A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Op-Ed – D. Stephen Voss: The kids aren’t all right; don’t throw that catch-up plan in the dustbin just yet

Kentucky inaugurates a governor next week. He’s the same guy who has served in that office for the last four years, so it might seem silly to indulge in pomp and circumstance when nothing is changing. But as Americans learned the hard way after 2020, having an election end peacefully — having voters who supported the defeated candidate accept their loss — cannot be taken for granted. A peaceful...

Op-Ed – Bill Straub: Taking governor’s oath for 2nd time, Beshear must lead state — and a corpse of a party

It was Jimmy Stewart, in the role of the beleaguered Sen Jefferson Smith in Frank Capra’s renowned film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” who first offered up the idea that “Lost causes are the only causes worth fighting for.” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, on the verge of taking the oath for his second four-year term with an eye, perhaps, on bigger game, is about to be tested on the principle...

Letter to Editor: New Voices for Vaccination campaign says get shot to stay healthy this holiday season

All health care professionals share the primary common goal of protecting the health and well-being of our patients, especially during the holiday season when COVID-19, influenza, RSV and other dangerous illnesses spike. As the past several years have presented ongoing health challenges — from the COVID-19 pandemic to a worsened annual flu season and a resurgence of preventable diseases like measles...

Op-Ed – Norma Hatfield: Five things we can do for kinship families

As we approach a new year, let’s not forget kids in kinship care. Kinship care is when a child is living with relatives or close family friends other than their parents. These children may be victims of abuse and neglect and/or formally in the child welfare system, while many for myriad reasons are informally left with relatives or friends. For Kentucky, there are approximately 55,000 kids in a...

Op-Ed – Constance Alexander: Holiday greetings summon ghosts of Christmases past and present

When I was growing up, twice-a-day mail delivery started the first of December. By the time we got home from school each day, the silver bowl on the table by the front door was filled with Christmas cards. My sister Jeanne and I inspected each one and then began our ritual of affixing them to the rungs of the banister with see-through tape and red ribbon. Through the cards, we got to know bits and...

Op-Ed – Dear Readers: We are asking for your support for the nonprofit NKyTribune’s NewsMatch campaign

Dear readers: Once again, the NKyTribune has been selected to be among the nation’s nonprofit local news sites to participate in the NewsMatch campaign funded by an impressive group of national funders who care as much as we do about sustaining local news in local communities across the nation. We don’t have to tell you about the impact on communities when good local newspapers go away...

Joe Heller: A cartoonist’s views of week’s news — the Wisemen, Rolling Stones, Santa’s lists, Pearl Harbor coming

Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...

Op-Ed – Jennifer Jackson: League of Women Voters of KY urges action to enable citizen participation

Our representative democracy rests on a basic principle: The people have a right to participate in decisions that affect them. The League of Women Voters of Kentucky is concerned by any weakening of that principle. In our new “How Can They Do That?” report, we show that Kentucky’s General Assembly has increasingly fast-tracked legislation in ways that make citizen participation nearly impossible,...

Op-Ed – Bill Straub: Here we are again, after thinking it couldn’t get worse; Comer going for Dweeb of Year

I swear, by all that’s holy, I’m so sick of writing about the Tompkinsville Twit that I could just spit. But here we are, friends. Every time you conclude our boy, Rep. Jamie Comer, R-Whereverhehangshishatishishome, couldn’t possibly sink any lower, couldn’t demean himself any further, he ups and provides the American public with yet another outrage, the sort that easily establishes himself...

Op-Ed – NKY Medical Society: An open letter to Governor Beshear urging action on gun safety laws

Governor Beshear: In states where elected officials have taken action to pass gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence and suicide. Kentucky is ranked 40 out of 50 states (behind Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia) and considered a “National failure” state for lacking basic gun-safety protection. This failure has led Kentucky to have nearly triple the rate of gun deaths as top-tiered...

Op-Ed – Diana Carlin: Remembering Rosalynn Carter and the challenges she overcame as First Lady

As I write this, the airwaves, online news sites and print media are filled with tributes to Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady who passed away Sunday, November 19, at the age of 96. It is likely that many are learning of her groundbreaking years as first lady and her post-presidential work — beyond building houses for Habitat for Humanity — for the first time. While first ladies have been...

Op-Ed – Constance Alexander: Survivors pressed on and have risen from the rubble in post-tornado Mayfield

In less than two years, Jana Duffy has gone from downtown boutique owner to boudoir photographer, almost without pause. “I have forty other jobs,” she quips. “I just don’t know when to stop.” Nanc Gunn, director of the Mayfield-Graves County Art Guild and the historic Ice House Gallery, has also spent the last two years juggling tasks that most of us would have found daunting. But when we...

Op-ED – David Childs: The death of civility in politics, how we move toward more civil democratic dialogue

Another election cycle has come and gone and the U.S. has witnessed peaceful transitions of power all over the nation at various levels of government. It must be said that this is an off-cycle election and the real test will come with the 2024 election. But for the time being, we should all express a heartfelt sense of gratitude that election results across the country at the federal level and in every...

Joe Heller: A cartoonist’s take on the news of the week — Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, holiday travel

Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...

Op-Ed – Anthony Tsetse: Cybersecurity is more important than ever to protect, secure digital assets

Technology and innovation have evolved to become the foundation for almost every aspect of our lives. School districts and universities are using technology to create more education opportunities, hospitals are turning to technology to deliver better treatment, and small businesses are using online tools to reach new customers and market their products at lower costs – to name a few. Small institutions...