Justin Hicks

My latest: There could be some medical cannabis in Kentucky dispensaries by October after a company imported thousands of adult plants, but not nearly enough for all 11,000 eligible medical marijuana card holder to have access to it by the end of this year.

Opinion | Trump has turned FEMA itself into a disaster The Trump administration is mired in delays for deciding on governors’ requests for FEMA help.

Almost all backlogged disaster declaration requests were approved by this morning (many after months of waiting) in time for Richardson to testify which to me indicates that Congress does still have some sway over FEMA. It would be good for them to use it

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Public media is under threat. Millions depend on the NPR Network every day. Silencing journalism is one way to silence truth and erode the power of the people.

Today, President Trump signed a bill into law that will eliminate $1.1B of federal funding for public media. This devastating act tipped the threat against journalism in America into a crisis.

Millions depend on the NPR Network. Now, we’re counting on you.

Donate here: n.pr/458sOhq

LPM prevails in fight for JCPS bus crisis records Access to top district officials’ text messages on bungled opening day are at the center of the lawsuit.

We just won an important public records lawsuit, with a judge ruling that JCPS can't withhold text messages staff sent during the bus chaos on the first day of school back in 2023. Fighting for government records, when necessary, is part of the work we do @lpm.org.

Big News! Some generous friends have stepped up with matching money for tomorrow. We can make a big dent in the federal funds that were lost. Can you help share this today to get people ready?
Phone: 1-800-599-4737
Web: donate.nprstations.org/wkms/wkms-gi...

Let's do this! 💪

When I didn’t have two nickels to rub together, I had public television and NPR. Once I got on my feet, my first charitable donations were to KET and my local public radio station @lpm.org. They kept my growing toddler and her unemployed dad sane. If you can donate, just do it.

Here at WUKY, Lexington's NPR affiliate, the CPB cuts will result in a 13% reduction in the station's budget, which translates to between $120,000 and $150,000.

And yes because I’m a reporter — I’m bringing the receipt. I’m not rich, I have a public radio salary after all, but it’s the least I could do.

And I will carry that PRE tote bag around proudly.

That radio station became part of my DNA. We sat on the porch watching storms roll in listening to Prairie Home Companion. I developed a love of classical music and majored in that in college. Then, I became a journalist because I fell in love with story telling and deep contextual journalism.

Donate today to the public radio station that made you fall in love with radio.

For me, it’s Public Radio East in eastern NC. It’s mostly classical but does carry the top of the hour NPR newscasts.

I grew up listening with my grandad while he taught me how to use wood tools in his shop.

Kentucky public media stations to lose millions after Congressional rescission vote Kentucky’s public broadcasting stations are set to lose millions of dollars in potential annual funding after Congress passed a $9 billion rescission package Thursday night.

And this is way way more than just LPM. KET is heavily reliant on the CPB federal funds and smaller rural radio stations across Kentucky are probably the most at risk for major cuts or closure. Please seek them out for help in the coming days, too.

We at Louisville Public Media just lost $376,000 due to Congress passing the rescission bill last night to claw back funds from public media across America. Today we’re asking those who value our work to help make up those funds in an emergency drive so we can maintain the staff/services we provide:

Hey yall. This is a story I really DID NOT want to report. We are in a tough spot and so is every local public radio and TV station in Kentucky.

I know it feels like we are always asking for donations. But this time is really important. This money was in everyone’s budgets - and now it’s just…gone.

Kentucky public media stations to lose millions after Congressional rescission vote Kentucky’s public broadcasting stations are set to lose millions of dollars in potential annual funding after Congress passed a $9 billion rescission package Thursday night.

Kentucky’s public broadcasting stations will lose millions of dollars in funding after Congress passed a $9 billion rescission package Thursday night. From @justinhicks.lpm.org

There's never been a more important time to give than right now. Click this link to donate to WKMS: donate.nprstations.org/wkms/wkms-gi...

Defying Trump, Congressman Massie pushes legislation to release ‘Epstein files’ Trump is pushing Republicans to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein, but Congressman Thomas Massie wants a vote to force his administration to release more information.

I interviewed Congressman Thomas Massie yesterday about his discharge petition to force the Trump administration to release the Epstein files. Go forth and read all about it.

Reporting team cut after Indiana lawmakers zero out public media funding Hoosiers will see and hear changes in the ongoing coverage of state news after a team of local journalists was cut due to eliminated funding in the state budget.

Indiana lawmakers eliminated state $ for public media. Now a team of journalists who do statewide news coverage - stories @lpm.org regularly shares with our listeners - will be laid off. Covering the IN legislature's actions was a focus of these reporters' fine work.
www.lpm.org/news/2025-07...

Kentucky AG urges end of in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants Attorney General Russell Coleman says defending Kentucky’s regulations allowing in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants is “a losing fight” in a letter urging the state to drop the policy.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman says defending the regulation allowing in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants is “a losing fight,” in letter to the Council for Postsecondary Education. From @sylviaruthg.lpm.org

For our collective safety, journalists have to get emergency management reporting correct.

That’s not happening right now in ways that could have profound impacts to our emergency management system in the future.

If you have basic Excel skills, you can open that CSV and do a PivotTable and probably find some cool stuff.

If you're a little more advanced / developer type, the JSON option could be pretty cool for you.

At the bottom of the tool, check out this option to get our data. You can download every single House or Senate floor vote in a structured data format of either CSV or JSON.

If you notice any cool trends in there, let us know!

2025 Kentucky Legislative Vote Tracker Each year, your Kentucky lawmakers make hundreds of votes. But the record of how they vote is captured in not-so-easy-to-use PDF files. We had a computer scrape hundreds of documents to produce an eas...

We've got the 2025 edition of the lawmaker vote tracker up!

It's a computer program that tracks how each Kentucky state lawmaker voted in the legislative session. Our reporters singled out 18 of the most important bills of the session.

Want more? Read on...

www.lpm.org/2025votetrac...

With federal education funding frozen, Appalachian learning centers are in peril Six 21st century learning centers run by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia will close permanently if the Trump administration doesn’t restore $87 million in frozen federal education funding to Kent...

How Trump’s hold on $6 billion is impacting Kentucky kids, from @sylviaruthg.lpm.org www.lpm.org/news/2025-07...

Senate just passed their version of the bill, here’s how it would affect Kentucky

Beware what sprouts in a news desert • Kentucky Lantern My town's once robust newspaper was our town square. Its decline has left a news desert where anonymous Facebook posters fill the vacuum.

Commentary by Teri Carter

Beware what sprouts in a news desert

kentuckylantern.com/2025/06/30/b...

Louisville Public Media wins 3 Public Media Journalists Association awards Louisville Public Media won three awards from the Public Media Journalists Association for work published in 2024.

My Frankfort "confidential" fiscal notes story from last summer just won a national first place award from the Public Media Journalism Association, brag brag brag etc...

Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions in birthright citizenship order At issue was how the lower courts should handle President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, which limited citizenship only to children born of parents with permanent status to be in the U.S.

BREAKING: Supreme Court limits universal injunctions issued by federal courts in birthright citizenship case decision

Special session still a 'possibility,' as Kentucky awaits Trump decision on public assistance for disasters President Donald Trump has yet to sign off on public assistance for Kentucky's weather-related disasters in April and May. His decision could be the deciding factor in whether Gov. Andy Beshear calls ...

President Donald Trump has yet to sign off on public assistance for Kentucky's weather-related disasters in April and May. His decision could be the deciding factor in whether Gov. Andy Beshear calls a special legislative session this year.

Pesky PFAS present in Louisville water, data show Drinking water utilities are preparing to meet future federal safety regulations on forever chemicals. Here’s how Louisville Water Co. is approaching the challenge.

KyCIR got monthly testing data on what (and how much) PFAS contaminants are detected in Louisville's drinking water. Here's what we found, and what the local utility is doing to prep for regulations on these forever chemicals: