By Linda Blackford | Editor
We may be as politically divided as we’ve ever been, but on Tuesday, the country united in paying homage to the queen of country music, children’s books, one-liners, and the COVID vaccine – Dolly Parton. She gave as much in philanthropy as she did in her incandescent music, and her spirit will live on throughout Appalachia. Our sister newsroom, the Tennessee Lookout, wrote this obituary.
In other news, a group of black lung activists asked U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers to do support black lung benefits for the many coal miners affected in his district.
The Sixth District Court of Appeals sent a UK professor’s case back to lower court. And the Kentucky Board of Elections has codified a rule on voter rolls.
Have a great Wednesday!
Dolly Parton on stage in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 20, 2025, at the premiere of “Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony.” Hailing from East Tennessee, Parton’s songwriting, savvy, charm and philanthropy made her a beloved figure globally. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
By Sam Stockard
Dolly Parton, the personification of Tennessee music, died Tuesday at age 80 after decades of entertaining the world.
X-rays of a patient with black lung disease. (National Archives at College Park photo)
By Liam Niemeyer
A Kentucky group representing miners with black lung is urging U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers to support a bill significantly boosting the federal disability benefits these miners receive.
Ramsi Woodcock has been reassigned from teaching and banned from entering the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he is an assistant professor. (Provided)
By McKenna Horsley
A federal appeals court is sending a University of Kentucky law professor’s case to restore his teaching duties back to a lower court.
Voters should check the “write-in candidate” bubble and need not worry about remembering their chosen candidate’s first name, says a spokesperson for the Kentucky secretary of state. (Austin Anthony for The Kentucky Lantern)
By McKenna Horsley
Kentucky election officials have created a new regulation to match Kentucky voter registration against out-of-state records following a lawsuit from Kentuckians For The Commonwealth.
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