music >> This latest poll is proof that we're building something that is ready to meet the moment.

>> This Democrat says he's picking up steam in the U.S.

Senate race.

[MUSIC] A U.S.

Senate committee meets and looks to pass a farm bill, which Senator Mitch McConnell is taking part.

>> Senator Fetterman.

>> How is former Governor Matt Bevin being treated behind bars?

What the emails say.

>> After the Brant Spence Bridge, I would say the housing is probably our top number one overarching issue.

>> House business in Northern Kentucky.

Here, the Chamber of Commerce perspective.

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

[MUSIC] >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for Wednesday, September 16th.

I'm Marvin Bartlett.

Thanks for joining us.

Less than 50 days to go before the midterm elections.

Charles Booker, the Democratic nominee in the race for the U.S.

Senate, says he's gaining ground against his opponent, Congressman Andy Barr.

Booker was at the University of Kentucky last night rallying college students and the Lexington community.

Our Emily Prince was there and has this report.

>> My opponent has sold Kentucky out.

He has sold us out for data centers.

He has sold us out for endless wars.

He has sold us out for these ridiculous tariffs.

He sold us out for a tax on humanity.

>> Charles Booker, the Democratic nominee for the U.S.

Senate, rallied with college students in Lexington residents Tuesday night on UC's campus.

Booker is running against Congressman Andy Barr, the Republican has portrayed Booker as a radical socialist who would defund the police and open the borders.

I asked Booker for his response.

>> I have been on the record for years, saying we need to fully fund community safety.

That means addressing all the social determinants of health, including enforcement, but also prevention and investing in our communities.

And we need a safe and secure border, which means we actually need to enforce the laws.

And what's happening right now is not that Andy Barr has been a rubber stamp for this administration's greed and corruption.

And so he's trying to hide behind fear tactics, but people aren't buying it.

>> An internal poll from Booker's campaign shows him trailing Barr by nine percentage points, 40 to 49.

The poll surveyed 600 likely voters.

The Democratic nominee touted the statistics during his visit.

>> This latest poll is proof that we're building something that is ready to meet the moment.

Kentucky is a state that Trump won by over 30 points, and the fact that without being on the air, just building a grassroots coalition from the hood to the Holland that we're already within single digits.

>> Democratic state senator and Minority Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas introduced Booker on Tuesday night.

Thomas said he expects the tides to turn in Booker's favor over the next month.

>> Some thoroughbreds we call late closers, they always seem to be out of it.

And then they hit the home stretch and they make that fast charge and always get their first at the finish line.

You're going to see Charles Booker be a late closer come September and October, and he's going to get to the finish line first.

He's going to beat Andy Barr.

>> Booker made some promises to the crowd on Tuesday night.

He said if elected he would form a team of young leaders across the state to help create legislation.

And he said he would bring back regional offices for constituents.

>> So that not only do you get your needs met, but that you can raise your concerns and actually be able to talk to your U.S.

senator.

How about that for a change?

[APPLAUSE] >> Two college students who came out to see Booker and helped plan the event said they care strongly about affordability and education.

>> There are a lot of members of my organization who would have really loved to gone here to the University of Kentucky, but they can't afford it.

Having somebody in Washington who will fight for those students to have the same opportunities that everybody else does is something very important.

>> As a young person involved in politics, I really want to see some fresh ideas, new perspectives, and a bigger emphasis on how we're going to work to make life easier for young people like me.

Heading into the future, and I think Charles Booker is that candidate.

>> I love his dedication to to finding a way for affordable and accessible health care to reach every Kentuckian and therefore also every American.

>> In Lexington for Kentucky edition.

[APPLAUSE] >> Ted.

>> There we go.

>> I'm Emily Prince.

>> Booker also said he would be in favor of a congressional term limits.

He called the return of Senator Mitch McConnell to the Senate floor earlier this week, quote, elder abuse.

Booker wants to replace Senator McConnell next January.

Senator McConnell returned to work Monday after being out three months after a fall.

McConnell was part of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and that committee is meeting today to consider the 2026 farm bill.

McConnell is there.

You can see him in the lower part of the screen in a wheelchair.

It's believed the bill has enough votes to get out of committee.

With McConnell's return.

Without McConnell, the committee voted 11 to 11 for the bill.

Not enough to move it forward.

>> No.

By proxy.

>> It looks as if the U.S.

House will recess early, meaning votes tomorrow won't take place.

That includes a vote on a resolution to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Massie sponsored the resolution.

He says it's for his role in continuing the war in Iran, despite congressional votes to stop the fighting.

Thomas Massie says the Constitution spells out the role Congress plays in fighting a war, and he says Hegseth has violated the law.

>> Secretary Hegseth directed and caused United States armed forces to be introduced into hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Notwithstanding that one Congress had not declared war against the Islamic Republic of Iran to.

Congress had not enacted any specific statutory authorization for the introduction of United States Armed forces into hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran and three.

No national emergency had been created by an attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran upon the United States, its territories, or possessions, or its armed forces.

Furthermore, no imminent attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces existed as affirmed in the March 17th, 2026 resignation letter of Joe Kent, then director of the National Counterterrorism Center, in which he stated, quote, I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.

Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, unquote.

The introduction of United States armed forces into hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Therefore satisfied none of the circumstances expressly identified in section two C of the War Powers Resolution.

>> The House voted yesterday to block President Trump from taking further military action in Iran.

Massie was one of seven Republicans to join Democrats to vote against the war.

Congressman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky's first district, will not seek another term as chair of the House Oversight Committee, so his leadership of the committee will end in January.

Committee chairs are subject to term limits.

Comer is ending his second term as chair, according to the Kentucky Lantern.

Comer will not seek a waiver that would allow him to seek two more years.

There's widespread speculation that comer will run for governor next year.

He is running for reelection to Congress in November against Democrat John Drew Williams, the only Democrat in Kentucky's congressional delegation is looking for a leadership role.

The lantern reports that Morgan McGarvey of the Third District will run for Democratic caucus leadership.

Representative McGarvey was first elected to the House in 2022.

He is seeking a third term this November and is opposed by Republican Maria Rodriguez.

>> Our veterans.

>> How will Louisville deal with data centers?

Louisville's Metro Council started that debate yesterday.

Louisville Public Media says the council is debating where data centers can locate their size and whether any special restrictions are needed.

The city's planning commission is recommending a ban on data centers, with more than 500,000ft█!S of equipment and ay data centers would have to be at least a quarter mile from schools, community centers and other data centers.

Republican Congressman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky's second district says the AI industry needs to be regulated, but not at the expense of American advancement.

Guthrie made the remarks this morning at the.

The Politico Decoded Summit in Washington.

Guthrie, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, says he does understand the growing concern about the power of artificial intelligence and the guardrails do need to be put into place.

However, he says he doesn't want to see the United States standing in the global AI race with China jeopardized and cautions against adopting strict regulations.

He points to the approach taken by Europe, which he says hurt tech advances.

There.

>> We need to see what the proper guardrails are and open to that.

I mean, we have the nuclear industry has its own industry.

That kind of own internal agency that is verified, that governs that.

So there's some models and examples of that.

But if you want to say, we're just going to turn this over to a handful of elite educated people in a room to say, all right, this is how things are going to be.

Well, that's how Europe is run.

I mean, Europe is run itself.

There's not a handful of them.

There's thousands of them in Brussels that tell everybody what to do.

And I hate to point out, because we need a strong Europe.

I think a booming Europe is good for the world, but they're not booming.

They're losing 10,000 manufacturing jobs a month in Germany.

And if that's the model that people want to follow, I just don't understand.

>> It.

>> Guthrie does not believe the U.S.

House will take action on AI until next year.

How are state resources being used to serve veterans in Kentucky today?

In Frankfort, two veteran services organizations shared how the tax dollars they receive are being used to improve the lives of our veterans and ways they believe the state could improve our Mackenzie Spink has more from Frankfort.

>> KY valor stands for Veterans Accelerated Licensure, Occupational recruitment, valor attracts service members from out of state.

Often those retiring after being stationed at Fort Knox or Fort Campbell and connects them with careers in Kentucky.

Brian Nichols says after 21 years as an Army counterintelligence officer, he struggled getting the right attention on his resume until getting help from valor.

Now, he's one of eight regional security managers in the country for the Ford Motor Company.

>> All I wanted to do when I retired was to transition the knowledge and skills that I learned over 21 years to either motorsports or the automotive industry, and I don't have connections in those industries.

But organizations like valor absolutely do.

>> Nichols says Kentucky's natural beauty, competitive wages, and low cost of living convinced him to remain in the state after retiring from Fort Knox, valor says providing scholarships and other benefits to veterans, families could boost Kentucky in the eyes of out of service members.

>> So when you go out and you recruit people to come to Kentucky, you've got to sell Kentucky.

Yes, sir.

Can you maybe educate us on some recurring challenges that you're that you're finding that we could be working on and thinking about?

>> Absolutely.

We really and I was going to say, we're happy to dive a little bit deeper and explore how we can do that better.

One thing I know surrounding states, there's, you know, taxes that are on pension taxes that are on housing, that they have waived.

That's one challenge that we do run into.

>> USA cares is a national organization that started in Radcliff, Kentucky.

It also provides career transition aid to veterans.

But its main program provides veterans with emergency financial assistance.

>> What we do now is we eliminate factors that lead to veterans suicide.

So we stop evictions and foreclosures before they happen.

We stop vehicle repossession.

We help with help find jobs, and we help make sure they have food.

The whole idea is really to stabilize the family and the feeling that if we can stabilize the family, then we can stop some of these suicides from happening.

These are not loans.

These are grants.

They do not have to repay these.

Often they want to, but they do not have to.

>> In Kentucky, 97% of the state money that USA cares receives goes directly to the assistance of veterans.

>> We were appropriated $2 million.

You can see there that 1.94 million of.

That went directly to veterans and their families.

We spent 68,380 on administrative costs, which is really salaries for two folks to take care of the cases inside of the state of Kentucky.

>> USA cares says the $2 million appropriation from the 2020 426 budget cycle ran out in June.

As a result, there's been a 77% reduction in veterans served in Kentucky.

There was not a specific allocation to USA cares in this year's budget session.

>> We failed you and we failed the veterans you serve.

Last cycle and I apologize.

>> I want to be very careful with my words here, because the budget is a very complicated process and document.

So what I'm understanding here is you were line item in the previous biennial budget biennium.

And then this year that money was moved to the base and you weren't given a specific line item.

And there are some discretion for the executive branch to use the money that's in the base.

And so I'm going to find out exactly what's going on and see if my understanding is correct and see how we can rectify the situation.

But I just want to let you know today that I'm going to look into this.

>> For Kentucky edition.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> USA cares says the majority of financial assistance it provides to veterans is for rent, mortgage payments and other housing costs.

Former Governor Matt Bevin refused some meals while in jail, according to emails obtained by The Courier Journal.

A judge ordered a 60 day jail stay for Bevin for contempt of court in connection to his ongoing child support case.

The Courier-Journal used Kentucky's open records law to obtain emails that show Bevin refused his breakfast and dinner trays.

On September 4th.

The emails also show Bevin is being handled under, quote, special procedures while in jail.

He only interacts with correction officers with a rank of sergeant or higher.

All interactions are captured on body cameras.

The Louisville Jail denies the claim that Bevin received a meal from the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.

Five Kentucky men were indicted this month on charges related to cockfighting, suggesting the illegal treatment of breeding of roosters is alive in the state.

As our June Leffler reports, animal welfare groups have documented this illegal activity for years.

>> Last week, a federal prosecutor charged five Kentucky men with possessing roosters for the purpose of an animal fighting venture.

This came after searches this summer of farms in Bowling Green and Elkton animal welfare groups raised the alarm back in 2020 after documenting aerial views of these breeding operations and images from inside the fight venues.

>> Cockfighting is a barbaric, inhumane activity in which birds are placed in a pit to fight, and they have razor sharp knives or curved ice picks called gaffs affixed to their legs to enhance the effect of their fight.

So stabbing, slashing, there may be as many as 24 million fighting birds in the United States.

It's an enormous illicit industry.

Kentucky is one of the top five states by our investigative work.

They're illegally fighting them in Kentucky, but they're also shipping them all over the United States and all over the world.

And they're making millions of dollars doing it in in illicit activities.

Most of the law enforcement actions have been focused on busting fights in progress.

But the federal law treats equally fighting and also possessing birds for fighting.

They can hide their fights, but they can't hide their enormous gamecock form, so they have a thousand birds.

And we know where all of them are.

>> Animal Wellness action named Chris.

Copies of Bowling Green in its 2020 report.

He had placed well in a 2019 cockfighting tournament in the Philippines.

He is one of the five men indicted for Kentucky addition.

I'm June Leffler.

>> Last year, state troopers charged 54 people in connection to cockfighting in Casey County.

According to the Lexington Herald leader, we now have 48 cases of measles this year in Kentucky as of today.

That's according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

The Department for Public Health says that's the biggest number of cases since 1991.

The Courier-Journal says most of the cases are in close knit communities with low vaccination rates.

19 of the 45 cases are in Christian County.

The state says two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine is 97% effective in preventing measles.

>> Joining us today is Mr.

Brent Cooper, the president and CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber.

Thank you so much for sitting down in the studio with us today.

>> Thanks for having me.

>> Absolutely.

So let's talk about kind of the the reason or the peg, I guess, for you being here is that you are set to transition out of your role as the president and CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber.

Talk to us just about that transition, the decision of why this is the right time and what the future looks like for you.

>> Yes.

So I started an IT company, 27 years ago.

This will be our 28th year.

And our company is is going through unprecedented growth.

We very well may double in size in the next year, year or two.

And so this seemed like a really good time, especially because we had a vice presidency.

Ford, who was retiring.

And this was the best time to do this for the chamber.

This is the beginning of my 10th year as Chamber of Commerce president, our ninth year was arguably the best we've had in decades.

From attendance, engagement, financially, any measure you decide.

This was a great year for our chamber.

And so everyone felt like this is a good time for, for me to step away and go back to see forward.

>> Yeah.

Well, you gave me a good segue there.

I wanted to ask, of course, about what have been the highlights, the achievements, things that you've seen come to fruition for the region since being in that role?

Like you said, for about a decade now?

>> Yeah.

Northern Kentucky is really booming.

I think over the last decade, we've led the state in GDP growth.

And as a key part of of the metros in the state, with Louisville, Lexington, we feel like Northern Kentucky is is the place to be.

We're proud Kentuckians and all of the things that have been happening at the chamber really reflect the work that we're doing.

Our workforce, talent, strategies, efforts.

That is the number one issue.

The business community, one of the biggest is our business councils, Northern Kentucky, as you know, is 37 cities across three counties in the same geographic footprint of Fayette County.

We have almost all of those cities.

And so while we're not a Lexington or Louisville, we have that economic impact.

And so we've decided to do these business councils where we're going to those different cities and having better dialog, better interactions.

So that's one of the things we're really proud of.

All the different aspects of Northern Kentucky are being included now in our various programs.

And so for those reasons, I think it's been been the best year.

>> Yeah.

Going forward, you know, as someone who, even though you might not be in the role once you've been in Northern Kentucky, you kind of keep a passion for it.

In a sense.

I feel the same way.

What do you feel like are the greatest?

Maybe I like to do this twofold.

The challenges, but the opportunities to come for the region.

>> So Northern Kentucky is maybe the place in the state because we have so many different counties and cities that border one another, where you have to collaborate, you have to work together to get anything done.

That is our superpower, as we say, it can also be our Kryptonite if we do not work well together, we can't advance the ball the way we'd like to.

And so I think constantly reminding people to come together, collaborate, work together, regardless of party.

You know, Northern Kentucky is different political perspectives.

So we say regardless, come get engaged with the fellow business community, with your chamber of Commerce and with all the different institutions that exist to make it a better place and make our Commonwealth better.

>> How does Northern Kentucky kind of how is it distinct by itself?

You know, it's unique in that way.

But also it's got to coexist with the rest of the state, especially in Frankfort.

So how do you see the future of that?

>> Yeah, no, that's a great question.

You know, our number one issue is attracting, retaining, growing talent.

Talent is the overarching thing.

But you can't do that if you don't have income aligned housing solutions.

Northern Kentucky alone is 6600 homes short right at the moment of what we need.

So our Chamber of Commerce is constantly reminding people to come up with solutions that help solve the housing challenge.

It is something that can be applied statewide, various things.

One of the things we're looking at is a housing fund that will help some of the developers and some of the cities and counties address some of the development costs that come up.

Another big one is getting people into the trades.

We do not have enough plumbers, electricians, I.T.

guys and so forth that we need to have in our community to solve the income aligned housing challenge and to get businesses engaged.

And then lastly, you know, infrastructure is a big topic for us.

All of those things, housing, infrastructure, the impact, the workforce.

We just announced broke ground on the biggest project in Kentucky history with the Brant Spence Bridge.

We've got a new Fourth Street bridge between Newport and Covington.

All of those are visible examples of why we need more infrastructure investments in our state.

>> I want to drop some statistics here for for you and for our viewers.

So since you've been in your position as president and CEO, Chamber membership has grown by 22%.

Now, around 1750 members.

Put that in perspective.

You know, for someone who is not even maybe familiar with the Chamber of Commerce, how does that compare to the rest of the state?

And what are you proud?

How proud are you of that statistic?

>> We are always one of the top three largest chambers in the state.

Louisville, Lexington, Northern Kentucky are the largest by membership.

I always used to joke with with Bob quick, who just retired from Commerce Lexington I would say we have 1750 members.

How many do you have?

And he would say 1751.

And that was kind of the running joke.

But we're always one of the largest, you know, Kentucky is a state does really well with our chambers of commerce.

We actually have 80 chambers in the state.

Ours is obviously one of the largest, but they all play a critical role.

>> One final question for you always.

We talked about the future, but I always like to end on a note like this.

Any specific project or you know, of course we can talk about the Brant Spence, Brant Spence Bridge and so many other things.

Any projects that you have your eyes on that you would like to really see come to fruition for Northern Kentucky?

>> You know, we're always talking about child care and preparing kids.

So they can read on grade level by the third grade.

That is a key metric because if you're not reading on grade level by the third grade and you're in poverty, you're much more likely to go to prison than you would to be working afterwards.

And so that's a key issue for us.

After the Brant Spence Bridge, I would say the housing is probably our top number one overarching issue, but also, you know, on marketing, our state has been coming up more and more comparing our how we market our state to Tennessee or to Michigan.

That's an opportunity for us.

And we border Ohio and Indiana.

So we are always competing.

Now we're part of the Greater Cincinnati area.

I call it competition, right?

We cooperate, but we also compete.

And how they are marketing their states is better at times than what we're doing.

And so I applaud the governor's office on what they've been trying to do.

I also applaud the state legislature.

You know, everybody is focused, I think, on on recognizing that we have to attract and in addition to retain talent, the more we talk about how wonderful our state is, it will help us all, regardless of what part of the state you're from.

>> Excellent.

Well, I'm sure the future for you and Northern Kentucky in the chamber is very bright.

So we wish you luck in all your future endeavors.

Thank you for stopping in the studio today.

>> Thank you so much.

>> The University of Kentucky cut the ribbon today for a 300 zero square foot site in Versailles.

>> This facility is going to really help us advance not only our teaching extension, but research as well.

>> How it will be able to better support Kentucky's producers and processors.

That's tomorrow on Kentucky edition.

We hope you'll join us again tomorrow night at 630 eastern, 530 central for Kentucky Edition, where we inform, connect and inspire.

[MUSIC] Subscribe to our Kentucky Edition Email newsletters and watch full episodes and clips at ket.org.

[MUSIC] You can also send us your story ideas at PublicAffairs at ket.org and follow KET on Facebook and Instagram.

I'm Marvin Bartlett, thank you for joining us.

Make the rest of your evening a good one.