89.3 WFPL News Louisville: Recent Episodes
89.3 WFPL News Louisville
The government-funded cleanup after last year’s devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky left many feeling violated.Residents reported contractors destroying and removing property without permission.And with debris still littering and clogging streams, the region is more vulnerable to future disasters.Some have called the cleanup project a failure.Jared Bennett with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has more
Earlier this year, WFPL News aired a documentary called “A Critical Moment,” reported by Jess Clark and Stephanie Wolf. It’s a cross-examination of how Germany and the United States teach about their painful histories, and why. Mallory Noe-Payne, a reporter with RadioIQ in Richmond, Virginia, took on a similar project. Her podcast Memory Wars explores what Americans can learn from how Germany confronts one of its darkest chapters.
What’s the point of Metro Council’s proposed camping ordinance? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Businessman Craig Greenberg will take over the reins of Louisville Metro Government when Mayor Greg Fischer leaves office in January.
Some candidates are using vague language to their advantage in their bid to win the education culture wars.
An interview with Louisville Inspector General Edward Harness by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Walgreens says it’s closing four of its Louisville-area stores next month. That will affect locations downtown and in the Taylor Berry, Beechmont and Pleasure Ridge Park neighborhoods.
As WFPL’s Jacob Munoz reports, that could place a burden on residents who now need to travel farther for medications.
Could polio and measles make a comeback in Ky.? School vaccination rates say kids are vulnerable
Recovery after the July floods that devastated Eastern Kentucky is a long, slow process. Jared Bennett of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting recently traveled to Clay County to learn why key resources from FEMA often don’t reach the communities that need them most.
From eerie trails to historic haunts, there is no shortage of spots in the region to get spooked for fun. The planning and creativity that goes into these places confirms they’re truly works of art.
Kentucky Irate Fest was slated for late August. But local heavy music bands started dropping out, citing poor treatment. Then artists rallied in the aftermath of Irate Fest’s cancellation to put on their own event. They hope to maintain that collaborative energy going forward.
Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday at the shuttered Parkland Library in west Louisville.
City leaders and activists are reckoning with displacement, when new development causes higher living costs and pushes out longtime residents. In the Russell and Smoketown neighborhoods, local organizations are trying to help establish community land trusts, which can create stable affordable housing.
In Knott County, students and staff are returning to school this week after more than a month of waiting. Devastating floods in late July forced officials to delay the first day. Now, school communities are back together, grappling with loss, and finding hope in each other. WFPL’s Jess Clark reports.
Nearly three years ago, state officials found toxic ‘forever chemicals’ polluting the drinking water in the city of South Shore, Kentucky. Behind the scenes, the city and state worked to resolve the problem. But residents say no one told them they were drinking contaminated water. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer has this investigation by WFPL and The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
Louisville jail leaders and city officials have quietly kickstarted conversations about replacing the facility, a proposal that comes with a hefty price tag for taxpayers.
Helen LaFrance brought scenes from her past to life with colorful, bold brush strokes. The images she recalled on canvas and paper were largely communal, joyful ones of Black rural life in western Kentucky. The Speed Art Museum in Louisville is hosting a retrospective of her work.
Joan Osborne headlines tonight’s Waterfront Wednesday concert.
The singer-songwriter, who broke into the national music scene in the 90s with hits like “One of Us” and “St. Theresa,” grew up east of Louisville, in Anchorage, Ky. She said performing before a hometown crowd can be nerve-wracking.
In the first week after the floods in eastern Kentucky, farmers reported nearly $3.5 million in damages and lost income. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer reports on how the floods affected the small farms in the region.
"Kids These Days' is the latest offering from Louisville modern and contemporary dance company Ambo Dance Theatre. It’s about the universal challenges of adolescence, but goes on to address issues that have become almost absurdly routine for this generation, like school shootings or social media’s constant presence in teens’ lives.
Almost a month after massive floods hit eastern Kentucky, residents are deciding how to rebuild their lives. Dee Davis is president of the center for rural strategies in Whitesburg, Ky. WFPL's Ryan Van Velzer spoke to Davis about his personal experience in the disaster and his hopes for the region moving forward.
Did climate change play a role in the historic floods that killed 39 and devastated communities in Eastern Kentucky in late July. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer explains the relationship between extreme storms and Kentucky’s changing climate.
An Austin, Texas company is now the biggest private landlord in west Louisville, where most residents are Black and more likely to rent. Tenants and lawmakers are concerned.
The Hindman Settlement School recently marked 120 years. It’s known for its advancement of learning and the arts. Floods in eastern Kentucky threatened a precious archive that documents more than a century of Appalachian life.
Last week thousands of students across Kentucky packed up their fresh notebooks and pencils, and headed back to the classroom for the first day of school.
But in flood-ravaged eastern Kentucky, many kids have yet to start the school year.
WFPL's Jess Clark spent time with educators and families as they worked to pick up the pieces of their lives
A nearly five thousand pound fiberglass Triceratops affectionately known as “Lottie” arrived at its new home Monday. The iconic dinosaur will be at the Kentucky Science Center in Louisville. As WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf reports, it returns to public view with reattached appendages and a fresh coat of paint.
Now a little more than three months into his tenure, WFPL News recently sat down with Louisville Jail Director Jerry Collins to discuss about the recent spate of in-custody deaths - nine since November - and what he's doing to address drug smuggling, overcrowding and other issues.
The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Ky. has covered Letcher County and the surrounding area for more than a century. When historic flooding hit about two weeks ago, the paper’s small staff and roster of contributors did what they’ve always done: tell the stories of the region and the people who live there.
When it comes to outdoor soccer, the weather can impact more than just what fans decide to wear to the match.
American workers have organized for decades. Now, a new national movement has taken hold in Louisville. WFPL's Jacob Munoz reports local baristas at two companies are seeking to transform their workplaces.
Disclosure: Heine Brothers is a sponsor of Louisville Public Media, which WFPL is part of.
The teacher shortage has been a growing problem over the last decade across the country, including in Jefferson county Public Schools. But a recent wave of resignations is leaving JCPS in a bind as this school year begins. WFPL’s Jess Clark spoke with two teachers who recently resigned about why they left.
Charging documents point to clues about how the FBI built its case against officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death. WFPL's Jess Clark speaks with Amina Elahi.
Louisville Metro Council recently passed two resolutions calling on the Kentucky General Assembly to eliminate taxes on diapers and menstrual products.
Governor’s School for the Arts students are finishing up their final projects. This year, with support from a state grant, twice as many kids got to attend the tuition-free arts program at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. More than 500 young artists spent weeks immersed in one of several art forms: from visual arts to dance, theater, music, creative writing and more.
As flash floods swept through Whitesburg, one resident said the community banded together to save their neighbors.
Directors from Louisville Fringe Festival and Derby City Playwrights say the collaboration felt right because their missions align: to foster local talent, particularly artists whose work and ideas might exist outside the mainstream.
Med students and residents aren’t sure they want to begin their careers as OB-GYNs in Kentucky anymore, now that the state has an abortion ban on the books.
Louisville Metro is facing allegations of discrimination, retaliation in civil lawsuit by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
The rhythm of Shakespeare’s work may be as important as the words themselves. So what happens when something keeps disrupting that flow? Something like low-flying air traffic? WFPL arts and culture reporter Stephanie Wolf has this story of how Kentucky Shakespeare has incorporated the constant drone of planes into shows.
Some state lawmakers see frozen embryos as people. Doctors and patients are worried about what that means for the future of IVF without federal abortion protections.
If you have asthma, you may have noticed that it seems worse during thunderstorms. Well, it’s not your imagination. Listen to the latest edition of “Science Behind the Forecast” with WAVE 3 meteorologist Tawana Andrew and WFPL's Bill Burton to learn more about thunderstorm asthma.
Plans to transform a major Louisville road are in the works. The Preston Corridor could see changes aimed at improving bus service and pedestrian safety.
WFPL’s Jacob Munoz reports on what’s in the works for one of the city’s busiest roadways.
Louisville’s only youth detention facility was shut down in 2020 due to budget cuts. The building is now getting a second life as a space for kids who’ve been arrested to cool off and access resources.
Thrash and punk metal music is known for being aggressive; But one Louisville band strives for positivity—and chaos. WFPL’s Michael J. Collins says the members of Belushi Speed Ball are educators with an edge.
A nearly 50-year-old independent movie theater in Louisville is at the end of its run. Village 8’s last day in business is July 5th. WFPL arts and culture reporter Stephanie Wolf has this farewell to an institution that meant a lot to many locals.
Almost all legal abortions are now effectively banned in Kentucky, after the United States Supreme Court decided to uphold the Mississippi law banning abortion at 15 weeks. The decision Friday overturned the 1973 case Roe v. Wade, by ending federal protections for abortion access and granting states the power to limit or ban it.
WFPL’s Jonese Franklin spoke with University of Louisville law professor Sam Marcosson after the decision became public.
New movie ‘Elvis’ features clothing fit for a king made in Southern Indiana by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
This is where it all began for My Morning Jacket. The rock band formed in Louisville in the late '90s.
The band was set to Louisville for its first hometown concerts in six years before Jim James tested positive for COVID-19. James spoke with WFPL arts and culture reporter Stephanie Wolf before that diagnosis.
Father’s Day will mark a new beginning for a Southern Indiana man after kidney transplant by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
“Color My World With Love” follows the budding romance of two young people who have Down syndrome, and a protective mother who fears heartache. Lead actor David DeSanctis, of Louisville, told WFPL's Stephanie Wolf he’s “always loved love stories. It moves me.”
Home incarceration is more common than ever in Louisville – where its seen as a way to keep people out of jail.
But the deaths of more than forty people on home incarceration discovered by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting show the dark side of this growing practice. Jared Bennett has more.
Last month, a screenshot of a homophobic school assignment went viral on social media. It came from Christian Academy of Louisville, a private, Christian school that’s been around since 1976. WFPL’s Jess Clark talked to several LGBTQ former students who say the homophobia they experienced at the school has affected them for years after graduation.
In ‘Journeys To Freedom,’ actors depict stories of escape across the Ohio River by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
June doesn't just bring warmer weather and summer vacation, it also marks the beginning of hurricane season. On the latest edition of Science Behind the Forecast, WAVE 3 meteorologist Tawana Andrew talks with WFPL's Bill Burton about her predictions for this hurricane season.
Over the last two years, one ZIP code in Louisville has reported far more noxious smells than any other. Residents report burning eyes, sore throats and headaches. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer reports where the odors are coming from and what’s being done about it.
The Jefferson County Board of Education voted to overhaul its student assignment plan, a historic decision that could undermine the district’s approach to racial integration. Under the new plan, more Black students will have the option to attend middle or high school close to home. WFPL’s City Editor Amina Elahi spoke with Education reporter Jess Clark about what this means for the district and students.
Mental health advocate outlines the state of Kentucky’s resources as DOJ investigates possible infringements
Hip hop group The Homies plays Forecastle Festival Friday, one of only a few musical acts from Louisville on the lineup. WFPL arts and culture reporter Stephanie Wolf met up with several members of The Homies to learn more about their music making.
The Southern Baptist Convention responded yesterday (Tuesday) to a report about the mishandling of sex abuse allegations. It cited that some senior leaders covered up abuse for decades – and denigrated survivors to protect the denomination.
SBC’s Executive Committee has since apologized. And said they’ll take swift actions… including releasing a list naming hundreds of abusers among clergy.
Survivor Hannah-Kate Williams has shared her story publicly since 2019. She spoke with WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf about the response.
Louisville Metro Police detectives allegedly exhibited patterns of sexual misconduct with civilians, and internal investigators downplayed accusations against the officers, according to a new two-part documentary by VICE News. The investigation also accuses officers of mishandling evidence, cash in particular.
Bill Burton, Morning Edition host for WFPL News, spoke with VICE correspondent Roberto Ferdman about his team’s findings.
Even though most Kentucky students have returned to the classroom, a new pandemic-fueled reliance on online learning isn’t going away. WFPL’s Jess Clark reports on a new effort from Jefferson County Public Schools to integrate more remote instruction as a supplement to in-classroom teaching.
Louisville visual artist John Brooks has a solo New York show that runs through May 28. It highlights a creative shift for Brooks, from painting to drawings.
From a play about infertility to a food truck fest and Shakespeare in a parking lot: WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf has this look at some of what’s happening in Louisville arts and culture.
How to spot human trafficking during large events like the Kentucky Derby by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
A mix of cream cheese and cucumbers: Benedictine has become a favorite of Derby parties, and it's truly Kentucky fare. WFPL arts and culture reporter Stephanie Wolf has the backstory on this sandwich spread.
You know about the Run for the Roses, but how about the Run for the Ropes? On Friday, the athletes with Ohio Valley Wrestling took to the ring to delight fans at the Kentucky Derby Festival for the first time since 2019. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer has this story about a Louisville staple attracting audiences, both old and new.
An eastern Kentucky ecologist has measured the world’s largest red hickory tree in an area marked for logging in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Logging in other parts of the forest has degraded the land contributing to landslides and the proliferation of invasive plants. Now environmental groups worry the massive red hickory will face the same fate.
Last week on Science Behind the Forecast, we learned about how the weather can affect Thunder Over Louisville. This week we're sticking with the Kentucky Derby Festival theme and learning how weather affects The Great Balloon Race.
WAVE 3 Meteorologist Tawana Andrew said the Kentucky Derby Festival has very specific criteria for the balloons to get off the ground.
“The wind, if it's greater than 12 mph, they are going to postpone the launch. They'll also postpone the launch if visibility is less than 3 miles or there is fog in the area or if rain is in the area,” Andrew said. “They'll also postpone the launch if clouds are below 1,500 feet.”
And wind isn't necessarily the most important weather factor once the balloon is in the air. Andrew said rain can make it very challenging to fly a hot air balloon. She said not only can it affect visibility but it can make the flight itself more difficult.
“The temperature of a balloon can reach 212 degrees Fahrenheit,” said Andrew. “So there's hot air inside of this balloon, and you have rain falling on top of it. It's cooling it down and the hot air inside which basically is pushing the balloon back down towards the ground, so the balloon is losing its lift."
WFPL's Bill Burton spoke with Andrew for this week's edition of Science Behind the Forecast.
Burlesque, as an art form, includes a variety of things: music, striptease, elaborate costumes and dancing. A Louisville artist wants to ensure it also showcases a variety of body types.
Weather obviously plays an important role in Thunder Over Louisville and thankfully, Saturday's forecast is sunny and warm. But WAVE 3 Meteorologist Tawana Andrew said of the 30 full Thunder shows since 1990, rain has fallen on half of them. Andrew said rain doesn't really impact the aircraft but clouds sure can. Andrew joins WFPL's Bill Burton for the latest edition of Science Behind the Forecast.
Today is Earth Day. To mark the anniversary, WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer brings you this story from Eastern Kentucky about an ecologist who believes he’s found the largest Red Hickory tree in the world.
Kentucky legislators passed a 70-plus page bill restricting abortion in the state. Two organizations have filed federal lawsuits. WFPL's Aprile reports on the path the bill took to become law.
This week, WFPL News explores the sounds of the spring holiday season. For Easter, a look at, or rather listen to, the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.”
Passover begins Friday at sundown. Jewish families will gather for Seder, the holiday’s ceremonious meal.
As part of our exploration of sounds and melodic rituals this spring holiday season, WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf looks at the tradition of the Four Questions.
Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer for Muslims, is underway. This week, we explore the sounds and melodic traditions of the holiday season. For Ramadan, WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf looks at the Islamic call to prayer.
Chicken Coop Theatre Company presents “Xanadu,” complete with a roller skating cast, at Champ’s Rollerdrome through Sunday.
The Jefferson County Board of Education is months away from a big vote: whether or not to approve a new student assignment plan that would change which schools students can attend. The plan, originally unveiled in 2019, would provide more resources and options for students to attend school in Louisville’s majority-Black West End. But it also threatens to undo the district’s nationally-recognized efforts at racial and economic integration.
WFPL’s Jess Clark went to a forum to hear what the community is saying about the plan.
Kentucky has one of the highest rates of child abuse and neglect in the country. Child welfare experts say there’s a proven way to reduce them – but it takes money. Jasmine Demers from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has more.
On the latest edition of Science Behind the Forecast, WAVE 3 meteorologist Tawana Andrew tells WFPL's Bill Burton the news that no one wanted: allergy season is getting longer. And Andrew has the numbers to back it up.
In the 60s and 70s, Black artists in Louisville often struggled to get their work shown. Some left for bigger cities. WFPL contributor Natalie Weis reports others created opportunities that paved the way for artists living and working in Louisville today.
The national conversation about how to talk about race in the classroom continues. The so-called anti-critical race theory rhetoric has inspired four bills making their way through the Kentucky General Assembly. One bill has cleared the Senate and is being considered in the state House.
But some students aren’t happy about it.
If you ever looked up at the sky and wondered how clouds are formed, you might be surprised to learn that the answer could be under your feet. Or all around you, really.
WAVE 3 meteorologist Tawana Andrew said particularly for the formation of cirrus clouds – those short, detached, hair-like clouds – there needs to be some dust. And a lot of it.
She spoke with WFPL's Bill Burton on the latest edition of Science Behind the Forecast.
A Louisville composer premieres a new work in Washington, D.C. this week. It’s called “Breonna’s Lullaby," and is part of a project that aims to elevate Black dignity through music.
Sunday marked two years since officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department shot and killed Breonna Taylor during a late-night raid on her apartment. Her death sparked a city-wide protest movement and broader calls for racial justice.
The state hasn’t convicted any officers in her death. But as WFPL’s Jess Clark reports, Taylor’s family and supporters are still calling for other forms of justice.
Examining the intersection of race, trauma and mental health by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
See the written story at https://kycir.org/2022/02/28/false-testimony-didnt-end-these-kentucky-state-troopers-careers/.
Step is Black American artform of rhythmic stomping, clapping, movement and spoken word that has roots in the arrival of enslaved Africans in the Americas. During Black history month, students at a local middle school, Grace James Academy in Louisville took a deep dive into the history and practice of Step. WFPL’s Jess Clark spent time with the Grace James step team last week and has this report.
Carter G. Woodson was a historian, author and journalist, known to many as the “Father of Black History Month.” And Kentucky is a part of his story.
Readers all over the world know bell hooks as an author, feminist, social activist and teacher. Here in Kentucky, we know her as one of our own. And throughout her life, she never forgot those roots.
bell hooks died in December 2021 in Berea, where she taught and founded the bell hooks institute at Berea College. She was 69.
In this WFPL News special, we reflect on hooks’ life and legacy.
WFPL’s Rick Howlett speaks with three of hooks’ colleagues: Kentucky Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson, Berea College Professor Dr. Chad Berry and former Berea College Provost Dr. Linda Strong-Leek, now at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.
They share how hooks inspired them as scholars, and as friends. WFPL's Jonese Franklin talks with Wilkinson about a new project that carries on hooks' legacy of nurturing the next generation of writers. And we hear from callers and readers about how hooks influenced their thinking.
Edward White has been a staple of Louisville arts since the 90s. He ran the River City Drum Corps for decades… leading it to national prominence. As WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf learned, though, White has an entirely different set of skills that haven’t been seen until now.
Activists concerned over bills that take aim at charitable bail funds by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
On Dec. 9, 2021, police arrested two suspects in the shooting death of 16-year-old Tyree Smith at his JCPS bus stop. Both are teenagers.
WFPL's Jess Clark met with Tyree's family to discuss their feelings about the arrests. Tyree's mother said she had "no ill will" toward the suspects, and worried about their families and their futures.
KyCIR Amplify: FEMA denials frustrate KY tornado survivors by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
A committee of state lawmakers moved forward a bill that would prevent transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams in K-12 schools. WFPL news editor talked to WFPL educator reporter Jess Clark, who's been following the legislation.
As the planet continues to warm, some experts say the use of artificial snow for winter sports could be the norm. This week on Science Behind the Forecast, WFPL's Bill Burton and WAVE 3 Meteorologist Tawana Andrew talk about how climate change is affecting the 2022 Winter Olympics and how it could influence where future games are held.
A new Kentucky Opera production of Gluck’s “Orfeo” looks at the composer’s original intent. Taking the work back in time, sonically, makes it feel quite modern.
Advocates Fear Louisville Weeds Ordinance Restricts Native Plant Cultivation by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Louisville Metro passed a resolution in 2020 to make city government operations 100% renewable by 2035. But the city’s utility, Louisville Gas & Electric, has other plans.
While the investor-owned utility does plan to add more renewable energy to its portfolio, Louisville Gas and Electric has also told state regulators it intends to burn fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, including coal and natural gas.
WFPL reporters Jess Clark and Stephanie Wolf speak with Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times Magazine reporter and creator of "The 1619 Project." This interview is a part of reporting for WFPL News' radio documentary "A Critical Moment."
Now that we know more about the movement aimed at rooting out anti-racist curriculum in schools, we go back across the Atlantic to Germany, to learn how that country became known for confronting its most troubling chapters in the classroom.
In this segment we dive into something you’ve probably heard a lot about recently: Critical Race Theory. It’s an academic framework that emerged in the late 1970s in law schools. But lately, conservatives are using Critical Race Theory as a stand-in term for anti-racist efforts in workplaces and schools.
“A Critical Moment" is a look at how two countries teach about the atrocities in their past, from WFPL News. In this documentary, arts & culture reporter Stephanie Wolf takes us to Germany to learn how that country teaches about the Holocaust. And education reporter Jess Clark looks into the backlash in Kentucky against school curriculum that addresses systemic racism.
NOTE: We start this segment on a class trip to the former concentration camp Dachau, and there is a description of the genocide that happened there.
Sam Quinones is author of the 2015 book, “Dreamland.” His most recent work is “The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth.” He recently spoke in Southern Indiana.
Louisville saw a record number of homicides last year. But police have solved just a third of the cases, and they’re blaming residents for not sharing what they know.
A week after students, staff and faculty delivered a petition to University of Louisville administration demanding better COVID-19 safety, they still haven't received a response.
The planet is running out of time to eliminate its reliance on fossil fuels, and the coal that keeps the lights on in Kentucky is one of the state’s biggest contributors to global warming. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer looks at carbon reduction plans for the state’s largest utility.
“Crafting the Vernacular” features contemporary artists, including Nate Watson, using the medium of glass to reflect on their experiences and upbringings.
Henderson discuses the hurdles the district is facing after deadly tornadoes destroyed much of the town.
“A Journal for Jordan,” directed by Denzel Washington, is based on the memoir of Pulitzer-Prize winner Dana Canedy. As a producer on the film, Canedy wanted the team “to understand we're real people. We're not just characters.”
Every year, Louisville Metro Government gets hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding to help low- and moderate-income residents with home repairs. The city says its goal is to provide safe and stable living conditions. But some recipients worry that’s not happening.
The state Transportation Cabinet’s bidding system allows a handful of large companies to avoid serious competition for jobs.
The tornadoes that ripped through the state last week took homes, lives, and livelihoods. But they also took photo albums, mementos, family heirlooms–the beloved objects that make up a life. WFPL’s John Boyle has the story of one Princeton family that, with a stranger’s help, was able to reconnect with one of their precious keepsakes.
When Neeli Bendapudi arrived at the University of Louisville, the school was in trouble on numerous fronts. It had a cash flow problem, its academic accreditation had recently been imperiled. And morale was suffering from a string of scandals that unfolded under Bendapudi’s predecessor. But many say Bendapudi righted the ship.
A Bosnian native living in Bowling Green is having to rebuild once again after the storms destroyed the home he’s owned for 21 years.
Jasmin Grahovic lived through the war in Bosnia and was in a refugee camp. Grahovic says this will be the third time in his life that’s starting over.
Muhlenberg County is just one of many grappling with the aftermath of devastating storms. WFPL's Ryan Van Velzer reports from the small rural communities there.
A professor focused on how Japanese Americans maintained their Buddhist faith while imprisoned in internment camps during World War II has earned a prestigious Grawemeyer Award in Religion.
Public comment was deferred to email for more than a year because of the danger of COVID-19. Now it’s deferred to email because of the possibility of violence.
The bourbon industry is increasingly pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer met with the makers of Old Forester and Jack Daniels to learn how the industry is adapting to a changing world.
A new digital art project pays respect to Breonna Taylor. The artists designed it to function as a space for Taylor’s loved ones and community members to find solace. WFPL arts & culture reporter Stephanie Wolf takes us into the augmented reality artwork, “Breonna’s Garden.”
Listen to a conversation between WFPL and KyCIR reporters about police reform, what's gone wrong in Louisville and what's possible.
Tis’ the season for “The Nutcracker.” And this Louisville dance company is performing a different take on the holiday staple. WFPL arts and culture reporter Stephanie Wolf goes behind the scenes of the new dance work, “The Graham Cracker.”
Jefferson County Public Schools has hired Johnson Traditional Middle School Principal April Brooks as the district’s new athletic director. Brooks has been a high school and college athlete, a teacher, and a track coach. When Brooks steps into her new role in January she will be the district’s first woman athletic director, and the first Black woman in the role. WFPL’s Jess Clark spoke with Brooks about her plans.
Workers at the jail in downtown Louisville are speaking out about what they see as a growing crisis. They say the jail is overcrowded, understaffed and its infrastructure — like computers, elevators and cell door locks — is in disrepair. Advocates who have been pushing for years to limit or eliminate the use of cash bail see themselves as uniquely positioned to help address the jail’s capacity issues.
Thanksgiving is supposed to be about gratitude, but the real star of the holiday is what’s on the menu. From cornbread dressing to pecan pie, WFPL got the scoop (and seconds!) on what these Louisville chefs love to eat on the holiday
A year after protests over the death of Breonna Taylor, friends and family of 21-year-old activist Hamza Travis Nagdy gathered Sunday in a celebration of life. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer asked protesters involved in the movement to reflect on this past year.
The Center for Interfaith Relations organizes the event, and this year’s is titled “Sacred Change: Essential Conversations on Faith and Race.” It’s a response to the police killing of Breonna Taylor and the protests following her death. WFPL's Stephanie Wolf spoke with theologian Lewis Brogdon.
Dancers sometimes refer to it as their first death -- that is, the end of their performing career. For long-time Louisville Ballet dancer Erica De La O, that moment comes Saturday when she takes the Brown Theatre stage as the lead role in "Swan Lake."
Forever chemicals from a Teflon recycler have polluted the city of Henderson Kentucky. State officials and the polluter, Shamrock Technologies, acted swiftly to stop the worst of the contamination. But pollution that could last for a millennia had already spread into the aquifer underneath the city, and into neighborhoods. The state never shared the details with the public. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer Reports.
Vernon Cherrix’s passion for teaching piano recently earned him a national accolade from one of the most famous piano makers in the world.
A company that recycles Teflon products has polluted a western Kentucky community, spoiling groundwater for generations and blanketing neighborhoods with forever chemicals. It also cost the city of Henderson a $100 million business investment.
Henderson City Manager William "Buzzy" Newman July 28th in Henderson by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
You might have heard, Louisville is supposedly quite haunted.
But did you know that Kentucky as a whole is a hotbed of eerie events: UFO sightings, odd things raining down from the heavens, unexplained occurrences?
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is coming up. There are a number of ways to celebrate the holiday around Louisville, and at some events, food is a key ingredient.
A lack of transportation personnel is forcing many Kentucky school districts to make some tough decisions, from going without bus monitors, to combining routes, to cutting routes altogether. WFPL's Jess Clark reports.
To solve murders, Louisville police turn to ‘geofence’ warrants — but net few arrests by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Actors’ executive artistic director Robert Barry Fleming spoke with WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf. They discussed the new season, the fate of the Humana Festival, why Actors moved away from subscriptions and more.
Louisville painter Vian Sora wrapped up time in Berlin. She's creating a new body of work based on themes that have shaped her life: bombings and displacement. That’s why she’s drawn to Berlin, a city with a history of destruction.
Each year Monarch butterflies migrate from the United States to Mexico, stopping over in Kentucky on their way from the northeast. With migration season nearing its end, WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer caught up with Kentucky Wild for a butterfly tagging event in Perryville.
The Jefferson County Board of Education was supposed to meet Tuesday to approve two new COVID-19 testing policies. Instead, heated public comment over school-based policing turned into a shouting match and forced the board to adjourn early for the first time in recent memory.
Adding school resource officers, or SROs, was not on the agenda. But the meeting was the board’s first since Louisville Metro Police Chief Erika Shields called for Jefferson County Public Schools to bring back SROs following the killing of 16-year-old Tyree Smith at a JCPS bus stop. Community members on both sides of the issue came prepared to speak.
The West End Opportunity Partnership is promising to bring new business and development to west Louisville, but some residents are concerned the Partnership will only increase inequality and gentrification. Some are even organizing to stop it.
The Ohio Valley has been hard hit by the latest surge in COVID-19, and that’s impacting all aspects of the healthcare system. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer reports first responders across Kentucky and Ohio have dealt with staffing and bed shortages while learning to manage a new disease.
One week ago this morning, 16-year-old Tyree Smith died after he was shot while waiting for his school bus.
Today, we have a remembrance of Smith. WFPL’s Jess Clark talked to Eastern High School English teacher Emily Kolb.
In the week since Tyree Smith’s death, Police Chief Erika Shields has been pushing to bring back school resource officers. But many people, including school officials and students, have concerns about how officers treat students of color.
Louisville Water Company knows of nearly 1,000 homes built before 1950 that still have lead service lines. As WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer learned, they’re reaching out to homeowners and offering to pay up to $1,500 to cover the costs of replacing the lead pipes.
Jefferson County Sheriff Seizes Millions in Cash — Often From UPS Packages by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Louisville Gas and Electric says it’s received the major state and federal permits necessary to build a nearly 12-mile-long natural gas pipeline through conservation lands in Bullitt County. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer spoke with Yasmine Jumaa about the legal challenges that remai
UNESCO has awarded a World Heritage designation to a cluster of sites in Germany due to their historical significance to European Jewish culture in the Middle Ages. Collectively, these ancient sites are known as SchUM, an acronym: formed from the first letter of the Hebrew names for the three west-central German towns this Jewish community inhabited in the Middle Ages.
Lothar Schilling and Franz-Josef Wertmann sing a popular Carnival song by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
From the inventor of the printing press, to Carnival to a 250-year-old music publishing house, WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf shares some highlights from her reporting in Mainz, one of Louisville’s nine sister cities. She’s there as Louisville rethinks its sister cities program.
As Kentucky becomes warmer and wetter due to climate change, it’s also increasing the number of days that are ideal for mosquitoes. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer caught up with an entomologist from Louisville’s Department of Health and Wellness who explains that that has implications for disease transmission.
The Scenic Loop, a two-lane, 2.3 mile road was made off-limits to cars at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Louisville Metro Council now appears poised to side with drivers and restore vehicle access to the entire loop.
It took action from the Kentucky legislature to allow the state to forgive debts for people it mistakenly overpaid in unemployment benefits. But as Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting reporter Jared Bennett explains, everyone isn’t getting the chance for relief.
Drug overdoses increased significantly last year in Kentucky. The group with the biggest jump in deaths was young people. Jasmine Demers of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has the story.
In the first nine days of the new school year, Jefferson County Public Schools quarantined 1,853 students and staff, and confirmed 433 cases of COVID-19. Parents and district leaders worry it may point to a rocky school year ahead, while the delta variant rages.
Last week, we told you about rural shootings in America - and that a nationwide review found the Kentucky State Police shot and killed the most people in rural communities.
Now, the joint investigation between the Marshall Project and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has found a lack of accountability when Kentucky state troopers shoot.
KyCIR’s R.G. Dunlop has this report.
As fatal police shootings have become a flash point in U.S. cities, they have also occurred at high rates in rural areas — largely without national attention.
Read our investigation in collaboration with The Marshall Project and the New York Times: https://kycir.org/2021/08/13/shooting-first-and-asking-questions-later/
High levels of PFAS chemicals have contaminated a plastics recycling company in the Western Kentucky community of Henderson. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer obtained testing results through a records request showing the extent of the pollution at the site.
On Wednesday, for the first time in a year and a half, Jefferson County Public Schools welcomed students back to full-capacity classrooms. But it’s not a return to a normal school year. With the delta variant of COVID-19 on the rise, students and staff came back to the classroom with mixed emotions.
High levels of Forever chemicals have contaminated a plastics recycling company in Henderson, Kentucky, and spread offsite into groundwater and likely into a creek that flows into the Ohio River. WFPL’s Jonese Franklin spoke with Ryan Van Velzer.
The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials recommend universal masking in K-12 settings. But as the school year gets underway in Kentucky, most districts are not requiring masks. WFPL’s Jess Clark reports.
For summer learning this year, Jefferson County Public Schools is trying something they’ve never done before: using a gifted and talented curriculum for all students--not just those who test into the advanced program. WFPL’s Jess Clark has a look at how it's going.
The administrative issue is leaving an unknown number of people with cases in District Court at risk for wrongful arrest.
Every Kentuckian who died of COVID-19 is more than a number. They were a friend, family member, partner, coworker -- someone with a story. WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf reports on a project that collects those stories.
Thousands of utility customers have had their power and water cut off in and around Louisville since June, and tens of thousands more are behind on their payments and at risk of losing utilities.
This is the first wave of utility shut-offs in Louisville since the state’s moratorium expired.
Former Democratic state Rep. Charles Booker launched his campaign for U.S. Senate earlier this month. He ran for the Senate last year as well, gaining momentum during racial justice protests in Louisville and across the state. But he ended up narrowly losing the Democratic primary to retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath. Capitol reporter Ryland Barton talked to Booker as he hopes to unseat incumbent Republican Rand Paul in 2022.
With prison visitation suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, families of incarcerated people had to rely more than ever on expensive phone and email services. As Jared Bennett of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting explains, the Kentucky Department of Corrections and a company called Securus Technologies profited off this isolation.
Louisville has been providing funeral services for people who would otherwise go without since at least the 1980s. It’s historically been run by local government, first Louisville's Social Services Department and then the Jefferson County Coroner’s office. Now though, Catholic Charities of Louisville is taking over the program, a move advocates hope will ensure long-term sustainability.
Photojournalist Charles “Bud” Dorsey loved his hometown of Louisville, Ky. That’s what his eldest daughter, Kim Anderson, wants people to remember about her father, who died Thursday, “surrounded by lots of family,” at the age of 80. Anderson shares memories of her late father.
Last night the Louisville Tea Party and a new conservative group called “No Left Turn in Education” held a forum on critical race theory. Activists are worried about how racism is discussed in the classroom and they are making a number of claims about CRT, and not all of them are true.
WFPL’s Jess Clark went to the forum and joins us now to walk us through some of these claims.
Louisville singer-songwriter Will Oldham, aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and New York guitarist Matt Sweeney released their first album together in 2005. Called “Superwolf,” it was hailed as a cult classic. Now, 16 years later, they have a new album out. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf spoke with the musicians.
School is out for summer, but across Jefferson County Public Schools, thousands of students are still learning. Concerned that kids may have fallen behind in reading and math during the pandemic, JCPS dramatically expanded summer programming.
Civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer’s life is dramatized in a new opera called “This Little Light of Mine.” Kentucky Opera and Santa Fe Opera are co-presenting a virtual performance Saturday. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf takes us behind the scenes.
Several Kentucky state lawmakers have introduced legislation to limit discussions of race in the classroom. It’s a move several other conservative state legislatures have already made. While the bills don’t explicitly mention “critical race theory,” their sponsors have name-checked the concept in press releases. But experts say they’re using the term as a boogeyman and teachers say it could have real impacts on the classroom. WFPL’s Jess Clark reports.
A solo show by artist Lori Larusso at Quappi Projects examines our sometimes complex relationships with food and animals. WFPL’s Jonese Franklin spoke with reviewer Natalie Weis about the exhibit.
The school year is coming to a close today in Jefferson County Public Schools. That means high school seniors are preparing for graduation. WFPL’s Jess Clark reports from duPont Manual’s football stadium, where seniors gathered early this morning to practice their graduation ceremony.
It’s been a full year since the downtown Louisville shooting that Metro Police say injured seven people. It happened during the first night of mass protests for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Black woman killed by police in her home little more than two months prior. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer reports police haven’t yet identified the shooter. A warning, this story contains graphic audio and depictions.
On Tuesday night, the Jefferson County Board of Education will vote on whether to join many other school districts across the country and limit suspensions in the earliest grades: PreK through third grade. As WFPL’s Jess Clark reports, it’s a change officials hope will reduce disproportionate suspensions of Black students and students with disabilities.
Law enforcement agencies in Southern Indiana are teaming up with mental health and substance use treatment specialists this year to address the region’s opioid crisis in a new way.
Passionate about the natural world, some artists are examining how their materials and creative process impact the environment.
More than 51-thousand people attended the 147th run for the roses yesterday [Saturday], where Medina Spirit and jockey John Velasquez won the Kentucky Derby race. As WFPL’s Jess Clark reports, despite rising COVID infections in some parts of the world, many Derby goers said they felt like the pandemic is over.
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing is considered one of the most elusive sporting accomplishments: a back-to-back sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. To even be eligible, competitors have to go through a process that dates back to 1986, but you have to go back even further, to May 1985, to understand why.
The coronavirus pandemic forced the delay of the Derby from the first Saturday in May until the first Saturday in September.
Wilkinson is a poet, fiction writer and an associate professor at the University of Kentucky. She stepped into her poet laureate role officially Friday. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf spoke with Wilkinson about how she sees the position of state poet laureate.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s statewide mask mandate expired last week, but some local restaurant owners are still requiring their patrons and staff to wear face coverings.
The Kentucky General Assembly recently voted to fund full-day public kindergarten across the state for the first time. That means next year families won’t have to pay out of pocket in districts that currently charge kindergarten fees. WFPL’s Jess Clark reports.
For more than a year, public health leaders in Louisville and Southern Indiana have dedicated themselves to the fight against COVID-19. And they’ve done it while dealing with the challenges of everyday life.
Nearly a third of Louisville residents have gotten at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. But much of the sign-up process takes place online, which presents a challenge for seniors and others who lack internet access or tech savvy. Those tech challenges are one of the reasons Black residents aren’t getting vaccinated as quickly as other groups. As WFPL’s Jess Clark reports, community members and activists are stepping in to help.
The pandemic has stretched on for a tense year, and the state’s protocols have not stopped the spread inside correctional facilities. In the prisons alone, where over 9,600 people were held as of February data, there have been 7,883 cases and 48 deaths.
There have been no mass releases of incarcerated people since August. Those who remain live under frequent lockdowns and isolation, their loved ones shouldering costly fees to stay in touch. Access to programs that move incarcerated people toward parole has been limited. And the state prison system spent hundreds of thousands of coronavirus funds on unproven prevention equipment.
For one Southern Indiana family, being a year into the pandemic offers an opportunity. The Bostocks were one of the first in the area to lose someone to COVID-19. And now, they have a chance to memorialize him with loved ones.
Public libraries across Louisville are welcoming people to come inside and browse the collections Friday. That’s after many months of only being able to pick up books curbside. Library officials say a little more than a third of its 300 employees are fully vaccinated. But, as WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf learned, some don’t feel ready to move to this next phase of reopening.
It’s been a long year figuring out how to live through this pandemic. For some, solace can be found in a fresh baked cookie or a glazed donut. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf visited some Louisville sweet shops that are surviving and even thriving in these strange times.
On Wednesday, for the first time in more than a year, Jefferson County Public Schools welcomed students back to the classroom for in-person learning. Students have been learning remotely since last March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. WFPL’s Jess Clark went to Medora Elementary to see what in-person learning looks like.
Saturday marks one year since Louisville Metro Police killed Breonna Taylor. WFPL’s John Boyle has more on how local protestors are planning to pay respects to Taylor.
Breonna Taylor was not the first Black woman to die as the result of racialized police violence, but in 2020 her story resonated in Louisville and across the United States. And because of that, her name highlights the injustice for all Black women who died under similar circumstances. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer has the story on how a movement came to say her name.
In the wake of the racial justice protests that erupted across the country last year, Kentucky Senator Danny Carroll sponsored a bill that would make it a crime to insult a police officer. But as WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer reports, the measure includes a number of other reforms that opponents say would have a chilling effect on First Amendment protected activities.
It’s been almost a year since officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department forced their way into Breonna Taylor’s apartment, and shot and killed her. In many ways the killing has forever changed the city of Louisville and the people who live here. As WFPL’s Jess Clark reports, Breonna Taylor’s death has forced Black girls and young women to confront the uncertainty of their futures.
Breonna Taylor has inspired artists of all disciplines… from visual art to theater, music and poetry. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf spoke with an Atlanta poet, who recently released a video that he describes as a “visual poem.” It’s called “Would You Kill God Too?”
Police reform wasn’t on the radar of most Kentucky lawmakers when Louisville police killed Breonna Taylor last March. But after months of protests calling for change, politicians started to pay attention. Demonstrations led to some new policies—the city of Louisville passed a ban on no-knock warrants and Lexington temporarily suspended them. And at the statewide level, capitol reporter Ryland Barton says police reforms are moving forward, but they’re not everything the protesters hoped for.
Her face has appeared on billboards. On the covers of national magazines. She’s inspired poetry and music. And protesters have chanted her name: Breonna Taylor. A 26-year-old Black woman killed by Louisville police a year ago this week. She was also a daughter, a sister and a friend. WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf has this remembrance.
Saturday marks the anniversary of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kentucky. State officials were initially skeptical. They refused to test the patient who lives in Cynthiana Kentucky and had no travel history. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer spoke with Harrison Memorial Hospital CEO Sheila Currans about how she and others identified the state’s first confirmed case. Music for this story was composed by Louisville-based musician Noah Barker.
Saturday marks the anniversary of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kentucky. The patient, Julia Donohue, is a 28-year-old baker from Cynthiana, Kentucky. Donohue spoke to WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer about what it was like to contract an unknown virus. Music for this story was composed by Louisville-based musician Noah Barker. Hear and read more from our two part series at WFPL.org.
Louisville chorus Voices of Kentuckiana presents a virtual cabaret Saturday, featuring music that speaks to this past year. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf spoke with the chorus’ director.
Few Louisvillians are popular enough to be known by just one name. Even fewer are animals. But in 2021, a new mononymous figure arrived on the scene – Ethan. WFPL’s John Boyle has more.
An interactive art show opens in Louisville Friday. It’s part of a larger initiative called Healing Walls. As WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf reports, the project’s leader wants to support Black artists and creatives of color in learning public art skills.
In this Sept. 2020 story, Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting and WDRB News reviewed hundreds of search warrants and found few judges took the time to sign their whole name.
2020 was a slog for Louisville’s independent venues and concert promoters. And there’s a lot of anxiety about how this year will pan out for the industry. Many local venues are pinning their hopes on mass vaccination and federal aid.
In this July 2020 story, KyCIR reporter Jewel Jackson examines the need for the Say Her Name movement.
Gaps in educational opportunity are growing while students are out of the classroom because of the pandemic. Some community leaders say the disparity shows the need to get students back into school buildings as soon as possible. For others, it’s more complicated. WFPL’s Jess Clark has this report.
Gov. Andy Beshear says Black Kentucians have received a disproportionately low amount of the state’s supply of the COVID-19 vaccine. He’s pledged to improve access in the coming weeks, but has left some questioning why that process is beginning now two months into the vaccine rollout.
Kentucky's unreported backlog has obscured the true toll of the deadliest months of the pandemic so far, leaving Kentuckians without an accurate picture of when and where people are dying, now nearly a year into restrictions meant to curb the disease’s spread.
Jefferson County Public Schools wants to close the gap in educational opportunity students have based on their race, family income and other factors. But data obtained by WFPL shows the gap between low-income students and their wealthier peers may be growing during remote learning and the pandemic. WFPL’s Jess Clark has this report on why remote learning is so difficult on low-income families.
Remote eviction proceedings are violating the rights of hundreds of Louisville tenants after the location of virtual eviction hearings was changed without notifying defendants, according to a new lawsuit.
The shift to online learning has been difficult for all students. But for students who are new to this country and still learning English, the challenges are enormous. Data obtained by WFPL shows 72 percent of high school English Language Learners in JCPS were failing a class during the first term of this school year. WFPL’s Jess Clark talked with a few immigrant high school students to find out more about the challenges they’re facing.
The Louisville Metro Police Department entered people’s homes to execute search warrants more than 450 times over a year and a half. The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, along with WDRB News, found that the narcotics detective who obtained the most residential search warrants is facing scrutiny for his questionable tactics.
For the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, Eleanor Klibanoff has more.
Jacob Ryan reported this story, in collaboration with WDRB News. This work was supported by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Every January, Louisville homeless advocates and volunteers survey the county to understand approximately how many people are sleeping outdoors. It’s known as the street count and COVID has changed the logistics this year.
When classrooms shut down last spring to in-person learning, educational theater group Drama by George went straight to audio to keep kids acting.
As a new federal administration takes office, arts workers would like to see more targeted pandemic relief and many support creating an Arts & Culture Cabinet.
Louisville Police Routinely Bust Down Doors In Hunt For Drugs by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is streaming now on Netflix, a film adaptation of a work by celebrated playwright August Wilson. Frankfort, Ky. native and Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe directed the film version. His many credits include the hit Broadway show Jelly’s Last Jam and directing the Broadway debut of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. He spoke with WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf.
Which Louisville Judge Let Police Search Your House? Most Signatures Are Unreadable by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Education professionals can’t claim unemployment during the summer break that started in Louisville on May 31, a caveat the state doesn’t appear to have made clear when it extended benefits to substitute teachers. Subs who continued to file for unemployment after summer break began are now expected to repay anything the state paid in error.
The head of the Office of Unemployment Insurance was quietly fired on May 5, amid an unprecedented number of jobless claims, a race to overhaul an archaic computer system and a belatedly-reported data breach.
Around 13,000 Jefferson County Public Schools employees have signed up to receive the coronavirus vaccine when K-12 school employee vaccinations begin. But that still leaves around 6 thousand JCPS employees and contractors who haven’t signed up. Health officials say the vaccine is safe, but as WFPL’s Jess Clark reports, many school employees are still hesitant to take it.
Katherine Jackson French traveled the Kentucky mountains in the early 1900s, searching for traditional ballads that were disappearing. Her attempt to publish her work failed, in part, because she was a woman. And, in part, due to something called the “Ballad Wars.” Now, Jackson French’s story is finally being told.
Kentucky artist Helen LaFrance Orr died in November of 2020 at the age of 101. She was known for her paintings depicting scenes from her life in rural Kentucky. One of those paintings is now on view at Louisville’s Speed Art Museum.
In JCPS, each elementary school has a family resource coordinator whose job is helping students and their families overcome challenges like poverty and trauma.
This year, the phrase “essential worker” became commonplace as COVID-19 forced many to continue working in-person. In honor of those who served in these key roles by choice or necessity, WFPL is highlighting local essential workers who made it possible for the rest of us to manage in 2020.
Nayelyi Sanchez, the immigrant coordinator for the Center for Women and Families, helps victims of domestic violence navigate the court system.
The pandemic has made it difficult for hundreds of thousands of Louisville households to put food on the table. In fact, the national group Feeding America reports that COVID-19 is rolling back any advancements made in food insecurity since the Great Recession. WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf met some essential workers helping feed Louisvillians.
Christmas Day can be difficult for many, even when we aren’t in the grips of a worldwide pandemic.
WFPL’s Kate Howard talked with Laurel Sims-Stewart, a licensed professional counselor at Bridge Counseling and Wellness here in Louisville, about coping strategies for people who may be struggling right now.
Three anonymous grand jurors from the Breonna Taylor case took the highly unusual step of challenging secrecy and speaking out publicly. They contradicted Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s claims. And they describe him as a bully who impeded their civic duty. WFPL’s Amina Elahi spoke with them this month about what’s happened since.
A beloved figure in the Louisville arts community died last week. Barbara Cullen was a choreographer and director at many of the local theaters. But she’s best known as a caring and gifted dance teacher. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf has this remembrance.
Louisville kids can make masks for people experiencing homelessness using just scissors and a T-shirt. The activity is part of social-emotional curriculum from a Louisville nonprofit.
This year, the phrase “essential worker” became commonplace as COVID-19 forced many to continue working in-person. In honor of those who served in these key roles by choice or necessity, WFPL is highlighting local essential workers who made it possible for the rest of us to manage in 2020. WFPL’s Amina Elahi profiles emergency room nurse Austin Gramps.
The new Netflix Christmas movie “Jingle Jangle” is about a brilliant toymaker named Jeronicus Jangle, who is betrayed by his apprentice. Justin Cornwell grew up in Louisville, and stars as the young Jeronicus. He said being a part of a Christmas film with a largely Black cast has meant a lot to him as a Black actor.
A lesson on Rosa Parks stuck with a Latinx kid, inspiring him to write a one-person play as an adult. That music-filled play is now a virtual work, streaming as part of Actors Theatre of Louisville’s season.
JCPS's new student assignment proposal would give Black families in west Louisville more choices, including an option close to home. But it would mean schools would become more segregated.
In the last part of this series on student assignment, we ask JCPS superintendent Marty Pollio what his plan is to make sure west Louisville schools don't struggle with the same problems other segregated schools are already facing.
JCPS officials say a new student assignment proposal would bring equity to Black West End students, most of whom haven't had middle or high schools close to home since the 1970s.
But can the district improve outcomes for students as it increases segregation? A look at existing segregation in JCPS raises questions.
Integration has documented benefits to Black, Latinx & low-income students. Many who participated in JCPS's first wave of busing are proud of their legacy, for good reason.
But that doesn't mean it was - or is - easy.
Some Black Louisvillians wonder if the gains are worth it.
For years, students in Louisville’s majority-Black West End have been assigned to schools across town. Now, the district wants to allow West End students to stay in their neighborhood. District officials say it’s about giving West End students the same options other students have. But there’s a reason West End students have been assigned to schools across town: racial integration. In this second part of our week-long series on Student Assignment WFPL’s Jess Clark reports
For decades, Jefferson County Public Schools has assigned students from Louisville’s majority Black and low-income West End to schools in whiter, wealthier suburbs. It’s how the district has maintained relatively integrated schools. But now, JCPS wants to give families in West Louisville more options close to home - a choice families say they want too. WFPL’s Jess Clark has this five-part series looking at the history and future of student assignment and racial segregation in Louisville's schools.
Now, let’s meet a young beekeeper with an entrepreneurial spirit, a thirteen-year-old Louisvillian who recently won a national award for his ability to keep those buzzing pollinators happy. WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf introduces us to Keith Griffith III.
The COVID-19 pandemic will keep many of us separated from friends and family this Thanksgiving, which means people are adjusting their holiday plans and their holiday meals. WFPL spoke with some chefs and food writers about how to adapt your cooking this year.
Mourners gathered Monday afternoon at the 2100 block of Critten Drive to remember a young and enthusiastic leader of Louisville’s movement for racial justice.
Louisville children’s theater company StageOne releases three new virtual plays Friday all aimed at helping elementary students sort through emotions and social interactions.
The downtown Breonna Taylor memorial has a new home. It’s being rebuilt at Louisville’s Roots 101 African American History Museum… after community members carried pieces of it from Jefferson Square Park yesterday Saturday.
After Tuesday night, Republicans now control at least one hundred of Kentucky’s 138 statehouse seats, further solidifying their supermajority. That could spell trouble for Democratic Governor Andy Beshear and his pandemic response, which has been criticized by Republicans as over-reaching.
Eleanor Klibanoff with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has more.
The footprint designs will be sandblasted into a sidewalk-like installation, creating a path leading toward the Ohio River, where Black people who were enslaved once looked across to Southern Indiana at the possibility of freedom.
An art show about voting rights and voter suppression is up at 21c in Louisville, displayed during the centennial year of Women’s suffrage and the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
Any grand jurors who were impaneled for the Breonna Taylor proceedings may speak publicly on the process now. That’s after a Jefferson County circuit court judge ruled in favor of an anonymous grand juror’s request to do so Tuesday.
This morning, we revealed how the Louisville Metro Police Department treats families of those shot and killed by its officers in the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting’s collaboration with Newsy.
Most families said they were kept in the dark and not told important information about their loved ones death. Like, Tammy Riggs.
Her son, Billy Ray Riggs, was shot by an LMPD officer during a narcotic traffic stop in February 2018 after police and another passenger exchanged gunfire.
Tammy has been waiting for LMPD to close its investigation into her son’s death ever since. She had no idea the case has been closed since August 2018.
As part of KyCIR’s Amplify series, here’s Tammy Riggs, in her own words.
The police killing of Breonna Taylor has shined a spotlight on how Louisville Metro Police investigates itself. Taylor’s family, and the nation, have demanded transparency and, in some ways, gotten it — a meeting with the attorney general, public updates on the status of the case, and the release of the agency’s internal investigation.
But that’s not the norm. Newsy and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting spoke to families of those killed by LMPD since 2015. They say they’ve been demanding the same treatment — and have gotten nothing but silence.
Eleanor Klibanoff has more.
And, a listener note, this story contains audio of a police shooting that may be difficult for some listeners.
Kentucky’s unemployment system is under immense pressure during the pandemic: By May, Kentucky had the largest share of its workforce on unemployment benefits in the country, and the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund required an $865 million loan from the federal government to stay afloat over the summer.
Several unemployment insurance lawyers told KyCIR they are hearing from more people who were denied eligibility than ever before, and many of them self-quarantined. The unemployment office approved their claim and started issuing payments, only to reassess after the fact and find those workers ineligible.
The concept of a drive-in is getting a fresh take in the age of COVID. Theater and dance artists are turning to parking lots as a safer option for live performances, where audiences literally drive in to see the shows. From a circus arts drive-in show in Sarasota to a horror-comedy drive-in experience in the Denver area, it’s becoming an increasingly popular way to experience live art while it’s still unsafe to gather in large groups.
Like so many interactions between young Black men and police, this one started over a basketball hoop. It ended with four arrests, including Rosie Henderson — a protest organizer known for her kind demeanor, calming presence and for caretaking the Breonna Taylor memorial.
A new play, written in response to the deaths of Black people at the hands of law enforcement and the protests that followed, debuts in West Louisville Sunday.
Extended interview with William Hamilton, III, Rick Dulin and William Hamilton. by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
This summer a concrete company in Butchertown applied for a permit to expand their facilities, but withdrew its application after the community began to push back. Neighbors cited decades of complaints and nuisance violations for the fugitive dust that blows into the neighborhood.
Black Scene Millennium is a revival of a West End magazine from the 70s, and will highlight how many of the issues the original Black Scene covered decades ago still exist today.
Louisvillians are processing a lot right now as a result of a confluence of major events, including the global pandemic and being a national focal point of social activism in the wake of Breonna Taylor’s death. The totality of it all is taking a toll on residents’ mental well-being, in particular Black Louisvilians.
Grand Jury Recordings Raise Additional Questions About No-Knock Warrant Execution by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
The Louisville Orchestra opens its virtual fall season Oct. 3 with a new work called “Vigil,” dedicated to the memory of Breonna Taylor.
Four current and former educators at Western High School share their memories of Breonna Taylor.
The curfew ended Monday night, though the increased police presence and traffic restrictions downtown continued through Wednesday. Fischer said the curfew served its purpose to help keep people safe.
But civil rights advocates and protesters say the city’s actions served another purpose: they suppressed speech, and appeared to target protesters not for what they did, but for what they had to say about the Mayor’s office and LMPD’s handling of the Breonna Taylor case and subsequent protests.
After AG Decision, Protesters Say They’re Still Fighting For Black Children by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
On Decision Day In Breonna Taylor Case, Protests And 2 Officers Shot by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
State Rep. Attica Scott, her daughter Ashanti and 22 other protesters were arrested Thursday night on Fourth Street during a standoff of sorts with Louisville Metro Police officers around the property of a Fourth Street church.
The news started Wednesday afternoon with the announcement that only one of the three officers who shot at Breonna Taylor is facing criminal charges. The evening ended with two police officers at the hospital, getting treated for gunshot wounds.
In between, hundreds of people took to the streets, angry about the decision that many say failed to deliver justice for Taylor’s death. Jacob Ryan has this report for WFPL News.
Jake Ryan has this report for WFPL News.
The city continues to wait for the state attorney general’s office to release the results of the Breonna Taylor investigation. But preparations are already underway downtown. And the mayor declared a state of emergency for the city Tuesday. The moves have residents on edge.
Louisville is awaiting a decision from Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron on whether to bring criminal charges against the police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor. If Cameron is pursuing felony charges, he will have to present the case to a grand jury, which will decide whether to indict. WFPL’s Michelle Tyrene Johnson sat down with Law Professor Robert Weisberg of the Stanford University Criminal Justice Center to explain the grand jury process.
As part of a recent settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor, the Louisville Metro Police Department will implement an officer “early warning system.”
LMPD has promised to implement this exact system for years — and claimed several times that they already had. Eleanor Klibanoff with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting shares the details from a joint investigation with Newsy.
And, a listener note: this story contains audio footage of a police shooting. It may not be suitable for all audiences.
The statue of King Louis the 16th is still in storage. Crews removed it from its base outside Metro Hall several weeks ago. It’s awaiting an assessment on its damages and its ultimate fate is TBD. As Louisville reckons with these monuments from its past… it’s also looking ahead to what kind of public art the city should display.
Kentucky’s new commissioner of education Jason Glass has now officially been in office for a week. Glass comes to Kentucky from serving as superintendent for Jeffco Public Schools, large district near Denver. He’s also served as the top education official for the state of Iowa. He sat down with WFPL News to talk about what it’s been like his first week on the job.
When protesters took to the streets of Louisville beginning in late May, the police presence wasn't just on the ground. It was also in the air. Kentucky State Police flew several drones over demonstrations at the request of Louisville Metro Police Department. WFPL News has obtained hours of video gathered by the drones. Reporter Ryan Van Velzer reviewed the drone footage and prepared this report.
Kentucky music educators face unique challenges during the pandemic. Research shows that singing and playing band instruments could increase spread of the coronavirus. Most Kentucky schools are virtual right now… following the governor’s recommendation. But as WFPL’s Jess Clark and Stephanie Wolf report, some schools are still holding in-person practices. Jess Clark begins our report.
Kentucky music educators face unique challenges during the pandemic. Research shows that singing and playing band instruments could increase spread of the coronavirus. Most Kentucky schools are virtual right now following the governor’s recommendation. But as WFPL’s Jess Clark and Stephanie Wolf report, some schools are still holding in-person practices. Jess Clark begins our report.
There were no spectators in the stands for this year’s Kentucky Derby, but that didn’t stop a crowd from gathering at Churchill Downs. Louisville was home to protests and counter-protests all day yesterday (Saturday), culminating in crowds surrounding the race track right as Louisville’s biggest event of the year took off.
Last year more than a hundred thousand people were in attendance at Churchill Downs to watch the Kentucky Oaks. This year, the nine fillies ran the one-and-one-eighth mile race at a mostly empty track. Churchill Downs decided not to allow spectators this year, amid a rise in coronavirus cases in Louisville and across the state.
The Run for the Roses will happen without spectators in the stands this year, but that won’t prevent gamblers from placing millions of dollars in bets. In fact, one researcher predicts that even without fans at the track, this year’s Derby could see more money wagered than ever before as gambling moves online. Online gambling has already seen dramatic growth amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The city of Louisville is on edge as residents await a decision on whether the officers who killed Breonna Taylor should be charged. That’s all happening while recent leaks suggest Taylor was closely linked to drug trafficking. As Amina Elahi of member station W-F-P-L in Louisville reports, some say there’s a smear campaign underway.
“Black Quota," a compilation album featuring 14 Black and mixed race artists, has “very emotional beginnings,” said Louisville-based music artist Kali Malia.
The internet will be the theater for some dance companies this fall with audiences watching from home during the pandemic. But many professional dancers will be rehearsing in person, like the dancers of the Louisville Ballet. The company returns to work in the studio Monday.
The multi-day BreonnaCon event capped off Tuesday with trainings and a march, during which police arrested at least 64 demonstrators.
Aug. 25 was the first day of school for Jefferson County Public Schools, but it was a first day unlike any other. Because of the pandemic, all students in the state’s largest district are learning remotely. The district has given out tens of thousands of devices in order to make this happen. WFPL’s Jess Clark spent the morning with a social studies teacher from the Academy At Shawnee to see how it went.
Saturday marked the start of “BreonnaCon,” a four-day community convention aimed at raising awareness about the police killing of Breonna Taylor.
But BreonnaCon, and the group that organized it, have faced criticism over the branding and intention of the event. Eleanor Klibanoff, with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, explains.
The Kentucky State Fair is underway. But this year’s fair is dramatically different: no crowds, no live entertainment and no Midway.
State Rep. Attica Scott unveiled proposed legislation, co-sponsored by nine of her Democratic colleagues, Sunday morning that would ban no-knock warrants statewide. She said the bill is to ensure that what happened to Louisville resident Breonna Taylor never occurs again.
West Louisville residents need better options for buying fresh, healthy, affordable groceries. Over the years, chain grocery stores have closed and new ones haven’t filled the void. As WFPL’s Amina Elahi reports, some Louisvillians are taking matters in their own hands -- and hoping for financial support from the government.
When Louisville artist Julie Baldyga creates, she’s adding another element to a world that she’s been building over the last few decades, one with mechanical wires and engine parts, and figures she calls “Heavenly People.” Her work is now being celebrated with a new book and exhibition.
As part of WFPL’s series Black Art Matters, associate producer Michelle Tyrene Johnson talks with local and regional black artists to see how Louisville and international protests are impacting their work. Next she talks with Versailles hip hop artist Devine Carama about what is inspiring his work and the medium he works in.
The pandemic has crippled America’s economy. Ordinary Kentuckians who’ve never had problems paying rent are facing the prospect of eviction. Housing advocates say while Kentuckians need help paying their rent, the available relief is “fragmented” county to county, organization to organization.
The Metro Council is now investigating the mayor’s response into Taylor’s death as others call for his resignation. Fischer has made a number of changes since her death, but critics say key demands remain unfulfilled. Chief among them: Fire, arrest and prosecute the officers involved in Taylor’s death.
In our “Black Art Matters” series, WFPL's Michelle Tyrene Johnson talks with Black artists about how local and national protests are inspiring and fueling their work. Here is her conversation with Louisville photographer and multi-media artist Kenyatta Bosman on how their work as an LGBTQ artist is particularly important as part of documenting local protests.
As monuments come down around the country, a group in Louisville is working on putting one up along the Ohio River, a waterway that represented a pathway to freedom for enslaved Black people.
Larry Keene was 68 when he passed away from COVID-19. His daughter, Katie Keene Churchman remembers him as a gentle, humble and patient man, a devoted father and a master craftsman.
It’s been more than four months since Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police in her home while executing a no-knock warrant. City officials turned the investigation into Taylor’s death over to the state Attorney General’s Office in May. The FBI is also independently investigating the case. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer spoke with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer about the ongoing protests, investigations and public reaction.
Ashley Cathey is a visual artist in Louisville. She spoke to WFPL’s Michelle Tyrene Johnson as part of our series, Black Art Matters, about how the current protests are inspiring her work. For more of their conversation, and a link to Cathey’s work, visit WFPL dot org.
Despite the pandemic, there was no shortage of competitors for Louisville’s Dainty Contest. The 50th annual event took place Monday night with some modifications.
Despite the pandemic, there was no shortage of competitors for Louisville’s Dainty Contest. The 50th annual event took place Monday night with some modifications.
On Saturday, the “Not F***ing Around Coalition” founder John Fitzgerald Johnson presented a radically different message to the city of Louisville. Backed by an estimated 250 armed militants, Johnson demanded transparency and answers into the investigation of the police shooting of Breonna Taylor.
In our "Black Art Matters" series, WFPL's Michelle Tyrene Johnson talks with Black artists about how local and national protests are inspiring and fueling their work. Here is her conversation with Louisville playwright Cris Eli Blak, whose musical, "Liberty Bleeding," explores police brutality.
Child care centers are allowed to be open in Kentucky, after having been mandated to close in March to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. But many centers still haven’t reopened or have limited capacity due to new health guidelines meant to protect against the virus. As WFPL’s Jess Clark reports, the lack of child care is forcing many parents to make heartbreaking sacrifices.
Brianna Harlan has been rallying the arts community to fill out a survey that asks questions about the “inequities and injustices” in Louisville arts.
Louisville Democrats Read Declaration Of Independence Against Backdrop Of Protests by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
WFPL News Reporter Ryan Van Velzer is nearly arrested by police amid protests for racial justice in Louisville.
When an LMPD officer kills or fires a gun at someone in Louisville, as they did Breonna Taylor and David McAtee, the officers are put on administrative leave until an investigation clears them of wrongdoing.
But an investigation from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found in some cases, officers return to regular police duty before the investigation is closed. Reporter Jared Bennett has the story - a note of caution, it contains audio from two police shootings.
In response to protests over the police killing of Breonna Taylor, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has called for increased civilian oversight of the police department. But as the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has found, this isn’t the first time the city has tried to quell protests with this exact same promise. WFPL’s Erica Peterson talks with Eleanor Klibanoff, from KyCIR, about what she found.
More than 930,000 requests for unemployment benefits have been filed by Kentuckians since early March amid the coronavirus pandemic. The crush of claims has overwhelmed the state’s unemployment insurance system, which had been slashed in recent years amid budget cuts. And Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration has struggled to provide benefits to out-of-work people in a timely manner. Capitol reporter Ryland Barton says the crisis is not unique to Kentucky.
Monuments are coming down around the nation. Here in Kentucky, we’ve seen two statues of men with ties to the confederacy removed. But is this removal of marble, bronze and stone symbolic of something bigger?
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, the Public Works Department and Police have all issued apologizes for the mistreatment of protesters belongings when police ordered the removal of an encampment from Jefferson Square Park. The order was issued late Saturday after a man opened fire on demonstrators, killing one man. The order led to tents, sound systems and personal belongings being dumped at a bulk waste drop-off site.
Louisville musician Jaelan Cross, aka YGB JAY, created a song in response to the local protests against police brutality and racial injustice. The song is called “Anarchy.”
On Tuesday, a group of about 20 Louisville children held a kids’ protest for racial justice. The idea came from 13-year-old J.J. Hayden.
Jefferson County’s only Primary Day polling site, the Kentucky Exposition Center, is very large space. And while officials touted its size as a win — you can accommodate lots of socially distanced voters — one election worker learned that the size could be a challenge for some voters.
Jen Sainato had been waiting for this day for a long time. She’d woken up early, put on her black striped suit, and drove five hours to attend the Louisville Metro Council’s public safety committee meeting. The council had called the police to answer questions about their handling of rape cases, in the wake of our story about Jen’s case.
When Jen walked into the council chamber, the police were already settled in at the front of the room: two press people, a few men in suits, and Lt. Shannon Lauder — the head of the special victims unit, who’d been called by the council to explain why her department clears so few rape cases by arrest, and so many “by exception.”
The eight metro council members in attendance were seated as well, looking out at the room from their elevated seats.
And in the audience sat the survivors — women who had reported a rape to the Louisville Metro Police Department. Women who were inspired by Jen’s story to come out and seek their own answers.
For most of them, this hearing was as close as they would get to their day in court.
Visit kydig.org and donate to support this and future seasons of Dig.
It’s been two months since we released the first season of Dig. And a lot has changed: city leaders are calling the police department to account, and there have been some changes in Jen Sainato’s rape case that we did not see coming. Visit kydig.org and donate to support this and future seasons of Dig.
When Louisville’s KMAC Museum reopens Friday, you’ll be greeted by a striking new chalk art mural.
For 155 years, Juneteenth celebrations have been held across the country to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
On Friday, the celebrations filled a square in downtown Louisville where, for three weeks, protests have been held to denounce police violence and call for racial equity.
Jake Ryan was there for WFPL News and has this report.
On Monday night, Louisville Metro Police declared the racial justice protests in Louisville an unlawful assembly, and ordered the crowd to disperse. During a tense standoff between police and protesters outside LMPD headquarters, a woman emerged from the crowd. She was a protester, but not an organizer. She had no authority at all, but took it upon herself to try to negotiate a truce.
Days of relative peace between police and protesters demanding racial justice came to a close Monday night amid a fog of smoke grenades and pepper rounds, the thunder of flash bangs and the high-pitched whine of a sound cannon.
These are among the crowd weapons Louisville Metro Police Department has employed to control and disperse Louisville’s demonstrations for racial injustice.
The art show “Black Before I Was Born” opened at Roots 101 African American Museum in Louisville in February. But it shut down about two weeks later due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The exhibition’s curator, multimedia artist Ashley Cathey, said the work by the Black artists, most of which live in Louisville, was too important not to be seen. So she created a virtual reality experience of it.
A statue of Jefferson Davis is out of the Kentucky State Capitol Building. Crews finished removing it on Saturday... the day after a state commission voted in favor of relocating it. WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf was there.
Family and friends gathered at to St. Stephen Baptist Church Friday to pay their respects to David McAtee, a local barbecue chef who was shot and killed by National Guard in the doorway of his West End restaurant. WFPL’s Jess Clark was there.
State Rep. Charles Booker is one of the 10 Democrats running to take Mitch McConnell’s Senate seat this November. Booker struggled to get attention early on in the race, but has seized the spotlight after protests over police violence rocked his hometown of Louisville.
Louisville’s Metro Council has voted to ban no-knock warrants. In a unanimous vote Thursday evening, council approved “Breonna’s Law,” named after Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed by Louisville police earlier this year. The officers who shot Taylor had obtained a no-knock warrant prior to the early morning raid at her home.
As protests in downtown Louisville spill into a third week, calls for Mayor Greg Fischer’s resignation have grown louder. Many city leaders say Fischer must do better — or they may join the chorus as well.
For WFPL News, Amina Elahi, explains where that criticism is coming from — and what might happen if he were to listen.
It’s not yet been two weeks since Louisville protests for racial justice began, but already demonstrators — many whom have never protested in their lives — are organizing.
For Black Women, Breonna Taylor's Death Highlights Hard Truth by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
For nearly two months, downtown Louisville was a ghost town — businesses and restaurants closed in an attempt to combat the spread of coronavirus. For the last week, things have looked very different, with thousands of protesters streaming into downtown each night.
Eleanor Klibanoff, with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, looks at the unique challenges of protesting during a pandemic.
Louisville resident Shamari Parrish explains why she doesn't condemn looting and vandalism associated with some protests.
Protests over police brutality against Black people continued for a seventh evening Wednesday night in Louisville. There were protests downtown, but there were also protests in the east end… in the suburban area of St. Matthews. WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf takes us there.
After Days Of Clashes, A Peaceful Night For Protesters And Police by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Read the story here. https://wfpl.org/as-police-narrative-evolves-family-and-friends-dont-budge-david-mcatee-wouldnt-shoot-at-police/
The fifth consecutive day of protests against police violence in Louisville featured two gatherings: one, a demonstration at Jefferson Square Downtown, and at 26th and Broadway where a Barbecue chef was shot and killed early Monday morning.
INTRO: The weekend of protests in Louisville started and ended with gunfire. In between, anger about the police killing of Breonna Taylor joined with outrage over what many saw as escalating police force. Eleanor Klibanoff, from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, looks at where things stand.
Protesters chanting, marching and yelling were met with tear gas and and other "less-lethal" munitions in a fourth consecutive night of protests over the police killing of Breonna Taylor.
With downtown Louisville battered and boarded following two days of protests, Gov. Andy Beshear called in the National Guard Saturday and Mayor Greg Fischer instituted a citywide curfew beginning at sundown in advance of another night of demonstrations.
As the evening unfolded, protesters massed and dispersed in skirmishes with police around the city. At various moments groups blocked the Second Street Bridge, Bardstown Road in the Highlands and several blocks of downtown.
There were no reported incidents of gun violence Friday. But by every other measure, things escalated quickly and stayed that way into the early hours of Saturday morning.
Though some demonstrators engaged in vandalism and threw things at police, overall the protest was mostly peaceful. But later in the evening gunfire erupted. Seven people were injured. WFPL News reporters were on the scene and what you are about to hear is a product of their reporting overnight.
A 911 call made by Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, immediately after she was shot by police was publicly released for the first time on May 28, 2020.
A high school senior decided to rewrite her graduation speech after the pandemic. And it cast her high school career in a whole new light.
The art project layers dance, music, sounds and images from nature, and computer-generated imagery, an example of how artists are turning to technology to create and collaboration to feel connected during the pandemic.
Large-scale portraits of famous women have been popping up around the Greater Louisville area since late March – faces of the likes of Maya Angelou, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Frida Kahlo spray painted on the exteriors of homes. They are the work of Louisville-born artist Damon Thompson.
With schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, managing instruction at home is a huge challenge for many families. For parents of children with disabilities, the task is monumental. Jefferson County Public Schools has 13-thousand students with special needs. WFPL’s Jess Clark introduces us to three mothers and their children.
Calls for an independent investigation into the shooting of a Louisville EMS worker are growing, two months after 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was shot and killed inside her home by Louisville police officers. NPR's Ari Shapiro spoke with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer about the shooting and subsequent investigation.
The next time you go out to hear live music in Louisville, it will be a different experience. Masks and temperature checks… and then ordering drinks by phone. This “new-normal” is reflected in guidance put out this week by an event safety organization.
After Early Reopening For Houses Of Worship, A Church Relishes Its Victory by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Domestic violence is on the rise during the coronavirus pandemic, according to experts and advocates. But in Kentucky, fewer people are seeking out the protective resources available to them — likely, due to increased isolation and fear.
Eleanor Klibanoff, with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, has more.
Kentucky Lawyers Offer Training To Meet Pandemic-Related Needs by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
For the first time since World War Two, Louisville is not hosting the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, The 146th Running of the Roses has been postponed until September at the earliest.
In the few days since its release, the song “Lift Up Louisville” has had more than 29,000 views on YouTube. Nearly 30 artists with ties to the city created the song. The creators think this could be a model for other cities and a new way for artists to work together.
When Donn Adams left for a trip to Mexico in early March, he felt like he was getting a cold. He returned to Louisville in a wheelchair, and soon after would become the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Jefferson County.
Now nearly two months later, Donn and Marky Adams invited the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting onto their back porch to reflect on their experience in the early days of the pandemic.
The museum has been essentially on “lockdown” since it closed to the public in mid-March. But just because the lights are dimmed, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing happening inside.
As teachers have moved their instruction online during the coronavirus pandemic, music classes have become challenging. One middle school orchestra director has found a way to help his students make music together.
The state reports that there have been more than 521,500 unemployment claims filed in Kentucky since March 16. That unprecedented flood of applicants includes newly eligible workers, independent contractors, self-employed, freelancers, substitute teachers and others who were able to apply for benefits after Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order on March 25.
More than a half million people in Kentucky have filed unemployment claims as a result of the pandemic. That number includes lots of workers who weren’t previously eligible, including self-employed artists. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf spoke with some of them.
With public gatherings off the table during the pandemic, people are finding safe ways to celebrate events and milestones. Things like virtual baby showers or family reunions. WFPL arts reporter Stephanie Wolf met a family celebrating a 12th birthday in the age of coronavirus.
The Kentucky history museum has launched the Coronavirus Capsule, crowdsourcing stories and artwork that capture how we’re all experiencing this unprecedented crisis.
Ronald Nelson wants out of jail.
For seven months, he’s been serving time for drug charges in the Clark County Jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana. He’s got just four months left on his sentence. But as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, Nelson, 38, said every day he’s locked up seems like an unnecessary risk to his well-being.
“We’re scared,” he said in a recent interview via video call. “We’re all scared to death.”
Over 279,000 people have applied for unemployment insurance in Kentucky since the outbreak began. That kind of unprecedented demand would challenge even the most modern unemployment systems. But Kentucky’s technology is decades old, and it’s added another hurdle for both the state government and newly unemployed during an unprecedented disaster.
Sharon Bayens has worked at Kroger for 38 years and she’s seen plenty of “snow scares,” but she’s never seen anything like what’s happened over the last month because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s been one week since Jefferson County Public Schools started non-traditional instruction, or NTI. The district of 100,000 students has moved to online and distance learning through at least May 1st so that schools can stay closed to protect against the spread of COVID-19. So how is N-T-I going one week in? WFPL’s Jess Clark has this look.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed virtually everything about how we gather and celebrate. Easter this year was no different as most churches across the state closed.
But, not all church leaders heeded calls from government officials to halt on holding service.
Jake Ryan with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting visited one church that held Easter service in the parking lot.
Nurses and other healthcare workers are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be stressful and frightening - not just for them, but also their families.
Jake Ryan with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has this story about a nurse, her family, and how they wonder when they’ll see each other again.
Costumers create the costumes that dress performers when the opera and theater are open. Now, with time on their hands and a desire to help out, these designers are swapping costume making for mask making, hoping they can help curtail the spread of coronavirus.
Like millions of Americans, artists watched much of their income vanish as venues shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, that hasn’t kept them from creating and then putting their art online, often for free. There are some efforts taking shape in Louisville to make sure artists get paid for that art — while still offering it to the community at no charge.
For Some Workers Returning To GE Appliances, 'It Feels Like A Hostage Situation' by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Before nursing homes restricted visitors, Julie Sullivan used to go sit at lunch with her mother and her friends at the Westport Place Health Campus, and push all the tables together "so we could have a big party."
Since three weeks ago, when nursing homes had to start restricting visitors, she takes her place instead each day outside her mother's window.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenging time for pretty much everyone, especially for families with children. Closures of schools and businesses due to the coronavirus have upended schedules, forced friends and family members apart, and many parents have lost their jobs. And on top of all of it, parents are trying to keep their children engaged in learning.
What does a 9-year-old think about being out of school during the coronavirus pandemic?
This weekend, churches, temples and synagogues took to the internet to bring their message of faith to Kentuckians stuck at home.
They did this in response to Governor Andy Beshear’s request — and ultimately, his order — to stay closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“I am a person of deep faith,” Beshear said at a press conference Thursday. “I am a deacon in my church. It’s not an easy decision. But it’s an absolutely necessary decision.”
Listen below to hear how Kentuckians adapted their faith traditions in the era of the coronavirus.
School closures due to the coronavirus have millions of students out of school. WFPL’s Jess Clark has this report about how teachers are trying to keep students engaged in learning.
INTRO: Even as coronavirus changes everyday life, many Kentuckians still must go to work, often in close quarters. Eleanor Klibanoff spoke with several people concerned their workplaces aren’t doing enough to keep them safe.
The first case of COVID-19 in western Kentucky was confirmed on Tuesday. A 69-year-old man in Lyon County tested positive for the disease. He’s one of 35 confirmed cases in the state, as of Wednesday night.
Now, as the pandemic continues to spark shut downs and cancellations, residents in Lyon County worry about the slowing economy that’s sure to follow. Jake Ryan with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has the story.
Medical debt is a big problem in Kentucky. And if that debt is owed to the University of Kentucky healthcare system, patients face one of the most powerful bill collectors around: The Kentucky Department of Revenue.
UK’s hospitals are the only ones in the state that can collect debt this way. Jared Bennett of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found that this practice leaves patients saddled with extra costs — and few options.
The COVID19 pandemic is disrupting nearly every facet of American life. And the stress that comes with the flood of cancellations and closures can be particularly acute for people struggling with addiction - or seeking recovery.
Jacob Ryan with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has the story.
Thousands of service-industry workers suddenly find themselves without a job now that Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has closed the state’s bars and restaurants to all service except carryout and delivery. The order is meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. But it means many people who make a living serving food to others, are now facing food insecurity themselves. Now, Louisville chefs and others are coming together to try to fill the need.
Nightlife in Kentucky has gone dark to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Servers are out of jobs, businesses will struggle to meet their payrolls and more people will be filing for unemployment. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer has more on the Governor’s unprecedented emergency order.
For Homeless, Coronavirus Presents A Challenge: Washing Hands by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
WFPL's Jonese Franklin talks to reviewer Tara Anderson about 'Nicole Clark Is Having A Baby,' part of the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre.
WFPL's Jonese Franklin talks to reviewer Natalie Weis about “Permanent and Natural,” the current show at New Albany’s Carnegie Center for Art and History that brings together nearly 30 works by more than a dozen artists from across the U.S. in a diverse and spirited exploration of hair.
A Prosecutor’s Offer: Give Up $380K And Family Won’t Go To Jail by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Anita Madden was the party queen of the Kentucky Derby for nearly 40 years. Famous for her wealth and gaudy fashion, she would throw massive star-studded celebrations on the eve of the Derby at her farm in Lexington. She died in 2018. But as Kentucky Public Radio’s Ryland Barton reports, admirers have been lining up to own a relic of the over-the-top icon’s life.
WFPL's Jonese Franklin talks to reviewer Tara Anderson about "Are You There," part of the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors' Theatre.
Under a 2019 law passed by the General Assembly, Kentucky schools are required to nearly double the number of school counselors by July 2021. Research shows school counselors play an important role in making schools safer. But school counselors say other work is keeping them from doing what they’re trained to do: counsel students. WFPLs Jess Clark has more.
Reviewer Natalie Weis talks with WFPL's Jonese Franklin about the exhibition "Peter Williams: Incarceration" currently on display at U of L's Cressman Center.
Chris Reitz, curator at U of L's Cressman Center, discusses the gallery's current exhibition: "Peter Williams: Incarceration."
Chris Reitz, curator at U of L's Cressman Center, discusses the gallery's current exhibition: "Peter Williams: Incarceration."
Chris Reitz, curator at U of L's Cressman Center, discusses the gallery's current exhibition: "Peter Williams: Incarceration."
The proposed sale of land to build a new middle school in southeast Louisville places the needs of Jefferson County Public Schools at odds with efforts to protect the Floyds Fork watershed.
Louisville Changes Public Nuisance Enforcement After KyCIR Investigation by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Kentucky is one of 19 states where corporal punishment is legal in public schools. That means it’s legal for educators in public schools to inflict pain as a form of discipline, usually through spanking. But the practice may not be allowed much longer. State lawmakers are considering banning the practice.
In three months, Kentucky voters will go to the polls for the state’s primary election. And in November, they’ll vote on key positions including President and U.S. Senate. Of course, these elections will be happening all across the country. But here, Kentucky will likely be one of only eight states that use some electronic voting machines that don’t have paper backups.
On a federal level, officials have secured some funding to upgrade these systems nationwide. But Capitol reporter Ryland Barton says it’s unlikely that’ll happen in Kentucky by this year’s General Election.
The third floor of The Academy @ Shawnee in Louisville’s West End has sat empty since 1981. At the time, the district said there weren’t enough students there to justify the cost of renovating it, and it was closed. Nearly 40 years later, the district has decided to fix it and reopen it to students once more. WFPL got a rare look inside, before the work begins.
Reviewer Natalie Weis discusses the exhibit at houseguest gallery with WFPL's Jonese Franklin.
Scope of Kentucky's Asset Forfeiture System Becomes Clearer As Agencies Comply with Reporting Law by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
A veteran state employee is accusing Gov. Andy Beshear's administration of political discrimination after she was fired and replaced with a woman who has close ties to the governor.
Elected Kentucky jailers have capitalized on the e-cigarette boom by forming companies that sell vaping products to inmates in other jails or by handing lucrative business in their own facilities to friends and family, KyCIR and ProPublica have found.
Kentucky state lawmakers are considering a bill that would require every school police officer, or SRO, to carry a gun. Lawmakers and parents who support the proposal say it will keep school police prepared in the event of a school shooting. But not everyone agrees arming SRO’s will make students safer. WPFL’s Jess Clark reports.
Serious marine accidents have been on the uptick in recent years in the Ohio watershed. An investigation by Alexandra Kanik of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found that an increase in rain might be to blame. The story is part of Good River, a collaboration about the environment, economy and culture of the Ohio River. For more, visit ohiowatershed.org.
Reverend Alyce French Johnson, the pastor of the Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church, speaks at the 2020 MLK Hope Breakfast in Louisville, Ky.
Dr. Ricky Jones, the chair of the University of Louisville’s Pan-African Studies Department, speaks at the 2020 MLK Hope Breakfast in Louisville, Ky.
Listen to Karina Barillas of La Casita Center at the 2020 MLK Hope Breakfast in Louisville, Ky.
When youth are charged as adults in Louisville, they are almost always black - a disparity that advocates and experts point to as evidence that change is needed. Anne Marshall of Louisville Magazine and Kate Howard of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting spent months on this collaboration, following the case of Tracey Wilson, a 17-year-old charged in adult court for robbery. Howard of KyCIR has that story.
A convent of Roman Catholic sisters living near Bardstown, Kentucky have dedicated their lives to charity for the last 200 years. During the Civil War, they nursed wounded soldiers. During the HIV epidemic of the 1980s, they opened the first nursing home in Kentucky for AIDS patients. Three years ago the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth made a new commitment: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2037 at their ministries in Kentucky and Belize.
A radio adaptation of "A Child's Christmas in Wales," Narrated by Barry Bernson.
(Photo by Jason Selby https://www.flickr.com/photos/jason_selby/)
In Louisville, the Ohio River has something of an image problem. People look at the river and they see the trash. They think about the sewage and industrial waste that ends up in the river. But a trio of development projects could change that. They want to redefine our relationship with the Ohio River, from coal barge causeway to natural resource. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer has more.
Earlier this month, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published Prosecution Declined, a yearlong look at how rape cases are investigated and prosecuted here in Louisville.
The investigation found that only 15 percent of all rapes reported to the Louisville Metro Police Department in 2017 ended in an arrest. Now, we bring you a story from Lexington about a woman who did see her assailant arrested and prosecuted — and what that meant to her.
Cay, a woman we’re referring to only by her nickname, is now 21 and applying to law school. But back in 2016, she was a freshman at the University of Kentucky, having the worst night of her life.
A listener note: this story contains descriptions of sexual assault.
Louisville’s public nuisance ordinance is intended to provide a way to bust up drug houses and crime dens. But police and code enforcement officials have been increasingly focused on residential locations where crimes are reported — regardless of whether the victim or the offender lives there.
For more, visit KyCIR.org.
Today 29 miles of floodwalls, earthen levees and pump stations are supposed to protect Louisville from the next great flood. So what is the city doing to maintain the system that protects so much life and property? “What we’re doing is a Band-Aid fix,” said Dane Anderson, flood protection manager with the Metropolitan Sewer District. “We’re trying to take that old vehicle and keep it on the road for another couple of years.”
It's the first season of Dig, a new podcast from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
We bring you the results of a yearlong look at how rape cases are investigated in Louisville. What we’ve learned: here, the police defer to prosecutors on rape cases — and prosecutors reject the vast majority of cases presented to them.
Due to this unusual relationship, most people accused of rape here will never face consequences. Most won’t be arrested or convicted. And the case will be closed anyway. For more, visit kydig.org.
It's the first season of Dig, a new podcast from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
We bring you the results of a yearlong look at how rape cases are investigated in Louisville. What we’ve learned: here, the police defer to prosecutors on rape cases — and prosecutors reject the vast majority of cases presented to them.
Due to this unusual relationship, most people accused of rape here will never face consequences. Most won’t be arrested or convicted. And the case will be closed anyway. For more, visit kydig.org.
It's the first season of Dig, a new podcast from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
We bring you the results of a yearlong look at how rape cases are investigated in Louisville. What we’ve learned: here, the police defer to prosecutors on rape cases — and prosecutors reject the vast majority of cases presented to them.
Due to this unusual relationship, most people accused of rape here will never face consequences. Most won’t be arrested or convicted. And the case will be closed anyway. For more, visit kydig.org.
It's the first season of Dig, a new podcast from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
We bring you the results of a yearlong look at how rape cases are investigated in Louisville. What we’ve learned: here, the police defer to prosecutors on rape cases — and prosecutors reject the vast majority of cases presented to them.
Due to this unusual relationship, most people accused of rape here will never face consequences. Most won’t be arrested or convicted. And the case will be closed anyway. For more, visit kydig.org.
WFPL's Jonese Franklin speaks with Jason Thomas, managing editor of Business First, about the latest business news.
Often, pollution is invisible. It’s in the exhaust particles we breathe walking past traffic, or the traces of mercury in Kentucky fish. But at the Green Station Landfill in Webster County, it’s obvious.
Officials are especially targeting female and minority recruits, who they say can add new perspectives.
Thanksgiving means something different to everybody. WFPL’s Kyeland Jackson met a couple Louisville residents who shared what the holiday means to them.
Louisville residents have a lot to talk about this Thanksgiving, from the presidential impeachment inquiry to their love lives. WFPL’s Kyeland Jackson asked people what they plan to talk about over their turkey.
Some Louisville residents have big plans for Thanksgiving. WFPL’s Kyeland Jackson took to the streets to ask people what they love about the holiday.
This December the KMAC Museum is opening a special exhibition featuring the works of Pablo Picasso. More than 50 pieces from the Spanish artist will be on display from December 14 through March 22.
A local non-profit says it wants to put more capital in the hands of west Louisville residents, many of whom are among the lowest-income in the county. WFPL’s Amina Elahi reports.
Actors Theatre of Louisville has unveiled the lineup for the 44th Humana Festival of New American Plays next year. It’s the first Humana Fest for Artistic Director Robert Barry Flemming. WFPL's Jonese Franklin spoke with him about the festival. They began talking about how diverse and distinct the plays are for next year.
These High School Students Want Classes That Reflect Their Own History by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
After months of discussion with city leadership a local community group is celebrating a shift in how Louisville Metro Police Department investigates cases in which officers used force. The group CLOUT has been pushing for police to consider whether officers attempted de-escalation in reviews of incidents.
Officials say the Louisville Zoo is the most popular nonprofit attraction in the area. But rising costs associated with operations and higher pension bills have the city interested in privatizing the Zoo’s management. That’s in line with nationwide trends.
Henry - What would you like the U.S. Congress to do to help our elections? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Adams - What would you like the U.S. Congress to do to help our elections? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Henry - Do you agree with the State Board of Elections' actions to clean voter registration rolls? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Adams - Do you agree with the State Board of Elections' actions to clean voter registration rolls? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Henry - What is your position on restoring voting rights to felons, and under what conditions? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Adams - What is your position on restoring voting rights to felons, and under what conditions? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Adams - Why does it matter if your secretary of state is a Republican or a Democrat? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Henry - Why does it matter if your secretary of state is a Republican or a Democrat? by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Ketamine – once known as a party drug – has popped up around the country as a therapy for depression and some other ailments. It can specifically be effective for people with treatment-resistant depression - where nothing so far has helped. But there’s also scant long-term research on how safe it will be in the long-term for depression, which can often be chronic. WFPL’s Lisa Gillespie reports from a new ketamine clinic in Louisville, and the balance between the risks and potential benefits.
On Wednesday, Louisville’s air pollution regulators will vote whether to issue more than $100,000 in fines to Hexion for 50 events resulting in excess emissions of chemicals including methanol and the carcinogen formaldehyde.
After decades out of the public eye, a nearly two-century old painting by a renowned Kentucky artist--and his apprentice--will go on view this weekend at Louisville’s Speed Art Museum.
The unveiling of the religious work marks the end of a four-year journey for the archivist who spearheaded its restoration.
Doss High’s New Manufacturing Lab Gives Students Real-World Experience by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Gubernatorial candidates Republican Matt Bevin and Democrat Andy Beshear faced off on October 3, 2019 in a debate hosted by Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce and broadcast live on WKMS.
How To Teach Climate Change To Skeptical Students? Have Them Collect Their Own Data by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Money seized through asset forfeiture provides leverage in resolving drug trafficking cases and has become an ingrained aspect of the justice system in Louisville, our investigation found. For more, visit kycir.org.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are now more than 500 cases of a mysterious vaping-related lung illness across the U.S. Officials still aren't sure what specifically is causing the outbreak, but eight people have died. In Kentucky, officials say there is one confirmed case and two probable ones, and they're investigating a dozen more. WFPL’s Lisa Gillespie brings us the story of one Louisville woman who may be included in that number.
Friday the group Extinction Rebellion will take to Louisville streets in what they’re calling a climate strike. The group’s Alice Melendez joins us to talk about the strike and the group’s larger goals.
Humana co-founder and Louisville philanthropist David Jones Sr. died Wednesday morning. WFPL’s Lisa Gillespie has this remembrance.
September is national suicide prevention month, when nonprofits and government agencies push efforts to keep people from killing themselves. And the statistics show that the people most at-risk are veterans, who are twice as likely to die by suicide than people who’ve never served in the military. As WFPL’s Lisa Gillespie reports, one nonprofit is working to decrease veterans’ suicides in Kentucky. And a note, this story includes some details that may be disturbing to listeners.
Global warming increases the frequency of extreme weather including heatwaves, storms, droughts and floods. Cities can expect more flash floods and pot holes, hotter temperatures and worse air pollution. But urban forests can help control many of these local and regional climate impacts, while at the same time absorbing carbon dioxide, the very thing that has got us into this crisis in the first place. As part of WFPL's week of climate coverage, reporter Ryan Van Velzer has more.
This week WFPL News is joining more than 250 news outlets around the country to strengthen coverage of the climate emergency facing the planet. How serious is that emergency? Right now, the planet is on track to be 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than pre-industrial levels by about 2040. Just 3.6 degrees of warming presents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to humankind and the planet. To start the week off, WFPL’s own Energy and Environment reporter Ryan Van Velzer has a story about how climate change will impact Kentucky.
Louisville’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence has named its new CEO. Ann Coffey (Coffee) has served as the organization’s interim CEO for the past year. C-N-P-E provides resources, training and services for more than 22-hundred nonprofits in the Louisville area. Now that Coffey has been selected for the permanent position, she’ll begin strategic planning with the organization. Coffey is also a member of the Louisville Public Media Board of Directors; she spoke with WFPL’s Erica Peterson about her plans for the center.
The Ky. Dept. of Education Will Soon Rate Your Child's School by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has reported on the inconsistent services available to sexual assault victims at Kentucky hospitals. While state law requires hospitals to peform rape kit exams, KyCIR found several hospitals that turn victims away, while others rely on one or two nurses to be on call 24/7.
But some hospitals are finding ways to do better. KyCIR’s Eleanor Klibanoff visited a few.
This morning, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting brought you the first in a series of stories about access to medical care after sexual assault. KyCIR found that only one-third of Kentucky counties have a specialized sexual assault nurse available to do forensic exams. As a result, some hospitals discourage victims from getting an exam or turn them away, in violation of state law.
Meghan Wright was sexually assaulted as a college student in 2006. She went to get a forensic exam afterwards, and was treated by a certified sexual assault nurse examiner, called a SANE nurse. She tells KyCIR about why having a specially-trained nurse made a difference.
And, a warning to our listeners: this story contains descriptions of sexual assault.
Kentucky state law requires emergency rooms to perform forensic sexual assault exams on-site. But hospitals without specially trained nurses sometimes send rape victims away, a KyCIR investigation has found. For more, visit kycir.org.
Louisville Metro Police have flown its helicopter more than 25 times this year to conduct searches from the sky. Jewél Jackson of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found that use of the technology is not always accurate.
Tobacco has a long history in Kentucky -- at one time it was the biggest cash crop in the state. But that’s changed dramatically. Back in 1999, Kentucky farmers harvested 221,000 acres. Last year, the yield had plummeted to only 68,000 aces of tobacco. As WFPL’s Lisa Gillespie reports from the Kentucky State Fair, an increasing health awareness of smoking complicates perceptions about the plant.
Incidents involving natural gas pipelines have killed five and injured more than 30 people in Kentucky in the last 20 years. The latest incident happened earlier this month when a pipeline exploded south of Danville. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer looks at the history of the pipeline that caused the explosion.
Last year, the Kentucky State Fair board banned the sale of items that “represent racist ideologies” after discovering that Nazi and KKK memorabilia was for sale at a gun show at the Kentucky Expo Center. That was on top of an existing ban on selling items featuring the Confederate battle flag. But as WFPL’s Amina Elahi reports, there are still places at the Fair to see racist imagery.
Corn dogs, French fries, deep-fried oreos and ice-cold lemonade are just a few of the staples at this year’s Kentucky State Fair. With at least 48 different food vendors and hundreds of dishes to choose from, WFPL News visited the fair this year with an eye towards the menu. One philly-cheesesteak donut burger and thousands of calories later, WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer and Lisa Gillespie have this dispatch.
Something went wrong with the Fireball ride at the 2018 Kentucky State Fair, and ride operator Duanne Haywood went underneath. Within minutes, Haywood was pinned. His was one of 19 worker injuries the ride company reported last year.
Do SROs Prevent School Shootings? Relevant Questions As JCPS Removes Officers by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Kentucky is facing an ongoing teacher shortage, as are many areas across the country. Here, experts say it comes down to two main issues: recruitment and retention. WFPL’s Liz Schlemmer explores what that shortage really means for Kentucky schools.
Kentucky has 178 state-regulated dams in Kentucky that could kill people or cause major damage if they failed. Caitlin McGlade from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found that local authorities are not as prepared for this potential disaster as they should be.
Louisville is folding the Office of Sustainability into the Office of Advanced Planning as part of a plan to slash more than $25 million from the city budget. City leaders also chose to layoff Louisville’s sustainability director. WFPL’s Ryan Van Velzer has more on what’s next for the department.
Ky. Will Use Surplus To Fund Retired Teachers’ Health Plan -- Why It Matters by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Bilingual High School Students Learn To Interpret, Building On Lifelong Skill by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
In recent months, many Midwestern states have passed laws restricting access to abortion. Reproductive rights groups are challenging those laws, but also working to help prevent pregnancies. Lisa Gillespie with WFPL reports on one effort in Louisville to make emergency contraception pills widely available.
The Living Room is a city-funded program to help people on the worst day of their lives.
Adults in crisis show up under the soft blue light on Magazine Street to receive the kind of bare necessities that are easily taken for granted: shampoo, toothpaste, a cool place to sit and a warm conversation with someone who understands you.
In under two years, the Living Room has already served thousands. But last week, Metro Council passed a budget that eliminates funding for the new program.
Louisville Metro Council approved a budget Tuesday that trims more than $25 million from the city’s budget starting July 1st. The cuts span across city departments affecting public safety and services that residents rely on every day. Host Jean West joins Ryan Van Velzer, who was at the Metro Council Meeting last night.
For a long time, hemp was illegal to grow in the U.S…the crop resembles its cannabis cousin marijuana, though it has much less of the psychoactive ingredient THC and can’t get you high. When the Farm Bill passed in December legalizing the crop, Kentucky jumped on the chance to restart the state’s hemp industry. But as WFPL’s Evan Heichelbech reports, there are still significant challenges.
Today is World Refugee Day. Created by the United Nations in 2000, the day recognizes the strength, struggle, and current international state of refugees.
In Kentucky, refugee populations are increasing as resettlement agencies welcome more families into the state. This means there are more children and young people in the state’s education system. And as WFPL’s Jewél Jackson reports, the process of transitioning into American schools is often a challenge for these students.
Ready Or Not, Funded Or Not, The School Safety Law Is Coming To Ky. Schools by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Louisville Gas and Electric has plans for a 12-mile-long natural gas pipeline in Bullitt County that would cut through part of Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest. The pipeline’s path through the Cedar Grove wildlife corridor has setup a showdown between the utility and Bernheim.
As the opioid epidemic continues, hospitals are looking for new ways to treat pain and combat addiction. At Indiana University Health, that means change. They’re cutting back on opioid prescriptions and giving more advice to patients. Leigh DeNoon reports for Side Effects Public Media.
Real Talk With High School Seniors: What They Overcame To Graduate by 89.3 WFPL News Louisville
Officials from other major racing states share which horses die, where and when. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission largely keeps that secret. Read more at kycir.org.
As more and more jobs require technology skills, cities are attempting to figure out how to train the workers of the future and to attract employers to hire them. And Louisville is no exception. City officials on Monday announced a new initiative that aims to create a framework for addressing that issue.
Loneliness in older adults can lead to serious health problems. This is especially an issue in rural America, where seniors may be more isolated. Senior centers were created to combat this problem, but they face challenges of their own. Side Effect Public Media’s Lisa Gillespie reports fromCasey County, southeast of Louisville.
A high school radio station in New Albany, Indiana is celebrating its 70th anniversary. WFPL’s Henry Zimmerman crossed the river to check out the station’s past, present and future.
Most parents dread getting a phone call from their child’s school. Usually, it’s a sign that something’s wrong. But, as WFPL’s Liz Schlemmer reports -- when parents get a call from the classroom of Kennita Ballard, more often than not, it brings a sigh of relief.