By Linda Blackford | Editor
Good morning!
Amid the constant discussions on data centers, it’s clear that elected officials see a potential payday for schools, local governments and tax bases. But as reporter Liam Niemeyer explains, Kentucky’s tax system gives a lot of big breaks to industry, and data centers might just be classified as such. It could be a case of not counting your chickens in a state that loves to give away money.
Liam, who has been busy, also has a story today about the big drop in funded road projects in the season when road projects have to get done.
In other business, part of the Administrative Office of the Courts got hacked, and the Kentucky counties that had severe flooding in June are going to get some help from FEMA.
Happy Thursday! We’re almost to a holiday weekend.
A server room in a data center. (Photo by Getty Images)
By Liam Niemeyer
In some Kentucky communities where hyperscale data centers are being proposed, leaders in local governments and school districts are eyeing a potential tax windfall that they hope could lead to transformative investments back in their communities.
Kentucky road paving projects have dropped dramatically in the summer of 2026. (Getty Images)
By Liam Niemeyer
Both state lawmakers and representatives of Kentucky’s road paving industry have strong concerns about the lack of road work that state transportation officials are awarding this summer compared to previous years.
The Administrative Office of the Courts office in Frankfort, Kentucky, on March 26, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd)
By McKenna Horsley
The Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts said the system used for files for the Kentucky Supreme Court and Court of Appeals “experienced a cybersecurity incident.”
Flooding in Madison County took three lives, officials said. (Photo courtesy Richmond Police Department.)
By Sarah Ladd
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved public assistance for 20 Kentucky counties that dealt with flooding in June, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday.
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