[music] >> It's a federal project, a federal priority, because it began as a federal project.

[MUSIC] >> Green lighting a green River project in a rural Kentucky county.

>> If we are looking to be an economic engine in the U.S.

and we are working with companies to come here, we have to be able to take care of their kids.

>> Yeah.

[MUSIC] >> How Louisville is taking a new approach to the idea of education before kindergarten.

[MUSIC] >> Well, people have no idea what you're going through.

[MUSIC] And unless you know you've gone through it yourself.

[MUSIC] >> And these athletes have something in common, they're all getting a second chance.

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

[MUSIC] Good evening, and welcome to Kentucky Edition for Wednesday, May the 27th.

I'm Christy Dutton in our studios here in Louisville, filling in for Renee Shaw this evening.

Thank you so much for joining us.

A southern Kentucky county will get major upgrades to its water system in Edmonson County.

Low water levels and parts of the green River have created high concerns.

Senator Mitch McConnell and Congressman Brett Guthrie were among those in Brownsville Tuesday to announce millions in funding for the project.

>> Today is truly a monumental day for Edmonson County as we celebrate an investment that will have a lasting impact on the people of this county for generations to come.

>> That investment is more than $29.7 million in state and federal funding for improvements at Edmonson County Water District.

>> This came about because there were dams and locks that were built by the federal government over 100 years ago that needed to be either repaired, replaced, or removed.

And so the decision was to remove them for this area.

>> A Corps of Engineers decision that led to concerns and challenges during dry seasons.

>> By doing that, it lowered the water level to the point where there was risk to the intake for Edmonson County water to be able to provide water for their citizens.

There's been a lot of frustration with the things that have happened.

It's a challenge.

A big part of the year to be able to pump water out.

>> State Representative Michael Meredith is in Edmonson County, native his family here for generations.

>> The people here are extremely important to me.

They're my friends.

They're my neighbors.

They're my family members.

Making sure that they have good, clean drinking water is one of the most important priorities that I have in this role.

>> He says.

The problem started to surface in the summer of 2022, when the Corps of Engineers began removing locks and dams they believed were aging and deteriorating.

>> We saw the water level go down much more than had been predicted and projected by the Corps of Engineers.

>> He says water levels were 4 to 8ft below initial projections.

The solution has been a shared effort between local, state and federal governments.

>> I've responded to what a lot of other folks have done, both at the state, local and and in the U.S.

House.

That's why we're all here together.

This is a good example of collaborative work.

>> The funding is primarily for two major projects to build a new intake structure on the green River, and for modernizing and making upgrades to the water treatment plant.

Congressman Guthrie says it will help meet the needs of a growing community.

>> You look at the area of this county that's next to Warren County.

That's where the Transpark, that's where a lot of the growth is coming.

So access to utilities, access to clean drinking water in the volume that's necessary for economic development is going to be accessible to this area.

And I think it's going to continue to grow.

>> To have Senator McConnell and Congressman Guthrie take the interest that they did in this project to right the wrong that was created by the Corps of Engineers means a great deal, because we couldn't have done it just the local level or just the state level by ourselves.

It took that federal investment to actually make it happen.

>> Meredith says his constituents are grateful to see the project move forward.

>> They're happy to see resolution.

>> For Kentucky addition.

I'm Laura Rogers.

>> The Edmonson County Water District serves roughly 12,000 people.

The project will now move forward with engineering work, competitive bidding and the construction process.

We also talked to Senator McConnell about his time on Capitol Hill coming to a close.

The 84 year old former majority leader has been elected seven times to Washington, and this is his last term.

He says he's looking ahead to life after politics but still plans to stay engaged.

>> Be elected.

>> I'm getting ready to figure out what to do with the rest of my life, and I can tell you, my wife doesn't want me home for lunch, and I think I'm going to still be involved in Kentucky.

Try to be helpful, probably have an office at the McConnell center at U of L, and be available to these guys at the state level and federal level.

If they're interested in having a speaker from time to time.

I'm interested in doing that.

We're also going to continue to live in Washington, and I don't know how to monetize what I've done all these years, but I'm not going to be a lobbyist.

And I wouldn't go to me for a simple will.

So I'm not sure I could be a lawyer at this point, but hopefully there's some way for me to enhance my income.

After half a century of being on a public payroll.

>> McConnell points out he was 42 when he was first elected, so he spent half of his life in the U.S.

Senate.

Congressman Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat from Louisville, unveiled his proposal to give young adults a guaranteed $500 a month from the federal government.

That proposed payment would go to nearly every 18 to 24 year old.

He says while there's a robust safety net for school children and senior citizens, there's nothing for those just starting a life on their own.

He made the announcement today alongside a leading progressive in Congress, U.S.

Representative Greg Casar of Texas.

>> If you're starting a race and you're starting from behind, and then you're not giving starting blocks, how do we expect you to succeed?

How can you make good decisions when you only have bad options in front of you?

Already we know that 18 to 24 year olds, 1 in 4 of them are going hungry.

Too many of them can't afford rent, can't afford to have a roof over their head.

We know 50% of Americans don't have access to $500 cash.

It's even worse for our young adults.

And that's why we want to come up with a policy that works.

>> Mcgarvey's plan is based off a pilot program that kicked off in 2022 called Why a Lyft?

And that program, 150 young adults in Louisville received the $500 monthly payment for one year.

>> The evidence was clear when these young people had the flexibility to meet their own most pressing needs, whether that was housing, school, childcare, transportation.

They invested in themselves and their community.

Participants were three times more likely to be able to absorb a financial emergency.

They were 32% more likely to be working full time.

Half of them pursued education or training, and they were 70% less likely to be evicted.

>> I joined and age out of the program within a year, but within that year, I have had so many opportunities and possibilities presented to me that just weren't.

I just couldn't see them before the program.

>> The Progressive Caucus in the U.S.

House says this is just one of many bills its members have filed to tackle affordability.

Congressman McGarvey has also introduced a bill to help restore the Ohio River.

This spring, dozens of people have paddled hundreds of miles along the river to highlight the recreational opportunities and restoration needs of the crucial waterway.

The challenge started in 2021, and this year's trip is the longest yet.

Our June Leffler met these paddlers in Westport, Kentucky.

>> The 2026 Ohio River challenge spans nearly 500 miles, with stops in more than a dozen Kentucky River towns.

>> This is our sixth annual challenge, where we paddle stretches of the Ohio River in big 30 foot canoes.

This year is our biggest yet 488 miles between Huntington, West Virginia and Evansville, Indiana.

And our goal on this expedition is to promote river recreation and to highlight the need for ecological restoration.

This is the first through paddle of our route since the Ohio River way was designated as a National Water Trail in June 2025.

What it means is that there is a formal stamp of approval, and that this is a national destination for folks that want to plan multi-day paddling, boating or even rowing expeditions on the Ohio River.

>> The 23 day journey is a concerted effort to get more people out on the water, including policy makers.

>> Just paddled our way through the rain and the downpour and talked and sung songs and had a blast.

>> We had an opportunity today to paddle with probably about 25 people, ranging in age from 16 years old to about 75 years old.

This is an ageless sport, if you will.

Wellness is for everyone.

>> When you're on the river, you see things totally different.

We all often drive along the river, but we don't look at our land and the beautiful nature that Kentucky has from that perspective.

We have so many, so many waters in Kentucky with our with our lakes and our state parks that are really utilized well.

But is our river utilized quite as much?

I don't know.

>> Alongside these canoes is a floating lab for college research projects.

>> And the research we've been working on is looking at all of the tributaries and the confluences with the Ohio River.

We are taking samples of sediment that has been deposited in that in those areas going to be used kind of as a tool for communities to protect themselves from erosion.

>> The nonprofit organizing this trip, the Ohio River way, works year round to promote tourism and other economic drivers in river towns.

It also advocates for the ecological well-being of the river.

>> The river has drastically increased in water quality over the decades since the Clean Water Act.

It generally meets recreational standards.

It is already time for us to wrap our arms around and embrace the river as our region's greatest natural asset.

At the same time, there's a lot more that we can do.

So right now in Congress, there is a bill to restore the Ohio River basin.

It would authorize $350 million a year for five years for projects related to water quality, toxic pollution, remediation, habitat restoration, flooding mitigation, and recreational infrastructure.

It's non-regulatory and it's bipartisan.

>> Louisville's Democratic congressman is pushing this legislation.

>> It's the largest body of water in the entire country that doesn't receive a single dime in dedicated federal funding.

And the thing we know that if we do nothing, then the Ohio River is not going to be here for future generations.

And we've seen other federal initiatives that are really successful the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Initiative.

And so we want to make sure that the Ohio River gets its due.

>> The Ohio River Way Challenge landed in Louisville this past Memorial Day due to weather concerns.

The challenge will stay on shore and launch again in the fall.

Casting off for Evansville, Indiana for Kentucky Edition.

I'm June Leffler.

>> Thank you.

June.

Well, Congressman Mcgarvey's Ohio River Restoration Program Act has 15 co-sponsors and bipartisan support, though it hasn't been heard on the floor yet, McGarvey is pushing for that funding in a larger waterways package.

[MUSIC] We have reaction tonight to an EPA proposal to cut coal ash regulations, and a coal miner has been killed in Kentucky.

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

>> For the first time in three years, a Kentuckian has been killed in a coal mining accident.

EKU radio says 25 year old Preston Pollard of Perry County, died while working on equipment in the Combs Branch mine.

[MUSIC] The cause is under investigation.

[MUSIC] This is the fifth coal mining death nationwide this year, and the first in Kentucky since 2020.

Three mining deaths have declined as the number of coal jobs has declined.

Kentucky now has about 4000 people working in coal mines.

[MUSIC] The Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a rollback in wastewater emission limits involving coal ash from coal fired plants.

Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal that contains hazardous materials, including arsenic, lead, mercury and chromium.

The Kentucky Lantern reports environmental groups are blasting the proposal.

The EPA says it will make electricity more affordable.

[MUSIC] From the Danville Advocate Messenger, the state has confirmed invasive Alabama bass hybrids in Lake Linville in Rockcastle County, a first in Kentucky.

[MUSIC] Alabama bass hybrids can hurt Kentucky's smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and spotted bass through inbreeding and competition.

The state is still working to see how many bass hybrids are in Lake Linville.

People are urged not to move fish or plants from one body of water to another.

[MUSIC] It was a bittersweet graduation last Friday for students at Hopkinsville and Christian County high schools.

It's the last such ceremony for both schools before they consolidate next August.

The Hoptown Chronicle reports the new school will retain the name Christian County High School.

[MUSIC] The school colors will be mainly blue and orange, a mixture of colors from the two schools.

The school will use Hoptown Tiger mascot.

[MUSIC] With headlines around Kentucky.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

[MUSIC] >> Thanks, Toby.

Well, change is coming to the Kentucky Youth Advocates, a nonprofit working to help Kentucky's children.

Executive director Doctor Terry Brooks, a frequent Kentucky.

Tonight, guest, will step down after 21 years.

That's effective July 1st.

He'll be replaced by Doctor Shannon Moody, the organization's chief policy and strategy officer.

The KY 50th anniversary is next year.

Right now, in Jefferson County, 61% of children who enter JCPS in kindergarten aren't ready.

Louisville's Thrive by Five initiative is a plan to get every three and four year old access to early learning opportunities before they go to kindergarten.

Part of that is a quality plus pilot program that's providing resources and helping parents access 26 existing early learning and child care centers.

Our Kelsey Starks has more in this Sunday's Inside Louisville.

>> Our Quality Plus sites have been staples in our community for a very long time.

And so as we were creating this thrive model, taking the provider voice and implementing it was what we really wanted to focus on.

They're they're doing the work every day.

They are the ones interacting with the families every single day at pick up and drop off.

And so it felt like the right thing to do to ask them, where are our gaps?

How do we make this better?

And we're really seeing some amazing results by focusing on the providers.

>> Yeah.

Nothing is done in isolation.

Yeah.

Decisions are not done in isolation, as Raelene mentioned, and we've talked about previously, is that, you know, we're listening to the providers and their needs in order to make sure that we're giving them what they need.

>> Speaking of listening, what have you heard so far?

I mean, this has been going on now for two years.

What are you hearing from those providers?

What are you hearing from families?

What's been the feedback?

>> So I'll talk a little bit about the families.

Some of what we heard are stories like we heard earlier in the show about families, parents who do want to work, but the costs of childcare, early learning was just not possible.

And so we have some stories even of a family who the dad is a corrections officer, and the mom is a teacher and one of the older siblings has special needs.

And the additional costs to meet the special needs child was keeping the younger child from attending a quality early learning setting.

And so being able to help that family who is, you know, trying to make ends meet, they're both public servants in every aspect of the word, but helping get that little one into an early learning setting is really going to be transformational for that family.

And we're seeing a lot of those stories.

You know, just this morning I was looking at an application and the family was $300 a year over the state cap level.

$300, that's what, $27 or so a month, right?

And so we know that there's this, this middle group that really needs assistance.

And it will be life changing for that child.

>> And it's you see it as an economic development issue.

>> Absolutely.

Yeah.

Whether we're talking about workforce in the sense of the early childhood education workforce or our workforce in general, and recruiting new talent to the city.

I mean, if we are looking to be an economic engine in the US and we are working with companies to come here, we have to be able to take care of their kids.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

And the city leaders, other nonprofit partners have really taken to this.

And that's what I find to be one of the most exciting aspects of this work is that we as a city, we get it right.

And it's been all hands on deck about, you know, how do we structure this in a way that helps every family thrive?

And also, we're an emerging city in, in how we're doing business.

And so a lot of these things that we're focusing on while, yes, the child and the child development is incredibly important.

There's also another side of this.

There's the parent side of it.

That's really.

Transformational in how we're addressing who we support in the community.

Kentucky has an incredible child care assistance program.

We have very generous income guidelines, but we're still seeing people who like the the scholarship application I looked at this morning that are just over that threshold, who, you know, you make a decision and making less money so that you, you know, it's just not a great scenario for families to be in.

>> And so for us as educators.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You know, and that makes our hearts just so full just to hear the words.

Thank you.

This has never been done before.

I didn't know, right.

We needed resources, but now we have the resources and the support needed in order to do the work.

And so I think those are the words that, you know, we're hearing from educators in regards to, you know, the things that we're doing for the sites.

It just makes your heart full.

They hug us.

Yeah.

You know, and it's, it's just a really great feeling just to know that, you know, we're doing the work, we're doing the hard work, right?

And our providers and our families appreciate that.

>> Well.

>> You can see inside one of those pilot program sites and hear the full conversation this Sunday on Inside Louisville at noon 11 central right here on KET.

[MUSIC] The Transplant Games are for athletes who have received a second chance thanks to an organ donor.

Our Mackenzie Spinks spoke to some Kentucky athletes who've been through quite a journey to get to the big games.

>> Tom Williams has been training hard on his bike for weeks leading up to the Transplant Games.

It's hard to believe, but just over five years ago he had an incurable lung disease.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

His only hope was to receive a new pair of lungs from a donor.

>> On January the 5th.

I got my call, and on the sixth I received my transplant.

And then the next year was really tough.

I mean, it was a real tough year of recovering and had some rejection and pneumonia and all the things that, you know, that I was able to get through.

And then every year got a little bit better and I started pushing myself.

Rehab was fantastic.

>> After his recovery, Williams learned about the Transplant Games.

This year will be his first time to the games.

He's chosen to compete in a 20 kilometer bike race.

>> Looked at all the events and I said, well, I want something that will challenge me.

And so it looked like the the 20 K bike ride would be about the most challenging thing I would enter.

And that's why I signed up for it.

>> Williams says training for the competition hasn't just improved his health, but he's found meaningful.

Community on the Second Chance at Life team.

>> The fellowship is just fantastic.

It's just it's so helpful.

People have no idea what you're going through and unless you know, you've gone through it yourself.

And so being able to talk to people about the experiences that they've had and the bumps in the road and how you got through it has been very, very helpful.

>> Sally Wilson is the team's manager.

She's an organ recipient herself, but her first time to the games was as the mother of a donor.

After seeing another family member donate her eyes after death, Wilson's son, Jimmy, knew he wanted to be an organ donor when he got his license at 18 years old.

>> He came in and said, I signed the back of my license to be an organ donor.

And I said, are you very sure about that?

And he said, yes.

He goes, I'm not going to need them.

But then six months later, after he got his license, we lost him in a car accident and he was brought here to UK.

And, you know, he was.

Made that decision a lot, a whole lot easier for us because we already knew that he wanted to be he was a funny person.

He's a jokester, loved his church, loved his youth group, loved football.

So in his memory and keeping his memory alive, I participate in the Transplant Games.

>> Wilson says the team has become her family and that the competition is high energy fun, but it's also an emotional experience.

>> I was hooked the first two days in 1998 when I went, you know, seeing all the recipients, knowing that my son helped one of them.

And, you know, just seeing that they've got all this energy and knowing that one day they were just laying in bed not knowing if they were going to live to the next day, and now they're out there playing basketball.

You know, these were very sick people, very sick people, some just living day to day waiting for an organ transplant.

And now they're out there competing as hard as they can.

And.

It's just amazing to see.

>> Both Wilson and Williams say the mission of the Transplant Games is to show the world that organ donation really works.

>> You know, I'm riding a 20 K bike ride right now, so it really helps to show people what you can do if you work hard, and that life can be very rewarding after a transplant.

So if you can convince one people, one person, two people, the value of being a donor and what the end results are, and you find somebody that's going to take good care of the gift that you've given them, then it's hopefully it's a motivator.

So there'll be more people that will be on the on the donor list.

It's the most generous thing that you can possibly give in your whole life.

>> It is quite a gift.

Well, that was our Mackenzie Spink reporting.

This year's Transplant Games of America begins in three weeks in Denver.

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

You can subscribe to our Kentucky Edition email newsletter and watch full episodes and clips@ket.org.

And of course, follow us on social media.

That's all the time we have for tonight.

Have a wonderful evening.