[music] >> It was fast and easy.

Much easier than we had expected.

>> Kentuckians already casting their ballots in person for the primary election.

[MUSIC] Plus, before you vote, find out what's changed at the polls.

>> We could hear it and it was like nothing we'd heard ever before.

>> And a look back one year after a deadly tornado hit three Kentucky counties.

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

>> Good evening, and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Thursday, May the 14th, I'm Renee Shaw.

We thank you for spending some of your Thursday night with us.

Election day has turned into election days as voters have more opportunities to cast a ballot in Kentucky's 2020 primary next Tuesday, May 19th is the official primary day, but early voting kicked off today and it continues through Saturday.

Those taking advantage of early access to the polls in Lexington say the process was quick and so convenient.

>> It was fast and easy, much easier than we had expected.

It took like 30s.

I was looking for who the candidates going to be to replace Mitch McConnell.

And that's all important to us.

Really important.

>> And also the mayor's race here in Lexington as well.

It's very important because this determines who runs in the elections in the fall.

And I think not enough people take this seriously.

>> It's important that as many people show up as possible because it decides which way our government goes and how they treat us.

>> Yes.

So we need some changes in the office.

So, you know, in the government we need changes.

>> They were all important from the top of it to the very bottom, because it's all a step ladder and everyone has their part to do to help one another.

>> KET also caught up with voters casting ballots in Derby City.

>> I took advantage of early voting today because I'm going out of town Sunday.

There was no lines.

I was able to get in and get out.

>> I do not know what my schedule is going to be, so this seemed like the opportune time.

I could come down here and eat lunch and vote while I'm doing it.

There's been a lot of information given out around what the ballot is going to look like, what nonpartisan voting is going to look like, what the process is.

So I already knew what my sample ballot was going to be.

I had some ideas of who I was going to vote for, but yeah, it was, it was fairly painless.

>> The reason why I voted is because I believe everybody's vote counts.

>> Kentucky has 3.3 million voters registered.

Secretary of State Michael Adams says he expects about 20% voter turnout.

But he told Spectrum News it could be higher because of voters interest in many county races.

A panel of political pundits and operatives will handicap the big races Monday on Kentucky.

Tonight, it's election eve here.

That happens at 8:00 eastern, seven central on KET.

And of course, join KET for all the results and analysis on primary night itself, starting at 7 p.m.

Eastern Time on election night.

As you just heard, the primary ballots in Jefferson County look a lot different this year because of.

The city of Louisville is holding its first nonpartisan elections for some city offices.

On May 19th, our Kelsey Starks sat down with Jefferson County Clerk David Yates to discuss that and some other changes you can expect at the polls this year.

>> So we are headed into the primary election.

It is Louisville's first nonpartisan election for some positions.

Explain what's different this year and what people can expect when they vote.

>> It's very different this year.

Yeah, it can also be confusing because when we keep saying the nonpartisan elections, the nonpartisan elections, it relates to the Louisville mayor and to the Metro Council, and this year will be the odd seats that are up.

So as far as your constitutional offices, like the county clerk, the PVA, the county attorney, the sheriff, there are still constitutional offices, so they're still Partizan.

So a Republican would get their primary ballot, Republican primary ballot.

A Democrat would get their Democratic primary ballot.

But on those ballots will now have the nonpartisan positions.

So you won't see a D or R behind any names.

But what's really, really different this year is that all independents will be able to participate in a primary.

And so we have roughly 75,000 independents in Louisville that can now participate.

So in for Mayor and Metro Council, for instance, it's the top two vote getters will move on to November election.

So they get to actually participate in there.

So everybody, Democrat, Republican, independent, will have the same ballot as it relates to the nonpartisan, which is Mayor and Metro Council, but they will have different ballots if in the event the part of the ballot that is their party, Democrat, Republican.

>> And there's more election news.

A Kentucky state House candidate has ended his campaign after video surfaces showing him taking a flier from a mailbox.

Max Morley announced on social media he was dropping out of the contest for the 30th House District in Louisville.

Morley was one of three Democratic candidates challenging State Representative Daniel Grossberg, a Democrat, in next Tuesday's primary, the Kentucky Lantern reports.

Morley was caught on door camera video removing what appeared to be a campaign mailer for Grossberg from a mailbox.

In a post on Wednesday, Morley said, quote, campaigns can be demanding and deeply personal, and along the way I lost sight of what mattered most serving our community with the focus, judgment and integrity it deserves.

For that, I sincerely apologize to those I disappointed or let down.

End quote.

Now, on the federal level, Congressman Thomas Massie of the fourth Congressional District in Northern Kentucky denies allegations that he offered hush money for a former girlfriend.

Cynthia West, a former congressional aide, says Massie offered her $5,000 if she would drop a formal complaint against Victoria Spartz, a member of Congress from Indiana.

West says she began a relationship with Massie back in 2024 after his wife had died.

She says Massie helped her get a job in Spartz office.

She says they ended their relationship shortly after that.

Spartz, his office, says West received a 90 day probationary job that wasn't extended because of her unsatisfactory job performance.

West says she then filed a complaint against Spartz.

West claims Massie offered her the $5,000 to, quote, walk away from the complaint.

Massie denies all of this.

In a statement, he says, quote, all of the claims of inappropriate conduct are false.

I've never offered anyone money in exchange for their silence.

There are no ethics claims filed against me, nor have there ever been any claims filed against me and my 14 years in office.

I have consulted legal counsel and we are considering all options, end quote.

Massie says the allegations are an attempt to affect the outcome of the May 19th primary.

He is opposed by Ed Gallrein, a former Navy Seal who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, a Republican congressman from New York accuses U.S.

Senator Rand Paul's son, William, of a drunken anti-Semitic raid in Washington, D.C.

at a bar there, Congressman Michael Haller says William Paul approached him in the bar Tuesday night.

Here's how Congressman Lawler describes it.

>> I think it was reprehensible.

Gentleman William Rand, William Paul decided to interject into the conversation and start accosting me about, you know, if Thomas Massie loses, it's because of my people.

And I asked him, well, who is my people?

And he yelled out Jews!

And I asked him, you know, do you think I'm Jewish?

And he said, yes.

I said, well, I'm Irish, Italian Catholic.

And he goes, oh, oh, I'm sorry to accuse you of that, which is just a remarkable statement in and of itself.

But he then went on a on a, you know, roughly ten minute diatribe about Israel, about Jews, about Paul Singer.

And, you know, accusing Jews of being responsible for so many things, playing right into the the, you know, typical anti-Semitic tropes that so many people rely on.

And at one point, you know, said that he hates Jews and hates gays and doesn't care if they die.

>> Congressman Lawler says William Paul then stumbled out of the door and flashed a middle finger.

USA today reports that Paul has apologized, admits he was drunk and says he is seeking help for a drinking problem.

Now, turning back to what's happening here in Kentucky, last week, the governor, Andy Beshear, announced a pilot program to provide universal pre-K to children in Robertson and Rockcastle counties.

Well, some Republicans questioned if that move was even legal since it didn't involve the Kentucky General Assembly.

Governor Beshear responded to that today.

>> I've always thought, as a lawyer, you should get the facts before you question the legality of something.

The dollars are coming from flexible federal funds.

It's actually even called the governor's Reserve.

So no fully legal.

We found some some different uses that we thought were underperforming.

And we had the chance to give the kids of of Rockcastle and Robertson County a good start.

I also heard the Senate president say or, or the speaker say, wait a minute, it's going to harm private child care.

But the superintendent of Robertson stood right here and said they had no private child care at all in their county, that you had to drive 40 minutes this way or 30 minutes that way.

In the end, we're now providing pre-K to all four year olds in two counties.

That's a good thing.

>> Also last week, the governor also took executive action to suspend the state's ten cent gas tax.

Today, he said he wants to use money from Kentucky's rainy day fund to reimburse the state's road fund for the money lost due to that tax cut.

[MUSIC] The state is looking at ways to improve a Western Kentucky interstate, and a data center is planned for another Kentucky county, and this one includes a huge investment, our Toby Gibbs tells us more in our Thursday look at headlines around Kentucky.

>> A company could invest $14.

Billion in a data center in Hancock County.

The Courier-Journal reports that a company called Terra Wolfe could invest 4 billion to develop the site, while a future data center tenant could invest 10 billion in servers and other hardware.

The company is building the center on the Ohio River at the site of an old aluminum smelter, but the project has its critics.

More than 1000 people have signed a petition opposing the data center because of its energy use and environmental impact.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] Storms hit Kentucky Monday, May 4th, and the National Weather Service says an EF one tornado touched down in McLean County.

The McLean County News says the tornado hit Livermore with peak winds of 95mph.

It snapped trees and caused damage to homes.

The tornado was on the ground for about six miles.

There are no reports of anyone hurt.

[MUSIC] From the Tribune Courier.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is studying possible improvements to Interstate 24 to help with safety and traffic flow.

Among the ideas, adding an extra lane to each side of the road from Paducah to the Tennessee state line, Paducah Mayor George Bray says any road projects would take a while to complete, and he says the state of Illinois would have to handle any work on.

[MUSIC] A $54.

Million advanced oncology and Ambulatory center is headed to Middlesboro Appalachian Regional Health Care Hospital, the Middlesboro News reports.

Last week's groundbreaking included state and local political leaders.

The four story, 5100 zero square foot facility will allow people in Bell and surrounding counties to receive specialized medical care closer to home.

With headlines around Kentucky.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> This weekend marks one year since a deadly tornado outbreak ripped across the Midwest and Southeast regions of the U.S.

Kentucky was one of the states in its path.

Our Toby Gibbs is back with a look back on the devastation it caused.

>> On May 16th, 2025, a deadly nighttime tornado tore across three counties in Kentucky, hitting Russell County first before moving into Pulaski County.

>> I have not seen anything like this in Somerset.

>> Things going up, people screaming, stuff shattering, Transformers blowing.

It was the scariest thing in my life.

>> The tornado ripped right through our primary commercial corridor and then some damage on the east as it was going to London.

Laurel County.

>> The tornado struck Laurel County at EF four strength with estimated winds of 170mph.

>> We could hear it and it was like nothing we'd heard ever before.

I just remember texting my kids, you know, in a group text saying it's going to be a direct hit, you know, as I could hear it coming.

And I love you, mom.

You know, thinking that might be the last communication I had with them.

>> The National Weather Service reports the tornado stayed on the ground for almost an hour and a half, leaving a path of destruction nearly a mile wide that was visible from space.

It was one of the strongest tornadoes ever recorded in the area.

It was also the deadliest of the 19 deaths.

17 were in Laurel County, the largest number of fatalities occurring in the Sunshine Hill community near London city limits.

>> There's a lot of devastation.

You know, some people lost a little, some people lost everything.

And unfortunately, a lot of people lost their lives.

>> The tornado caused catastrophic damage, destroying or damaging more than 1500 homes, hundreds of businesses and causing almost $6 billion in damage.

>> I've never seen any damage like this before.

This is beyond belief.

>> It's shocking.

You don't know what to do.

You don't know when to do it.

>> Catastrophic.

>> It's been an all hands on deck operation from from that point forward.

>> The state making a federal disaster declaration has helped poured into the affected communities.

>> People just start showing up with trailers.

We had a line of people of probably 15 to 20 people helping us.

We didn't really have to ask for anything.

People just showed up.

>> As we recover and people rebuild, you know, there are those who have lost their lives and families who definitely need prayer.

And, you know, they need healing.

>> For Kentucky addition, I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Thank you again, Toby.

Slate Hill Baptist Church in London, Kentucky, was one of the buildings severely damaged by the tornado.

The steeple of the church was blown back into the roof, and then it pierced through the sanctuary.

One year later, church leaders say the building and its congregation wouldn't have recovered without the help from the community.

>> And when I topped the little hill there by the park where it was, this disaster got to where I could see where the steeple should be.

And there was no steeple, there's no roof, there's nothing.

And it was just absolutely amazing how much damage was done.

I mean, it was trees and the road trees in the parking lot.

The front door was blown open.

I didn't think we'd ever get it back.

I thought, we're done.

That's it.

It's been here a long time, but it's gone now.

But but amazingly, it's it's back.

We're up and still got work to do.

But it's it looks a whole lot better than it did.

Fortunately, nobody in the church was was directly impacted.

You know, the loss of life or anything was a little damage to some property, but not much.

But we had one member.

His mom lived in Sunshine Hills and she got killed in the tornado.

But it's people were down.

You needed encouragement.

And so we need to get together and just feel like we're still a community.

We still uplift each other.

That day, actually, they was people stopping by, just individuals volunteering to help.

But we told them to go on Sunshine Hills, see if you can help them, because what we need is going to take a long time and those people need help right now.

Trace Creek Construction is the ones that did the they're out of Vanceburg, I think Northern Kentucky, they're the ones that actually did the construction.

They were amazing.

They were absolutely amazing.

They got tons of donations and stuff to give to us where we come out, you know, we didn't have to spend anything.

They took care of everything for us.

We had donations come from all over the place.

And, and actually where the pastor works now, Lowe's donated generators, Wheeler bars and shovels and stuff like that.

And so we've, we've been blessed to have a lot of help, a lot of help.

I believe it was the last last Sunday in August was the first service we had.

And we still got things we need to do a little bit.

But it's it's amazing how much work goes into actually getting it cleaned up.

And I know there's a lot of areas that's still.

Well, you can see in the park, there's still cleaning, but we'll get there.

>> Although the building was damaged heavily during the storm, the church says none of the cemetery was affected.

Besides, some fallen headstones and families were able to visit their loved ones the following Memorial Day without incident.

[MUSIC] Lost River Cave in Bowling Green boasts a rich and varied history, having served as shelter to Native Americans, a grist mill, a Civil War encampment, a lively nightclub and even a dumping ground.

Well, the area now has been restored to its former glory.

And as our Chip Polston checks it out in this Kentucky Life extra chip, over to you.

[MUSIC] >> Thanks so much and it's good to be with you again.

Back in 1990, the nonprofit Friends of Lost River was formed with the mission to preserve and restore this remarkable site for future generations.

Thanks to their efforts, the cave reopened to the public in 1997.

Come along as we explore lost River cave and discover the inspiring conservation efforts that continue to protect this unique landmark.

>> Lost River cave is a 72 acre park in the heart of Bowling Green.

It's literally right in the middle of the city.

[MUSIC] What you'll find is two miles of trails through our clothes cast Valley.

It's one of the largest karst valleys in the world, and it's home to several different ecosystems.

We have vernal pools, we have mesic meadows, we have blue holes, caves, and, you know, our barrens prairie as well as the wetlands.

So there's a lot of different fragile ecosystems on our park.

>> The cave is still fairly young and is still forming.

We still have, of course, the river flowing through.

So during high water events, the water can rise as high as the ceiling, which can knock off some of the stalactite formations that are in there.

So you don't see a ton of formations.

But we do have some beautiful flowstone.

We also have drapery and those types of formations in the cave.

[MUSIC] We don't want anybody to get so excited that they fall out of the boat.

But what you're about to see is the largest stalactite on our tour.

This is known as the Praying Hands.

It looks like upside down praying hands.

>> You go into the cave and you immediately hear the rushing of the water, and the sense of awe just kind of comes over you as you really embrace the history that you're immersed in.

>> A lot of the history here at lost River cave, of course, began with those paleo Native Americans back 9000 to 10,000 years ago.

So paleo Native Americans would have been traveling through the area, and this would have been more of a stop for them, an area where they could probably do some bartering and trading.

And they would also do a lot of hunting throughout the Cliff Rock, we've actually found piles of arrowheads and shards of arrowheads where they would continuously go back to these same points to hunt over and over again.

[MUSIC] So it was a great spot as they're traveling for to refresh on their water, their food source.

Of course, the shelter in the cave kept them warm or cool depending on what time of year they were here in the area.

[MUSIC] It was also used during the Civil War.

Civil war soldiers in the cave were actually using their candles to leave behind their signatures.

So we have names and dates and companies that they were with, and we've been able to actually go back and find military records and pension records that match up with the names that we have in our cave.

Early settlers using the cave used it as a milling operation.

There were different types of mills.

One of the original mills was located on the inside of the cave, and of course, the farmers would pull across the top, hoist down their product.

They would send it in for the milling process.

It was brought back out, sent back up to the farmers over time, with the water being that we are that drainage basin, the mill would actually flood, so they would constantly be rebuilding the mill.

[MUSIC] They eventually built one on top, drilling through around 50ft of bedrock to run their shaft and their undershot water wheel.

And that waterwheel would power the mill up on top.

There's a lot of history about it being used for some of the prohibition era, where there was a little bit of that alcohol smuggling going on in and out of the cave.

[MUSIC] At one point, one of the mills here was actually a Peach and Brandywine distillery, so they already probably had this set up here for them to do that.

Then, of course, you move into the 1930s and that is when prohibition ended, and that's when the nightclub opened up.

[MUSIC] It was a happening spot.

It was featured in Billboard magazine.

It was considered to be one of the only air conditioned nightclubs in the country, because, of course, the cave stays 57 degrees.

It blew out cool gusts of air that will cool off the patrons.

They would trek down around 200 stairs, down to the mouth of the cave, where they would enjoy the music.

There was famous bands Don, a Shaw NBC orchestra, Francis Craig.

They raced across the country.

Once we were featured in that billboard, which kind of put us on the map.

>> After our nightclub closed down the city of Bowling Green, they just kind of started throwing all their trash down here.

It was it was not a landfill.

It was an illegal dump site.

People would back up to the edge of the mouth of the cave behind me and toss whatever they didn't need over the edge, you know, out of sight, out of mind.

>> It was a very dark time for lost River cave as a kid coming down when it was closed, it was kind of disheartening.

You would see all of the trash and it's just a beautiful cave, and you wonder why your community had forgot that you had such a wonder in your own backyard.

A lot of the concrete had fallen in the walls along, you know, the valley walk here had gone, you know, unrepaired.

And so it was kind of dismal at that point.

And so once the friends of lost River came into play and, you know, the university donated it, and this whole program coming about, lost River cave has really grown and, and become such a beautiful place that it should have never been neglected as it was.

[MUSIC] >> So the Friends of Lost Rivers are nonprofit 501 C three organization, and it is just members of Bowling Green that want to see this place flourish, be protected and conserved over the years.

[MUSIC] So the future of lost River cave is bright.

Of course, we're going to always make sure that we're maintaining and protecting this property, but we work very hard to restore all the ecosystems and nurture them and just make sure that Bowling Green always has this property as a source of, of reconnection with nature.

>> Great stories like this one come your way on our show each Saturday night at eight eastern, seven central, right here on KET.

As we continue to cherish this great Kentucky Life, back to you.

>> Thank you Chip, and that we will do indeed.

Well, that will do it for us tonight on Kentucky edition, but we hope to see you right back here again tomorrow night at 630 eastern, 530 central, where we inform, connect and inspire.

We have Bob Babich and Trey Grayson for an amuse bouche of the primary election coverage on Tuesday.

They'll be here to give us a little sneak preview tomorrow on Kentucky edition, so make sure you tune in for that.

Thanks for watching.

I'm Renee Shaw, and until I see you again, take really good care.

[MUSIC] Have a great night.