By Linda Blackford | Editor
Good morning!
Campaign finance laws are complicated, and keeping customers happy is even harder. That’s what Lexington’s Ethereal Brewing has found out since hosting a fundraiser for Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton. Reporter McKenna Horsley has the story.
Owsley County has just gotten the biggest economic investment in its history, according to state officials: Speed Kentucky will be creating 60 jobs for an off road vehicle company.
Our friends from WEKU and the Appalachian News Exchange found out that the Kentucky Public Service Commission is not letting outside groups weigh in on an audit the PSC is doing of Kentucky Power and electricity rates.
And you’ve seen those ads of President Trump that he’s running before the midterms? When he himself is not running? You might be surprised how they’re being funded.
Thanks for reading and for all your support! We love our readers, and if you have ideas or comments or questions, send me a line at [email protected].
Ethereal Brewing Public House is in the middle of a controversy over campaign donations for a GOP fundraiser held there. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Linda Blackford)
By McKenna Horsley
An email from a Lexington brewery owner about a Sept. 23 fundraiser for one of the Kentucky legislature’s top Republicans has sparked questions about campaign donation laws.
Last week, an email from Andrew Bishop, an owner of Ethereal Brewing, circulated online from a now-deleted Reddit post on the Lexington subreddit. Copies of the email can still be found on other sites, like Facebook. The screenshot did not include recipients of the email, but Bishop referred to an upcoming fundraiser for Rep. Jason Petrie, an Elkton Republican who chairs the House’s budget committee.
Speed Kentucky, a new business in Owsley County, will hold a ribbon cutting on Oct. 2, 2026. (Photo courtesy City of Booneville)
By Sarah Ladd
Speed Kentucky plans to open a $1.47 million facility in Owsley County and employ 60 people who will work on “final assembly and distribution” of the company’s utility task vehicles, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday.
Members of the Kentucky Public Service Commission listen to residents in Ashland on Jan. 8, 2026. Seen from left, Andrew Wood, Chair Angie Hatton and Mary Pat Regan. (Photo by Curtis Tate, WEKU)
By Curtis Tate, WEKU
The state Public Service Commission said Tuesday it will not allow a group of stakeholders to intervene in an audit of Kentucky Power’s operations and management.
President Donald Trump appears in a taxpayer-funded public service announcement that critics say is indistinguishable from a 2024 campaign ad. (Screenshot from video posted to Truth Social)
By Jonathan Shorman
President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call propaganda come under bipartisan attack.
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