Author

Liam Niemeyer

Liam Niemeyer

Liam covers government and policy in Kentucky and its impacts throughout the Commonwealth for the Kentucky Lantern. He most recently spent four years reporting award-winning stories for WKMS Public Radio in Murray.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

Raymond Emery with his dog, Brandon.

No guarantee of federal aid for latest survivors in tornado-struck Western Kentucky

By: - May 31, 2024

HOPKINS COUNTY — Raymond Emery has spent the past few nights leaning back in the front seat of his green minivan to stay close to his chickens and dogs. They’re among his few remaining possessions after a powerful EF-3 tornado, winds reaching 160 mph, ripped through his rented trailer the evening of May 26. One […]

Storm damage of Tabatha Adams' home from the front.

Grim toll tallied again after weekend tornado tears through some places hit in 2021

By: - May 28, 2024

Sitting on her front porch surrounded by tornado damage, Tabatha Adams never imagined being on the other side of disaster recovery.? As the former president of her local Rotary Club, she helped her neighbors when Dawson Springs grappled with the devastating aftermath of an EF-4 tornado in December 2021. The Western Kentucky city of about […]

Beshear names Kerry Harvey, former justice secretary, to Kentucky Horse Racing Commission

By: - May 24, 2024

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has appointed the former secretary of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to the commission that oversees horse racing and sports gambling in the state.? Kerry Harvey, of Lexington, will succeed Naveed Chowhan, a Louisville-area doctor, whose term expired on the 15-member Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Beshear announced Friday the […]

A billowing steam engine sits on site at the nonprofit's site.

Rail yard is $5 million closer to again serving as an economic engine

By: - May 23, 2024

For Chris Campbell, Estill County is where almost everyone has a connection to the rail lines that run by the “twin cities” of Irvine and Ravenna, the latter founded by a railroad in the early 20th century.? Campbell, while not an Estill County native, is a train enthusiast and president of the Irvine-based nonprofit Kentucky […]

Bernheim Forest appeals to Kentucky Supreme Court to stop pipeline in conservation easement

By: - May 20, 2024

The Bernheim Forest and Arboretum is asking Kentucky’s highest court to take up a legal battle over condemnation of some of its land to build a gas pipeline. In April, the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling last year from the Bullitt Circuit Court that said Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities (LG&E […]

Please, don’t shoot the wild pigs. It only makes them more elusive.

By: - May 16, 2024

FRANKFORT — Because an “educated” pig is harder to track or trap, Kentucky is taking steps to prevent the hunting of feral hogs known to damage crops, woodlands and potentially spread disease.? Kentucky wildlife management officials are finalizing a ban on the hunting of wild pigs in an effort to more easily capture them. Under […]

Kentucky American Water rates going up, but not by as much as company sought

By: - May 13, 2024

FRANKFORT — Kentucky American Water customers are due a refund after the state utility regulator rejected part of a rate increase the company began charging in February and chastised it for not doing more to stem water loss from its system. Kentucky American Water, serving more than 138,000 customers in Lexington and more than a […]

Kentucky’s Coleman joins other GOP attorneys general in challenging Biden power plant rules

By: - May 10, 2024

Kentucky’s chief law enforcement officer has joined Republican attorneys general from 24 other states in challenging new federal rules aimed at curbing water pollution and nearly all greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal-fired power plants and newly constructed gas-fired power plants. A news release from Kentucky Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman on Thursday said the […]

Still awaiting noise relief, some rural Kentuckians point to Arkansas’ new crypto mining law

By: - May 10, 2024

Nine months after a suspected cryptocurrency mine moved into her previously quiet part of Wolfe County, Brenda Campbell says noise canceling blankets installed by the operator are not helping and she still doesn’t know where to turn for relief from the constant, intrusive whirring. Wolfe County Judge-Executive Raymond Banks agrees the noise blankets haven’t been […]

Documentary about Ohio River’s history and current challenges to debut on KET

By: - May 1, 2024

A Louisville filmmaker is debuting a new documentary showcasing the rich history of the Ohio River and the future challenges it faces on Kentucky’s public television broadcaster.? The one-hour documentary called “This Is The Ohio” features the travels of filmmaker Morgan Atkinson and his 981-mile journey along the river from the confluence of the Mississippi […]

A group of people stand by a pile of dirt holding shovels.

Bourbon County recycling center is ‘righting a wrong’ for a predominantly Black neighborhood

By: - April 30, 2024

PARIS — When David Downey retired from the Navy in 1968 after serving in three wars, he came back to where he grew up, a home on the west side of Paris, Kentucky. But three years before he returned, a trash incinerator had been placed in his neighborhood, too.? “The stench from it was ridiculous,” […]

Kentucky AG gets funding to fight Biden administration on climate, air and water pollution rules

By: - April 29, 2024

When Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman told state lawmakers in January about the budget needs of his office, Rep. Patrick Flannery, R-Olive Hill, asked if he needed more resources to address a “regulatory avalanche” regarding a “green agenda” coming from the federal government.? Coleman, a Republican, said his office would welcome them, saying there was […]