>> There's so many Kentuckians that haven't given up, and I'm not going to give up either.

>> We sit down with Amy McGrath as she gets ready for campaign number three.

>> There's not a day that I don't want to be in the classroom.

>> And what's special about this Spencer County math teacher?

>> I think that the river is the root of how all of the cities began.

>> And we'll take you to northern Kentucky, where festival goers are gathering to celebrate their river roots.

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

>> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Wednesday, October the 8th, I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank you for winding down your Wednesday with us.

State police are investigating death threats made against members of the Kentucky Parole Board.

The threats follow the release of Ronald Exantus.

He served less than half of a 20 year sentence for the fatal stabbing of a six year old boy in Versailles in 2015.

News of his release sparked outrage online.

In a statement, the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet said the parole board did not release Exantus and voted unanimously for him to remain in prison.

Despite that, the cabinet said state law required he be released on mandatory reentry supervision.

The cabinet added, quote, at a time when political violence is on the rise, it's more important than ever that information shared is accurate and threats like these are taken seriously, unquote.

Already, one state lawmaker is working to change the law.

Republican state Representative TJ Roberts says he intends to file legislation that would abolish Kentucky's mandatory reentry supervision program, calling it a soft on crime program.

Representative Roberts says his bill, quote, will ensure that parole is not granted automatically to individuals who commit this type of crime, unquote.

Sports and other extracurricular activities are back on at Fort Knox and Fort Campbell schools.

They had been suspended because of the federal government shutdown.

U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell appealed to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to reverse that decision.

Senator McConnell says our service members and their children shouldn't have to pay the price for Washington's failure to fund the government.

The field of contenders to replace Kentucky's retiring senior senator, Mitch McConnell, widened even more this week with entry of a familiar face.

Former marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who lost by 20 points to McConnell back in 2020, is attempting a comeback.

She says she's battle tested and ready to stand up for Kentuckians and not back down from President Donald Trump.

What's the reaction that you've been getting so far?

>> It's been great.

It's been great.

I mean, so many people are just exhausted.

A lot of people have checked out.

A lot of people are fearful about what's going on, but they're exhausted with the chaos, and they want somebody to just stand up and say, enough is enough.

Let's stop these food fights.

Let's stop.

Let's have some people get into office who are decent and have courage.

And that has been what's powered me in the last 48 hours.

Just everyday people who I've met who are just saying, you know what?

We can do better.

>> For those who are skeptical of your candidacy now, based on past performances, what specifically would you say to them that makes you a better candidate than you were in 2020?

And for the U.S.

Senate in 2018, in Congress?

>> Well, look, I think I think things have changed in many, many ways.

You know, I'm somebody that didn't grow up within a political party.

I'm somebody who served my country and simply believe in servant leadership, and that we can have better leaders with with decency and courage.

But from 2020, you know, when, when, when I look at that race, I mean, that was a that was a really tough time.

And we took on Mitch McConnell, a 30 year incumbent with all of his dark money and all of his establishment, you know, people.

And and that was in a presidential.

And we dealt with that during Covid, you know, when we couldn't even campaign.

And so I look at this now and I think, wow, this is a midterm.

Mitch McConnell saw the writing on the wall.

People see that they want change.

That's why Mitch McConnell saw the writing on the wall and left this an open seat.

And Kentuckians have proven that they will vote for the best candidate, whether it's a D or an R, because we have a Democratic governor.

And so to me, I look and I say, you know, there's so many Kentuckians that haven't given up and I'm not going to give up either.

>> We'll have more with McGrath tomorrow.

When she talks about how she came to the decision to run again and her concerns about the future of the country.

All of that is tomorrow night on Kentucky Edition.

As expected, State Senator David Yates resigned from his Louisville seat today.

Last week, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg appointed Yates as interim Jefferson County clerk after the death of Bobbie Holtzclaw.

Yates, a Democrat, was the Kentucky Senate minority whip.

He had to resign from the Kentucky General Assembly in order to take the job as clerk.

Governor Andy Beshear will now call a special election to fill Yates's seat.

According to Johns Hopkins University, if a ninth grader misses just 18 days of school, their chance of graduating decreases by 80%.

Truancy is a serious issue in Kentucky, and the numbers are going up.

Today, the Juvenile Justice Oversight Council in Frankfort heard from a program in Alabama on how it was able to reduce truancy numbers there.

Our McKenzie Spink has more on potential solutions for tackling truancy.

That story starts off tonight's legislative update.

>> Two years ago, the General Assembly passed House Bill 611, which required that students with 15 or more unexcused absences be reported to the county attorney.

From there, the student could receive a diversion agreement, a case plan tailored to the student's needs, or go to court.

School officials say they're starting to see positive change because of the bill.

>> After year one of House Bill 611, we certainly saw more kids in the court system, which is never good.

But looking at some of the numbers and some of the DPS that I have spoken with, we're starting to see some of our first encouraging signs, potentially with our statistics.

>> Although truancy rates went down in some counties statewide, there was an increase of about 600 truancy complaints since last year.

John Tyson leads the Helping Families Initiative, a program that has seen success in reducing truancy rates in Alabama.

The program partners truant families with the DA's office, which creates tailored intervention plans for the family and connects them to community services like counseling and Mobile County.

There was a 50% reduction in truancy over the course of two years, which educational leaders in Alabama attribute to the program.

>> Helping Families initiative is preventive.

It is not punitive.

We actually consider it to be a failure if one of our kids gets involved in the court system.

What we're trying to do is avoid that altogether.

>> Kentucky already has a similar initiative through the court designated worker program called Truancy Diversion Program.

It focuses on early support for truant students, as well as more intense interventions.

>> We develop these TDP teams, and it encompasses the Friskies, our law enforcement partners that are in the school, mental health providers, both that are school based and those that come into the school to offer services and supports to those students.

>> There are only 28 active truancy diversion programs in the state.

A council member representing Commissioner of Education, Robbie Fletcher, asked about expanding the service statewide.

>> Can you say a little bit more about why that would be, that we wouldn't be able to offer this in every county in the state?

Is a is it a funding issue?

Is it a resource issue?

Services?

>> We just don't have the staff support the number of school systems.

Even in my rural area, it would be impossible.

>> Alabama's program is also not yet statewide, but hopes to expand to that point.

For Kentucky edition.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> Thank you.

Mackenzie.

Even though truancy complaints increased this year, the administrative office of the court says the numbers are lower than they were pre-pandemic.

Flash flooding hit Louisville and Lexington yesterday, and flooding will pose an even greater liability for homeowners now that the federal government is shut down.

This insurance representative explains.

>> A couple key things to watch.

The first is the National Flood Insurance Program, which goes from year to year and is now hobbled by the shutdown of.

We need a long standing us.

Authorized for multiple years rather than a single year National Flood Insurance program, and funded otherwise.

You have the situation where you do today where I think in closing, there can't be closings that require flood insurance programs because of the government shutdown.

So this is an example of where we need to work together to to tighten federal programs.

Nfip is one.

>> The insurance representative, Dave Snyder, there spoke to Kentucky's Disaster Prevention and Resiliency Task Force today in Frankfort with more catastrophic weather events nationwide, insurance providers say their margins are shrinking, causing them to leave certain markets.

>> What is the prognosis for?

Carriers exiting markets?

But what if nobody does anything?

Where are we headed as far as market availability?

>> I think companies want to do business and I think they want to do business in Kentucky.

And.

And we're grateful for the fact that there was there were some years where the losses were far less than they were in that awful, horrific time period when there was one natural catastrophe after another.

>> Dave Snyder said.

For every dollar insurance companies received in premiums in Kentucky in 2023, they paid out $1.50 for claims.

The Oldham County Board of Education is reconsidering whether to offer an off campus Bible study class to students during school hours.

The renewed debate follows Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman issuing a legal opinion about how to interpret Senate Bill 19.

The new law passed by the Kentucky General Assembly this year, allows organizations, including churches and religious entities, to provide what's called moral instruction.

Lifewise Academy and Ohio based Christian Education Group is seeking approval from several school boards across Kentucky, including in Oldham County.

In his legal opinion, Attorney General Coleman concluded, school boards are not required to approve an organization's request, but adds boards may not discriminate solely based on the group being a particular religious group.

He goes on to say that if boards do approve of such organizations, they can't deny a parent's request for their child to participate.

The opinion also states anyone transporting students for the purpose of moral instruction is not required to adhere to another new law this year intended to limit electronic communications between school staff and students, something that is required of teachers, coaches and school volunteers.

Following the passage of Senate Bill 181, the Oldham County Board chair told the Kentucky Lantern the opinion gives them more clarity.

The board was scheduled to discuss the issue during a special called meeting this evening.

Time now to check in on some major political stories.

So far this week in Kentucky, we have a new face to our airwaves, but not to Lexington, because you've seen her before, Karolina Buczek, who is the political reporter for WLS TV channel 18, in Lexington.

Good to have you.

>> Thank you so much for having me.

It's a pleasure.

>> It's good.

We've been trying to get together for a little bit, so I'm glad to welcome you in our studio.

Lots of kind of stuff to chew on.

Let's start first with the governor, Governor Andy Beshear in New Hampshire this week.

Of course, he's been on these other notable stops to other very important political places like South Carolina and Nebraska.

And he says he's just out there drumming up support for Democratic candidates for 2026.

But what do you make of all of these very notable stops?

>> Well, he is certainly traveling a lot, isn't he?

Yeah.

And it's interesting that he's making a lot of these trips to very important primary states.

We we can't ignore the fact that, you know, there's New Hampshire, South Carolina.

These are very important states for Democrats.

And he is making those trips.

And when he's speaking to crowds, the one thing I am always doing when the camera does that wide shot and pans away, I am watching what the supporters there are looking like.

Are they interested in what he's saying?

Because we know how Kentuckians respond to Governor Andy Beshear, but how do other Americans respond to him?

So that's something that I'm really closely watching.

I know what the governor is going to say.

He's going to stay on message.

He never leaves his message.

He is always pretty solid.

Exactly.

So how are the other Americans going to respond?

Because I know how Kentuckians are going to respond to him.

But I'm always very curious.

Does that message translate elsewhere?

>> Well, and I think that's a good point you make.

How do you see Kentuckians?

Because you're out on the road with him when he's out, how do they respond to him?

>> Well, the governor has this really interesting ability to kind of meet people in the middle.

There are a lot of people that are like, I don't love the fact that he's a Democrat, but I can tolerate him.

And there's a lot of that type of mentality in Kentucky.

So people may cross over on the ballot and they may actually vote for him.

And we've seen that that's how he has won elections here in Kentucky.

So he has that innate ability to do that to meet people in the middle.

But will that be enough for 2028?

>> That's the big question.

If he does decide to run for president.

And of course, he's already ruled out U.S.

Senate because he's been asked because we'll get to that race in a moment, because many were saying and even there was a story in the Courier Journal a while back by a very high profile louisvillian with deep pockets, saying, Andy, Andy Beshear is our best bet, is Democrats for recapturing that Senate seat, the U.S.

Senate seat.

So the fact he says, I'm not going to do that, but who knows about 2028?

And now he has his own channel on Sirius XM.

I mean, a lot a lot of high profile moves he's making.

I'm sure there's a book in the works or something.

>> Absolutely.

He is getting his name out there, and if he is interested in the presidency, that's exactly what he needs to do.

>> Yeah, he's following the playbook and how you kind of get your name out nationwide and been on Seth Meyers.

I mean, you do late night TV.

That's a sign you got higher ambitions.

>> Absolutely.

And he is an ambitious politician.

That's what everyone says.

Yeah.

>> So let's talk about the U.S.

Senate race in Kentucky.

This has gotten even more of a wider field.

Just this week, Amy McGrath, a retired fighter pilot in the military, had two unsuccessful terms or two unsuccessful runs before for Congress and for the U.S.

Senate.

She's back at it again.

What's different this time?

And what are you seeing as the response to her bid?

>> So the response that I'm seeing is actually something that Kentucky experts have said was going to happen.

Kentuckians are very skeptical with someone that returns after losing a race or two.

>> And by pretty good substantial deficit.

>> And she spent a lot of money.

However, that money did earn her quite a bit of name recognition.

The last time she ran for this very exact same seat.

So will that be enough to carry her?

I don't know, that's something that Kentuckians will ultimately have to decide, but the reaction is probably not what she was anticipating.

And Kentucky experts warn about this all the time.

Kentucky voters are very skeptical and for good reason.

>> And do you think it's different?

One, because she has had two unsuccessful bids before and lost the U.S.

Senate race.

Double digits, 20%.

Right?

Or is it or is there a gender factor in here?

I mean, what do you think are the reasons why Kentuckians seem to be maybe siding?

And we're talking about Democrats here, not the general population, but even some Democrats are kind of side eyeing this move.

>> Absolutely.

And it's hard to say.

There's probably a multitude of factors that are factoring into all of this.

However, with Kentucky, when she ran for the sixth Congressional District originally, she did pretty well in that race.

>> Right?

Right.

That's right.

>> And people were excited about her.

But then when she came back for that U.S.

Senate race, I mean, it just the momentum fell flat.

So what happened there?

Was it a gender factor?

It's really hard to tell.

I think it's a multitude of things that are coming in.

But Kentuckians are very skeptical.

When someone pops up one time, loses, then comes back, loses again the third time, they're definitely going to say, whoa, what's happening here?

>> Right?

But you wonder, I mean, Daniel Cameron lost pretty significant, not by as much of a margin as Amy McGrath to McConnell.

But you know, he's coming back again.

But it is maybe perhaps different.

And now it's an open seat.

Right.

It's not going up against a very tenured high profile senior senator.

This is an open seat.

So we'll have to see.

>> Absolutely.

>> Well, Karolina Buczek, it has been a pleasure to meet you and sit with you.

And we hope to have many encore presentations with you.

Thank you so much for being with us.

>> Thank you.

>> The Kentucky Department of Education announced its 2026 teacher of the Year Tuesday during its annual award ceremony for teachers.

A mathematics instructor from Spencer County Middle School took home the top prize and will represent Kentucky in the National Teacher of the year competition.

>> The 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the year.

It's been teaching for 22 years, most of them at Spencer County High School.

Please join me in congratulating the 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the year, Michelle Gross.

>> If you are only thinking about yourself and we often do that, we think about the problems we have and all the things we're going on.

But if we can get outside of ourselves and start thinking of each other and lifting each other up, we're going to be stronger.

And so I hope to do that this year.

I'm so, so thankful.

>> I got into teaching when I was when I was in high school, I was asked to be a peer tutor, and I wanted to I wanted to do a good job, but I didn't necessarily know I wanted to be a teacher, and I had the opportunity to tutor several students, one of which who was at risk for graduate of graduating.

And when he graduated with me, and to to see him walk across the stage was was so cool.

But knowing that there were teachers behind me, like looking back later, I saw the teachers behind me that put me in those positions that helped shape me, build me, help, help, encourage me along the way.

Helped me to want to be a teacher.

There's not a day that I don't want to be in the classroom, and I can say that because I stepped out of the classroom for a couple of years to do instructional coach, and I missed it.

I missed the students.

I missed not being with them.

And so when I had an opportunity to get back into the classroom, I took it.

And so I've been in there 22 years and I like the kids bring me energy, the kids bring me joy.

When I walk in the classroom, they make me laugh.

If you want to laugh, teach middle school and just the opportunity to just make connections with kids and help them to see their potential and their value and their worth means a lot to be standing here to represent Kentucky as a middle school math teacher who, you know, some of my students don't even know.

And I'm just like, it's it's it's exciting.

It's so exciting, so rewarding.

I am honored to serve the state of Kentucky this year.

And I just I really hope to make Kentucky proud.

I really hope to build community across the state of Kentucky, to shine a light on teachers and students and what they're doing in the schools.

I want to promote the good work that's being happen, but also just to bring people together to know that they, you know, what they're doing is making a difference.

Just thankful that I can represent Spencer County and I can represent Harlan County, where I grew up, represent Middlesboro, where I got my roots and started.

So I'm just so thankful for that opportunity.

>> Well, the gratitude is evident.

Congrats to her.

As the 2020 teacher of the year, gross will receive a $10,000 stipend, a commemorative glass award, and a professional sabbatical.

The USA is celebrating a big birthday next year.

It will turn 250 years old, but the celebrations are starting early today.

Northern Kentucky kicked off the America's River Roots Festival, which is bringing a taste of the river culture to the region.

Our Emily Sisk has details from Newport, America's River.

>> Roots Festival is making its way to northern Kentucky this week.

The festival is a kickoff for the 250th birthday of the United States.

Newport Mayor Tom Dooley said the festival is celebrating history and recognizing the significance of waterways like the Ohio River.

>> I think that the river is the root of how all of the cities began in early days.

That was the way that you traveled quickly and effectively, especially downriver, and you found new communities.

>> This is about who we are and where we came from.

It's a story of this region, Northern Kentucky, and it is a story of the American River culture that has led to so many things that make this country successful.

>> Organizers said the Ohio River contributed greatly to the success of Newport, and that's one of the reasons Newport wanted to be the host on the Kentucky side of the river.

>> If you think about this region, if you know its history before the railroad, this was the sixth largest city in America.

>> Right here in this spot was the Newport Barracks.

That's where people connected.

And this was a port of safety that protected the entire region.

>> That historic location will transform over the next few days, bringing in music.

Food, and of course, riverboats.

>> As a child, I can remember seeing the steamboat Natchez in New Orleans and hearing those sounds.

So to see that in my own town is really, really unique.

The first thing you're going to experience is both sides of a river activated and very, very easy to travel between both sides.

We will have a major bourbon tent with distilleries from all over the Commonwealth.

Nobody's going away hungry or bored.

After this event.

>> Festival organizers expect to see visitors from all across the state, along with neighboring Tennessee and Ohio.

The River roots celebration will come to a close on Sunday for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Emily Sisk.

>> Thank you Emily, we'll have more on the history of the Ohio River and how one business is keeping the riverboat tradition alive.

That story tomorrow night on Kentucky Edition and plus tariffs have affected one of Kentucky's signature industries.

What is the impact on the bourbon and whiskey industry, and how is our neighbor Canada responding to the tariff war?

Well, we'll ask expert Janet Patton of the Lexington Herald-Leader to break it all down for us.

That's tomorrow night on Kentucky Edition at 630 eastern, 530 central, where we inform, connect and inspire.

We sure hope that you'll connect with us all the ways you see on your screen Facebook, Instagram and X to stay in the loop.

And we encourage you to send us a story idea by email to the address on the screen.

Public Affairs at Ket.org, and look for us on the PBS video app and the KET app that you can download on your mobile device and smart TV.

Thanks so very much for watching tonight.

I'm Renee Shaw and I will see you actually on Friday.

Christie Dutton will be with you tomorrow reporting from Louisville.

And until I see you again, take really good care.