By Linda Blackford | Editor
Given that a bunch of elected officials signed nondisclosure agreements, it’s not the biggest shock in the world to find out that Mark Zuckerberg’s company is behind the very big, very controversial data center in Mason County. Now all that’s left to learn is exactly how much money the county and state will give away to get it here.
In other gigantic corporation news, LG&E and KU have saved money with remote “smart meters,” but the part of those meters designed to save customers money appears to not work in Kentucky.
Also, 80,000 people have lost SNAP food benefits in Kentucky under new federal rules.
Does the news make you want to drink a hemp-infused cocktail? Well, you may be out of luck if Congress doesn’t fix laws on hemp production, per our Commentary today.
That was Wednesday. Today is Thursday. Things are sure to look up, right? Right. Thanks for reading.
Attendees gather at a Maysville-Mason County Joint Planning Commission meeting on Sept. 3, 2025, including members of “We Are Mason County” who expressed their concerns about a data center project. (Photo courtesy of Max Moran)
By Liam Niemeyer
The technology company Meta will invest billions of dollars for a proposed Mason County hyperscale data center and will pay millions of dollars to local schools and the county but will also receive a 40-year tax break on local property taxes, according to a tentative agreement.
A matrix of electric utility meters for Louisville Gas and Electric. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)
By Liam Niemeyer
Kentucky’s largest electric utility has saved tens of millions of dollars in recent years by installing more than 1 million digital “smart” utility meters at homes and businesses in large part by being able to check the meters remotely for energy usage, disconnections and reconnections.
About 80,000 Kentuckians have lost SNAP benefits under new federal rules. (Stock photo by hapabapa/Getty Images)
By Sarah Ladd
Some 80,000 Kentuckians have lost access to the food benefits known as SNAP because of federal changes to the program, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Kentucky’s congressional delegation on Wednesday.
Kentucky was a top producer of hemp before World War II. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
COMMENTARY
By Annie Rouse
Farmers are reeling from tariffs, rising fuel and fertilizer costs, soaring insurance premiums, and the increasing cost of debt. Now, more than ever, America’s agricultural community needs diversification. Agricultural hemp is part of that solution.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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