music >> I put Folks in jail.

Meanwhil his running mate just got out of jail.

>> If he's lying now, imagine what he'll do when he's up in trying to be up in Washington.

>> Thank you doctor.

>> Candidates for Congress go to school with students asking the question.

[MUSIC] >> And we got states like Tennessee and Indiana that are following Kentucky because they think this is the Premier Mesonet in the country.

[MUSIC] >> Kentucky's weather information network is now one county stronger.

[MUSIC] >> This is probably the most exciting time.

You know, since since the Kennedy era for for space exploration and discovery.

[MUSIC] >> NASA's top official wants to inspire Kentucky students to shoot for the moon.

[MUSIC] Literally.

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

[MUSIC] >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for Wednesday, October 28th.

I'm Marvin Bartlett.

Thanks for joining us.

Moore signs tonight that Kentucky's sixth district congressional race is a close one.

As we told you last week, the Cook Political Report moved the race from its leans Republican category to toss up.

Now, two more election watchers have done the same.

The latest on the sixth district race in tonight's 2026 election coverage.

[MUSIC] This is the race between Republican Ralph Alvarado and Democrat Zach Dembo to fill the vacancy created as Andy Barr runs for the U.S.

Senate.

Yesterday, the University of Virginia's Center for politics moved the race into the toss up category, and so did the Fox News Channel.

Alvarado and Dembo met last night for a debate at Estill County High School in Irvine.

Students from the school moderated the debate and asked the questions, covering topics ranging from health care to education to data centers, the cost of living and inflation.

>> The reason we're in this situation is because Congress just won't do its job.

They're there to do a job, and they're too spineless to stand up for us.

So, for example, we know these tariffs are adding costs to all of our pocketbooks.

$1,000 on average for every Central Kentucky family.

And in the Constitution, article one, section eight, it says Congress has power over these tariffs.

But what have they done?

Not a dang thing.

Similarly, when it comes to this war in Iran.

Look, I'm glad that the Ayatollah Khomeini is dead.

That was a good thing that we took him out.

Iran is an enemy of the United States.

But then the question after that is what comes next?

And none of the goals that this administration has laid out, whether it's a denuclearized Iran, whether it's a regime that is less extreme or whether it's taking out their missile capabilities, none of those have been achieved.

And there seems to be no plan to achieve them.

And instead, what we've had are 21 of my fellow service members die, including two Kentuckians, Ashley Pruitt and Benjamin Pennington.

>> Let's go back to when all this started.

Let's go back to the Biden policies that got us here to begin with, the open border policies of 10 million people being brought into the country.

That, again, people that are now living in American housing and are living and taking care of, taking advantage of American benefits.

My opponent was part of that administration set by.

He stated that he doesn't like ice.

He's got a hug, a thug mentality to protect criminals and to prosecute law enforcement.

We've also done things back in the in the Biden administration to shut down refineries and to decrease American energy production, crippling regulations for our coal industry.

My opponent supported those policies for the past two decades.

He's on record with that.

And again, things that would cripple our agricultural industry as well.

Also, Biden inflation of 9% year after year after year.

That's what drove these costs high.

And we've got to make sure that we can find a way when a gallon of gas is equal to a gallon of milk, that's a major concern.

I can tell you what I'll do.

I'll make sure that we lower our taxes.

My opponent, he wants to raise your taxes.

I want to reduce debt.

My opponent wants to increase government spending.

I'll work to reduce fraud and waste.

My opponent doesn't think it really exists because he called it a red herring.

Recently.

I want to take on big insurance companies and lower your health care prices.

My opponent wants to give more power to the insurance companies through socialized health care programs like Medicare for all and the public option, which will compete with the private sector.

>> A discussion about health care led to this back and forth over nursing homes.

>> If we're looking for someone to trust on health care, I really don't think we can trust my opponent, who led several substandard nursing homes that were fined for hundreds of thousands of dollars and was named and implicated in a Medicare fraud lawsuit himself.

We don't need more of that corruption.

Corruption is what got us to this situation in the first place.

We need a corruption prosecutor.

>> The ads you see are false.

They've been proven false.

Imagine if you have a candidate who's lying to you when you're watching.

Imagine what he'll do when you're not watching.

That's a major concern, but that's part of it.

The fraud that he's talking about was a Christmas fruit basket worth $56.

That was sent to me by a home health agency to my office.

That's the fraud he's talking about.

Also debunked ten years ago.

They bring up old headlines and want to fool you into something different.

Please don't listen to the lies.

Pay attention if he's lying now, imagine what he'll do when he's up in trying to be up in Washington.

>> We spoke with Zach Dembo before the debate and asked him, if elected to Congress, what issues could he realistically work on with members of the opposite party?

>> I think Congress is probably less divided than we think.

I'll tell you, as a veteran, I would gladly work across the aisle with any of my fellow veterans when it comes to issues of national security or protecting our troops and supporting our veterans.

Another thing that this Congress did that I'm in favor of is passing no taxes on tips, Social Security, or overtime.

The only thing is, I don't think they went far enough, and I'd love to work with them to make those parts permanent, because I think that's a good thing for working folks.

So I think there's plenty that we can work across the aisle with, and I can't wait to do that.

>> Demba was also asked if he becomes the next representative of Kentucky's sixth Congressional District, would he be looking to his former boss, Governor Andy Beshear, for guidance?

>> Obviously, as my former boss and someone who I have relied on advice for advice a lot in this race, I'm sure that I'll be talking to him frequently, but I'm also going to be talking to my fellow veterans in Congress that I've gotten to know, or from when I served.

Most importantly, I'm going to be talking to folks like the people I've met in Irvine and across the district, because in the end, they're my bosses.

They're the people I need to check in with for a job report and advice.

Those are the people that are going to be my lifeline and the people that I need to talk to the most.

>> Charles Booker, the Democratic nominee looking to replace retiring U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell, was also at last night's student led candidate forum in Estill County.

Booker's opponent, Andy Barr, did not appear, instead sending a prerecorded video.

Here's what Booker had to say before he took the debate stage.

>> One thing I think is really important to mention is this was supposed to be a debate tonight, and I showed up for the people of Kentucky and for these young leaders who deserve to be heard.

Andy Barr refused to show up.

That has been his career throughout 14 years in the Congress.

He does not show up, and that's what's at stake here.

Kentuckians have a chance to choose someone who will show up for them, or someone who will essentially give them the middle finger and sell them out to Wall Street legislation.

>> Booker had this response when asked what he would say to undecided voters.

>> Well, to anyone who is frustrated with both political parties, I don't blame you.

I'm not taking the stand for party.

I'm taking the stand for the people of Kentucky.

Democrats, Republicans and independents because we are all tired.

We're sick of the corruption.

We're sick of the hate and the chaos in Washington.

We want a government that works for us and not people like Elon Musk.

And so if you're frustrated, this campaign is for you.

My agenda is to put Kentucky first, to put people over politics and common sense over corruption.

We deserve good paying jobs.

We deserve high quality health care.

We deserve roofs over our heads.

Our children deserve to have food to eat.

We deserve a government that will work for us instead of funding endless war.

And instead of helping and administration build ballrooms or get rich buying and trading stocks, I'm tired of seeing us being hurt.

And this is about family.

>> Charles Booker is out with his first TV ad of the campaign.

In it, he talks about corruption.

>> My parents are ministers.

They taught me corruption is a sin.

Andy Barr takes campaign cash from Wall Street.

Then backs the tariffs.

Iraq war and data centers that raise prices on us.

>> As Booker goes on to say that Wall Street is getting richer while the rest of us pay higher prices.

He says he will fight greed if he is elected to the United States Senate.

Ralph Alvarado and Congressman Andy Barr made stops today in Irvine, Nicholasville, and other Central Kentucky cities as part of Republicans get out the vote effort ahead of Election Day.

They were joined by U.S.

representative and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer from Minnesota.

This morning at the Jessamine County GOP headquarters.

They urged Kentuckians to vote Red not only to win in Kentucky's sixth congressional District, but to keep control of the U.S.

House and Senate.

>> It's been quite a journey for me, talking to so many folks around the district.

I know there are concerns about costs.

We have the right answers for those costs.

We want to reduce your taxes.

The other side wants to increase your taxes.

We want to make sure that we can make America independent.

As far as our energy supply, we have tons of energy here in Kentucky.

We used to power this country.

We want to make sure that we decrease the regulations to increase that energy opportunity.

I'm running against somebody who is an activist for things like the Green New Deal that wants to see those things come into place, that as gas prices stay high, that he wants to keep them high, to make sure that we use less gas, we've got to be able to make it more affordable for our farmers and people that are out there as well.

>> My appeal to my constituents who have given me this extraordinary privilege over these last 14 years to represent you in Central Kentucky, is help yourself and vote for Ralph Alvarado.

He is an outstanding candidate and will be an outstanding member of Congress.

[APPLAUSE] Now, I will tell you what's on the ballot in his race and in the race for the United States Senate and for the race for control of the U.S.

Congress and the U.S.

Senate all over this country.

And what's on the ballot is crazy socialism versus Kentucky.

Common sense.

Make no mistake about it, a vote for demo is a vote for radical left wing socialists.

Control of the Congress, $4 gas and $6 diesel is entirely unacceptable, and we are going to continue to work to bring those things down.

But guess what?

That ain't enough to vote for a communist.

Keep that in mind.

This is a this is an election about common sense and crazy.

It's actually an election about good versus evil.

>> Although Congressman Barr is a candidate himself, the Republican nominee for U.S.

Senate spent much of the time stumping for Alvarado, hoping to keep his sixth Congressional District seat in the hands of the GOP.

Both were asked if they believed the battle for that seat is as tight as polling shows.

>> I'm treating it as like, you know, like you run planning on winning, but you're running like you're ten points down.

So I've been running for the last year and a half, going all over the district, assuming that I'm behind because I want to earn every vote that I can.

So I want 100% of the votes is what I want.

I won't be satisfied unless I get 100% of the votes.

>> A lot of times I have seen it in my own races in this district.

The.

The polls at the end of a race in particular understate the Republican performance, primarily because there's undersampling of the rural votes of this district.

There's a lot of concentration of Fayette County, but Jessamine County, Garrard County, Mercer County, as long as the 15 counties outside of Fayette County, as long as those voters show up.

Ralph Alvarado wins and wins convincingly.

>> In an effort to make voting more accessible, Jefferson County is rolling out Drive-Thru.

Voting for the first time, voters will be able to cast a ballot without having to get out of their cars.

>> So Clark Yates, when he came into office, heard from some of our voters who have mobility issues or accessibility issues, and all of our polling places are accessible.

We are Ada accessible for all of the polling places, even our 25 early voting sites.

All of those are accessible, but some people can't walk a long distance, even if it isn't accessible.

Location.

And they have a hard time getting in and out of a wheelchair.

This is offering that voter, if they're in a vehicle and they have a window, they can pull that express vote machine up to the window and cast it without getting out of their vehicle.

We have 40 different voting stalls, just like at a polling place.

The election officer will ask the voter, can you show me your I.D.

They will make their selections for who they want to vote for, and then they will print a little piece of paper.

The paper is their ballot.

And at the end of the 40 line of voter stalls, there is a machine that is a tabulator.

They will insert that paper into the tabulator, and then their ballot will be counted.

>> Federal election observers have told Jefferson County in recent years that it needs to improve accessibility.

The Department of Justice sends election observers to speak with voters regarding accessibility and other civil rights concerns, a reminder no excuse in-person early voting begins tomorrow in Kentucky.

It continues Friday and Saturday.

Check with your county courthouse about locations in voting resumes on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3rd, and be sure to tune in to our election coverage Tuesday night.

We'll have results in real time and live analysis.

That's Tuesday, beginning at seven eastern, six central right here on KET.

Louisville's privately funded pre-K program is gaining national attention this month.

Washington, D.C.

congressional staffers came to Kentucky to learn what thrive by five is getting right.

Today, Congressman Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky's third Congressional District discussed some of the takeaways.

>> And what does this do to get your kids ready for kindergarten?

In a great place and a loving atmosphere where they're learning, but also, you know, it allows parents to continue to go to work and not have to make that insanely difficult decision of, do I keep my job or do I have good, good quality child care for my kid?

>> The benefits to the child are immense and they are wide ranging.

Everything from social emotional skills to how to hold a pencil, how to stand in line while when they go to kindergarten, sitting at a table.

All of these things are critical skills that our children need when they go to kindergarten, and our quality plus sites like J-town Academy are able to offer that.

>> The program began offering child care scholarships in April.

McGarvey, Kentucky's only congressional Democrat, is seeking a fourth term in Congress.

He is up against Republican Maria Rodriguez.

Turning to weather news, the federal government has approved Kentucky's request for Small Business Administration help after flooding, tornadoes and other destructive weather from June 18th to June 27th.

Businesses, homeowners and nonprofits can now apply for SBA disaster loans.

The weather caused damage and destruction of homes, businesses, government facilities, roads, utilities, and more.

Let's take a look at the counties covered by this declaration.

[MUSIC] You just saw Nelson County on that list yesterday.

We caught up with folks continuing a Nelson County tradition weather monitoring the now closed Saint Joseph College began recording weather data for the area in 1885.

Now Nelson County is home to the 87th climate monitoring station on the Kentucky Mesonet.

>> Nelson County has had more than their fair share of bad weather.

They had the April 1974 event.

They had a major flash flood event last April.

The year before March, we had 80 mile an hour winds here in Bardstown, so the data here is really pivotal because the center part of the state seems to get a lot of inclement weather, hazardous weather.

>> Information gathered here will help the National Weather Service make decisions about severe weather warnings and give emergency responders a clear picture of conditions right here in Bardstown and Nelson County.

>> Well, having this data right here is essential because if if the nearest weather station, we're getting real data from is in Bullitt County or Hardin County, that doesn't really help when a storm has already left those counties and is here in this county.

So now we'll know where the storms are going to be and how strong they are right here.

As it happens in Nelson County.

And that's that's crucial.

>> Weather stations are, in a lot of ways, a dime a dozen.

There are a lot of weather stations across the state, and new ones are deployed every day.

But what makes it a Kentucky Mesonet unique is the people doing the work 24 over seven, three, 65.

>> It is a dense network of high quality research grade instrumentations, and the sensors and the data help us to better understand the Commonwealth's weather patterns and climate variability.

This has significant implications for strategic planning and economic development for both the public and private sectors.

>> This is a great day for Nelson County.

[APPLAUSE] Bardstown is known as the Bourbon Capital of the world.

Nelson County is home to some 11 distilleries, all of which lie within a 30 mile radius of downtown Bardstown.

Weather is so important to the bourbon industry.

Parameters such as temperature, humidity, and wind can alter the flavor, proof, and color of distilled spirits.

This new weather station measures these parameters in real time.

>> The next generation will now have a comprehensive quantitative weather record, from which they'll be able to understand and learn of our weather, history, climate, and challenges.

And so this station will forever define and quantify that history.

>> And I remember 20 years ago when this was just a conversation between a couple of faculty at WKU, and I have watched this grow for the last 20 years.

It is one of the most outstanding mesonets in the country, and it shows that the Kentucky legislature values what this contributes to our Commonwealth.

>> And we got states like Tennessee and Indiana that are following Kentucky because they think this is the Premier Mesonet in the country.

So this is a win win for everyone, for agriculture.

This is used in teaching.

This is used for weather forecasters.

This is used in industry.

The bourbon industry will use this for humidity and temperature levels.

This is a win win.

>> The expansion of the Kentucky Mesonet was made possible in part to $1.75 million in funding from the state's General Assembly.

The next Mesonet site will be in Boyd County.

[MUSIC] NASA's top official was at Morehead State University this week to serve to survey the work being done at the school's Space Science center and give students a picture of how America is advancing in space exploration.

Mackenzie Spink tells us more about the relationship between the moon, Mars and Morehead.

>> NASA Administrator Jason Isaacman says now is the most exciting time for space exploration since the Kennedy era this year, the Artemis two astronauts went further into space than ever before on a trip around the moon and back.

But Isaacman says our work with the moon is far from over.

>> This time we are not just going back to the flags and footprints, we are going back to stay.

We are going back to build a new base.

In fact, this December, just a matter of weeks, we're going to launch the first Moon base mission, laying the figurative first brick on the lunar south pole.

The lunar south pole has the crater ridges that will give us near eternal access to solar power, and the water ice that we can use to save.

And longer.

We can be there for the economic and scientific potential.

But ultimately, this will serve as the technical proving ground for us to master the skills for where we go next, which is Mars.

>> Hundreds of students came to hear from Administrator Isaacman and astronaut Stephen Bowen as they shared about the future of NASA and answered questions from the room.

Morehead State University is a NASA space grant.

University and a site in its Deep Space network.

>> The degree that students gain here in this program is valuable in the commercial world.

Companies are located near this campus in order to take advantage of the human manpower that is represented on this campus.

With a great deal of excellence, the companies tell me that the quality of the graduates in this space science program is fairly unique.

>> MSU has participated in multiple satellite missions, including the Lunar Ice Cube project.

In 2022, a satellite built by faculty and students that went to the moon in search of water and other resources.

>> You've been building spacecraft.

You've been operating deep space communication capabilities, infrastructure contributing to consequential mission for for years here.

Think about what that means.

I mean, the moon is not some distant idea for this university.

>> Isaacman says he expects humanity will reach Mars in the lifetime of the students at Morehead, calling them the Artemis generation.

Before then, he says, space scientists like those who graduate from MSU, will soon be working and living on the moon.

>> We need engineers.

We need scientists.

We need technicians.

We need entrepreneurs, researchers, operators, explorers.

Any astronauts.

And you could all live.

Or maybe you could work on the moon base, operated for mission control.

If you don't want to go there, you can walk on the lunar surface, design the instruments that reveal other distant, potentially habitable worlds.

You could be the nuclear engineer building the spacecraft to take us to the next destination on what is this endless adventure of discovery?

And decades from now, we history looks back on this moment, a moment when humanity became a true spacefaring civilization.

You will be remembered as the generation that made it happen.

>> Congressman Hal Rogers is the chairman of the U.S.

House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, justice, science, and related Agencies, which funds NASA.

He helped to start the space science program at Morehead State and presented them with a check for $7.5 million at this week's event for Kentucky edition, I'm Mackenzie Spink.

Hi.

>> Two years ago, Morehead State University was called the Savior of the Odyssey Lunar Lander mission.

After the spacecraft tipped over while landing and lost connection with earth.

MSU's 21 foot satellite was the only sight able to reestablish the connection and retrieve the mission data.

[MUSIC] It's called the Oscars of Teaching and a Harlan County educator is taking one home this year.

>> The Milken Educator Award goes to Doctor Tyler Saylor.

>> Tyler Saylor, an English teacher at Harlan High School, was honored with the Milken Educator Award during a surprise ceremony at the school this morning.

Kentucky's Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher, and the vice president of the Milken Educator Awards, were on hand to present Saylor with the award, which includes a $25,000 unrestricted cash prize.

The Milken Foundation says Saylor was recognized for inspiring students to think critically and find their voices through engaging, rigorous writing instruction, including creating rap battles where students write and performed rap songs as a form of argumentative essay writing.

The Milken Educator Awards is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

It will honor up to 30 educators around the country this year.

Early voting starts tomorrow in Kentucky.

We'll have some of that and bring you the rest of Thursday's campaign news as we move closer to the November 3rd midterm election.

Full coverage of that tomorrow on Kentucky edition.

Join us again tomorrow night at 630 eastern, 530 central for this program, where we inform, connect and inspire.

Subscribe to our Kentucky Edition email newsletters and watch full episodes and clips at Kentuckians.

Ket.org.

You can also send us a story idea at Public affairs@ket.org.

[MUSIC] Have a good rest of your evening.

[MUSIC]