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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Department of Education celebrated the graduation of 70 educators who completed the nationally recognized National Institute for School and System Leadership program during the 2025-2026 school year, continuing a more than 14-year partnership designed to develop transformative school leaders across the state. The NISL program, offered through a partnership…

By Shauneen Miranda, Kentucky Lantern · May 15, 2026 U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon testifies before the House Committee on Education and Workforce on May 14, 2026. The hearing examined the policies and priorities of the Department of Education. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon took heat Thursday over…

It is, frankly, a very Lexington thing for the manager of a hipster-adjacent gentrification nonprofit to walk to a public-comment mic and argue that an organization helping abused children is the one with too much money. Of all the budget lines a District 10 resident could have planted a flag on, this one is…

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A Lexington, Ky., man, Kevin Ryan Straw, 40, was charged by information and pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove.  According to the information and his plea agreement, between 2021 and 2024, Straw served as President of Metropolitan Lodge 32, Fraternal Order of Police, based…

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The operators of a day treatment program for children with behavioral and mental health needs have agreed to a civil judgment of $15,248,240.66 in favor of the United States to resolve allegations that they defrauded the Kentucky and Ohio Medicaid programs. The judgment, announced today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, is…

LEXINGTON, Ky. — In-person, no-excuse early voting for Kentucky’s 2026 primary election began Thursday, according to WUKY 91.3 FM. The three-day early voting window runs through Saturday, May 16, offering Kentucky voters an alternative to waiting for election day ballots. The expanded early voting opportunity reflects Kentucky’s shift toward no-excuse in-person voting, which allows…

By Sarah Ladd, Kentucky Lantern · May 15, 2026 The Administrative Office of the Courts office in Frankfort on March 26, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert is cutting 170 staff positions — and adding 108 — in the court system to operate within the…

A 6-year-old boy from Burkesville is celebrating a remarkable recovery after being struck by an SUV on a highway near his home last October, exemplifying the life-saving impact of specialized pediatric trauma care at UK HealthCare. Oliver Blair was struck by a vehicle traveling over the speed limit on Oct. 1, 2024, while chasing…

FRANKFORT, Ky. — As Kentucky Republicans vie to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the party’s candidates are navigating a delicate political balance: honoring the titan who helped reshape the Supreme Court while distancing themselves from a leader whose popularity has waned among the party’s base. According to WUKY 91.3 FM, the contrast is…

By Linda Blackford, Kentucky Lantern · May 15, 2026 The Kentucky Castle on Versailles Road was recently part of a humorous AI prank. (Photo courtesy of the Kentucky Castle) It’s true that there’s a huge castle on a hill halfway between Lexington and Versailles, where you can hold a wedding. It’s not true that…