The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services is finalizing regulations to classify a “dangerous” derivative of kratom as a Schedule I narcotic that would make it a crime to sell, possess or distribute the substance. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, in a Wednesday press conference, said 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, is a “powerful and addictive drug […]
Author Archives: Kentucky Lantern
Posted inNews
Beshear sends state National Guard to staff food banks seeing ‘surge’ amid SNAP delays
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is sending the National Guard to staff food banks while more than 600,000 in the state await federal food assistance during the ongoing government shutdown. This comes days after Beshear sent $5 million from the state’s “rainy day fund” to Feeding Kentucky, a network of food banks, and tasked the organization with buying […]
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SNAP work reporting requirements are expanding: what Kentuckians should know
Even if their SNAP cards don’t work at the grocery store because of a political stalemate in Washington D.C., most Kentuckians receiving federal food benefits will have to start submitting proof of work this month, even as the federal government stays shut down. Effective Nov. 1, veterans, the homeless, recent foster care youth and adults ages […]
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Martha Layne Collins, Kentucky’s only woman governor, dies at 88
Martha Layne Collins, who as the only woman to serve as governor of Kentucky revolutionized the state’s economy by landing Toyota Motor Manufacturing, died at 3 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, in Lexington. She was 88. Her husband, Dr. Bill Collins, said his wife died in her sleep at Richmond Place, a retirement community in Lexington […]
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Drop off prescription drugs Saturday for national take-back day
Kentuckians can safely dispose of prescription drugs on Saturday at around 50 locations during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The national movement is aimed at safely disposing of medicines that, in the wrong hands, could be dangerous. In April, during the last campaign, Kentucky collected 9,843 pounds of unused prescription drugs, according to Gov. Andy Beshear’s […]
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Kentucky needs more legal guardians for vulnerable kids. Training begins next month.
Kentucky Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert is urging attorneys to step up for what she admits is a stressful and low-paying job, but one that is also rewarding: Protecting the interests of vulnerable children as guardians ad litem. Guardians ad litem are court-appointed attorneys who represent children in dependency, neglect and abuse court cases. Kentucky needs more of […]
Posted inPolitics
NKY Republican hopes to renew bill to limit governor’s pardon powers in 2026
A Northern Kentucky Republican is renewing his push to limit the pardon powers of Kentucky governors around election time. Some of his colleagues agreed with him in a committee hearing on the legislation Tuesday. Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, told lawmakers on the Interim Joint State Government Committee that the upcoming 2026 legislative session would […]
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Barr leads Cameron, Morris in money race for Senate. But real prize would be Trump’s nod.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr continues to hold a big fundraising lead in the hotly-contested primary battle among three top Republicans hoping to succeed longtime U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. Andy Barr for Senate reports having nearly $6.7 million on hand at the beginning of the month, compared to $630,000 on hand for former Kentucky Attorney General […]
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Medicare not working as well in Kentucky as most other states, new report finds
Kentuckians covered by Medicare have some of the worst health outcomes and access to care in the country, according to a national report released Thursday. The first-of-its-kind report, “State Scorecard on Medicare Performance: How Medicare Is Working for Its Beneficiaries,” from the Commonwealth Fund, places Kentucky as the third-worst state for Medicare performance. Medicare is […]
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Beshear joins lawsuit opposing ‘unlawful termination’ of ‘Solar for All’ funds
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has joined elected Democrats from other states in suing the Trump administration to stop what they call the “unlawful termination” of billions of dollars for residential solar projects. A press release Wednesday from California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated the cancellation of the $7 billion “Solar for All” program denied states “critical […]
