♪ >> What I can do was over the >> Louisville's mayor says he's sorry about generations of racism and how that racism has hurt his city's black community.

>> If you get the newspaper, you notice that has had fewer pages in recent years.

>> One of Kentucky's best known, most respected reporters, talks about the state of rule journalism.

Plus, a generous donation to Habitat for Humanity means new homes in a Kentucky community that really needs them.

>> And the musician and visual artist an educator, I would say conservationist.

>> Meet the artist whose canvases mother Nature.

Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the Kaye E T and Aument for Kentucky Productions.

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the Kaye E Team Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION.

Today is Thursday, June 16th.

Thank you so very much for joining us.

I'm Renee Shaw.

>> Let's get right to the news.

Mayor Greg Fischer of Louisville today apologized to the city's black community for what he called the Stain of historic racism.

The mayor spoke at the Kentucky Center for African American heritage.

He looks back at racism throughout Louisville's history from its role in the slave trade to systemic discrimination in housing, health, education and justice, including the death of Breonna Taylor.

>> I can not raise all the injustices from the first slave ships to today.

But what I can do is over a sincere from me, too.

As a person, more importantly to a man of the institution of the city government.

Lou.

I take responsibility too.

The system that I've been elected to.

Both the best and the president.

Billy's frequently been the face of injustice toward black communities.

LMPD Chief Erika Shields and I have spoken about this many times and in the coming weeks, she will have more to say on the history of institutional abuse of black Americans and police.

>> Mayor Fischer spoke 3 days before June Tate.

The holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.

The U.S. Senate has defeated a plan from Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky that Paul says would balance the federal budget in 5 years.

Paul wanted to return to the spending levels that existed in 2019.

The bill failed.

67 to 29 yesterday speaking in Washington, D.C., Paul said America needs to make big changes to the Social Security and Medicare Systems and order to keep them going.

That includes raising the age is for Americans to be eligible for benefits.

>> I'm just curious.

You have to go to 70 and so is Medicare.

One does not have money.

Even if you increase the taxes marginally, which I'm probably going to end Medicare as well and means test Social Security, meaning richer people myself, we get less than I'm expecting.

Same with Medicare.

I would have to pay more.

And so when one of you and your parents have to pay more for Medicare, not because I want to punish you because if you really want the system to continue its the only way the system continues.

>> Senator Paul says the U.S. has added 11 trillion dollars to the national debt in the last few years.

He says that's just not sustainable.

Senator Paul and lawmakers are considering what the federal government should do about gun violence.

What should Kentucky do to prevent shootings in schools?

We'll hear from state Senator Max Wise, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

Coming up a little later in this broadcast.

Kentucky's COVID positivity rate has improved from last week.

>> The state says it's slightly above 12%.

It was almost 12 and a half a week ago.

This comes at a time when the number of counties in the high COVID category continues to increase.

As you can see from this map, 19 counties are in red, which means high with 28 in medium.

360 Kentucky cities will split 162 million dollars from the federal government to offset costs related to COVID.

The money will help cities and towns pay for personal protective equipment, vaccination clinics, loss of revenue and more.

The department for local government will distribute the money, which is from the American rescue plan.

Bowling Green is getting $50,000 worth of help to build homes after last December's tornadoes assured partners is donating to the local Habitat for Humanity Chapter.

This is from assured Partners AP Cares Fund that helps with natural disaster relief.

It's also pledged volunteer help on the United Way, Day of caring and late July.

>> This is about a 1.5 million Dollar project and the money comes in from a lot of different sources and it comes in at different times.

So to have that cash up front for cash flow is excellent because we've got to put.

>> A lot of money in the ground to get these houses up out of the ground.

And so to have that kind of partner and that kind of commitment means a great deal to us.

We're grateful for folks who not only the leave enough to put the cash equity, but believe enough to put in the sweat equity to make this project happen.

>> At least 16 people died in Bowling Green as the storm hit December 10th and 11th.

Menifee County controls its own school system again and 2015.

The state took over control after the state auditor, attorney general and Education Commissioner criticize school officials handling of legal services.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the state feels Menifee County school leaders have improved their management and so local control has resumed.

A win today in court for the Jefferson County Public School System.

The Courier Journal says the Kentucky Supreme Court says it's 2020 property tax increase can stand without voter approval.

The school board approved a 7% hike and some anti-tax activists began a petition drive to get a recall on the ballot.

But a judge ruled thousands of signatures were invalid.

So he allowed the tax hike.

The Supreme Court's decision now gives the school board access to millions of dollars held in escrow while the case was decided.

More Supreme Court news, the state's highest court says police can track people by pinging their cell phones and lest they get a search warrant first, the Lexington Herald-Leader says it was a 4 to 3 decision ruling that citizens have a right to privacy under the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions.

Police can paying a cell phone by calling a phone service provider and asking the company to identify the cell towers closest to a suspect.

♪ ♪ In light of the recent mass shootings, especially the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

We're having more conversations about school safety, a Kentucky Republican says the Commonwealth has model legislation when it comes to protecting students and teachers and schools.

State Senator Max Wise, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

Talk with us about those laws and ideas on improving them.

There was an op-ed that ran the headline was Kentucky GOP senators call one school safety must tackle mental health.

Not rush to blame guns.

And this was penned by yourself.

>> State Senator Mike Wilson and Danny Carroll.

I want to ask you because you lay out the case of the legislation that the General Assembly has passed the dates back to 2013.

Is that sufficient?

Is that working?

And for those who say that the country, Kentucky legislature should do more, your answer would be what?

>> All of those little piece of legislation that we mentioned, the op-ed.

We're very landmark piece of legislation.

I think Senator Wilson took a great turn.

The first part of that with this piece of legislation that look to do no lockdown drills and some things that schools were talking about that time.

And then what we did with the Senate bill, one on the school Safety Resiliency Act myself represented Bam Carney at the time, as well as the working group that really focused 4 key components of the dealt with, you know, infrastructure, school personnel, resiliency.

The safeguards of schools.

And so I think with that piece of legislation, we've got a lot of good national recognition and then also what we just did with House Bill 63 with Representative Bratcher is built into the city, worked on with you know, as a police departments within schools.

And so all of those, I think, you know, we're piece of legislation, the show that, you know, Kentucky was looking at this, you know, Senate Bill one, the 2019 bill was reactionary after the Marshall County a vent.

But even since then, we've been able to get a lot of by and for a lot of other states saying, well, you know, Kentucky did this right.

And so I'm proud to be a part of that.

One.

>> Well, and then the op-ed you say here that there is abundant federal funding available to schools as well as state money.

And there were some in the last session of the General Assembly that said there should have been more money for school counselors and for mental health services to make sure to stave off these events have possible.

We know nothing is a silver bullet.

When you hear about what's happening in the conversation in other states, you look at New York that has red flag laws that even educators who can file reports an alert if they see a student that seems to be on the wrong track.

Is Kentucky willing to embrace what you are seeing and hearing about in other states right now?

>> I can definitely say with the mental health component, you know, we were screaming for funding with that.

As soon as we passed Senate Bill, one.

And you know, unfortunately for us that the COVID situation where we had to divide the two-year budget into one year, increment.

And I think that really took it a roadblock for funding mechanisms that we were going to put forth as related to the mental health component and also their sorrow component that and I think it's time that we have to go back.

We have to address the funding of that.

I think especially as it relates to the mental health component of that, you know, looking at, you know, having a school guidance counselor or social worker, school psychologist, you know, with the numbers that we saw with that, Renee, from the 2019 Senate bill, one bill was for every 250 students.

If we had one mental health professional, the price tag of that of covering all campuses across the Commonwealth would have been 195 million dollars.

Now we know that would be a large investment, but we also have things such as telehealth.

Now we've seen some of the school districts that really utilize since we passed in 2019.

But we've got to be committed to many people are pointing out that a lot of these, if not all of these mass shootings in schools that the school resource officers.

>> That they really did make an impact when it comes to saving the kids life but yet cut lives.

But yet we know that Kentucky has invested more and school resource officers and the legislation you just mentioned a moment ago, is that the right direction to make sure you're keeping students and staff teachers safe?

>> Very much so I'm a huge proponent of school resource officers.

And, you know, you've got to think also what the purposes of sro's.

Yes, we've got him for protection, but we also have been for relationship building within the school walls.

You know, many times that we've Hearst great success stories of friendships that sro's have developed within those school walls of students being able to talk to an SRO and a lot of times that could be gathering intelligence and hearing about some things that could happen in maybe some situations within a home life.

The student is struggling with something that SRO could be able to, you know, share that information, some things that are happening.

And I think also in the world, we live in today for many times, law enforcement's getting blamed and they're getting, you know, wanting to defund them.

You know, it also can great may be an opportunity for our resource officers to work with young people and maybe show career pass.

>> We learned this week that the governor of Ohio just signed into law, a measure that would allow teachers to be armed and classrooms and other school personnel.

And I know that's been a conversation in Kentucky before.

Do you think that that will be embraced when you made again in 2023?

Is this a possibility for Kentucky?

>> You know, I'm not for sure if the word embrace it is the right word to use for that.

But maybe something that can be discussed.

You know, I think we have to look at all options on the I think we also look at our former military, you know, to see with veterans of who we have in our communities, what role they could play as well.

And I'm sure that discussion is going to be brought up about arming teachers.

You know, I think we have to look at maybe not mandating that.

But if school districts wanted to make that discussion of the local school district level, have the discussion, you know, but I think we have to look at all options, especially once we say that this is continue to be a trend that, you of so many states, so many people are dealing with this.

But once again, I'm not for sure right in terms of the legislature that's going to be House and Senate leadership coming together and having a good honest and frank discussion about what we're wanting to do.

I do know that Speaker Osborne, President's towers of talked about the funding mechanism and that's truly right now.

What should be on the table is making sure we fund this.

We don't make it an unfunded mandate for local school districts to have to do this on their own.

We know there are some federal dollars with COVID the can be used.

We're also seeing local school districts and merging to form their own school police departments.

Laurel County just did this.

And I think you're seeing parents step up and want to say we want our schools safe for our children, for our in for teachers as well.

>> The Senate Education Committee is expected to discuss ideas around school safety in the interim joint committee that's scheduled in mid July.

The digital world has changed journalism and rule aren't areas and the Institute for real journalism and community issues is seeking to help maintain good rule of journalism.

Earlier this month institute held a summit about the state of journalism in rural America.

Our Casey Parker-bell spoke with the institute's director about what new ideas are being discussed to ensure rolled.

Journalism thrives.

>> If you get the newspaper, you notice that has had fewer pages in recent years.

And that's because of the digital revolution.

Finally reaching local small-town weekly newspapers to help rural journalism flourish.

The Institute for Rural Journalism held a summit to define challenges for the industry.

>> And discover ways to address them.

It's a change for the U.S. to its main goal was helping local journalists to find their public agenda.

You can't have good journalism.

>> Without a healthy pay master for it.

So we're going to be increasingly focused on innovation and sustainability and world journalist ideas from the summit aimed to help rule journalism included creating new membership models to give subscribers additional benefits using local philanthropy to newsrooms exploring Don profit models.

The had many discussions about the use of both to help prove his papers and has a a organizing for room, his papers.

And I think increasingly that is going to be a business model for a local newspapers, even those that are on.

But chains can get some local community foundations.

And what does world journalism in Kentucky look like right now?

Kentucky is lucky in that it really doesn't have true news deserts outside of Menifee and Robertson counties which don't have the local papers.

But increasingly these papers have a hard time their public service.

The summit asked the question, how can rural communities sustain journalism that supports local democracy.

And that really is a question not for the newspaper industry or the news industry.

It's a question for communities and we hope to awaken communities to the need to support those news outlets for KET, I'm Casey Parker-bell.

♪ >> June is Alzheimer's and brain Awareness Month.

More than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease and it ranks as the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. researchers at the University of Kentucky Sanders Brown Center on Aging have been focused on finding a cure for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

We caught up with the center's director of clinical trials to talk about the impact the disease is having on Kentucky and the vital role research volunteers play and battling Alzheimer's.

>> The center on Aging is Premier Center.

That brings together research and education as well as clinical care, focused on the aging population.

And one of our major goals is really working on diseases like Alzheimer's and rob people of their memory and thinking this is a disease.

You can't hide from it if it's not coming for you.

What's coming for somebody that you love, Kentucky is hit hard given our population right now.

We're at about 75,000 with a long the men shot in about the same number we memory problems are going to really see those numbers ballooned in the future of a lot of their work is >> Finding new medicines and treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

This new center really has allowed that opportunity to meet the president needed again in those Research advancement for new medicines, increased ability to provide clinical care and support as well as education for the community.

We do a lot of research here.

Father.

>> Alzheimer's disease.

So I'm very interested in.

Doing whatever needs to be done to take care of that terrible disease.

>> What we typically find for research volunteers is that there are 2 primary reasons why folks engage in research.

One is I'm afraid for myself or I already have Alzheimer's disease life.

Some are much greater reason why folks state that they are coming in to engage in research is for others for their children, for their children's children behind that backdrop, there is an association with people whose lives have been touched by Alzheimer's disease.

So often we do things because to family history and things our case because we have to to parents that have to make that mention.

>> One kind or another.

>> Many times people think, well, I don't have Alzheimer's disease.

How can I help with the research we standing and finding a cure for Alzheimer's is just one side of the coin.

The other side of the coin is understanding.

Now we can unlock the mysteries of healthy brain aging guarantee those for everyone so that we never have to worry about.

Alzheimer's are many diseases that you can keep to yourself and you don't have to share with anybody else.

But it's almost impossible to keep Alzheimer's to your south or in the testing that they do.

>> Just ask each of us questions about the other one and what they're doing.

takes a partner who knows what you've done in order to be able to test the other person.

>> One of the ultimate goals that we share.

>> With researchers around the globe, it is looking for the day when we're able to vaccinate everyone against Alzheimer's disease.

And that day is coming soon.

>> Step outside and it hits you the oppressive heat and humidity.

We've been dealing with that for several days now.

And according to the latest weather forecast, those dangerously high temperatures kind of stick around through the next week.

While most of us are searching for ways to stay cool.

You're about to meet one man who has no problem beating the Heat.

>> I love what I do to go in the freezer every single day in shorts and a T-shirt.

Be thankful that their snow on the ground.

I mean, you've got to be a little crazy, but I love every single aspect about it.

My title is lead ice artists for Lexington, ice And I also work with seasons catering with managing kitchen events, barking the seats insane.

But I still get to go in there.

Create these masterpieces for people.

♪ I walked in.

There might well.

Nice and cold.

Get ready to work.

Headphones on the two's are going and we just get going.

I get in the zone and it's a blast.

♪ I got into a scoping very early.

I feel very fortunate that my dad got me into it so early.

I got a pretty much travel around with him as a kid.

Seeing all of these master sculptors creating incredible works of art.

Then when I was 12 years old, he trusted with a chainsaw.

And at 13 from my first-ever ice.

But the competition play second.

I was hooked.

>> My dad was pretty much my original mentor and I learned his style of ice coping with this component.

Carving.

>> And then he's taught me everything that he's he was taught in corner school and then some just being in the real world.

Real clients.

And this is how it goes versus being in a classroom scenario.

>> Ever again, ice request or whatnot from a Typically it's usually something customer unique, whether it's a wedding celebration, this or that.

But I can be for anything they really can.

Whether you're tailgating having a cook celebrating a birthday or you just want something to show your beverage.

We do everything from a little too.

By 2 cocktail cube to a full size ice bar.

Biggest culture I've ever created was in 2016 and Fairbanks, Alaska at the world Ice Art championships.

It was myself and 3 other sculptors.

We had 6 days in 50,000 pounds of ice to create whatever we wanted.

So we took all of that ice and our interpretation of Jack and the beanstalk and created the tallest sculpture and ice Alaska history and it stood at 32 feet tall.

♪ >> I'm Doug Flynn, host of Kentucky Life.

And here's one of the stories we brought you this season.

>> Nature.

>> Is he the ultimate sculptor?

You know, so everything that we do is just really a study in the observation of these natural patterns and we try to integrate these natural patterns into the architectural work exploring what the wood is already expressing and finding ways to integrate it into these community arts spaces so that people can really appreciate nature and learn about the process that.

♪ Jason fans, an interesting artists because he uses his spirit mask.

>> To connect both cultural elements in historic elements with natural elements and science.

>> I musician a visual artist and educator.

I would say conservationists.

My work is is faced with natural wood and I create what I call Spirit Nast.

The Spirit Nest is a interactive sculptural architectural space.

Much like a bird builds a nest of the minor large scale and sometimes as many as 4 stories high, it's a place for people to gather.

It's a place for people to connect.

And it's a community art experience.

>> Here at a very I'm creating a rather large installation.

It's about 30,000, maybe 40,000 pounds repurpose would would that normally would have been turned into firewood or been shipped and most are putting the dump and have created a M architectural sculptural.

>> Performance space, storytelling space.

Everything is hand gathered hand.

>> Directly from nature.

They're built, rather unconventionally with unconventional materials.

The with that I'm using right now for for the installation of burn time is a combination of wood that I brought from California, which is eucalyptus wood trees and naturally fell here in the The aromatic cedar, just incredible diversity of different kinds of wood.

So all of these woods are woven into the structures as well as the the with that has come down the river and down the Ohio River into Kentucky and that what has come as far as Pennsylvania.

>> This is just the stuff that accumulates every year it gets deposited on the side of the river.

We get we gathered at that.

We use it a little bit more in a decorative way as less structural.

>> They are structurally engineer and a lot of times I have engineers come and inspect them and many required to because it's a public art.

>> As you can see here, this structure is bolted together.

So wherever any 2 branches or touching their their bolted and the way that I design and build these is that there's there's a kind of a weaving of interlocking shapes and their cross constantly crossing over each other in various directions, which is Creighton this matrix of strength throughout the entire structure.

If I can create beautiful art, that is a contribution to a community and culturally and artistically.

It's that's a great feeling.

I really enjoy that.

And it's it's it's quite an honor.

That's pretty cool.

>> We hope you'll join us again tomorrow night at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central for Kentucky Edition where we inform connect and inspire.

We'll look ahead to Sunday's Juneteenth holiday and pay a visit to the western Kentucky University camp for the gifted all that's coming up tomorrow.

Subscribe to our weekly Kentucky addition email newsletter and watch full episodes at KATC Dot Org.

You can also find Kentucky addition on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV and follow KT on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay in the loop.

And you can also follow me on Twitter at Renee K E T hope to see you again tomorrow night right here at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central for another edition of Kentucky.

Addition until then, take good care.

I see you tomorrow night.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪