>> You deserve to have the confidence that every eligible vote will be accurately counted, and that your voice will be truly heard.

>> A Kentucky state lawmaker is ready to take another job.

>> West Nile virus isn't transmitted from human to human.

It's only from mosquito to human.

>> An infectious disease specialist explains how to protect yourself against the West Nile virus.

>> I'm doing this to stay ahead of Parkinson's.

>> And a free therapy program helps those with Parkinson's improve their quality of life.

>> Growing up.

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

>> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Friday, October the 3rd.

We made it to the weekend.

I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank you for kicking off your weekend with us.

A leader of the Kentucky General Assembly will leave that job to become Jefferson County clerk this morning.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced he's appointing state Senator David Yates as interim clerk, replacing Bobbie Holsclaw, who died September the 10th.

Yates is a Democrat serving now as Senate Minority Whip.

He's been a member of the state Senate since 2021.

By law, Yates will have to resign from the Kentucky General Assembly in order to be sworn in as interim clerk.

That's planned for October the 8th.

Yates will serve until the next election for county clerk in 2026.

He says he feels he's prepared for the job based on his past experience.

>> As I look back on my path, Assistant Attorney general, the UAW legal, the Metro Council to Metro Council president, the State Senate, the state Senate leadership, all while being a litigator for people.

I believe that his led me to and prepared me for this new challenge, this new, this new chapter of service.

I'm excited about the opportunities before us.

I know our clerk's office.

They serve a lot of vital roles, but one of the most sacred responsibilities that we have in a democracy that is running free, fair and transparent elections.

Civilians deserve nothing less.

You deserve to have the confidence that every eligible vote will be accurately counted, and that your voice will be truly heard.

I'll fight to safeguard that trust and provide the services that you deserve.

>> Mayor Greenberg also appointed Deputy Mayor David James to replace Sheriff John Aubrey, who died in office on September the 23rd.

James will be the first black sheriff in Jefferson County history.

>> I understand the weight of history that's on my shoulders.

This is a milestone, but it's not mine.

It belongs to the generations who paved the way before me for greater inclusion and fairness in public service.

I am committed to using the office to build bridges, strengthen trust, and ensure that every resident of our county feels protected, respected and heard.

>> After Yates resigns from the state Senate, Governor Andy Beshear will need to call a special election to fill Yates Senate seat.

Attention to domestic violence is elevated during the month of October, as the issue is highlighted all month long across the country.

This week, a national conference was held in Lexington to explore ways to prevent human trafficking and other forms of domestic abuse.

Our McKenzie Spink breaks down the data, updates us on a new initiative and explains why the state's top elections official is involved.

>> I always thought that human trafficking was an urban problem.

This is a Las Vegas problem or a Los Angeles problem.

>> That's just one of the misconceptions debunked at this week's conference for the National Association of Confidential Address Programs.

>> It is, but it's also a huge problem in rural areas.

We actually have proportionately more human trafficking in the Cumberland region of Kentucky than we do in Louisville or Lexington.

>> The issue of human trafficking may seem odd for Kentucky's top elections official to take on, but his office deals with business filings and has a key interest in helping them spot and stop the crime in their establishments.

The Secretary of State's office also oversees the Kentucky Safe at Home program, an address confidentiality program that helps survivors of certain crimes, including sexual assault, domestic violence, trafficking, stalking, and other crimes safely hide their address on public records, including voter rolls.

Last year in Kentucky, authorities say there were 256 victims of human trafficking.

27% of those were minors.

That's according to the Kentucky nonprofit refuge for women to help raise awareness and intervene in human trafficking scenarios.

Several states, including Iowa, have partnered with businesses to provide training on how to spot the signs of trafficking.

>> Most businesses are groups in their community, and whether you're the owner or a manager, your employees live there.

They have families there, they have children.

And when they are given the facts, when they are, you know, shared with them that this is happening right here in River city.

That is an eye opener.

So they're ready to do something, but they struggle with is what do I do?

>> Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams launched Kentucky Businesses Against Trafficking at the beginning of this year.

He says it started slow, but now nearly 1000 businesses are participating.

A special focus is put on the hospitality and tourism industries.

>> We've had numerous events around the state, many events and other events, training events.

We've put a ton of staff time into this.

We're doing this in rural areas, urban areas, and you will see that we're taking this seriously and we're in it for the long term.

And so that's helped us actually get a lot more Joyner's recently than we had back in January when we launched.

So now we're up to several hundred thousand.

>> Deanna Lynn, executive director of refuge for women, is a survivor of human trafficking.

She says the extra training and awareness could make a real difference for victims.

>> You ask somebody, are you a victim of human trafficking?

No, no, I wasn't I wasn't kidnaped, I wasn't forced into this.

It takes years to even identify what happened.

And so to have these stickers I wish hotels would have called.

My room had been like, are you okay in there?

I wish there were stickers that said, you are not for sale.

What?

The whole world told me I was.

>> In 2023, Secretary Michael Adams worked with state lawmakers to strengthen the state's address confidentiality program.

The revised law removed the barrier of needing an emergency protective order to participate instead of an EPO.

Participants provide a statement under the penalty of perjury, explaining their need to conceal their address.

For Kentucky Edition.

I'm McKenzie Spink.

>> Thank you.

McKenzie.

Now moving to higher education news, the Trump administration's Department of Education says the University of Kentucky violated the federal Civil Rights Act by taking part in a conference designed for students of color.

According to the department's investigation, the department investigated 50 universities on allegations they provided racial preferences by attending the conference or offering race based scholarships.

Of the 50, 45 were found to be in violation for that conference.

UK partnered with a program known as the D project.

The Department of Education says the PhD project endorsed and promoted a program that limited participation based on race.

In a letter, UK President Eli Capilouto said, quote, we will as always, seek to comply with the law and policy direction we are given by federal policy makers.

That is our responsibility.

I believe it is also how we can best protect our people, their work and our mission to advance this state.

End quote.

Capilouto also says UK has severed ties with the PhD project.

Time now to go inside Kentucky politics on this Friday.

And we've got just one solo soul joining us today.

The incomparable reporter from the Courier-Journal.

She's the politics reporter Hannah Pinsky.

Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon.

We appreciate it.

>> Yeah.

Thank you for having me on.

>> Yes.

Our pleasure.

So let's talk about a couple of things that you wrote this week that people, we hope caught in the CJ.

And that was a congressional district for the sixth Congressional District, which is in central Kentucky.

The Republican candidates showed up for a young college Republican forum.

Tell us about who was there, who's in that race on that side of the political ledger and what they talked about?

>> Yeah, so we had all three high profile candidates in the House district six race on the Republican side, really discussed about for an hour, a variety of issues, including Israel, freedom of speech, and even what committees that you'd hope to serve on and what their kind of legislative style would be if they were elected to represent the district in Washington, D.C.

and those candidates include former state Senator Ralph Alvarado and then current state representatives Deanna Frazier Gordon, as well as Ryan Dodson.

>> Yes, and so did they talk a lot about their.

All three of them have legislative backgrounds, right.

Ralph Alvarado having served in the state Senate, of course, he's been he was the commissioner of the Department of Public Health in Tennessee.

But did they talk about their legislative credentials as as a way to give them extra street cred for why they should be sent to Washington?

>> They did.

And I think what was really interesting is that they really they each had three different messages on how they would basically operate in Washington, D.C.

so kind of start.

So starting with Representative Dodson, he really talked about, you know, being a fighter, his experience in the state legislature and being able to fight for people's rights, being able to stand up for what he calls common sense, very much painted it as a it's an us versus them.

Them, meaning the Democrats.

So he really painted himself as the candidate, you know, who would fight for the Central District with Representative Deanna Gordon?

I think what was interesting is that she really painted herself as someone who values transparency and who would be a fighter as well.

And then you have Ralph Alvarado, who really, I believe, touted his background and experience in the health care and saying how, you know, we have a system in the United States.

That is what he called broken and that his experience and he's already talked to, you know, current physicians who do and doctors who do serve in Congress about sort of the ideas he could bring and what he could do to improve the health care system for Americans as well.

>> Were there any kind of sharp or stark differences in either ideology or where they might fall out on the issues, or do they all seem to be pretty much in lockstep on some of the major problems confronting the district and the country?

>> I think the one thing that stood out to me was when they talked about foreign affairs, specifically with Israel and AIPAC.

Representative Dodson had explicitly said, you know, he would not accept any money from AIPAC during that forum because he said he believes that foreign entities shouldn't be used to influence American elections.

With that being said, he did say he supported Israel.

He called them our friend and an ally.

And, you know, they help democracy in the Middle East.

Whereas Alvarado and Gordon, they kind of stood up for AIPAC, but they did not explicitly say whether or not they would or would not accept donations.

And they were also very supportive of Israel, like Dodson was as well.

>> So let's shift now to a different race.

That's not yet even a race, but in the fourth Congressional District, we know that President Donald Trump has often been at odds with fourth district Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, and he's even promised to primary him.

And there's actually political action committees already out there running ads against Massie.

But who is Trump putting up to run?

Where does that stand?

Is anybody in the race to run against Massie yet?

>> You know, we have not heard a name yet that Trump has picked to run against Massie.

And it's interesting because from the political scientists I've talked to is that this is a very rare and unique situation where, you know, where Massie could face a significant challenger in his primary.

And so I know state Senator Aaron Reid's name has come up quite a bit, especially in the beginning when Trump had said, you know, he's going to lead the charge to unseat Massie.

There was reporting from Politico that, you know, state Senator Aaron Reid had visited with Trump at the white House, but there were some ideological differences, differences between the two of them, particularly when it comes to abortion.

So that could be a reason why he has not been chosen yet.

We don't know.

But it'll be interesting to see if Trump does follow through with his words, saying he will handpick what he calls the great American patriot to run against and unseat Massie.

>> And if you have noted, Congressman Massie is pretty popular in that district.

Right.

And he and Rand Paul just kind of crisscrossed the district just last week together and got a good reception.

So it's going to be tough to go up against him.

>> It definitely is.

And from a couple of political and Republican consultants I've talked to, you know, the kind of the thing is, whoever does decide against Massie, they might create a lot of friends, especially in the MAGA world, in the and in the Trump world.

But they're also going to create, you know, sort of a lot of political enemies in that district as well.

So the question is, you know, who is willing to step up to that challenge with the mindset of, you know, some of these folks, do you think Massie is unbeatable because of his popularity in the district?

And so it'll be interesting to see if, you know, Massie does have a significant challenger, how close that race could be.

>> Well, Hannah Pinsky, politics writer with The Courier Journal, it's great to see you on this program.

Kentucky Edition.

We know.

We'll see you on comment probably really soon.

Have a great weekend.

>> You too.

>> There's a free resource for Kentuckians with Parkinson's disease.

Western Kentucky University's Communications Disorders Clinic received a grant last year to offer the Speak Out Therapy program, both in person and by telepractice.

Our Laura Rogers shows us how it aims to slow down the progression of the disorder.

>> Probably two years before it was diagnosed, I was just shaking a little bit.

>> Adair Wimpee of Scottsville would later learn he has Parkinson's disease.

>> At first it affected everything.

My balance is not.

>> First word.

>> Is real.

Well, real good.

It's affected my brain and my nerves more than anything.

>> This marks his fourth speak out treatment.

Therapy that works to help Parkinson's patients with their speech and swallowing.

>> I'm just hoping and praying that this works because I'm trying to stay, at least even with Parkinson's, because they say there's no cure for it.

>> This is an opportunity for folks in the state of Kentucky to get started with us.

Stay with us so that we can be with them throughout every step of the Parkinson's journey.

>> Doctor Amy Engelshoven is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at K.u.

a grant recipient of the Parkinson's Voice Project's Speak Out Therapy program.

>> The more evidence based practices we have available to us, practices that we know are working specifically for people with Parkinson's, the better.

>> Parkinson's disease is a progressive and neurological condition that affects movement, often causing tremors, stiffness, and shuffling of feet.

>> People with Parkinson's unfortunately, experience that diminished movement not only in the rest of their body, but also in the mechanism that controls their swallowing and their voice.

>> The roads could be icy, and I never thought about speech being a part of Parkinson's.

>> Adair says.

He has noticed his voice becoming softer.

>> I speak to people in passing on the street and they don't speak back.

People are leaning in to hear me.

I can't project my voice.

>> This therapy aims to improve that, beginning with warm up exercises.

>> May we have them do some nonsense words of, you know, may me my mo moo help to increase effort and intent, but also to work on intonation patterns.

>> It is also beneficial to the graduate student leading the session, trained in the Speak Out program with oversight from a certified and licensed speech language pathologist.

>> I really enjoy just getting to know the clients and things that they want to work on personally, and things that they might be struggling with.

>> Good job.

>> This is an opportunity for them to not only experience the patient and their response to this acquisition of a communication disorder, but also how the caregivers and care partners are responding and how it affects them as a unit.

>> I think it's very effective just being able to teach clients to speak with intent.

>> It also helps with cognitive decline.

>> My short term memory is terrible.

>> Some of the exercises addressed that, as well as potentially fatal conditions like aspiration pneumonia.

>> It's a wonderful support system for people with Parkinson's because Parkinson's doesn't go away.

>> Tires, hood.

Plates.

>> Car.

>> For Kentucky edition, I'm Laura Rogers.

>> All right.

>> The Kentucky Department for Public Health reported only 11 cases of mosquito borne illnesses from 2003 to just last year, but this year, there have been 19 cases of the West Nile virus across the state.

The Lexington-fayette County Health Department reported a fourth case in September.

While the Department of Health and Wellness in Louisville reported nine cases of the West Nile virus.

To learn more about the West Nile virus, we spoke to an infectious disease specialist for tonight's medical news.

>> The West Nile virus is a virus that humans get from mosquitoes, and those mosquitoes get infected because they bit a bird that was infected.

West Nile virus isn't transmitted from human to human.

It's only from mosquito to human.

So any zoonotic illness, which is an illness that comes from animal, have a very complex ecosystem, complex ecology.

And oftentimes when there's a change in either the areas where animals live or the life cycles of the animals, then we'll see changes in the amount of cases right now as the climate and the weather changes, the the mosquito habitat changes, the mosquito lifecycle changes, and exposure of mosquitoes to humans can also change.

And so we very well may be seeing more cases of West Nile virus because of the changing ecosystem and changing climate.

Most of the time when someone gets West Nile virus, they are asymptomatic, which means they don't have symptoms, they don't get ill.

About 1 in 5 people will get ill.

They will feel muscle aches and fevers, and they'll just feel unwell.

And then an even smaller percentage of those people, maybe about 1% of people who are infected, will get central nervous system disease.

We call that West Nile virus encephalitis or sometimes meningitis, which is inflammation of the brain.

And that can cause confusion or coma or really bad neurologic symptoms.

And the people that are at risk for that are typically older people or immunocompromised people.

So prevention of transmission of disease is really key.

And the way to do that is protect yourself from mosquito bites, which isn't always that easy to do, especially at this time of year.

And so the best thing to do is during dawn or dusk, when the Culex mosquito starts to bite you either cover up any exposed skin, or if you can't do that because it's too hot, you can wear mosquito repellent like Deet, at least 30% Deet or picaridin.

And one other way to prevent infection is also try to reduce your exposure to mosquitoes in other ways, such as getting rid of standing water on your property.

If you have buckets of water, that's a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

So West Nile virus, like many other viruses, does not have a specific treatment.

We mostly give what's called supportive care, which means making sure that you're well hydrated, well nourished, making sure your fever is under control, making sure that your neurologic symptoms are under control.

But there's no medicine that directly fights the West Nile virus.

It's not something that the general public needs to panic about or anything, but just to be aware about.

>> Good information.

According to the recent alert from the Kentucky Department for Public Health, one person has died from West Nile virus in Kentucky.

Ring in the first weekend in October with a fun outing or two, and you have plenty of activities to choose from.

As always, our Toby Gibbs look at looks at what's happening around the Commonwealth.

>> Paintsville is painting the town red, apple red.

That is as the city kicks off the 61st Kentucky Apple Festival.

Enjoy carnival rides, live music, a car show, and hot air balloon rides.

Check out a whole crop of handcrafted items designed by artisans from across the country.

And with dozens of food booths, there will be plenty of treats to pick from.

Abraham Lincoln's legacy comes to life in Hodgenville this weekend, as the birthplace of the 16th president hosts it's Lincoln Day celebration.

Get a taste of tradition watching teams compete in the Pioneer Games.

See who towers over the competition in the Lincoln Look Alike contest.

The festival also features one of the oldest continually held art shows in the state an ice cream eating contest, live music exhibits, a classic car show, and five and ten K races.

Music will be coming from the mountains in Monticello this Saturday, with the return of the Black Mountain Jamboree.

Get immersed in nature while listening to a lineup of rising Americana, rock and country acts on two stages.

There will also be food trucks and artisan vendors on site.

Looking to escape the grind this weekend?

Then roll on down to Richmond for the Millstone Festival.

The event features live performances, food and craft vendors, a twins contest, a cornhole tournament, tractor show and inflatables, a train ride and a petting zoo for the kids.

Get into the Halloween spirit while learning a little history by taking the Oldham County Candlelight Cemetery Tour.

Stroll through some of the cemeteries around Lagrange and find out some of the fascinating people who called Oldham County home.

Hit the road this Saturday with the Bluegrass Cycling Club for the annual Red River rally.

In its 56th year, this group ride welcomes riders of all ages and levels who bike while enjoying the scenic views of the Red River Gorge.

Head upstream with a paddle this weekend at the Kentucky Lake Paddle Up event.

Make your way from Sledd Creek to Kentucky Dam Village boat ramp by kayak, canoe, or any other worthy paddle craft you may have.

This family friendly trip lets you choose from a leisurely paddle on the lake, or a guided geological journey down the banks.

If you would rather ride the river than paddle water, then check out America's River Roots Festival.

This year, the event celebrates America's 250th birthday by highlighting the musical, culinary and cultural impact America's river cities have had on the nation.

The festival takes place along the banks of Newport, Covington and Cincinnati and features music, food, riverboat races, sightseeing cruises, and other activities.

Grow in your knowledge of mushrooms by taking a trip to Metcalfe County this weekend for the second annual Kentucky Mushroom Festival.

Learn about the culinary and medicinal uses of mushrooms through workshops, talks and guided walks through the woods.

Live music, yoga sessions and mushroom themed costume contest and jewelry making round out this three day event.

The night sky will be lit up over Madisonville this Saturday, as Wings Over Western Kentucky hosts its first ever twilight and night air show.

Bring your family and your chairs and watch aerobatic performers and skydivers, aerial lights and pyrotechnics, vintage aircrafts and a choreographed pyrotechnic finale.

The event is free and will also have local food vendors and a kids area.

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

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Thank you Toby.

Lots of great stuff to do this weekend, so make it a good one.

And we do hope you'll join us again on Monday night at 630 eastern, 530 central for Kentucky Edition.

Thanks for being with us.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Have a