Piper Hansen

KY cities could have more options to incentivize affordable housing under new bill The bill is a byproduct of the Kentucky Housing Task Force that identified practical solutions to the state’s housing shortage.

the bill, filed monday, gives local governments the ability to use bonds and other incentive tools in order to support large residential developments in their communities as well as their infrastructure and utility needs www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

folks. two hours

going on an hour and a half in closed session

Impeachment petitions for Supreme Court justice, others under review by KY House In the committee’s first meeting, it accepted petitions, including one against Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Pamela Goodwine.

the ky house formed an impeachment committee and met for the first time yesterday to discuss rules to review petitions filed against elected officials for their removal. it's having its second meeting right now and has been in closed session for over an hour www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

KY Senate hits the gas on sending driver’s licensing services to local offices The Kentucky Senate passed its first bill of session, proposing driver’s license renewal services be returned to localities.

we have the first bill from the ky senate to be sent to the house of representatives for consideration: a proposal allowing counties without a regional licensing office the option to run driver’s license renewal and duplication services. more from today's vote: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Kentucky police would be required to work with ICE under GOP-backed bills Several bills filed in the early days of the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly aim to require local participation in immigration enforcement.

though carrying out immigration law typically falls to federal officers, some kentucky lawmakers want to see local law enforcement enter agreements in order to aid ICE. updated with comments from gov. andy beshear: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Proposed KY grant program would pay for nuclear permitting, application fees The Nuclear Reactor Site Readiness Program could curb the cost of applications and permitting for nuclear energy facilities in Kentucky.

wrote about a proposed policy that would allow the state to award eligible applicants enough money to cover one-third of the cost of applying for federal permits for a kentucky nuclear site: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Three bills expected to be filed by GOP lawmakers to address KY’s housing needs The slate of still-to-be-filed bills aim to close the state’s affordable housing gap, improve access and jumpstart economic development.

i am finally back to writing about housing policy. three still-to-be-filed bills aim to close the state’s affordable housing gap, improve access, continue economic development. more on each, who is sponsoring, etc. watch this space, as they say: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

A couple hundred folks out in Louisville tonight to protest the ICE killing of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was shot while trying to drive away from authorities in Minneapolis last night.

in his first team kentucky update of the year, ky gov. andy beshear took a stance on ice and described the fatal shooting of a minnesota woman by on of the agency’s officers yesterday “foreseeable,” “preventable” and “tragic.” more: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Democrat’s bill would prevent prosecution of Kentuckians who seek abortions A Democratic Kentucky state representative filed a bill to protect medical privacy and prevent criminalization of reproductive health care.

also new from me: a bill to protect medical privacy and prevent criminalization of those who seek reproductive care outside the commonwealth was filed this week the same day a kentucky woman was indicted for fetal homicide after taking abortion medication www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

In final budget address, Beshear bets on modest pre-K start, teacher raises Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear unveiled his two-year budget proposal, outlining investments in education, infrastructure health care and more.

we also got into the details of beshear’s budget proposal, which includes a modestly funded multi-year phase-in plan for pre-K plus investments for public ed and some to make up for the loss of federal funding for medicaid and snap: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Andy Beshear teases his political future during State of the Commonwealth speech KY Gov. Andy Beshear gave his seventh State of the Commonwealth and last budget address. He joked it’s the last budget address “in this job”

ky gov. andy beshear’s state of the commonwealth speech doubled as his final budget address, which sounded a lot like the governor - now half way through his second term - already has his eyes on what’s next. some key takeaways from last night: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

hey y'all, i'll be in frankfort this session aiding in coverage @kentucky.com of #kyga26, budget talks and daily goings on at the capitol. i'm eager to take on the task. send tips, advice, say hi, add me to your press list: phansen@herald-leader.com

Herald-Leader sues Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for access to his schedule The lawsuit also seeks the calendars of Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Beshear’s senior adviser Rocky Adkins.

In November, I submitted an open records request for Gov. Andy Beshear's past schedule.

Today, the H-L sued over their denial (citing an old appellate ruling classifying gov schedule as "preliminary") of that request. Read the full lawsuit & story here.

www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Herald-Leader sues Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for access to his schedule The lawsuit also seeks the calendars of Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Beshear’s senior adviser Rocky Adkins.

We're suing Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for access to his calendar.

Mass layoffs of more than 1,500 workers at BlueOval SK to start February 2026 The joint venture’s end means BlueOval SK will cease operations at the Hardin County plant and all employees will be terminated.

The joint venture’s end means BlueOval SK will cease operations at the Hardin County plant and all employees will be terminated on or shortly after Feb. 14. www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

What’s next for KY Ford plants, employees after end of BlueOval partnership? Mass layoffs are anticipated at Kentucky’s BlueOval SK plant as Ford Motor Co. takes over and repurposes the EV battery facility.

attempted to summarize what’s happened to/at/with blueoval in the past week. hope it’s helpful: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

KY remains ‘EV battery capital of the US’ despite BlueOval layoffs, Beshear says Despite layoffs at BlueOval SK as Ford Motor Co. repurposes the facility, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state will still be EV hub.

and the governor reacts: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Ford to lay off 1,600 as it repurposes BlueOval SK for energy storage in KY Ford Motor Co. is planning to repurpose its battery manufacturing capacity and facilities in Kentucky.

major job loss incoming at blueoval sk in kentucky as ford announces a pivot to ... using the facilities in glendale for battery energy storage systems instead of ev batteries. 'tis developing, i may have more soon but for now, new from moi: www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

Companies behind BlueOval SK end joint venture to make EV batteries in KY South Korean battery maker SK On said it will end its joint venture with Ford Motor Co. for United States-based battery production.

The South Korean battery maker SK On that had partnered with Ford Motor Co. for U.S. production of parts for electric vehicles, including in Kentucky, is ending the joint venture.

New from @piperjhansen.bsky.social:

Companies behind BlueOval SK end joint venture to make EV batteries in KY South Korean battery maker SK On said it will end its joint venture with Ford Motor Co. for United States-based battery production.

South Korea-based SK On and Ford Motor Co. said Dec. 11 the businesses will break apart their agreement to collaborate and will instead run their BlueOval SK battery plants separately. www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

5 questions with Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom’s new audience editor The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom’s latest hire will lead audience strategy, ensuring our reporting is not only excellent but also accessible, engaging and trusted.

We've got a new audience editor at The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom. Andrew Henderson, formerly of McClatchy, will lead audience strategy, ensuring our reporting is not only excellent but also accessible, engaging and trusted.

Toyota adds $200M, 80+ local jobs to its largest global plant in KY As part of a long-term investment in manufacturing hybrid cars, Toyota is putting more than $204 million and 82 new jobs in Kentucky.

The investment is part of a larger $912 million announcement across five of the automaker’s American manufacturing plants that will add a total 252 jobs in Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi, to increase hybrid vehicle capacity. www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

I'm happy to share that I've joined @kentucky.com as their new Lexington Government Reporter! It's a big change, but familiar territory - I am way too committed to this beat to go too far.

If you have any news tips, story ideas, or just want to chat, please reach out at abryant@herald-leader.com.

UK professor sues school for violating free speech rights over Israel comments A University of Kentucky professor is suing the school after it reassigned him in July following comments he made related to Israel.

The tenured full professor in UK’s J. David Rosenberg College of Law, told the Herald-Leader Friday this instance of his speech comes from research conclusions about Israel and colonization. www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

‘Collision course to zero.’ GOP starts early back-and-forth on income tax cut Reducing individual income tax to 0% in Kentucky has been a priority for the state’s Chamber of Commerce and the GOP-led legislature.

“I think we did hit the triggers in Kentucky, and even if we didn’t — but we did — we should, we need to reduce the taxes anyway.” www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

UPS plane crash: No, Grok, Gov. Andy Beshear’s photo isn’t from 2021 tornadoes The AI-powered chatbot amplified an inaccurate claim that a recent photo post by the Kentucky governor was from a previous disaster.

Everyone will be shocked to know Grok is spreading misinformation.

LG&E and KU can build power plants for KY data centers, regulatory board says The pair of power plants will support an influx of high-energy demand customers, namely data centers for artificial intelligence.

kentucky's largest power company can move forward with a plan to spend $3 billion on two gas plants for future data centers, the state's regulators said in a more than 200-page order i read so you don't have to www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

Journalists of Bluesky: The Lexington Herald-Leader is looking for a new Kentucky government and politics reporter to join our team.

This person will be our lead reporter on all things General Assembly and Gov. Andy Beshear.

Interested? Drop me a line.

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