By Linda Blackford | Editor
This story is going to make you itchy, but ticks are becoming an increasing problem in the commonwealth and the country. Today, reporter Liam Niemeyer focuses on alpha-gal syndrome, in which ticks pass on a protein that makes people allergic to mammals. Yes, that includes hamburgers, bacon, and more. In Owen County, people are learning to adjust, including one cattle farmer who can no longer eat his own harvest.
Gov. Andy Beshear is all over national media with his book tour/presidential pre-campaigning right now, but he’s still making some headlines here at home, this time around Kentucky’s music.
In Kentucky, you can often see signs offering to buy homes for cash, and our national desk looks into what’s called “wholesale buying,” which doesn’t always work out for everyone.
And in Commentary, former Congressman John Yarmuth thinks we’re reaching a point with healthcare costs that makes Medicare for All the only solution.
Thanks for reading!
Eliza Petzinger puts together pieces of clay soap dishes at her studio in Owen County, Kentucky. She and numerous members of her family have been diagnosed with alpha-gal.(Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)
By Liam Niemeyer
OWEN COUNTY, Ky. — She usually had a “stomach of steel.” Most food wouldn’t really bother her. But when Eliza Petzinger had a helping of country ham during her family’s Christmas dinner last year, the strong reaction — stomach discomfort and nausea — came just hours later.
“I was so sick, and so I knew. I just knew,” Petzinger told the Lantern earlier this month.
S.G. Goodman, a West Kentucky artist, plays at a concert in 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd)
By Sarah Ladd
Gov. Andy Beshear created the Governor’s Office of Music last week by executive order, saying the new office will work to connect and support artists through the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet.
A collection of signs advertising cash for homes is shown earlier this month at an event in Kansas City, Missouri, celebrating a new state law regulating real estate wholesalers. Critics say these businesses can be predatory, especially for poor, minority and older homeowners. (Photo by Kevin Hardy/Stateline)
By Kevin Hardy
The signs, text messages and mailers promise cash, quick sales and a seamless means of unloading unwanted homes.
But advocates say the business of buying homes for cash can confuse vulnerable homeowners and rob them of home equity. And now, many states are cracking down.
Medicare for All is the obvious choice to America’s healthcare woes, says former Rep. John Yarmuth.(Photo by Getty Images)
COMMENTARY
By John Yarmuth
A decade or so ago I was talking with the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. The conversation turned to healthcare, and I was in a snarky mood.
“How do you like being in the health insurance business?” I asked, clearly looking for an argument over federal healthcare policy, because I had consistently supported single payer health insurance during my congressional service.
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