music New faces are fighting for a seat in Kentucky State house, who will replace outgoing Democratic leader Pamela Stephenson.

Plus, we look back on the life and legacy of Kentucky civil rights icon PG Peeples.

>> But how is it that this experienced frontiersman walked into such an obvious trap?

>> And as America gets ready for its 250th birthday, a look back at a key frontier battle involving a legendary Kentuckian.

[MUSIC] >> Production of Kentucky edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

[MUSIC] >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Wednesday, April the 29th, I'm Renee Shaw.

We thank you for winding down your Wednesday with us.

We have competitive races for the U.S.

Senate and U.S.

House this year in Kentucky, and those federal races are affecting some state House ones.

The leading Democrat in Kentucky's house, Pamela Stephenson, is leaving her seat for a run at the U.S.

Senate, who will replace her to represent a solidly blue district representing more than 40,000 Louisvillians.

Well, our June Leffler has more in tonight's election 2026.

[MUSIC] >> Update district 43.

It basically hugs the river on the north side.

It encompasses most of Shawnee, all of Portland Russell, downtown.

Butchertown.

Nulu.

>> Smoketown, Shelby Park, Germantown, Perrystown, Elwood Avenue, Zorn, Mockingbird Valley Road.

It's probably one of the most diverse districts in the Commonwealth.

>> State House.

District 43 has slightly more black people than white people, and a majority of kids live in poverty.

>> You have areas where there are area income is.

Median income is below the poverty level.

You have some really well-to-do areas.

>> The historic neighborhoods of the West End, their families who are there, who've been represented in those neighborhoods for generations now.

>> We also have areas like this in the Shelby Park, where a lot of people are young people, either starting families or, you know, just making their way in the world.

>> A significant amount of seniors, which I care deeply about, and wanting to make sure that they are able to remain safe in their homes and are treated with dignity.

>> Former local government employee Joy McCarty and public school teacher Robert Bell are running to serve these louisvillians in the statehouse.

Whoever wins the primary takes the seat, as no Republican is running.

>> As a millennial entered into college at the age of 18, where I had the chance to vote for Barack Obama.

And I truly felt that, you know, the world was my oyster and I could do anything.

I'd grown up with this idea that if you went to college, you worked hard, you graduated, you got a job, you get out, buy a house, get married, and you have that American dream.

But we are so far from that at this present time.

And so I'm really focused on making sure that we have things like living wages, that we have affordable housing, whether you're renting or owning that our elders can age safely in place, and also that we are doing things that protect our environment.

Excited also to receive the endorsement of Planned Parenthood just because we know about the attacks on bodily autonomy and on access to health care, gender affirming care, and those are things that I'm passionate about.

And I want to make sure that we are continuing to stand up to fight for equity.

>> Bell is a Democratic socialist, like New York City's mayor and one member of Louisville Metro Council.

>> So where there is not democracy in our society, which many of us experience day to day in our workplaces, we want to add more democracy, have more unions, more democratic unions, stronger unions, to the point of having cooperative ownership.

And ultimately, we want to reorient our entire society towards the needs of the many, not the few.

That includes the economy.

And that's the socialism part.

Socialism is when you orient an economy towards the needs of the many, towards the social, as opposed to towards capital, i.e.

growing the wealth of individuals who have what we say are the means of production.

>> Local labor unions have divvied up endorsements to both candidates, with Bell securing one from the statewide AfL-CIO.

Same goes for endorsements from state House Democrats, with current district 43 representative and leader of her caucus, Pamela Stephenson, endorsing McAtee.

Democratic Socialist Bell already has allies in the state, but.

>> My goal is not to get along with Democratic caucus members.

My goal is to serve the people of our city in district 43.

I would say Joy would be a fantastic candidate.

However, in district 43, we need someone who is more aligned with the interests of the working class, more aggressively intending to fight for the working class, and who frankly doesn't have the political support of the of the of the establishment.

I would say the biggest difference between me and Joy Mccatty is not so much our difference in policy, but our difference in politics.

>> Whichever Democrat winds up in Frankfort will have to contend with a Republican supermajority.

>> Will there be times where I feel like I'm shouting into a void?

I'm sure there will be many days that I feel like that, but I'm going to keep standing up and I'm going to keep advocating and fighting.

>> Currently, 80 Republicans outnumbered 20 Democrats in Kentucky's House of Representatives for Kentucky Edition.

I'm June Leffler.

>> Thank you.

June.

Kentucky's primary is May 19th.

Early voting begins May 14th and goes through the 16th.

Congressman Andy Barr of Kentucky's sixth district, who is running for the U.S.

Senate, says Saturday's shooting incident at the white House Correspondents Dinner proves the need for Congress to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.

Barr appeared this morning on the Fox Business Channel.

>> It's outrageous that we had a third assassination attempt on the life of our president, and Secret Service agents aren't getting paid because Democrats refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

I think it's time for us to pass a rule, pass a reconciliation bill without Democrat's, and fund the entirety of the Department of Homeland Security, including ICE, including TSA, including Border Patrol and Secret Service and all of the agencies of the department through the end of the president's term, because we simply cannot depend on Democrats to do it.

You know, we had we had over 500 TSA agents quit because because of the instability in their in their pay and 100,000 other non TSA Department of Homeland Security employees are not getting their paychecks.

It's in a time of domestic turmoil when you have these assassination attempts at a time when we're in conflict, military conflict overseas, when the threat environment is high, the Department of Homeland Security arguably is the most important agency, in addition to the Department of War, to fund.

>> Both CNN and The New York Times report that Secret Service agents are being paid by money in President Trump's 2025 budget plan.

Congressman James Comer, a Republican from the first Congressional District in Kentucky, is chair of the House Oversight Committee.

He says he's talked to the director of the Secret Service about the Saturday incident.

Comer told radio host and podcaster Scott Jennings of Kentucky that problems with the Secret Service are nothing new.

>> There have been issues for a decade about a high turnover rate, about a lack of training, about low morale.

And I asked the director about that.

And, you know, that's still a problem today.

And, you know, he mentioned that your Secret Service agent, not only, you know, you put your life on the line every day, but you're gone for long periods away from family.

And there's a lot of uncertainty because the Democrats haven't passed a DHS funding bill.

So you don't know if you're going to get a paycheck tomorrow.

And I do think those things that have contributed to low morale and high turnover.

But this has been a problem for a decade.

>> Congressman comer planned to have the Secret Service director testify before his full committee today.

U.S.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky says he backs President Donald Trump's proposed white House ballroom.

Paul has introduced legislation to authorize the Ballroom's construction with no cost to taxpayers.

Paul is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and a member of the National Capital Planning Commission.

Paul said this in a statement, quote, following the security scare at the Correspondents Dinner, it is clear we need efficient, responsible processes to address white House infrastructure needs.

This bill ensures the ballroom can move forward using private funding, protect taxpayers and create a faster approval pathway for critical improvements while maintaining congressional oversight, end quote.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is leading a 20 state coalition, asking the U.S.

Supreme Court to let a Northern Kentucky church build an outdoor shrine, a Catholic order.

The missionaries of Saint John the Baptist runs the Our Lady of Lourdes, Lourdes Parish in Park Hills and Kenton County.

In 2021, it received zoning approval to build a shrine for people to visit before and after mass.

The project would include a shrine to the Virgin Mary, a plaza, a walking path and a retaining wall.

Some neighbors sued.

They argued the shrine would bring extra traffic to the neighborhood.

Kentucky Supreme Court blocked the project.

Now, Coleman and 19 other attorneys general are asking the U.S.

Supreme Court to take up the case and provide national clarity on the issue.

Coleman says people should be allowed to worship without unlawful government interference.

Some sad news to report today.

People's.

A Lexington civil rights icon has died.

People's joined the Urban League of Lexington back in 1969, one year after its founding.

He later became the nation's youngest leader of an Urban League affiliate and the longest.

And he continued to lead the organization for more than 50 years.

The Urban League says people's died yesterday in his office after a day of meetings about affordable housing.

Quote, which will be one of his many lasting legacies, end quote.

He also pushed for positive change in education by working to close achievement gaps and establishing scholarships and counseling services for students.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear called him a true leader.

He said this on socials today.

He championed civil rights, education, affordable housing and more, and made an undeniable difference in the lives of many.

This is a great loss, but his impact will be felt for generations.

End quote from the governor.

Lexington Mayor Linda Gordon said peoples was a dear friend and she says, quote, we began a long friendship when we served together on the very first FCPS Equity Council.

That's Fayette County Public Schools.

Our city is a better place because of his strong leadership, end quote.

Commerce Lexington is also mourning his passing.

Quote, in whatever capacity he served, he challenged our organization and the community to work harder to ensure that all segments of our city had the opportunity to prosper.

Simply put, his work changed lives and made Lexington a far better place to live and work.

Mr.

peoples was active on several local and national boards throughout his life.

For his work, he received numerous awards, including being inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame and earning an honorary doctorate from the University of Kentucky.

Mr.

PG peoples was 80 years old.

>> Kentucky.

>> Layoffs are coming to Kentucky's second largest public school district.

Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins made the announcement this week, though he did not say how many jobs would be cut.

In addition to layoffs, Superintendent Liggins is also asking the school board to approve a reduction in work days for a number of groups of staff, including law enforcement and school librarians.

In an email sent to parents, he stressed teachers and paraeducators would not be impacted.

The decision comes on the heels of the district's announcement that it once again is facing financial uncertainty.

The district's interim chief financial officer discussed the issue during Monday night's board meeting.

>> The point in sharing that was to emphasize that the issues we're talking about are not readily apparent.

These are granular processes that add up to big dollars, but these would not surface to the board or the superintendent because they don't appear on the summary information that you are given.

The big picture is that CPS is often operated outside of state, federal and accounting practices, and I believe that financial records have been fundamentally misstated for years.

>> The board is now considering a short term loan to help cover some immediate costs.

The staff reduction plan is expected to be finalized by May the 15th.

Students are more likely to pursue college or trade school with dual credit.

That's according to a new report by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Learn more about the results from the study.

In our segment, Education Matters.

[MUSIC] >> Dual credit course is a course that you take.

In many cases, you take it in high school in that setting, and you get college credit for it.

Most of them are what we call general ed transfer courses, like your English, the psychology, the humanities that transfers in the others, though you can take some if you are in the technical courses, like going to Kentucky community and technical colleges, whether it's welding, whether it's construction management or some of the others.

So both of those are covered.

We want them to be able to go to college at the most affordable price, get the credential they need that is valuable and of quality.

And to make sure that they get the jobs they need to get once they get out.

This study really comes out of us looking at how well are we doing in transitioning students to post-secondary and getting them out of post-secondary, and how well are we doing that with the lowest cost possible.

So this study around dual credit gives us some really solid data on this.

The more that we can help students get to this space and post-secondary full time by helping them to understand the importance of post-secondary matters, too.

This study points out for an example that if you take a dual credit course, you have a much greater chance of moving into post-secondary and graduating with post-secondary with less debt, as well as a higher GPA.

And this especially holds true for those that are under resourced.

So for an example, in 2016, as the study will show, we had about 23% of our high school students taking a dual credit course and passing with a C or higher.

Now we have 47.5%.

What we found out is that a fully credentialed high school teacher having access to a university or college, where they get to visit and do it and actually be credentialed by that college to do that course, is what we see as having the greater outcome, the more you're exposed to an on campus environment, more you're exposed to see what is happening and it becomes less of a threat, if you will, you know, less of a way of thinking about yourself being an immigrant on that campus.

In that case, then the greater chance you have of actually seeing college as a possibility.

More students are looking at how can these courses help me transition to a college campus, get through faster and get a job, or have a double major?

So this report really points out some future possibilities of how we need to be thinking about aligning these courses more with a particular career than we've ever thought about.

So as much as anything else, not a surprise, but a happy sort of outcome, it gives us some new policy directions to think about.

>> By the year 2030, CPE is working towards ensuring 50% of high school students have graduated with a completed dual credit course and received a C grade or higher.

[MUSIC] A Southcentral Kentucky World War Two veteran is celebrating more than one century of life.

Heyward Minton of Warren County turned 104 years old yesterday.

He's a longtime loyal member of the Bowling Green Kiwanis Club, who held their weekly meeting at his home today, turning it into a birthday party and cookout.

State Representative Kevin Jackson honored Minton with a proclamation.

Many other dignitaries and community members were there to wish Mr.

Minton a happy birthday and make remarks.

He held perfect attendance at Kiwanis Club meetings for 64 years and hosted the club's first Thunderfest fireworks show back in 1972.

We asked Mr.

Minton, now, what's the secret to a long, happy life?

>> Well, I've always just tried to treat everybody like I wanted to be treated in this club has been nice to me.

I think I lived so long.

Don't smoke, don't drink.

>> Okay?

>> Don't run around with wild women.

And, you know, most people say, well, why do you want to live?

>> And he's got a pretty good sense of humor.

Mr.

Minton says in his prime, he could catch some crappie more than anybody nearby and any man alive.

His other hobbies include reading and following NASA.

As a World War Two veteran preparing to celebrate America's 250th birthday, he says all these years later, he still thinks we have the greatest country in the world, and we're so glad that he's been in it.

Well, now, speaking of America's 250th birthday.

KET is helping to celebrate by illuminating Kentucky's chapter within that history.

The Battle of Blue Licks in 1782 was one of the frontiers bloodiest.

It also helped shape Kentucky.

KET explores the battle in this Kentucky Origins episode as we celebrate America's founding.

>> It was August 19th, 1782, ten months after Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.

The Revolutionary War had been won.

[MUSIC] On a hillside in Kentucky, however, 182 American militiamen are about to discover that peace hasn't yet reached the frontier.

Among them is 47 year old Daniel Boone.

He knows the land better than most, and right now he fears they're heading straight into a trap.

[MUSIC] Boone's instincts are tragically correct.

[MUSIC] Within minutes, 72 men from the American militia will be dead, including Boone's own son.

This massacre, one of America's bloodiest frontier defeats, is known as the Battle of Blue Licks.

[MUSIC] But how is it that this experienced frontiersman walked into such an obvious trap?

[MUSIC] It all started just a few days before, on August 16th, 1782, Captain William Caldwell of the British Indian Department led about 50 loyalist rangers and roughly 300 native warriors in an attack on Brian station near Lexington.

The very next day, Caldwell withdrew northeast toward the Ohio River but left a trail behind.

And that's exactly what he wanted the Kentuckians to see.

When the Kentucky militia arrives at Brian station on August 18th, the siege is over.

Colonel John Todd takes command.

[MUSIC] Under him, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Trigg with the Lincoln County militia, and Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Boone, with about 47 men from Fayette County.

The officers face a question pursue immediately or wait for reinforcements.

Colonel Benjamin Logan is coming.

With 400 men only a day away.

Wait for him and they'll have overwhelming numbers.

But Caldwell has a 40 mile head start.

Chase now, or risk letting him escape across the Ohio.

Major Hugh McGary, known for his bravery and fierce temper, surprisingly advises them to wait for Logan and his men.

Colonel Todd, however, believes the enemy numbers are exaggerated and calls Mcgarry's advice timid.

On the morning of August 19th, 1782, at a place called the Lower Blue Licks, the militia sees a few native scouts disappear beyond a ridge overlooking the river.

Colonel Todd brings his officers together and asks Boone for his recommendation.

[MUSIC] Boone knew the area better than anyone, and he believed the trail had been too obvious from the start.

He suspected they were concealing a very large force by walking in each other's tracks.

He was confident they were being led to an ambush.

I say Knott follow, Boone said.

They largely outnumber us, and it is not prudent to pursue.

[MUSIC] What happened next would doom the militiamen.

McGarry, likely still feeling slighted at Todd, calling him timid the day before, urges the militiamen to fight.

McGary turns to Boone and dares to question his courage.

Mounting his horse, McGary charges across the river, urging the rest of the men on by saying they're cowards if they don't follow.

The contagion was irresistible.

Boone's nephew Samuel, later said, for the taunt of cowardice was unpalatable to a Kentuckian and stung them onto recklessness.

The entire militia follows even the officers who know better.

Even Boone himself.

They formed three columns on the far bank.

Boone left Trigg, Wright, Todd and McGary Center and climb toward the ridge.

They're about 40 yards from the top of the ridge.

[MUSIC] When the shooting starts.

Roughly 300 warriors spring from concealed positions along the ridge.

[MUSIC] British Rangers alongside them.

They have the high ground, the cover and complete surprise.

The gunfire is devastating.

[MUSIC] In about five minutes, the center column collapses.

[MUSIC] Colonel Todd falls from his horse, killed.

So does Colonel Trigg.

14 other officers go down the right flank breaks.

[MUSIC] Only Boone's men on the left hold their ground briefly, pushing forward, returning fire.

But warriors are already racing around both flanks, cutting off the retreat.

Seeing how bad it is, Boone orders his men to fall back.

He grabs a riderless horse and orders his son, Israel to mount and escape.

Israel refuses, not wanting to leave his father.

But moments later, Israel falls, shot through the neck.

Boone and the others realize there's no option but to retreat.

The entire Battle of Blue Licks lasts only about 15 minutes, but by the time it's over, 72 Americans were left dead, including more than 60 Kentuckians.

Another 6 to 8 were taken captive.

Both McGary and Boone survived.

The British and native forces lost no more than 11.

It was a total massacre, and it happened ten months after Yorktown.

>> You can see the rest of this story, including how the tragic battle shaped early Kentucky's settlement patterns and frontier defense strategy.

Just log on to ket.org/250, where you'll find programs, educational resources, events, and much more.

We continue our look at the May 19th primary contests.

There are several contested primaries for the Kentucky General Assembly.

Our Emily Sisk talks to someone from Northern Kentucky.

Lincoln KY reporter Kenton Hornback that will be coming your way tomorrow.

In our reporter's Notebook segment on Kentucky Edition at 630 eastern, 530 central right here, where we inform, connect and inspire.

We hope you'll connect with us all the ways you see on your screen the social media channels.

Look for us on the ket.org website, where you can stream all kinds of great content and the PBS app.

You can download us on your smart devices.

Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

I'm Renee Shaw and hope to see you right back here again tomorrow night.

Take really good care.