music >> A health update on Mitch McConnell, what his doctor says is complicating his return to the U.S.

Senate.

[MUSIC] >> It would seem fair for a typical voter to take with a grain of salt promises about how great industry will be once it gets there.

>> Breaking down the politics of data centers.

[MUSIC] >> And we just want to be a resource.

We want to connect people and provide all of the support.

>> How a Kentucky nonprofit is helping families through the organ donation process.

[MUSIC] >> You know, bourbon has been in our DNA for, for decades and decades.

[MUSIC] >> Plus, we take you to the bourbon capital of the world.

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

>> Good evening, and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Monday, July the 27th.

I'm Renee Shaw.

We thank you for spending some of your Monday night with us, U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky continues to recover, but he is not ready to return to the Senate.

That's according to a health update that was provided by his office today.

His office also shared a recent photo of McConnell with his wife, former U.S.

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.

The former Republican Senate leader was hospitalized June 14th after suffering a fall at his home in Washington, D.C.

the update included a statement from the Capitol's office of the attending physician, who says the 84 year old McConnell has been undergoing physical therapy and rehabilitation since being released from the hospital.

He says McConnell's bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility, and that he is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.

McConnell says.

Because of that, he will miss the annual Fancy Farm Picnic, the state's premier political event, stating, quote, I'm still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy, per my doctor's orders.

Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to make it to Fancy Farm, Kentucky this Saturday, end quote.

He says he's sending his best wishes to the Saint Jerome community for a successful picnic, and that he's looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky.

In other news, Senator McConnell will not be attending, as we told you, but the lineup of speakers at this year's Fancy Farm Picnic is growing.

We have just learned that Christopher Campbell, a Kentucky party candidate for the U.S.

Senate, has just been added to the speaker's list, according to Fancy Farm Political Chairman Steven Elder.

The list also includes Democrat Rocky Atkins, who launched his bid for governor last week, as you'll recall.

Meanwhile, the person who currently holds that position, Governor Andy Beshear, has declined the invitation for a third year in a row.

Democrat Charles Booker, who is running for the U.S.

Senate, has confirmed, along with state Auditor Alison Ball and state Treasurer Mark Metcalfe, both of whom are Republicans.

Now you can see this year's Fancy Farm Picnic, the speechifying contest, as we call it, right here on KET.

From the comfort of your air conditioned living room.

Our coverage begins live at 230 eastern, 130 central.

On this coming Saturday, August the 1st.

And Laura Rogers will be your anchor for that coverage.

In other news, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers will not be entering the race to be Kentucky's next governor.

In a statement released today, Stivers said he decided not to run after discussing it with his family, friends and trusted advisors.

His statement reads in part, quote, for me, public service has never been about seeking another title.

It has been about advancing sound public policy that improves lives, strengthens our economy, and leaves Kentucky better for it.

This has been my mission throughout my legislative time, and it remains both my passion and my privilege, end quote.

Stivers also says he's looking forward to working with Kentucky's next governor, and hopes they will view the General Assembly as, quote, an equal branch of government and a true governing partner, end quote.

Stivers has served in the state Senate since 1997 and was elected Senate president back in 2013.

U.S.

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky's fourth Congressional District is going after flock cameras, the Republican posted on social media over the weekend that he plans to introduce a bill targeting the automated license plate reading cameras.

Massie says the bill will strip federal funding from any local governments or police departments that deploy the cameras to, quote, surveil law abiding citizens, as he says, end quote.

Massie's term in office ends in January.

As you'll recall, he lost the May Republican primary to Trump backed challenger Ed Gallrein.

U.S.

Representative Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky's third congressional district.

A Democrat, visited a detention center in northern Kentucky that's housing more than 100 Ice detainees.

He was joined by two other Democratic members of Congress from Illinois and Wisconsin on the oversight visit to the Campbell County Detention Center.

They held a press conference after the visit, where McGarvey said many detainees are not getting the medical care they need.

>> The stories are heartbreaking, and I think what you're hearing is there's no excuse for.

Trump has given ice hundreds of billions of dollars in the last year, more money in the last year than they got the entirety of his first term as president.

But you have diabetics here who can't get their kids.

You have people here who can't even get an Advil or an aspirin when they have a headache and a feeling, though, they're sent to a commissary where they're told to buy it and they have no money.

Not to mention the fact that 70% of the people ISIS detaining do not have criminal records.

That number is even higher.

In Kentucky, 72% of those detaining do not have criminal records, and they are being warehoused here and not getting access to the medication they need to survive.

It's going and it's why we are here to resolve without punishment.

>> According to a report by the League of Women Voters of Kentucky, the number of Ice detainees in Kentucky jails has more than doubled since September of last year.

Now we'll talk about politics, both state and national, this evening.

On Kentucky tonight, the midterm election is about three months away as Kentucky picks a new U.S.

senator.

We have House races, U.S.

House races, and many legislative contests, county offices and mayors.

And when that election is over, we move on to the 2027 race for governor.

We're going to talk about all of that tonight at 8:00 eastern, 7:00 central, right here on KET, Kentucky.

Tonight, more than two dozen data centers are currently under discussion in cities all around Kentucky.

Our Emily Prince talks with Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky, about who is pushing to bring these data centers to the state and who is pushing back.

>> So.

>> Doctor Voss, I want to talk a little bit about a topic that's been pretty much unavoidable for us and for the whole country, really talking about data centers.

I want to ask from from a political science perspective, just about the politics that play into this situation.

I mean, you've got data centers that are being announced in, for the most part, pretty rural, small pockets across the state.

And, you know, when it comes to the the leadership and the decisions to, to make these data centers come to fruition, how do politics play into that?

And just where do you see this going or continuing to go?

>> Right?

So the politics of data centers is playing out much the way politics of solar farms and the politics of of wind farms have played out, which is in the people in the communities that would be impacted.

You get a divide, you get the ones who want the wealth and the tax base.

You get the ones who are worried about the nuisances and the risks that come with the data centers.

And however that plays out locally.

What we do know is that there is a political cost to the leaders who bring in these sorts of developments.

It's not only the benefit of the money, but they also pay a political cost for the nuisance.

And, you know, we've been able to look at voting in elections after a change like that to see what happens to the leaders.

And as you get closer to the wind farm, for example, the vote for the incumbents do drop.

So there are real political costs in that battle between development versus avoiding environmental and contextual nuisances.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

And there does seem to be, in these instances, a pretty big divide between the public, the residents of an area, and then the elected officials who are kind of making those decisions behind the scenes.

I know I've been on the ground and covered in Boyd County.

Specifically, there perspective going to be maybe the biggest data center in the whole state.

And you had elected officials, judge executives who signed non-disclosure agreements to not discuss that.

Have you seen situations like that before with these past instances, like you mentioned, like, you know, solar farms, wind turbines, something that seems to be as secretive as this has seemed to be.

>> Yeah.

I don't know that the Secretiveness has always been there, but for sure, these are negotiations that have gone on between the company that wants to develop and usually the government and its combination of elected and appointed officials, staffers.

And so insofar as the public is trying to fight it, they're often left out of the room for some of those discussions and maybe not so conspiratorial.

Maybe it's just more, you know, they don't care about the environment the way we do.

I mean, keep in mind these these leaders, they see the money and what the money can do.

And they're the ones who hope to be spending that tax revenue later.

The public just seems the nuisance, right?

They're not going to factor in whatever they're going to get later as a result of whatever revenue the place generates.

>> Yeah.

And that's a great point because we covered earlier.

And in fact, I'm heading there Monday evening to Hancock County, which is also it's the same company, Tara Wolf, who's going to be kind of the one in charge of building these data centers, the one in Boyd County and Hancock County.

And, you know, I think Congressman Brett Guthrie, he made the comment that if this goes to fruition, Hancock County, which is a very rural town, I'm from that neck of the woods that could become possibly the wealthiest school district in the entire state.

So there's a lot of politics that plays into that.

How can we see or how might we see from a political lens changes in our rural areas?

Or if you're a judge executive in a rural county, do you say, I want a piece of that?

And how do I get into that?

>> Right.

I mean, to counterbalance that hopefulness about what the economic development brings.

Of course, the if you're an aware part of the public, you know that often after businesses crop up or industries start, they don't live up to the promises in terms of the jobs they'll generate, the tax revenue they'll generate.

It would seem fair for a typical voter to take with a grain of salt promises about how great an industry will be once it gets there.

What they do know is what the nuisances will be, how you know.

They get a sense of how it might change traffic patterns or noise patterns, or depending on what the development is.

So again, this is playing out how similar things have played out in the past.

People see the change.

They fear the change, rightly or wrongly, and the public officials usually see the benefits of bringing in the business and keeping the investors happy because they're looking at revenue.

>> Yeah.

And given those past examples, any predictions on where things go in the future?

Does does the public seem to get on board with these after a while or what?

What can go from here?

>> Well, just in general, when it comes to interest group politics, a small number of companies have a real advantage over the public, right?

The the narrow benefits of them winning and getting the development far outweighs the sort of broad fear of the changes to the environment or the community.

Usually the community loses, whether it's right or not.

>> Yeah, very complex issue will continue breaking it down.

But we appreciate your break down for us, Doctor Voss.

>> Thanks for talking to me, Emily.

>> A Kentucky nonprofit is assisting families through organ donation.

Donate Life Kentucky Trust is also educating Kentuckians about what it means to be an organ donor.

We talked with some of the Kentuckians they worked with, including an organ transplant recipient and a family of twin girls who were told both girls needed a heart transplant at eight months old.

More about this story in today's medical news.

>> Raleigh.

She has a hemangioma on her left cheek.

They found some irregularities in her EKG, which led to them wanting to do an echo on her.

Her initial echo showed some decreased ejection fraction in her heart, so they wanted us to follow up with heart transplant in Louisville.

They also knew that what they probably had was genetic, so they knew they wanted to test Reagan as well.

So we went back the very next day and found out that she also had the same defect.

And that is called a dilated cardiomyopathy.

April 2nd, Raleigh got her heart and Reagan's still waiting.

>> On Sunday, February 22nd of 2026, I was able to have that surgery, received the kidney transplant surgery was about 7 or 8 hours.

I was in New York City for 12 extra weeks.

Usually a transplant can be about, you know, you're staying after transplant, maybe a month, maybe five weeks.

But I had to stay 12 total weeks.

>> The number one reason for bankruptcy is medical bills.

And this is a major issue with community members in many aspects.

And the ones that we are able to help and feel so fortunate to help are those that are either waiting for transplants or have received.

That's our children's transplant fund.

Thanks to Kosair for kids, we are able to help kiddos that are on the waiting list or who have received this precious gift.

Because let's be honest, I mean, if your child is waiting on a life saving transplant, you are living in the hospital.

You're driving hundreds of miles for these specialized treatment.

You are struggling to to work and pay bills, and all of that is still required.

Even though you have this sick child, we're able to help with gas cards or overnight stays, things like that.

To be able to provide these families a little extra support when they're going through some really, really difficult journeys.

We also have an adult patient assistance program, which helps adults post-transplant afford their medication if they need, again, gas cards to travel from Pikeville to Lexington three days a week if they need a hotel stay so they're not having to drive back and forth.

We're able to help with things like that.

>> I was needing funds.

I mean, I couldn't, I couldn't do it all.

And so they were able to give me as many gas cards, Uber cards to get me from appointment to appointment.

>> I remember we've got gift cards.

I mean, we've had help with our mortgage.

I mean, we've had.

>> Like care package.

>> Care packages sent to the hospital.

I mean, I just feel like if we called and said, you know, one of the girls needs something that they would do everything in their power to, to get it to us.

>> This isn't something that everybody thinks about and talks about.

In fact, our nation is, is, doesn't want to talk about what happens when we're gone from this earth.

It's not comfortable to think about that.

And we understand that.

And so bringing this to light is something that we're so lucky happens when you get your driver's license, but we really want people thinking about it well before they're making that decision.

So we are out in the schools and the churches.

We are educating people about what?

Saying, yes, when you get your driver's license or jumping online to register, what that means and what it means is that you understand that you're making this decision to donate once you're gone from this earth and save and heal other lives.

>> Organ donation will save lives and families.

Because as somebody who has gone through two transplants, it affected not just me, but my family.

And so knowing that you can say yes and register and know that it's really going to kind of trickle down, it's going to be a trickle down effect that you're going to obviously help that person who needs the organ, but then also their family, you're going to affect, you're going to help them, and that's going to make it go a long way.

And really making them live one, the patient live their best life, but also their families live their best life with that person.

>> I've been to the DMV multiple times.

They've asked me if I want to be an organ donor, and I'll say, I said no because I just didn't know the facts.

I didn't know anything about it.

But I know the next time I go, I'll sign up to be an organ donor because I know that I could potentially change multiple people's lives.

>> Recipients and their families are going through a lot through their journey.

And again, we just want to be a resource.

We want to connect people and provide all of the support, both physical and mental, anything we need to do to, to help these families.

>> According to donate Life Kentucky trust, more than 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant in the U.S.

and more than 2 million >> People in Kentucky are registered organ donors.

After a visit to Napa Valley in 2009, local leaders from the city of Bardstown came home with a vision to implement a similar tourist experience centered on Central Kentucky's premier spirit, Bourbon.

Of course, over the past decade, they've worked hard to make that vision a reality.

Visitors now have lots of options for distillery tours, specialized tastings, and personalized bottling experiences.

But as our Clayton Dalton reports, it wasn't always this way.

Here's more about Bardstown, Kentucky the bourbon capital of the world and Monday nights, Mondays on main.

>> Bardstown, Kentucky, is home to around 15,000 people and a few million barrels of aging bourbon.

So it's not surprising that the city's identity is closely tied to the popular spirit.

>> You know, bourbon has been in our DNA for, for decades and decades, but mainly it was about the production of the the liquid itself and not really about the tourism piece.

And when we started to see this interest in bourbon tourism, we started seeing hundreds and thousands of dollars investment from our distilleries to build visitor centers and things like that.

We knew we had something going for us.

And so we started working with distilleries.

We started recruiting restaurants and hotels and educating people on bourbon tourism.

>> Bardstown special because we're dedicated as the bourbon capital of the world.

That's a big deal.

95% of the world's bourbon is made within a few miles of where we're standing.

>> It has made a major economic impact here.

Obviously, jobs and their financial investment.

We've had a number of expansions and several new distilleries come to Bardstown and Nelson County during that time.

But on a on a more local basis, it also has helped really invigorate our downtown area, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

So that's probably the biggest impact we've seen from distilleries.

>> People really want a hands on experience.

They don't want to just see it made.

They want to help make that process.

They want to walk home and feel like they're a part of the story.

It's continued to grow.

You know, we see people from New York and California and Napa and all these places, and then we've seen this explosion from all across the globe, from Australia, from Asia, and they're not here just to taste the bourbon.

They want to know about our culture.

>> We had to overcome that.

We're not just a small town that you can't do well putting a national franchise hotel here.

You build it.

We promise they will come.

And it did happen.

It did work.

>> Bourbon wasn't the only thing bringing in tourists.

In 2012, Bardstown was named the most beautiful small town in America by USA today.

That honor brought national attention.

>> There's not many other small communities that can say, well, I'm the most beautiful small town in America.

Some people can say it, but we've got a recognition to prove it.

>> We were in competition with some of the neatest towns across the country, and when we beat them, it was a pride we had in tourism, knowing that we were going to have a lot of people coming to see our community.

But the pride that was instilled in the people here who lived in the most beautiful small town, they were putting it up on their banners, on their on their businesses, and they were putting it in their ads that they now live in the most beautiful small town in America.

>> The increase in out-of-town visitors brought more development to the city.

One of the recent additions to downtown is a vintage bourbon bar and venue space housed in the local newspapers.

Old building.

>> So we have a bourbon bar, neat bourbon bar, vintage bourbon bar, which is really cool, and the front part of the venue connected to the rear piece, which is the bespoke and bond venue.

And that can hold, you know, standing event up to 300 people.

So then as we thought about it, we had this upstairs used to be an old office space and we thought, well, how can we utilize that?

And it'd be great to have an Airbnb there.

So currently the property has three different uses.

It's a bourbon bar.

It's a venue and it has an overnight stay.

Accommodations.

>> Local leaders and developers in Bardstown aren't solely focused on tourists and bourbon.

They say it's important to support their residents.

>> The city.

We continue to invest in things that we feel like enhance the.

Both the visit for the out-of-towners, but also enhance the experience that our local people.

We made major investments in our community park, which is our large ten acre park where we have walking trails and playgrounds and outdoor sport facilities and so forth.

And that is important for both tourism as well as your locals.

>> We've had people from everywhere come here, right?

And then they start talking about the culture of Bardstown.

And locals are in the bar having a drink.

And you just that dynamic is really great.

There's not a lot of places that the community understands tourism, and they accept it and make the tourists feel like family.

>> We are not just here producing bourbon.

We're here helping our community grow and thrive.

People that live around us are our friends, our family, our neighbors, and so everything we do here impacts them.

And we want it to be a growth opportunity for everybody and for our community to continue to succeed in the future.

>> So what does the future of Bardstown look like?

For one, continuing to diversify the economy beyond bourbon.

>> We have very much diversified what we have.

We're just not a one trick pony.

We have automotive, we have bourbon, we have packaging, we have logistics.

We have a lot of different manufacturing.

So it's important to us not to put all of our eggs in one basket.

>> For Kentucky Edition.

I'm Clayton Dalton.

>> Thank you so much, Clayton.

Mayor Heaton said the next big item on his agenda is developing a new industrial park on a 527 acre plot of land recently purchased by the city.

Kentucky's first census, the first fancy farm picnic, and the hottest temperature ever recorded in Kentucky.

Our Toby Gibbs looks at all three and more in this week at This Week in Kentucky history.

>> August 2nd, 1790.

The first census began in Kentucky almost two years before statehood.

The census would show the territory's total population at 73,677, with 12,430 of those being enslaved.

There are disagreements about the date of the first fancy farm picnic in western Kentucky on July 31st, 1880, the Mayfield Messenger announced a Saint Jerome Church fundraiser with a barn dance, picnic and gander pulling the picnic would include fried chicken, plus fork tender sheep and goats roasted over a pit for 24 hours.

It did not include political speeches, something that wouldn't start until the 1930s.

The Southern Exposition opened in Louisville on August 1st, 1883, with President Chester A Arthur speaking at the opening ceremony.

The exposition included a demonstration of 4600 lightbulbs called Edison Lights, after their inventor, 770,000 people would visit the exposition.

The mercury reached 114 degrees in Greensburg in Green County on July 28th, 1930.

[MUSIC] It's the hottest temperature on record in Kentucky, and was part of a heat wave that brought 100 degree plus temperatures to towns throughout the Commonwealth.

[MUSIC] The Korean War ended with an armistice on July 27th, 1953.

An estimated 886 Kentuckians died during the three years of fighting, and that's what was happening this week in Kentucky history.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Thank you so much.

Toby Gibbs will that will do it for us tonight.

We sure hope we see you again tomorrow night at 630 eastern, 530 central on Kentucky edition where we inform, connect and inspire.

We hope you'll connect with us all the way as you see on your screen.

You can get our email newsletters and watch full episodes and clips online on demand@ket.org.

Look for us on the PBS that you can download on your smart devices.

Send us an email, a story idea, perhaps to the email address on your screen.

And of course, we're on the socials, Facebook and Instagram.

I'm Renee Shaw, I'll see you at 8:00 for Kentucky tonight, so don't touch that dial.

Have a good night.

See you later.