And it's hard not to be feel not to feel like we've we've been punched in the gut a little bit.

The governor tours flood damage in western Kentucky and talks about the need to act now to prevent future disasters.

Fire burns a Bowling Green building building with a very well known tenant.

You can go to a farm that's 20 minutes away.

You can go to a distillery that's 10 minutes away.

And you have this culture that you can really sink your teeth into.

And a nationally famous chef talks about why people from across America suddenly love Louisville.

Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions, the Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition on this Friday, July the 21st.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for starting off your weekend with us.

Cleanup continues in western Kentucky after massive rain on Wednesday that flooded homes and roads.

Parts of Graves County received more than 11 inches of rain and just 24 hours setting a new state record.

Governor Andy Beshear toured Mayfield today.

This is the same region of the state devastated by deadly tornadoes in December of 2021.

The governor says Kentucky needs to be ready for more of this in the future.

And now over the last, what, a year and a half now, we have seen whether the types of which we've never seen before.

And that's what we have to prepare for again now, especially as we replace aging infrastructure, water and sewer systems.

We have to prepare for what was previously the unimaginable.

We've got to make sure that the areas that flooded here don't flood again as we build back, as we help make repairs, especially to groups that have been hit not once but twice, that we do this right.

I still believe even after getting hit twice in one region, the fact that everybody is still with us today is a blessing.

I also believe it shows that Kentuckians are more weather aware, taking fewer risks, ensuring that they're watching all your stations and the meteorologist and getting the updates on the radio.

It is so important.

Mayfield's mayor, Kathy Oman, says she was impressed again by Kentuckians willingness to help out, not just after the crisis but during it.

Just ask as Eastern Kentucky.

We reached out to eastern Kentucky after the tornado here and we were thankful to help them.

We've been contacted by them to Mayor Liz Stapleton of Christiansburg, right in the middle of all that, told me yesterday that y'all need a vote and he was ready to bring one.

Just in Madisonville actually locked up.

You should have been there with me.

And you said, even if you don't need anything, we've got coke in here.

So it's amazing to me.

It's not surprising.

It's still amazing to me how all across Kentucky, what has happened to us in the last year and a half, how we stick together and when somebody needs help, it is Johnny on the spot?

What do you do?

It's not just damage to homes.

There are reports some crops on western Kentucky farms are a total loss because of the flooding.

U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell discussed the western Kentucky flooding and praised Kentucky's first responders in a speech yesterday on the U.S. Senate floor.

Flash flooding was especially severe in western Kentucky.

Residents are still rebuilding after tornadoes prominent in the region.

Just 19 months ago.

First responders have been moving quickly to rescue and evacuate.

Those impacted.

And I understand that so far there are no reported injuries or deaths.

I'm thankful for the heroic work to keep Kentuckians safe.

Western Kentucky University is letting students affected by the floods move into dormitories early.

WQ says it estimates about 35 of its students are dealing with flooding and that number could go up.

Now an update on Bowling Green Police Officer Matt Davis, who was shot on July 6th.

The city manager says Officer Davis is now out of intensive care.

He was shot eight times, including both legs and is now going through rehab.

He still has a bullet in his neck and one near his spine.

The city manager also says Davis is improving, but he has a long road to recovery.

State police are still investigating the shooting.

The suspected gunman was killed.

The Bowling Green Fire Department remains on scene of a fire in downtown Bowling Green.

The historic building includes the state office of U.S.

Senator Rand Paul.

It broke out overnight and crews tell us there is extensive damage.

Senator Paul's office issued a comment saying, quote, We are thankful for the Bowling Green first responders who arrived quickly to the saying to put out the fire and are continuing to work with authorities to assess damages and to determine a cause.

We have a very well established emergency management plan and have the ability to continue operations that will not impact our work.

Helping Kentuckians, end quote.

Senator Paul is also pushing a new bill he says will fight government censorship.

On Thursday, Paul introduced the Free Speech Protection Act.

Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio is sponsoring the bill in the House.

The bill, if passed, would prevent federal employees and contractors from censoring and attacking speech protected by the First Amendment, and it would punish anyone who violates the law in 2021.

YouTube took down a video of Senator Paul saying cloth masks were ineffective and stopping COVID.

YouTube said Paul's remarks contained factual inaccuracies.

Paul says this is an example of the censorship he's trying to stop.

So-called forever chemicals are contaminating Kentucky's drinking water.

Now state lawmakers are considering ways to address the matter.

This group of chemicals is also referred to as P Falls.

It's been widely used in consumer and industrial products for decades, including in things like nonstick cookware, food, packaging and foam used to fight fires.

They are called forever chemicals because they don't break down easily and they end up in landfills and find their way into our water sources.

The chemicals are linked to a number of health issues, including low birth weight and cancer.

Here in the Commonwealth, a 2019 study by the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection found forever chemicals and half of the water treatment plants it tested, representing 1.7 million Kentuckians.

Since then, the agency has sampled more than 100 drinking water plants in the state.

You can see here the squares in red, blue and purple.

So where forever chemicals were detected.

Yesterday, the commissioner of the department discussed the findings with lawmakers.

There are pending or potential federal rulemaking coming down related to pass and that would affect the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation Recovery Act, which the federal hazardous waste laws, state Superfund and others.

And in anticipation of those things coming down, we want to be positioned in Kentucky to have some level of data because we think that we're the most effective agency.

We believe we're much more effective at managing environmental issues in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and we want to be prepared to do that.

Last year, Louisville Public Media reported the town of South Shore, Kentucky, and Greenup County had some of the highest levels of falls, contamination and drinking water in the state.

During yesterday's meeting, State Senator Robin Webb, who represents the area, said No one on the local level was required to tell the community about the problem.

And so, sure, we can meet the people.

There's no notice requirement to tell people they were being exposed.

There was no notice requirement people.

And that's a problem.

I think we all have the right to be notified when we're dealing with the commodities that's necessary for life.

And those are just things that we've lived through lately that I don't want to go through again.

And I certainly don't want any anybody to.

State legislation to regulate P Files in Kentucky has been introduced in recent years but has failed to gain enough support.

Now, some lawmakers are also considering ways to simplify Kentucky's expungement process.

Currently, state law allows Kentuckians with certain low level convictions to have their criminal records erased, But the process for doing so can be complicated.

State Representative Kim Moser, a Republican from Taylor Mills, says less than 10% of people who are eligible for expungement actually follow through.

She sponsored the Clean Slate Act, which did not pass the legislative session earlier this year.

It would require the state to notify people who are eligible for expungement.

The idea drew mixed reaction during a meeting in Frankfort this week, including from one lawmaker who said businesses want to know who they're hiring.

We have a court system and we have the sentences that they give out to to individuals for their crimes.

So, you know, I think that maybe we should let individuals serve out their sentence and get on with their life.

That is the point of corrections.

So thanks.

The Clean Slate Act could be filed again for the General Assembly to consider when it reconvenes in January.

Some lawmakers are calling on Governor Beshear to reopen a youth detention center in northern Kentucky.

Earlier this year, the Beshear administration started moving juveniles from the detention center in Campbell County to other facilities.

He cited staffing shortages as the reason.

Joining a group of northern Kentucky lawmakers yesterday, State Senator John Schickel pleaded with the governor to reexamine the issue again.

I go back to we have the jail right behind us as a staff and we don't close the jail.

We find a way to get people to work.

It's tough.

We have a dispatch center up in Florence.

We can't find enough people to work.

We don't close the dispatch center.

We find a way to do it.

All the police department stores.

This is.

This is not a unique problem, especially here in northern Kentucky, where really, we're Cincinnati.

But you find a way to make it work.

During a committee hearing in Frankfurt today, officials with the Department of Juvenile Justice said recent actions by the administration and the legislature have helped recruit new corrections officers.

But officials said the department is still more than 100 positions short of its goal and that recruiting in certain areas of the start is proving to be difficult.

Although we have seen significant staffing improvements, we still have areas that have a long way to go and are more urban areas where competition is greater.

Recruitment and retention is still an ongoing issue.

For instance, in Campbell County, we've seen a growth in correctional officers from two in February to 14.

However, we still has a we still have a significantly amount of vacancies in that area.

Similar in Jefferson County, we've seen correctional officer numbers nearly double from 6 to 11.

But again, we still have a significant amount of vacancies as well.

Reforming the state's juvenile justice system was a major issue during the 2023 legislative session.

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 162, which among other things, appropriated more than $25 million for DOJ staff raises to help with the staff shortage.

And a programing note for you.

Monday night, join us for a town hall style program on the state's response to the drug crisis.

You'll hear from drug recovery advocates, those in recovery providers and policymakers about how Kentucky is battling the opioid epidemic.

That and more on disrupting addiction, a forum Monday night at eight Eastern, seven Central right here on Katie.

Time now to go inside Kentucky politics and talk about some of the major political news of the week with some of our favorites here, our election night commentators, former Kentucky secretaries of state.

Bob Babich, who's the founder of Bob Babich, co-founder, and Trey Grayson, who is with Frost Brown and Todd and runs their Civic Point initiative.

Good to see you both.

Gracie, a governor's race is all I'm going to have to talk about, so let's go with you first, Bob.

Things are getting interesting this week.

Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman officially filed for reelection.

And then the next day we got the news that Robby Mills from Henderson, current state Senate senator, is going to be the running mate to Daniel Cameron.

So how important is the number two position anyway?

Well, it's important and it was important that Cameron get a running mate before Fancy Farm or people would be saying, What's going on?

Mills is popular.

He's from West Kentucky.

Small business does a great job as a committee chair.

Obviously, he has the legislative ties, a lot of positives in that pick and it certainly had some good bounce from what I can tell.

Well, the legislative things that he's taking up, of course, he's been a defender of coal.

Also, the transgender ban for sports, for girls.

Some of those big kind of weighty issues.

But he didn't really seem to be in front of some of those issues as much.

So it seems like for many people would seem like an odd choice, perhaps.

Well, he also I worked with him some on election security.

That was one where he was kind of front and center.

He's the chair of the state local government committee.

Right.

And with his background as a former city council member in Henderson, kind of working his way up because he was a state rep as well.

Yeah, he's not the biggest name in Frankfort.

So, you know, you could arguably call this a safe choice.

But I think, as Bob pointed out on the issues, on charisma, he's very well liked in Frankfurt.

And I think the most important thing is Daniel now has General Cameron now has a guy I used to work with.

I'm sorry for disrespecting, recalling very first name.

He now has an official surrogate that can go around the state, which is something that Governor Beshear has had with Lieutenant Governor Coleman.

And so now Mills and he can divide and conquer in the lead up to a fancy farm, do it at a fancy farm and then kind of go all the way around.

He's also, you know, western Kentucky was an area where Governor Bashir, because of his family lineage and his leadership during some of the natural disasters, the tornado, the tornadoes out there now, and even this week's flooding, that's an area where Bashir probably hopes to steal some votes.

It's an area that's become very Republican in last few years.

And Mills is presence from that region is helpful.

He's also you know, he's a dry cleaner.

He's a small businessman and he can tell that story.

And it's an interesting contrast between two attorneys and an educator and this business person.

And I think that's another aspect of all this.

So, Bob, how our national pundits sizing up the governor's race in Kentucky, it's really the only game in town this election cycle.

Yeah, we know Perry Bacon, who writes extensively.

He just interviewed a colleague of Professor Sabato at University of Virginia.

They often offer opinions on races, he said, kind of.

But still, the headline is I'd still rather be Bashir.

But definitely acknowledging that this is a close race.

He also said that both these candidates have a number of positives, and I believe that's true.

I think people see them positively if they can look objectively at the two candidates.

Another truism, he said, When you have the partizanship against, you go local.

If it's with you, go national.

So we might see Attorney General Cameron more and more doing the contrast with National because it would benefit him if you noticed the red wave statistically a little bit more every month in Kentucky for Governor Bashir is localized because of all the economic development announcements, including another one in the last 24 hours.

They just keep coming.

They keep working toward those, and that gives a local edge.

I do think the point about West Kentucky is important.

Last time the race was, you know, just a few thousand votes if you pick a popular person from a relatively large area, Davis Anderson, that region and few people take that seriously, then that adds up for an advantage.

But doesn't Daniel Cameron have his work cut out to do to show and prove a compelling case for why voters should switch to him and not to vote for Governor Andy Beshear, given all that he has had to govern through and his first term?

Yeah, and incumbents generally start out as in as I realize, you know, we've had two incumbents lose reelection in Kentucky.

So, in fact, the most recent can come and Governor Bevin lost reelection.

But and we see that around the country.

So Cameron's task is to get those Republicans, because Kentucky, at the end of the day, is essentially a Republican state, not 8020 Republican, but it's a majority Republican state.

If you look at all the elections of the last four years.

But you've got Republicans or at least Republican leaning voters who like Governor Beshear.

So one opportunity is to try to tarnish that shine in the campaign, you know, campaign with messaging, maybe things like some of the controversy.

This week, we have the audit that's going to be conducted probably not in time to have results before the election, but there ought to be an audit.

And that's a lot of money, a lot of government money that's being spent.

So much for the eastern Kentucky and western Kentucky relief funds.

And they were transparent that they decided to get as much money out the door as quickly as possible, knowing that there were going to be some issues.

And we saw that in the COVID pandemic all across the country.

And so some of the price of speed sometimes are people who shouldn't gotten money.

And so what we want to do is see what happened and then also figure out how we can do a better job in the future.

So there's then there's the campaign, the positive part of the campaign.

Your Bob mentioned the nationalization of the race.

One of the things I noticed Cameron trying to do is do that, but in a sort of sophisticated way, by talking about Kentucky values and saying people say, I want to nationalize this race now, I want to localize this race, I want to talk about Kentucky.

And here's why.

Beshear is not showing Kentucky values.

And so he's trying to do the national with this interesting frame.

So I agree.

I think Bashir's a slight favorite.

We had a poll come out this week that showed a little bit of a lead, a little bit bigger than a slight favorite.

I think it's 50 to 42, but that means six were undecided.

That was the Prichard Committee, right?

Yeah, The picture committee, which is a more progressive, liberal leaning type of institution that does educational advocacy.

That's correct.

So it was a ten point lead.

But then the other way of looking at that is he only had 52% of the vote.

And so you don't really know where you are right now.

You're probably those six probably lean towards Cameron, or at least that's his hope.

He'd say, well, the race hasn't really started.

My running mate, it's brand new.

We haven't really kicked off the unofficial start of the campaign with Fancy Farm.

I'm not on the air with my campaign, so it's going to be a fun next couple of months, but it's all going to be about it.

You know, the western Kentucky, eastern Kentucky voters, keeping them home or getting them to come back home and then in the suburbs.

Yeah, You know, Bevin underperformed in suburbs in northern Kentucky, Louisville, Lexington and some of the ring suburbs.

And can Cameron do better?

And it's getting those folks who voted for Beshear last time or like his leadership, will they stick with their party that they normally vote for or they stick with the guy whose performance they like?

Yeah, Real quickly, Bob Rock has come across Cameron and Beshear is exceedingly positive overall.

The old truism still plays.

We vote for people we like who are like us, and if you have an identity with either candidate or or pull toward either candidate, their personality, their pitch, their vision of the future, that's where you will likely go.

This will move around a bit.

A lot of work is being done right now.

The picture folks out, they're doing 40,000 door knocks this week, 45,000 next week already have done 100,000.

That's a heck of a lot of door knocking and the heat of the summer.

And they did this the first time around and it worked for them.

So it's a repeat, right?

Yeah.

And they should be better positioned because he's had the entire time to get ready for it, saved his money from his primary and build it up for us.

Cameron is still getting organized.

Well, we never have enough time with the former Kentucky secretaries of state, of course, where you all know that this was once his intern.

So we always have to get that in there.

Good to see you.

Try to fancy farm, see it?

Fancy farm.

They'll be there, too.

Bridges in Laurel County have new names.

The bridge over Interstate 75 on Kentucky, Route 192 is now named after London Police officer Logan Medlock, who was killed when an impaired driver hit his Palouse police cruiser last October.

And a bridge over the interstate on Kentucky.

Route 80 is named after a school resource officer, Travis Hurley of the London Police.

He died of COVID in January of 2022, and it's believed he was exposed to COVID while on duty.

You'll see flags at half staff tomorrow at state buildings in honor of Navy Seaman First Class Elmer P Lawrence of Park City.

He died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.

His remains weren't identified until 2021.

He was on board the USS Oklahoma.

LAWRENCE His funeral is tomorrow at Shiloh General Baptist Church in Railton with burial at Shiloh Cemetery.

Louisville is becoming a destination for people all over the country because of the food, the culture and the atmosphere.

Just ask Chef Edward Lee, a Brooklyn native who moved to Louisville about 20 years ago and is now a well-known TV cooking expert.

He sat down with our Chelsea Starks as part of our series Inside Louisville.

From a business sense, you know, I've been here 20, 21, 22 years now.

Louisville's changed a lot in that time, and I don't know if I would be here still if the city had grown as much as it has.

There's something very authentic about this city, and you see it in the people, You see it and you know, the architecture and the leadership.

And you know, 20 years ago, my friends from New York didn't want to come here, you know, or if they came here, like, it's a nice little town, you know.

Now they come here and they're craving something more authentic than that, that that urban lifestyle, you know, And they come here and they're like, wow, this is so cool.

You've got all these people, you got all this neighborhood shops and you got all this artisanal things happening and you get this growing and you can go to a farm that's 20 minutes away.

You can go to a distillery that's 10 minutes away, and you have this culture that you can really sink your teeth into.

And it's not just it's not an invented culture, you know, it's been here for generations.

And so there's something very real about that.

And I do think in this time where, you know, everything is so disposable, everything is so quick, everything is so, you know, Internet like ten second videos.

I do think people want to root themselves into something, something that's going to last longer than that, than a TikTok video.

And when you come to Kentucky, you know, Louisville is one thing, but, you know, you drive out to the countryside, you have this sense and this feeling that this thing has been here for 50, 60, 80, 100 years, and it's going to be here in 100 years from now.

And I think there's something very gratifying about that.

And I think there's something very you know, it's very strong.

It's very seductive, you know, And I have you know, in the last two years, I've seen more people moving to Louisville now from the big cities.

Used to be the opposite, right, that everyone left for.

And now people from the big cities are coming back here.

And that's something very encouraging.

And you can see Kelsey's full interview with Chef Edward Lee Sunday at noon Eastern, 11 a.m. Central on inside Louisville right here on Katie.

And enjoy music, science and Christmas in July.

Our Toby Gibbs looks at some great activities for the weekend and beyond.

And tonight's around the Commonwealth want to be able to identify the plants and animals around you.

How about the constellations above your head?

The naturalist week is perfect for you.

Blue Lakes Battlefield State Resort Park is going to teach you how to be a naturalist through workshops, hikes, camping and more.

It's this Wednesday through Sunday in Carlisle.

Christmas is five long months away, right?

Wrong.

Head to Big Bone Lake State historic site for its Christmas in July celebration.

And feel the holiday cheer without the winter chill.

Now through Sunday they'll have Mary activities like candy cane relays do it yourself Christmas ceramics and more.

Starting tomorrow and running all week is the Casey County Fair and Liberty.

Check out the Sleepy Hollow petting zoo.

The high octane tractor pulls and the heart racing rodeo.

They got everything you need for some family fun at the fair.

The Jumping Jive Big band is coming to Boone Woods County Park tomorrow.

Bob.

Bob down to Burlington to hear energetic swinging arrangements for all ages.

Bring some dancing shoes and prepare to jive at this lively event.

And happening in Henderson is the Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriters Festival starting this Wednesday and running through Saturday.

You can hear intimate acoustic versions of award winning songs as well as the stories behind the songwriting.

This up close experience with some of the greatest storytellers in music is sure to be unforgettable, and that's what's happening around the Commonwealth.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

Thank you, Toby Gibbs, and thank you for being with us all this week on Kentucky Edition.

We sure hope to see you right back here Monday night at 630 Eastern, 530 Central, where we inform, Connect and Inspire and till I see you then, have a great weekend ahead.

Good night.