On May 19, about 1 in 10 registered Kentucky voters will not be eligible to cast a ballot in the state’s partisan primaries because they are not Republicans or Democrats. Kentucky is one of eight states in the nation that have closed primaries, or primaries that allow only registered members of the Republican and Democratic parties to cast ballots […]
Author Archives: Kentucky Lantern
Posted inNews
Tuition waiver for older Kentuckians appears safe but maybe with a new requirement
A Republican lawmaker is no longer trying to end the tuition waiver for Kentuckians who are 65 and older but is pushing instead for a new requirement that at least one Democrat thinks is unnecessary. Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville, has filed a floor amendment that would leave the tuition waiver for senior citizens unchanged and […]
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KY women who want post-C-section vaginal births face shaming, barriers
Kentucky mothers say they’ve been shamed over their desire to give birth vaginally after a prior cesarean delivery or never been informed this was an option for them, according to a new survey from University of Louisville researchers. Melissa Eggen, project researcher and an assistant professor at the University of Louisville School of Public Health […]
Posted inPolitics
Advancing bill would criminalize ‘harassing’ law enforcement, ICE agents and medics
A GOP-sponsored bill approved by a legislative committee Thursday morning would criminalize harassing or impeding a “first responder,” including local law enforcement, medics and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A Democrat who voted against the bill said he worries it could punish people who are exercising their constitutional right to film officers. Sen. Matt Nunn, […]
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Committee passes uniform way for Kentucky universities to fire professors for financial reasons
A Republican-backed bill that would put Kentucky public universities and colleges under a uniform approach to firing faculty members for financial reasons advanced from a House committee Tuesday morning. Opponents view the proposal as another attempt by the General Assembly to get around tenure protections in higher education. House Bill 490 contains language allowing the boards […]
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Fewer Kentuckians covered by ACA health insurance plans as subsidies stall in US Senate
Fewer Kentuckians have health insurance through kynect after subsidies that helped millions of Americans afford health insurance expired late last year but the decline is not as drastic as advocates had feared. Overall, about 89,000 Kentuckians enrolled in an Affordable Care Act health plan for 2026, down from about 97,000 last year, according to Priscilla Easterling, the […]
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Ky. fixes still don’t ‘prioritize patient protection,’ says national optometry board
A national group that tests optometrists for licensure in all 50 states is blasting Kentucky’s licensing board, saying it is failing to protect the public or ensure that eye care providers are competent, as it seeks to address cases of optometrists who were improperly licensed. The state board’s efforts allow “invalidly licensed optometrists to continue […]
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Free tuition for older Kentuckians is in peril
For 50 years, the legislature has waived tuition and fees at public universities and colleges for Kentuckians who have passed their 65th birthdays. That would end if the chair of the House Standing Committee on Postsecondary Education has his way. Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, is sponsoring House Bill 497 which would repeal the 1976 law that created the waiver […]
Posted inPolitics
Fish and wildlife chair can stay, no license needed to hunt on your own farmland, says AG
In an about-face, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office says Kentuckians can legally hunt and fish on their own farmland without a license even if their residence is elsewhere in the state. The opinion, published Wednesday, ends the AG’s efforts to unseat the chair of the state’s wildlife management board. In December, the AG’s office […]
Posted inPolitics
Kentucky ‘will not tolerate’ child grooming, House says with unanimous vote
To applause, Kentucky’s House of Representatives unanimously passed a priority bill that would codify criminal charges for adults who groom children for sex. House Bill 4, which has 33 sponsors, most of whom are Republican, proposes a range of charges for adults, 18 and older, who groom children with an “intent to entice, coerce, solicit, […]