Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton has appointed a large committee in an effort to count every citizen in the upcoming federal census. 

The ten-year tally is scheduled in 2020.

Mayor Gorton says the census count has a significant impact on the amount of federal grant funding coming to the bluegrass community.  Census data affects funding for Head Start, public transportation, programs for senior citizens, and other programs. 

Influenza sickness remains prevalent across the Commonwealth.  Officials with the State Department for Public Health report flu activity in Kentucky is widespread for the tenth consecutive week. 

Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Jeff Howard says that is not that unusual. “Ten weeks of widespread activity would be expected to extend into the next coming month or so.  We usually see flu cases start declining after March into April and then declining until the end of the season which typically ends in May,” Howard said.

Kentucky lawmakers are on pace to have a full agenda during three days of meetings next week before the veto period starts. Legislators will come back the end of March to consider any gubernatorial vetoes. 

The Kentucky General Assembly is taking steps this legislative session to modernize the insurance fund for more than 17-thousand grain farmers. 

Mayfield Representative Richard Heath says such an update of the program hasn’t been done for decades.  The Western Kentucky lawmaker says many of the Commonwealth’s grain farmers are under stress. “Their input costs are high.  The price of land is high.  The price of equipment is high and grain prices are still about the same price they were back in the '80s,” said Heath.

Kentucky is launching an online emergency contact registry.  “Emergency Notice” provides law enforcement officials the ability to access contact information in the case of a serious vehicle crash.  

Matt Henderson is commissioner for the State Department of Vehicle Regulation. “What if you are in a car accident on one of Kentucky’s highways and you are unresponsive and your phone was not present.  Maybe it was destroyed in the accident or not available.  Would first responders and bystanders know who to contact?” asked Henderson.

A plan to highlight the railroading history of the Estill County town of Ravenna ∙ Lexington author Margaret Verble on her new book, Cherokee America ∙ Degree regret: second thoughts about college majors ∙ Details on Critical Mass III: boosting arts coverage in the Ohio Valley region ∙ The “what, where, and when” of this year’s Kentucky Crafted Market

Legislation making adjustments in local tax recall referendums in the state’s two largest cities is one step away from final passage in the Kentucky General Assembly. A Central Kentucky county clerk sees potential complications if the bill becomes law.

The statewide tornado drill held Wednesday across Kentucky took on a more prominent meaning following the deaths of 23 people from a massive tornado in Alabama.  The annual exercise is typically held the first week of March, the kickoff of the severe storm season.  

Legislation that would criminalize those who share personal identifying information about a minor when the intent is to intimidate, abuse, threaten, harass, or frighten is headed to the full Senate.  The measure stems from the highly publicized viral social media account of a January interaction between Covington Catholic students and Native American protestors in Washington DC. 

  Rural jails in Kentucky are increasingly relying on income derived from payments for holding state prisoners in county facilities, according to a new report by a think tank that advocates for criminal justice reform.

To address overcrowding, states make payments to counties to hold convicted prisoners and pretrial detainees. States save money, and counties get an extra influx of cash.