Our other top story tonight, former Kentucky Governor Jillian Carol has died at the age of 92.

The Democrat served as governor from from 1972 I'm sorry, from 1974 to 1979.

He led efforts to improve public schools and modernize the judicial system during an eventful tenure.

Our June Leffler has a look back at Carol's career.

Good evening.

Carol.

Led the Commonwealth during a time when Democrats were used to controlling the governor's seat, reacting to news of his death.

Current Democratic Governor Andy Beshear said, Carol, quote, dedicated his career to public service.

In his tribute to Carol.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, a Republican, said, quote, Few will have a career as distinguished as his Kentucky.

House Speaker David Osborne, also a Republican, offered his deepest sympathies to Carol's family and noted the former governor's decades long political life.

Born in 1931 in McCracken County, Carol was one of 11 children.

He served as an Air Force attorney for three years after graduating from the University of Kentucky Law School in 1956.

In 1960, he led a campaign to allow the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide electricity to McCracken County, which led to lower electricity costs.

This success led the stage for, Carol, his long political career.

Carol served five terms in the Kentucky House, including a stint as House speaker from 1968 to 1970.

He was elected lieutenant governor in 1971 and became the 54th governor of Kentucky in 1974.

When Governor Wendell Ford resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate, running a year later as an incumbent, he easily won the election to a full term of his own.

The test of government of any government is in its accountability to the citizens.

Carol pushed to eliminate the private bail bond system, and during his term, the state invested heavily in teacher salaries and provided free textbooks.

He established a school building authority to help poor school districts build new schools.

And Kentucky strengthened its fire safety laws following the deadly fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in northern Kentucky.

Carol then took on an elevated leadership role as chairman of the National Governors Association.

But there was some controversy.

Federal grand jury investigation led to the indictment of the former chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party in a fraud scheme.

Carol was never charged.

Eight years after leaving office, Carol attempted a comeback but failed to stand out in the crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Here he is speaking during a primary debate in 1987.

Never before in the history of this state, certainly in our lifetimes, have we faced more critical problems in Kentucky.

State government than we face today.

We've got one crisis after another in Frankfort.

A few decades later, in 2004, he won a seat in the Kentucky Senate, where he served until 2020.

In 2000, Carol was one of eight former Kentucky governors to join a roundtable discussion here at KCET.

He was asked what he would like his legacy as governor to be.

Well, I'd like to be best remembered for the fact that I knew something about state government.

I grew up in state government and I was a hands on governor and ran it.

And quite frankly, I hopefully in the public interest, maybe as a strong governor, I certainly wouldn't want to be known as a weak governor.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm June Leffler.

And Carol was married to Charlton Harding, Carol, for more than 60 years.

She passed away in 2014.

Funeral arrangements for the former governor are pending.