music >> Our fourth straight year and decreases in drug overdose deaths.

>> Drug deaths go down again.

The governor talks about what Kentucky is doing to save lives.

[MUSIC] These three U.S.

Senate candidates want President Donald Trump's endorsement.

But who is likely to get it?

>> People are spending a larger percentage of their income because they don't make as much on utility bills.

[MUSIC] >> And why?

One group is warning more Kentuckians could lose power.

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

[MUSIC] >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Thursday, April 30th, the last day in the month.

I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank you for spending some of your Thursday night with us.

Drug overdose deaths in Kentucky are on the decline.

Those are the findings of the 2025 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report just released.

The new numbers show a 22.9% decline in drug overdose deaths in Kentucky from 2024 to last year.

It's the fourth straight decline, and it's a 50% decline from the year 2021.

Overall, 1110 Kentuckians died of overdoses, but that's the smallest number since the year 2014.

Today, Governor Andy Beshear talked about the work that made the decrease possible.

>> Our fourth straight year in in decreases in drug overdose deaths.

It's so important with what we've lived through.

If you're Kentucky and you've watched three, four, five people, you know, die from an overdose, and that hit our state so hard.

The last several years we've been close to or even almost leading the nation in the decrease.

And I'm grateful to everybody who's had a part of it.

I think that the amount of treatment and recovery services is a significant piece of it.

Fewer people who are going through recovery are coming out using again and passing away.

I think expanding Medicaid to treatment services was a game changer.

And that happened before I was here.

>> The governor also shared some sad news today.

A Crittenden County Sheriff's deputy, Rick Coyle, died of his injuries after a line of duty shooting on April the 2nd.

The sheriff's office says 60 year old Ronnie Phillips shot Deputy Cole as deputies served emergency guardianship papers at Phillips home.

Deputies shot and killed Phillips.

The governor says Coyle sacrificed everything protecting our Commonwealth.

Now, turning to Kentucky's 2026 primary election, the three frontrunners in the Republican race for the U.S.

Senate in Kentucky all tout that they solidly stand by President Donald Trump.

But who does the president prefer?

The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump is leaning toward an endorsement of Congressman Andy Barr, who serves currently as Central Kentucky, sixth district congressman.

Some of Trump's past and present political allies back businessman Nate Morris.

Instead, Elon Musk and the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk endorsed Morris, and Morris announced his candidacy on Donald Trump Junior's podcast.

Trump backed Daniel Cameron, Kentucky's former attorney general, when he ran for governor back in 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Trump hasn't made a final decision about an endorsement, and he could choose not to endorse anybody.

>> Time now for our reporter's notebook segment.

I'm Emily Sisk, and I am here with Kenton Hornbeck of Lincoln, KY.

And he is here to break down some of the most highly contested primary races in Northern Kentucky.

Kenton, thank you so much for being here.

>> Thanks for having me.

>> Absolutely.

So we have to start off with the fourth Congressional District, which that spans all the way from Northern Kentucky down to near Louisville.

This is actually been called I've seen it called the nation's most watched primary.

You've got incumbent Republican Thomas Massie and his challenger, Ed Gallrein.

Tell me more about this race and why does it have so many eyes on it?

>> Well, it's a really fascinating race, not only locally but nationally.

Thomas Massie has been a lightning rod of sorts lately, especially if you're on the more conservative side of things.

He's bucked a number of President Donald J. Trump's legislative agenda, parts of his legislative agenda.

He's really kind of been a thorn in the president's side.

So Trump and his surrogates wanted to primary Thomas Massie.

They selected Ed Gallrein former Navy Seal last October.

>> Is there any indication of how persuasive or how valuable a Trump endorsement is in northern Kentucky?

>> Well, it's certainly valuable, I would say in previous primaries, Thomas Massie has overwhelmingly blown out his opponents.

He's won by significant margins.

A Qantas Insight poll published on April 9th had Ed Gallrein at, I believe, 37% to Thomas Massie's 46.

Now, Massie is still in the lead, but that's a significantly smaller margin than what his previous primary opponents have been able to put up in the past.

>> And how active have Massie and Gallrein been on the campaign trail?

Have they debated one another?

>> No, they have not debated.

I actually covered an event up here in Northern Kentucky about two weeks ago, and the event was advertised as a forum for both Thomas Massie and Ed Gallrein.

However, when I arrived at Gallrein was not present, so it kind of turned into a Thomas Massie event.

Now, people have accused Ed Gallrein of ducking events with Thomas Massie specifically, and I actually reached out to the editor Gallrein campaign during that event.

I did not get any clarification on whether he was simply invited to the forum and chose not to go, or if he formally declined the invite.

>> I know he was well.

He took the stage when President Trump visited Northern Kentucky last month, but we'll keep our eyes out to see if we ever do get a debate between Massie and Gallrein.

I want to move now to some of the state House races in Northern Kentucky District 63.

The incumbent right now is Republican Kim Banta.

Now she has two main primary challengers.

And of course, district 63 is part of Boone and Kenton counties.

What can you tell me about that race and any key issues there?

>> Right.

So Kim Banta was first elected in 2019 after years and years and years in the Kenton County School District as an administrator.

Her main challenge is coming from Koch and Seth Winslow Young, who is challenging her from Banta's.

Right.

So he's more of a ideological conservative.

He's also a former Thomas Massie staffer.

He's also a proponent of eliminating the state income tax.

So he's really conservative on a lot of issues.

On the other end, we have Seth Winslow Young, a former college football player, kind of a new entering.

He's a new player in politics, essentially.

And he's described himself as very conservative.

Some of the issues that he's brought up is the elimination of fentanyl being trafficked.

Both of them are challenging.

I would say incumbent Kim Banta from her.

Right.

And she's going to be in for a tough race, I would say.

>> And then you have House district 69, which is also part of Boone and Kenton County.

The incumbent there, Republican Stephen Doan, he's a bit more of a newcomer, came in in 2023 and his main challenger being Jessie Foreman.

Again.

What can you tell me about that race?

>> Wright Steve Doan, former Erlanger city councilman.

He's also an attorney in Erlanger.

Now he's the incumbent.

He's a very conservative guy.

He's marketed himself that way.

And his challenger, Jessie Foreman, is an NFL agent, which is a pretty interesting career and also an attorney.

And some of what I've gathered for this race is that Jessie Foreman believes that Steve Doan conducts himself in a way that is not representative of getting stuff done for his district.

He's accused him of pontificating and grandstanding.

>> Interesting.

And, you know, lastly, I want to look a bit more on the local level.

A race that has a lot of Northern Kentucky talking is the Boone County judge executive seat two main, you know, Republican primary candidates there.

Tell me about that race.

And again, why is this one drawing so much attention?

>> This is.

>> Perhaps the most consequential judge, executive, primary, Republican primary in Northern Kentucky in quite some time.

So the incumbent, Garry Moore, longtime judge executive first elected in 1998, and he's really overseen the transformation of Boone County, not only economically but also demographically.

The county has exploded in population over the past 25 years, essentially the entirety of his tenure.

Now, on the other hand, his challenger, Chet Hand, is a more recent upstart candidate.

Hand is very ideological, and he's marketed himself as a younger, more upstart candidate as opposed to Gary Moore, who is in his 70s and has been in that seat for a really long time.

But this has a lot of people talking.

Chet Hand has been hitting the campaign trail hard, and Gary Moore has actually had to campaign probably harder than he ever has to maintain his seat.

>> Very interesting, lots of complexities there and so much to keep our eyes on before we get to May 19th, just a few weeks away.

But we'll keep track of all of this.

Ken Hornbeck with Link Nky.

Thank you so much for giving us the scoop.

>> Thanks for having me.

>> And thanks to you, Emily.

Now to news from the United States Supreme Court.

Yesterday, the High Court struck down a majority black congressional district in Louisiana.

In a 6 to 3 ruling, the court's conservative majority found that the district, represented by Democrat Cleo Fields, relied too heavily on race, calling it, quote, an unconstitutional gerrymander.

The decision weakens the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, which protects against racial discrimination in redistricting.

Critics suggest the ruling could pave the way for Republican led states to eliminate Black and Latino electoral districts that tend to favor Democrats and affect the balance of power in Congress.

Congressman Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky's third congressional District shared his concerns on social media, saying, quote, This Supreme Court decision is a generational setback for American democracy.

Not since Jim Crow have we seen this level of systemic, systemic disenfranchisement of black voters.

[MUSIC] A new government report shows electricity costs in Kentucky increased by nearly 12% last year.

State lawmakers attempted to address rising energy costs and the financial burden it places on Kentuckians this session, with legislation like Senate Bill 172.

It gives ratepayers more time to pay utility bills that spike during times of high demand.

Hazzard Republican Senator Brandon Smith spoke on the bill back in February, telling a Senate committee his constituents contacted him about spikes in their utility bills that often exceeds their mortgage or rent.

>> But no other place in the state nowhere gets hit with bills like we do, and it hits the least among us.

It hits the area that has some of the greatest struggles in this country.

Owsley County is one of.

It's considered to be the poorest county in the United States of America.

There's something inherently wrong about what's happening here.

This is a very good committee, and we've got great staff.

We've got smart members.

Some of the most senior members in the General Assembly are here.

We can we can address this.

We can do better than what we're putting up with here.

>> Senate Bill 172 was the first bill signed into law during the 2026 legislative session that just ended April 15th.

Failing to pass this session, though, was House Bill 377, a bill aimed at protecting Kentuckians against utility disconnections during extreme weather.

The bill would have given state level protections against disconnections, instead of leaving it up to the Public Service Commission to regulate.

One advocacy group says that's concerning since more rural households will likely face utility shutoffs this year due to increasing energy rates and a significant jump in gas prices.

>> Kentucky has the ninth highest projected projected difference in annual electricity spending in 2025 at nearly 12%.

That is an estimated yearly increase of $190, which was nearly double the national average of $100.

This is all before Wright.

The weather and the geopolitics affected gas prices.

We had an alarming 87% increase in disconnections across the state as compared to the previous fiscal year.

>> In our electric regulatory framework, fuel prices are solely the responsibility of the customer.

So that is taken care of through something called the fuel adjustment clause, where they those prices are passed directly through to the ratepayer.

>> If you're an electricity customer, right, you're actually just now paying for the effects of the cost of last year's fuel.

And so those fuel adjustment charges start hitting in the spring and making those impacts at that time.

And so I was just talking to a utility executive on Monday, their highest their highest quarter for charge offs is actually the spring, right?

Because of the impacts of the bills and the winter.

So folks have accumulated debt and now they're coming into increasing prices, increasing prices across the board and increasing energy costs with many billions of dollars of investments in the pipeline.

And so they're staring down the barrel of all of that.

>> Although Kentucky's rates are still lower than some states in the nation, we're losing our place as lowest and have long ago lost it.

Right.

But although they are lower than some states in the nation because our income is less than many states, we have more energy burden.

It's called.

And so people are spending a larger percentage of their income because they don't make as much on utility bills.

So it's really hitting lower income states harder.

>> Kentucky is one of only eight states that does not protect against utility disconnections during extreme weather.

At a state level.

[MUSIC] Louisville leaders make a final decision about license plate cameras, and Shaquille O'Neal's daughter will play basketball in Kentucky.

Our Toby Gibbs tells us more in this look at headlines around Kentucky.

>> On April 21st, we reported that the Louisville Metro Council's public Safety Committee rejected a proposal to make public the locations of license plate cameras, Louisville Public Media reports.

The full council just voted in support of that decision.

So the locations of 200 license plate cameras will remain a secret.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] The state has paused Kentucky's adopt a Highway program because of safety risks to volunteers picking up litter.

The Kentucky Lantern says it's because of a national increase in work zone crashes and distracted driving.

Kentucky has been part of the Adopt a Highway program since 1988.

[MUSIC] More than 300 groups helped pick up trash along 2100 miles of road.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet doesn't know yet how long this pause will last.

The Bowling Green Daily News says Glasgow is getting a regional sports complex.

It will serve barren, Metcalfe, Monroe, Allen and Hart counties.

The Kentucky General Assembly will provide $10 million for the first phase of the project.

There are plans to build facilities for basketball, volleyball and pickleball.

[MUSIC] The Pulaski County Housing Coalition now has a new resource for people looking for a place to rent.

It's a website, PC housing, coalition.org.

[MUSIC] The Commonwealth Journal says it's a one stop shop to find housing information and listings.

The site has five categories apartments, houses for rent, senior living, specialized facilities and transitional living.

[MUSIC] From the Kentucky kernel.

The UK women's basketball team has its third transfer this offseason.

Star forward Meara O'Neal, who averaged more than 13 points a game for Florida.

She's the daughter of basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal.

And those are tonight's headlines around Kentucky.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Thank you.

Toby Gibbs.

This 4th of July will mark America's 250th birthday, and KET is celebrating the milestone.

[MUSIC] The City of Bowling Green is offering limited edition challenge coins.

Originally, 300 coins were available for purchase, but that has increased to meet demand.

Sales benefit downtown events and festivals.

It's all part of a broader celebration of America.

250 along with downtown banners and giveaways and a special liberty tree planted at Pioneer Cemetery.

Bowling green Mayor Todd Alcott, a U.S.

Air Force veteran, is a coin collector, and he says he was inspired by events from his childhood.

>> 50 years ago.

When I was four, I remember the 200th birthday, and that year was really a lot of cool things.

There was a liberty Train going across America, but then there was a coin and it was the quarter.

And I remember it really stuck out because it had two dates.

It had 1776 and 1976, and that celebrated the 200th.

And it was cool because I started collecting those coins and I found out it was on the dollar.

I found it was on the 50 cent piece, and it was just something really special to kind of commemorate that.

And here we are 50 years later, and we get to show a generation that really hasn't seen the big birthday of America.

And this is a big birthday.

250 years on, the shield that the Eagles holding is the representation of a bowling green water tower.

And if we look up anywhere you are in Warren County, you can see the Bowling Green Tower.

It has the stars and stripes, but the stars and stripes on the shield is our tower.

>> Warren County was founded by veterans of the Revolutionary War and is named after Continental Army General Joseph Warren, who sent off Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride before the Phillies take off for the running of the Kentucky Oaks on Friday.

A moving tradition will take place on the Churchill Downs racetrack.

It's called the Survivor's Parade, 150 breast and ovarian cancer survivors parade around the track, decked out in pink for women's health.

Our Christie Dutton spoke to a breast cancer survivor and parade partner about the meaning behind the Pink Parade.

>> I'm so excited to introduce to you Andrea Long, a breast cancer survivor, and Heather Singleton from Norton Health Care Foundation, to talk about the Oaks Day Survivors parade and breast cancer awareness.

So, Andrea, I want to start with you.

You're going to be in the parade this time for the first time.

And tell us what that means to you.

>> I've been thinking about this day since the day I was diagnosed.

I was diagnosed on Oaks Day of 2024, and I actually couldn't get a hold of my OB office to to talk to someone because they were all at the parade.

But I was thinking about being a survivor from that moment and what it would feel like.

And that was always like the finish line for me.

So like the past two years, I've fought, I've done chemo and multiple surgeries, and this feels like it's kind of closing a chapter in my life.

And there's a lot of excitement about that.

And then a lot of pride that I get to be a survivor.

I get to walk with my mom, who's also a survivor.

So I'm really looking forward to it.

And just being surrounded by amazing women who also fought for their life, and they get to be survivors.

It's going to be a lot of emotions.

>> Yeah.

So you'll be crossing the finish line, like literally and really emotionally too as you bring this full circle.

Take us back to when you found out you had cancer.

How did you find out?

>> I felt a mass and it just came out of nowhere.

Truly it was.

It was super fast growing.

I was diagnosed with the very rare and aggressive form of breast cancer called triple negative.

I just assumed all breast cancer was the same.

I didn't realize there were different types and different treatments for different types.

So a lot of education on my part.

A lot of it took me processing the diagnosis and stages.

But once I finally understood fully what I was diagnosed with, and I could go move forward with my treatment plan.

>> Which was at Norton Wright.

>> It was at Norton.

And yes, and that was that was exciting.

I have to give Norton so many shout outs because on Oaks day, when my doctor's office was closed, Norton's was open and I called.

I called that day because, you know, when you get diagnosed, or at least for me, I wanted to take action.

I didn't want to sit and wait around for the whole weekend wondering what the next steps were.

So I called the the Norton Breast Center, and they were able to get me an appointment for the following week with one of the doctors at Norton who ended up being.

I mean, all the doctors in Norton have been amazing.

But yeah, they were there for me whenever I was so scared.

So that.

>> Was nice.

Yeah, well, it's very appropriate then, Heather, that Norton Cancer Institute, that they are a charitable partner in this parade.

>> Exactly.

We've been partnering with Churchill Downs since 2017.

They asked us to be their charitable partner for the day to help raise awareness around breast cancer.

And it's been such a huge opportunity for us because, you know, 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and which is why it's so important for these women to remember to get their annual screenings and their annual mammograms.

And it gives us a platform that day to really be able to shout that message from the rooftops and make sure that women are aware so that we're able to help women like Andrea.

>> Yeah.

And that's one thing with Oaks Day, everybody's wearing pink.

You have the survivors parade.

And it does raise a lot of awareness.

How how do you change that?

How do you turn that awareness into really helping women?

>> Right.

Well great question.

So Churchill Downs has committed to donating $50,000 each year that we've partnered with them specifically for breast health program at Norton Cancer Institute.

So all of, all of the funds raised from that, in addition to donations we receive that day and things like that are are put back into that program to help with, you know, expressive therapies, behavioral therapies to help our, our mobile prevention unit that travels to underserved neighborhoods in our community to help screen women that maybe don't have the access to come to one of our facilities to be screened, or maybe just don't think about it or are busy in their everyday lives.

So all of the funding that we get through, programs and initiatives like this are funneled right back into the program so that we can help women.

>> Okay, wonderful.

And just a few seconds we have left, Andrea, for people hearing your story or watching the survivors parade there on Friday, what is a message you want them to hear?

>> I think just advocating for yourself and making sure that you are putting yourself first, like, like she said, getting your mammograms and getting your checks.

And if you feel like something's off, trust in your gut and just really following that intuition.

>> Yeah.

Woman's intuition, it's a powerful thing.

>> It really is.

>> Yeah.

Well, both of you, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for sharing your story.

>> Thank you.

Thank you.

>> And thank you, Kristie.

This is the 18th year of the survivors parade.

That'll do it for us tonight.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Look forward to seeing you here on Friday.

It's Oaks Day in Louisville, and we will have a lot of great stories for you when you join us tomorrow night.

take good care