Lexington approves FY 2026 budget with sidewalk and safety funding
Lexington’s Urban County Council approved a nearly $1 billion FY 2026 budget, including $400,000 for unsafe sidewalk repairs and public-safety funding.
Kentucky
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Owensboro Police, Fire and Schools Complete Safety Training
Owensboro police, firefighters and public schools completed a two-week active-shooter training operation focused on coordinated emergency response.
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Six University of Kentucky researchers selected for federal Genesis Mission, including grid-resilience project
Six University of Kentucky researchers are part of the first cohort of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, including a UK-led project studying power-grid resilience during extreme wind events.
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Kentucky Medicaid provider payments cut 4% beginning Aug. 1
Kentucky Medicaid has notified participating providers that reimbursement rates will be reduced 4% starting Aug. 1 because the state budget does not provide enough funding to maintain current payment levels.
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Beshear disputes claimed Aug. 3 deadline for Kentucky Senate special election
Gov. Andy Beshear challenged the legal basis for a widely circulated Aug. 3 deadline to call a special election for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat, while questions about Sen. Mitch McConnell’s status remain unresolved.
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Henry County school transportation registration deadline passes for New Castle families
Henry County Public Schools’ July 31, 2026 transportation-registration deadline has passed. Drivers are scheduled to contact families Aug. 7-11 with approximate pickup times.
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Hopkinsville receives $22,500 grant to update historic-property surveys
Hopkinsville was awarded a $22,500 federal grant to update surveys of historic properties through Kentucky’s Certified Local Government program.
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Bardstown City Schools adds second school resource officer for elementary campuses
Mike Medley joined Bardstown City Schools on July 1 as its second School Resource Officer, with an office at Bardstown Elementary School and a primary focus on preschool-through-fifth-grade campuses.
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Beshear uses $255 million to block Kentucky Medicaid cut, but long-term funding remains unresolved
Kentucky will use unexpected surplus and corporate-tax revenue to prevent a scheduled 4% Medicaid reimbursement reduction for affected fee-for-service providers. The move protects services through the current fiscal-year period, while lawmakers still face a recurring-funding question.
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Kentucky employers prepare for Aug. 17 unemployment tax-portal launch after TPA deadline
Kentucky’s new unemployment tax portal is scheduled to launch Aug. 17. Employers and TPAs must track new credentials, legacy-system cutoff dates and authorization steps.
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Why August 3 matters in Kentucky’s debate over a possible McConnell Senate vacancy
Mitch McConnell remains in rehabilitation and says he intends to return. No vacancy has been documented, but Kentucky law would require a special election if one were formally created.
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Kentucky regulators weigh a data-center power contract as residents question who will pay
Kentucky regulators are reviewing a proposed 482-megawatt Hancock County data-center power agreement after the parties asked for a decision on the written record.
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Kentucky voters to decide limits on governor’s clemency power before elections
Kentucky’s 2026 general-election ballot will ask voters whether to restrict a governor’s ability to grant pardons or commute sentences during the final 60 days before a gubernatorial election and through the governor-elect’s inauguration.
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Attorney general finds Fayette school board’s closed-session notice was incorrect, but suspension did not violate open-meetings law
Kentucky’s attorney general found an error in the Fayette County Board of Education’s closed-session notice while concluding the error did not make the board’s suspension of Superintendent Demetrus Liggins an Open Meetings Act violation.
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Dozens of Kentucky laws from 2026 session take effect during July; LRC leadership change set for Aug. 1
Kentucky began implementing dozens of laws enacted in the 2026 legislative session, with effective dates varying under the state’s constitutional rules and individual statutes.
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Kentucky courts begin major staffing and program changes after budget cuts
Kentucky’s Administrative Office of the Courts is restructuring statewide programs under the 2026-28 budget, with estimated annual savings of $5 million and an expected net loss of about 60 jobs.
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Frankfort forecast calls for high near 84, 30% storm chance through Aug. 3
A National Weather Service Louisville forecast for Frankfort and Franklin County calls for mostly cloudy conditions, a high near 84 degrees and a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms during the period ending Aug. 3.
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Target opens in Frankfort’s $150 million Paddocks development
Target held a July 21 ribbon cutting for its new 128,000-square-foot Frankfort store, the first business to open in the 95-acre Paddocks mixed-use development near U.S. 127 and Interstate 64.
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Louisville air monitors show mostly good conditions, with moderate PM2.5 at French Settlement
Louisville Metro air-quality data dated July 27 showed mostly good ozone and particle conditions, while the French Settlement monitor recorded a moderate PM2.5 AQI of 53.
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Louisville I-65 work redirects traffic as longer 2027 shutdown is planned
Louisville-area I-65 work is routing through traffic onto an approximately 16-mile detour and shifting local travel to city streets. Officials are also planning a longer, not-yet-final shutdown for summer 2027.
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NWS flood watch covered Lexington amid excessive-rain threat
A National Weather Service flood watch covered Lexington and Fayette County on July 21, 2026, as thunderstorms ahead of a cold front raised the risk of flash flooding and urban drainage problems.
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Lexington police charge 17-year-old after Douglass Park shooting
Lexington police said a 17-year-old girl was charged after a July 5 shooting at Douglass Park left a female victim hospitalized with injuries initially reported as life-threatening.