while Kentucky program that we distribute recipe cards so people know how to cook Cook to make this a given to on with it being ground any any way that you can cook hamburger, you could stare so the way it goes, you know, anything from Chile to meet little Sloppy Joes, a Vols.

You name it to U.S.. 3,023 deer donated that last year's season, which is the most we've ever had.

The average yield of the deer's about 40 pounds for.

For deer which equates to a for Pat 4 servings per pound, which is 160 per day here.

So that works out a lot meals to feed the hungry.

>> Kentucky hunters for the hungry also partners with Cayenne S animal nutrition to provide Venice and meat sticks as part of the food backpack program that feeds over 800 children a week.

♪ >> Independence Day celebrations are full of fun parades, delicious barbecues and best of all, colorful fireworks, though, this July 4th tradition, maybe find fireworks, cause more injuries than you might think.

U of L doctors speak on the dangers of fireworks and their experiences with patient injuries.

>> The last 10 years we've had patients roughly into the ER with firework We've seen more than 100 and in clinic.

So if you put the numbers to you know, it's it's roughly 5 to 10 a year.

Veterans are that has come to our facility alone.

And then a smile is about 10,000 people year that are injured by fireworks that seek medical care.

>> And 20% of all for the countries actually incurred the odds that they can be anything some small part of his getting into too and for injuries to the eye itself and to lead the.

And there's an injuries, vision loss and blindness.

This highs numbers that hands and fingers usually from people missing and story that spans of the things that they can result in things as monitors.

A very small mild.

The true that Trump to an explosion that unit and result was that he and the president to something that is the number one.

Ally, fireworks close to any structures.

>> Everyone like fireworks were there that they could take over be angled.

So if you're gonna like fireworks, I have a broad flat surface like a driveway or a concrete pad or something like that.

You're going to set him off on.

When your parents leave Milan.

I go do something else for a while, especially for fireworks that have multiple rounds of the fire off like Roman candles or from orders and things like that.

Oftentimes it might be incomplete and you want to leave them on for at least 20 minutes and then definitely so-called the ones that use and water before you throw away in a trash can outside never burning up our work that has gone off inside your house or garage or anything like that.

>> The end of the day, the citizen that is leading to the best ones and leave it to for that one.

But the vast majority of injuries with side, that's it for this time of year.

And we don't want people to ♪ ♪ >> If you're looking for some 4th of July fun, you have options all over Kentucky tomorrow through the weekend are Toby Gibbs tells us about some of them and this midweek, look at what's happening around the Commonwealth.

♪ >> Wayne County, Fair in horror show is still going strong after a fun day of carnival rides and Truck Falls tomorrow.

Spare will conclude with a spectacular fireworks show for the 4th of July this Saturday is the Pendleton County Farm to or take the scenic route to 7 working farms and get a hands-on education where our food comes from Abbott, Hagrid cultural adventure this weekend in Pendleton County.

Liberty's 4th of July celebration starts at noon tomorrow.

Check out the delicious food inflatables parade and more evening activities include live concerts and of course, fireworks at the end of the night.

After a 15 year hiatus for orchestra is coming back to the Louisville Zoo on Saturday.

The magic of the Louisville Orchestra meets the excitement of visiting the zoo in this great family friendly event.

This event will be wildly fun.

Be sure to grab a ticket.

>> Tomorrow is the 4th asked that the Owensboro Convention Center.

There will be inflatables and activities for the kids.

Plus, you'll have the best seats in town to watch the fireworks show on the riverfront.

Wow.

Collects market is having a block party this Sunday shot from over 60 local artists and enjoy some delicious live nation's from the food trucks, coffee trucks and West 6th brewing content lack the block at this great event.

10,000 people will be able to cause and dependent stay celebration tomorrow.

And you want to be one of the enjoy.

A great day on the riverfront with live music, food trucks and more power to show begins at 09:50PM.

There will be a multitude of fireworks displays tomorrow.

But if you missed them, there's lots of Independence Day celebrations over the weekend as well.

One of them is fireworks over Lake Cumberland, at least are buried on Saturday.

Enjoy delicious dinner.

Live music and a fantastic show of fireworks over.

Beautiful.

Like number one.

And that's what's happening around the Commonwealth cobia.

>> Thank youto be gives.

Join us tomorrow for a special Independence Day fame to Kentucky Edition.

We'll look back at the history of the holiday.

Made some new citizens of the U.S. and move over.

Betsy Ross will meet a Kentucky family that's been making American flags for more than 75 years.

That and much more as we observe America's 200 and 48th birthday.

That's Thursday on Kentucky Edition, you know, the same time, same place, 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire cannot with gas.

All the ways you see on your screen there and subscribe to get our email newsletters.

Download the U.S. on the PBS video app and send us a story idea of public affairs at KET Dot Org and look for KD on Facebook X an Instagram to stay in the loop.

Thank you so much for watching.

Have a great 4th holiday and we'll see Houston take a chair.

♪ ♪