Connor Giffin

Kentucky passed over for big aluminum smelter project, which is going to Oklahoma

How a ‘center-right’ KY Republican became the center of power in Frankfort He’s presided over massive changes to Kentucky’s economy, LGBTQ rights, abortion law & more. Who is Robert Stivers? What makes him tick?

Robert Stivers just became the longest-serving senate president in the history of Kentucky & is one of its most powerful people.

An inside look into how he's already shaped the state, what he wants to do next & some lingering questions about his role.

www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Thanks, Geoff!

Hell yes great write up about downtown Louisville’s glut of surface parking and why it’s a problem. www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

This year, state lawmakers signaled interest in bolstering disaster resilience and making more proactive investments.

Solutions are already in the works in many communities. Here's what we found in several corners of #Kentucky:
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/i...

Importantly, the state's role and responsibility in disaster resilience is growing.

Local governments, especially in coal country, have struggled with falling revenue, and the Trump administration has hinted at a smaller federal role in disaster management.

Major disaster declaration numbers from FEMA show a staggering concentration in Eastern Kentucky — more than anywhere else in the country from 2010-2025, we found.
datawrapper.de/_/U37jj/

The crisis was on full display in the first half of this year. In a five-month span, nearly every county was slammed with extreme weather.

More than 50 were killed. Many towns were still recovering from disasters of years past when new storms arrived.
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

Over the last several months, @stephkuzy.bsky.social and I interviewed more than two dozen people about Kentucky's unique vulnerability to disasters, the fatigue of a perpetual cycle of recovery, and what steps leaders need to take to protect communities from the next storm.

$1 for a dream? Louisville program selling homes for cheap sparks new life — and debate Louisville's Landbank Authority is selling some abandoned homes for $1 in an effort to improve neighborhoods. Is it working?

$1 for a dream? Louisville program selling homes for cheap sparks new life — and debate

Upheaval at the CDC has plunged Kentucky's public health infrastructure into a state of confusion and uncertainty, officials said.

Some local departments are beginning to question the credibility of the agency's guidance.
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

A slice of Meade County farmland could see Kentucky's next data center proposal, according to the landowner and a rezoning proposal filed in late September.

Neighbors told me they're worried about utility rates, infrastructure, and quality of life.

Story: www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

The Trump administration is reportedly considering cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Kentucky energy projects.

If enacted, the cuts could be a death blow to one of the state's largest ongoing economic development projects.
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

Full 88-page letter here:
www.ag.ky.gov/Press%20Rele...
This month's National Academies report on the harms of climate change here:
www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/09...

Comments to the EPA led by KY Attorney General Russell Coleman made a series of false or unsupported claims about the science of climate change, including suggestions that higher carbon dioxide levels would bring "net benefits" for "millions of Americans."
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

A soybean farmer in Shelby County, photographed by Matt Stone.

This fall, #Kentucky farmers will harvest soybeans, the state's top crop, from an area twice the size of Rhode Island. China, the world's largest soybean buyer, isn't buying.

"It's a critical time for Kentucky agriculture right now," one economist said.
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

As Louisville's top climate official exits, are the city's energy goals still in reach?
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

The UAW claimed a narrow, contested victory in a union election at the BlueOval SK Battery Park, in what would be a historic outcome for organized labor in KY's budding battery industry.

But more than 40 challenged ballots could still swing the result.
www.courier-journal.com/story/money/...

Kentucky wildlife officials euthanized more than 20 deer at a Meade County wildlife sanctuary yesterday, pointing to violations of chronic wasting disease rules.

What we know so far on a very sad story:
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

The CSB's work is especially pertinent in cities like Louisville, where chemical plants and homes are often in close proximity. Thousands of Louisville residents live near industrial facilities handling high quantities of hazardous chemicals.

More:
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

Trump's budget proposal would completely defund the
Chemical Safety Board, which still has an open investigation on the Givaudan explosion in #Louisville last year.

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

Even as the Trump administration pulls federal support for electric vehicles, #Ford is doubling down on its #EV investments in Kentucky.

"The training wheels are coming off," says
Cox Automotive.

With Lucas Aulbach:
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/p...

Here's one interesting snippet from the order:

Chemours says it has not looked at reducing production at its Washington Works plant to curb PFAS emissions, even amid a series of permit violations and legal challenges.

Chemours "has a history of violating its permit, knows it is violating its permit, and intends to continue violating its permit," a federal judge wrote. "This is unacceptable under the Clean Water Act."

A big court order on Ohio River PFAS pollution:
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

Ohio reporter’s notebook searched by Secret Service at Vance fundraiser Erin Glynn, a reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer, had her reporting notebook searched by Secret Service agents during a security …

Secret Service agents searched and read through Cincinnati Enquirer reporter @eringlynn.bsky.social’s notebook, which included unpublished work product, during a security screening ahead of an event with Vice President @jd-vance-1.bsky.social in Lima, Ohio, on June 24.

The new 'nuclear age': $1.5 billion uranium enrichment facility planned for Paducah site The project is expected to create about 140 full-time jobs, officials said.

NEW: General Matter plans to build a $1.5 billion uranium enrichment facility in Paducah - "the largest economic development project in Western Kentucky history,"
@govandybeshear.bsky.social says.

More on the plans:
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

Uranium enrichment, nuclear power, AI, Peter Thiel: Leaders hint at big plans for Paducah Ambitious plans for Paducah's old gaseous diffusion site could include Kentucky's first nuclear power plant. Steep hurdles likely await.

Wide-ranging plans for Kentucky's old Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant have been thrown around lately, including #nuclear power and #AI data centers.

A Peter Thiel-linked uranium enrichment company is expected to share more info today. Here's what we know so far:

Trump gives Louisville plant more time to address pollution. Homes sit 500 feet away The Louisville formaldehyde plant bordering a residential neighborhood will have two additional years to comply with toxic air emission rules.

In July, Trump gave a Louisville formaldehyde plant two extra years to comply with Biden-era pollution control requirements.

Homes sit 500 feet from the plant. Nearly 2,000 people, including hundreds of children, live within a mile.
www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

Ford, SK On battery park workers in Kentucky to vote on joining UAW union. What to know BlueOval SK Battery Park workers in Hardin County will vote on whether to unionize with the United Auto Workers at the end of August. What to know.

Big news for labor in the #batterybelt:

A union election date is set for BlueOval SK in #Kentucky ― a plant facing an uncertain #EV market + ongoing tensions between workers and the company over safety concerns.

What we know so far, w/ reporter Olivia Evans:
www.courier-journal.com/story/money/...