MUSIC >> Why is the Department of Justice investigating?

Kentucky Secretary of State?

[MUSIC] >> I mean, the people out here are mad.

They're angry.

[MUSIC] >> A former governor hits the campaign trail for a Democrat trying to turn a red state blue.

[MUSIC] >> These aren't simply bottles of alcohol.

[MUSIC] A vintage bottle can be a piece of Kentucky history.

[MUSIC] >> Our change is coming to Kentucky's laws regulating vintage bottles of bourbon.

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

>> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for Friday, September 18th.

I'm Laura Rogers.

>> Thank you for joining us.

The U.S.

Department of Justice says Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams is under investigation for not turning over sensitive voter information.

W e KU radio obtained a September 4th letter sent to Adams saying he is subject to civil and criminal sanctions if he doesn't preserve voter data.

Going back to the 2024 election.

Secretary Adams, like President Trump, is a Republican.

Kentucky is one of 30 states that did not comply with the Justice Department.

Demand for voter information that includes driver's license and partial Social Security numbers.

We asked the Secretary of State's office for reaction.

We were sent an email stating, quote, Secretary Adams has not responded to this letter.

We're not going to litigate disputes through the media.

End quote.

Yesterday, we caught up with the Democrat who's trying to turn a red congressional district blue.

Zach Dembo announced his plan to lower health care costs during a visit to Bourbon County.

Here's more on that from our Emily Prince.

>> We know it's too expensive for people to get the health care they need, and the question is, is Congress going to step up and do its job to fix it?

Or are they going to keep the status quo?

That's only been benefiting big insurance companies, big pharma and the ultra wealthy.

>> Zach Dembo, the Democrat running against Doctor Ralph Alvarado in the sixth Congressional District, says if elected, he'd work to reverse Medicaid cuts and make health care and medication costs more transparent.

Demo stopped in Bourbon County on Thursday to speak about his platform.

He was joined by health care professionals and former Democratic Governor Steve Beshear.

Beshear spoke against President Trump's one big, beautiful bill act, which is expected to enact new Medicaid eligibility requirements and cut Medicaid spending by $1 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Most of the changes made by H.R.

one will begin on January 1st of next year.

>> Big ugly Bill is going to throw hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians off the program again, and it's going to threaten the entire program before all is said and done.

>> These cuts that are going to shutter 35 rural hospitals, six right here.

Kick 200,000 Kentuckians off Medicaid at a time where we can barely afford gas and diesel and groceries.

I don't see how anyone could say that is a pro health care, pro rural decision.

>> These Democrats believe there's still time to reverse the changes.

Denbow said he wants to stop the cuts before the deadline, and he believes getting out of the war in Iran would help free up money to pay for Medicaid.

The Democratic nominee also said he wants to see the federal government offer a public health insurance plan.

>> We need there to be an option for folks to be able to get their insurance from the government.

People who like their employer sponsored health care can stay on it, but we need an option for people to be able to do that.

>> Beshear said he's confident in his ability to flip the sixth Congressional District blue, and said people are paying attention to key issues like health care.

>> People out here are mad.

They're angry.

They're fearful because nobody's paying attention to them.

Health care is not a partizan issue because we're not trying to get it for a Republican or a Democrat or an independent.

We want it for everybody.

And we think every Kentuckian deserves to have affordable, quality, accessible health care.

>> In Paris for Kentucky Edition, I'm Emily Prince.

>> Jimbo's opponent, Ralph Alvarado, is a physician and former Tennessee health commissioner.

Alvarado released a television ad earlier this month calling for price transparency from health insurance companies.

We reached out to Alvarado's campaign for a response to Dembele's announcement, but have not heard back.

Congressman Andy Barr, a Republican candidate for the U.S.

Senate, was on the Eastern Kentucky University campus in Richmond today.

He was there in his official role as a congressman, presiding over a meeting of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and hearing testimony about a bill to strengthen community banks.

>> Community banks represent the financial backbone of this country.

They financed farms, factories, family businesses and first time home buyers.

For years, regulators have been writing rules as if every bank in America is $1 trillion global institution, and then acting surprised when community banks disappear.

That's the result of a regulatory culture that forgot who the system is supposed to serve.

>> Barr is opposed by Democrat Charles Booker, who campaigned on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington earlier this week.

>> We made it to the end of the week, so that means it is time to go inside Kentucky politics.

I'm Emily Prince, and I'm joined by our dynamic duo, Trey Grayson and Bob Abbott.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining us today.

>> Welcome.

>> Great to be here.

>> Absolutely.

So let's hit it off with the top story for tonight.

This ripple between the Department of Justice, the U.S.

Department of Justice and Chief election officials across the country, including in Kentucky.

So as we reported earlier tonight, Secretary of State Michael Adams, he received a letter earlier this month from the DOJ saying that if he did not comply with their request to give over certain voter information or preserve voter records, he could be subject to, quote, criminal or civil sanctions.

So let's start with this.

If someone's hearing this for the first time, they're probably wondering what information is the DOJ wanting and why do they want it?

Trey kick us off there.

>> Well the timing of all of this is there's a federal law and a state law that requires election officials at all levels of government to keep documents, voting records, ballots, things like that for 22 months.

And the idea would be, if there's some reason to investigate, you've got time to do it.

And so what the DOJ is basically doing is they're putting a marker down saying, hey, don't, don't destroy those documents because we're putting you in a notice that you're under investigation.

And that buys them more time to do this, more broadly, we've seen the last really since the Trump administration got this.

They got back into office an attempt to try to investigate noncitizen voting, questions about mail voting.

It all goes back to the 2020 election where Trump lost and has ever since then not accepted his loss.

So the DOJ and others inside the administration have really been targeting election officials.

And Adams and Kentucky State Board of Elections have stood up and won a lawsuit.

A couple of weeks ago against an attempt to try to get the voter rolls.

But that's the kind of the greater context, and that's the timing.

The 22 month rule.

>> Has Kentucky had any issues that we know of to be under investigation?

>> No.

Michael Adams is right.

DOJ is wrong.

Judge Blom was right.

To her credit in pushing that back.

Ultimately, Adams wins.

Intellectually, morally, he's got the right place.

This is bunk.

Sorry to have to be so blunt, but it's bunk.

>> Well, what is if someone is watching this and says, well, Adams is a Republican, you have a Republican administration.

What is Adams argument for?

Not just turning over this information?

>> Well, I think he would say that the request is to preserve everything.

So they haven't necessarily requested anything specific at this point.

So it was a preservation request.

The voter rolls, which goes back to the lawsuit.

He would say, I'm not allowed under Kentucky law to give this to you.

Certain groups, campaigns, political scientists and researchers, political parties can get the full list.

Individuals can ask for open records like, I can go and ask for your voter voting history.

I can get your some of your PII, your birth date and Social Security, number.

That's protected.

But I can get your voter file.

That's an open record.

What DOJ wanted.

And Adams said, you can't do this under state law or under federal law is the full list.

And that was what has been challenged in court.

And Bob's right.

The judge ruled in favor of Kentucky, and in every case across the country, that's been the case because the DOJ, they could they could cite a reason.

We have reason to believe this.

So we need this list.

They could do it that way.

But they haven't done it.

They haven't offered the kinds of specifics that a normal government request would require.

>> And you mentioned Adams Republicans.

So is the judge, Claire Bloom.

Yeah.

>> So Trump appointed him, I think.

Right, right.

>> Yeah.

So we're we're reaching a conclusion here that other states can follow.

And many states are trying to because DOJ is so out of whack, so out of line on this.

I hope they don't come after us.

But yeah.

>> And the DOJ did though appeal the results from that case.

Right.

So it's ongoing.

>> It is ongoing.

Yeah.

The trial judge judge judge Bloom.

Bob's right.

Did did rule in favor of Kentucky Kentucky and the Secretary of State and also, to be clear, like each state has a chief elections official.

So.

Right.

We used to get sued all the time.

>> And you're the point person.

>> Somebody's got to get sued.

Right?

So that's why they pay the big bucks.

>> We received those suits, but it was a different era and a different time.

So it was not something created out of whole cloth.

Mythologically there must be a problem out there someplace.

That is simply not true in most of America.

In fact, elections have gotten stronger and better at the same time.

The federal government is trying to persuade everybody that something is amiss.

>> Well, we'll see what Secretary Adams, if he comes out and says something, we'll certainly keep an eye on that.

Let's go now to the sixth district race.

Governor Andy Beshear is getting further involved in this race.

We have seen him endorse Zach Dembo, the Democrat running there.

He's been at events with him on the campaign trail, but now he's putting some money out there.

Tell us about what we've seen.

And how is Beshear getting involved.

Bobby, you want to hit us with that one?

>> Glad to start.

Beshear is very popular in Central Kentucky, in fact, both of his major statewide races, that's what carried him.

The Lexington area and around it.

This has been a very purple district for really 40, 50 years.

It's moved back and forth.

It's in flux now.

There are a lot of factors here, but be being popular.

And when he was asked, what kind of Democrat are you?

He says, I'm a Beshear Democrat.

They're trying to lock in that favorable perception and transfer it to Dembo in this race.

All the while, Alvarado, also very well known, very popular, been to all these places before, is trying to fight against that.

Call it that Republican sleepiness that happens in the off year elections when Trump's not at the top of the ballot.

Meanwhile, President Trump says, yes, I am.

Imagine that this is all about me, and I am at the top because he has every reason to want a Democrat House and Senate.

Excuse me, a Republican House and Senate goes along and we're seeing information from various reviews not favoring the Republicans to win again, but favoring Democrats almost universally.

That could change.

But the focus of these messages is to take the Beshear popularity and demo being kind of a rising factor in the Democratic Party.

Teaming up with that.

>> So Bashir's super PAC, Wright has dropped a quarter of $1 million.

>> Quarter million.

Sounds like a lot, but.

>> Nowadays it's not.

>> That's a good point.

>> And at the same time, with the incredible fund that President Trump has to disburse, he could come in for Alvarado 3 or 4 times that much.

>> But open seats are hard to raise money.

So haven't, you know, having having the ability for your governor to come in with a quarter of a million is, you know, Alvarado doesn't have a governor who can come in for a quarter of a million.

>> That's right.

Gentlemen, final topic.

Our U.S.

senior senator has returned.

It's made huge news across the whole country.

We saw him on the Senate floor and also in committee.

Real quick significance of his return and what is the future?

I mean, how impactful is that for Kentucky?

>> Well, it's great.

It's great to see the recovery.

It also, for all the haters out there and all the people who shared the memes and continue to share the memes about him, you know, I hope they feel a little.

I hope they feel badly about it.

And so I'm glad he's back.

I'm glad he's in the good enough health to go do that.

His vote was needed.

They needed to get the farm bill out of committee, and it couldn't have happened without him being there.

>> No matter how negative you are.

This was a positive.

It was great to see someone who's had this enormous historic career deserves a capstone that is appropriate and celebratory and strong.

So after the election, when there's a lame duck look to see him again, that will be that will be a special moment for us to discuss at that time as well.

>> All right.

Well, as always, thank you so much, gentlemen, for stopping here, and we will see you at least by next month.

>> That's right.

>> Good.

>> All right.

Thank you.

Emily, Bob and Trey.

September is Bourbon Heritage Month.

And this week in Frankfort, state lawmakers heard suggestions from a duo of Kentucky bourbon retailers about changes they'd like to see made to the state's alcohol laws, specifically in the market of vintage distilled spirits.

Here's more from Kentucky Edition's Clayton Dalton.

>> Current state law limits the sale of vintage bottles of alcohol.

Licensed buyers can only purchase 24 bottles per year from a single seller, state Representative Stephanie Dietz says this presents challenges for legitimate buying operations.

>> Imagine a Kentucky family has spent decades collecting bourbon.

Perhaps the collection belonged to a parent or a grandparent.

When that collection needs to be sold, the current limits can make it difficult for a licensed Kentucky vintage spirits business to purchase the collection in its entirety.

This is where House Bill 704 comes in.

The bill would provide an exception for qualified collections of vintage distilled spirits, allowing those collections to be handled outside certain purchase and annual package maximums.

The legislation would limit the exception to ten qualifying collections in a 12 month period for each licensee or seller.

>> Shannon Smith is the owner of Revival Vintage Bottle Shop in Covington.

She shared some examples of how the current law limits her ability to do business.

>> There's a woman out of New York and she wanted to quite literally bring us her entire collection.

She just inherited because her parents had passed, and we let her know that we were only able to purchase 24 of her bottles.

Ultimately, what she ended up doing because she needed the money to pay for funeral expenses, outstanding medical bills, those sorts of things.

We could have purchased it outright, but we didn't.

And instead of even letting us purchase 24 of those bottles, she sold them, frankly, illegally on the secondary market.

And obviously, from our perspective, it's a lost opportunity for business, but also, as representatives, it's a loss of taxpayer dollars.

>> With 95% of the world's bourbon produced in Kentucky, Representative Dietz said this is about more than just business.

>> These aren't simply bottles of alcohol.

A vintage bottle can be a piece of Kentucky history.

It can represent a distillery, a production era, a family collection, or a style of whiskey that no longer exists.

And when these bottles are brought into a licensed business, they can become part of our tourism economy and our broader bourbon culture.

>> Dietz recommendations were part of a 2026 House bill that never made it out of committee for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Clayton Dalton.

>> All right.

Thank you, Clayton.

Established by the General Assembly 30 years ago, the Kentucky Autism Training Center serves autistic individuals and their families in all 120 counties, part of its mission is training first responders on how to have successful interactions with autistic people.

Our Mackenzie Spink tells us more about how the training center works to improve the public safety of Kentuckians with autism.

>> According to the Autism Society, approximately 1 in 5 young adults with autism will interact with law enforcement before the age of 21.

The Kentucky Autism Training Center wants first responders to have the tools they need to ensure these interactions are safe and effective.

>> Our goal is not to create autism experts.

Our goal is to provide tools that help responders recognize situations, communicate more effectively, and achieve safer outcomes.

>> The center's deputy director says.

Individuals with autism can often have communication differences that make it difficult for an officer to interpret their behavior.

>> As you can imagine, for that officer, their wheels are turning.

What on earth is going on?

Why is this person not responding to my questions?

Why are they pacing?

Why are they by this busy roadway?

Different observers may come to different conclusions.

So some of the most common that individuals might consider are that the individual is simply not compliant.

Or maybe they are under the influence of some substance.

Or maybe it's a mental health crisis occurring in reality.

That individual may simply be autistic and overwhelmed by the environment.

>> The Autism Training Center surveyed its participants over the last four years and found that 23% of first responders said they felt knowledgeable about autism before the training.

That number increased to 91% after the training.

>> It's just often a few simple adjustments that are needed to help support that interaction.

It could be something as simple as helping the individual get to an environment that has less input, right?

That's not as noisy, not as many people.

It could be that you need to shift your language and maybe use very direct language.

And maybe it's also that whenever you are asking questions of this person, you are doing it too quickly or too rapidly, not giving enough time for them to process the information and provide the answer.

>> Julie Cook says the demand for training is only growing.

>> In 2000, the centers for Disease Control estimated that there were approximately 1 in 150 children with a diagnosis of autism.

Today, estimates are approximately 1 in 31.

Today, virtually every first responder in Kentucky will interact with autistic individuals throughout their career.

>> The Autism Training Center provides this training for free, not only to law enforcement groups, but also to search and rescue teams.

Hospital staff, fire departments, and more.

For Kentucky edition, I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> The Kentucky Autism Training Center is housed at the University of Louisville's College of Education and Human Development.

[MUSIC] Louisville police guardrails for the use of flock cameras and Powell.

Bardstown is honoring a father and daughter.

Our Toby Gibbs has more.

And this.

Look at headlines around Kentucky.

>> Louisville's independent police monitor says the Metro Police.

Behavioral health response effort needs urgent attention.

The city hired a group called Effective Law Enforcement for all or Elliott to track the department's police reform efforts.

W DRB and wave TV report that lead monitor Cheri Brisco Stewart testified to the Metro Council Tuesday and said that while police recruits receive 40 hours of crisis intervention, team training, they don't get refresher training and police don't have specialized behavioral health response officers.

[MUSIC] Behavioral health response refers to efforts to help people with mental health problems, emotional distress, psychological trauma and substance abuse.

Also in Louisville, police are adding guardrails for flock cameras.

The Courier-Journal reports there will be limits on which police officers can search the department's automated license plate reader system, and any search will require a justification, such as a police report or warrant.

Flock camera critics say without limits, the system can be abused.

[MUSIC] A bridge in Bardstown now honors Crystal Rogers and her father, Tommy Ballard.

Rogers disappeared in 2015.

[MUSIC] Ballard was shot and killed in 2016.

WBRT radio reports that a bridge on Woodland Road was named in their honor Tuesday.

Three men were convicted in connection to her death.

Police have not arrested anyone for Ballard's death.

[MUSIC] Those are tonight's headlines around Kentucky.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

[MUSIC] >> Plenty of bona fide Kentucky cuisine on the menu, as Toby Gibbs is back now to tell us what's cooking around the Commonwealth.

>> They're serving up barbecue with a side of community fundraising as barbecue on the river returns to downtown Paducah.

Barbecue on the river features barbecue competitors and more than 100 vendors.

Food, drinks, desserts, activities and market booths are part of the event.

Proceeds from participating groups support local and regional nonprofit organizations.

[MUSIC] The grills get fired up tonight.

Rockcastle County is making room for mushrooms with the Kentucky Mushroom Festival.

The festival focuses on mushrooms, foraging and Appalachian traditions and includes guided mushroom walks, workshops, traditional crafts, homesteading and herbalism demonstrations.

Artists and vendors and music.

[MUSIC] The three day festival begins today and runs through Sunday.

Arts and appetite are sharing the spotlight in Rowan County this weekend at the Morehead Arts and Eats Festival.

The event brings together regional artists, giving visitors the opportunity to shop for handmade crafts, paintings, jewelry, pottery and textiles.

Things will be buzzing in Grayson County this Saturday.

Clarkson Honey Fest celebrates the county's connection to the honey industry with a parade.

Children's rides, food and craft booths, contests and pageants.

Bluegrass, gospel and country.

Rock performances are also part of the festival.

You can gobble up a little fall fun in downtown Greenville at the city's annual squash and gobble, the festival brings together more than 100 artisan and craft vendors to downtown Greenville and includes food vendors, live entertainment and a children's activity area.

The event takes place Saturday.

Christian County is putting Hispanic Culture Center stage at the Clarksville Oak Grove Hispanic Heritage Festival.

The celebration includes live music, cultural dance performances, Latin food vendors and artisan booths, a dancing horse show, children's activities and community performances.

[MUSIC] This free family event happens Saturday.

[MUSIC] Kentucky's chicken history is coming home to roost in London starting next Thursday, with the return of the World Chicken Festival.

The event recognizes Laurel county's connection to Colonel Harland Sanders and the early history of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The four day festival includes live music, carnival rides, food and craft vendors, and competitions, including a hot wing eating contest, chicken Cook-Off and a Colonel Sanders look alike contest.

Cave Run Lake is setting the stage for some tall tales and true ones, to the Cave Runs Storytelling Festival brings professional storytellers from different regions and cultural traditions to the Twin Knobs Recreation area in Morehead.

[MUSIC] Performances take place under tents along Cave Run Lake and Daniel Boone National Forest.

The stories begin next Friday.

And that's what's happening around the Commonwealth.

[MUSIC] I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> A lot of fun things happening this weekend.

We hope you have a good one.

We also hope that you will stick around this evening for Bill, Bryant and a panel of Kentucky reporters who will discuss Senator Mitch McConnell's return to the U-S Senate, along with other news, events and coverage from the week.

That's tonight at 8:00 eastern, seven central on comment on Kentucky right here on KET.

[MUSIC] And we hope that you'll join us again Monday night at 630 eastern.

530 central for Kentucky edition, where we inform, connect and inspire.

You can subscribe to our Kentucky Edition email newsletters on our website.

You can also look for us on the PBS video app on your mobile device, and smart TV, and email us those story ideas.

Thanks so much for watching.

Have a good night.