Lisa Autry

A veteran of the war in Afghanistan is preparing to welcome Afghan refugees into his Bowling Green home. 

Bill DeLong served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 

The retired Sgt. First Class says it wasn’t a hard decision to open his doors.

"We're Americans, we're supposed to stick together. I think a lot of people have forgotten what happened after 9/11 when we came together," DeLong said. "We're that bright, shining village on a hill. We're supposed to set that example."

About 50 host families are needed in Bowling Green where 200 Afghan refugees will be arriving over the next several months. Bill DeLong and his wife Renee are still waiting for an individual or family to be placed with them. The couple spoke to WKU Public Radio about their motivation for hosting and what they're expecting from the experience.

The Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court has announced plans to retire after serving 30 years on bench. 

In an interview on Wednesday with WKU Public Radio, John Minton, Jr. of Bowling Green announced he will not seek re-election next year. 

Minton says although his term doesn’t expire until January 1, 2023, he wanted to announce his intentions early.

“One of the rules of traditional politics would be that an elected official, such as the chief justice, would never confirm that he wasn’t seeking re-election because the concern is that you become immediately irrelevant," commented Minton. "Well, I don’t intend to become irrelevant. I’ve got more than a year left to serve.”

When Kentucky lawmakers convene in January, they’ll be asked to consider removing a barrier to live organ donation. 

A bill pre-filed for the 2022 session, BR 267, protects organ donors from the risk of losing income or employment. The measure gives Kentuckians donating an organ or bone marrow one week of paid leave. 

The bill is sponsored by State Rep. Shawn McPherson who says no one should be penalized for performing a life-saving service.

“When you decide to give a part of your body to someone else and then you’re going to live the rest of your life, you always have questions about how will that affect, how will that affect my longevity," McPherson told WKU Public Radio. "To me, that’s the real hero, the person willing to live with one less part of their body so that someone else can have a better quality of life.”

Kentuckians can now go online and find the nearest medical facility that has monoclonal anti-bodies to help treat COVID-19.

The treatments can be very effective for those with mild symptoms and no underlying health conditions. The lab-created anti-bodies boost the immune system and can keep some patients from being hospitalized. 

With the surge of the Delta variant, monoclonal antibodies grew in demand, resulting in a nationwide shortage. 

Now, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is limiting how many treatments states receive each week. 

During a news conference on Thursday, Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said each state’s allotment depends on certain criteria.

Ford Motor Company is betting big on electric vehicles and on Kentucky. The automaker is making its largest single manufacturing investment in the company's 118-year history with plans to build two battery manufacturing plants in Hardin County.

In the midst of a global pandemic and national economic downturn, Kentucky leaders celebrated the good news outside the State Capitol on Tuesday.  Governor Andy Beshear said the project will make Kentucky the national leader for electric vehicle batteries.

“These enormous plants will capture the attention of the entire world," stated Beshear. "Every nation will know exactly where Kentucky is and who we are because we know horsepower and it's about to be generated in a whole new way.”

The resettlement of Afghan refugees in Bowling Green and Owensboro is being delayed by the federal government. 

Originally slated to arrive in Kentucky this month, those refugees now are scheduled to come to the commonwealth in early to mid-October. 

Albert Mbanfu, executive director of the Bowling Green-based International Center of Kentucky, says most refugees bound for the commonwealth are being held at military bases in Virginia where they’re undergoing security vetting and receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.

“They are also trying to make our job a little easier by helping to process employment authorization cards while at the military bases, so when they come out it won’t be long before they are able to go to work," Mbanfu said.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul says law enforcement groups are being unfairly criticized in the media and in public debate over police violence.  

Paul spoke on Thursday at the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association meeting in Bowling Green where he denounced the idea of defunding police.

“Of the killings that are going on in Louisville, they have more murders per capita than Chicago. You would think by what you read, it’s the police killing people in Louisville. No, it’s people killing people in Louisville," stated Paul. It’s not an easy problem to fix. I’m not here to say I know how to fix the murder problem in Louisville, but I know it’s not getting rid of the police.”

Masking requirements are staying in place for many Kentucky school districts, despite the General Assembly revoking a statewide mask mandate for school systems during a special legislative session last week.

Warren County Public Schools implemented a mask policy on Aug. 11 before Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order or the Kentucky Department of Education’s emergency regulation. The decision was legal under the school district’s authority, and is not affected by the General Assembly’s passage of SB 1, which returned the authrority to make masking decisions to local school boards.

In a special meeting Tuesday night, the Warren County Board of Education approved a recommendation from Superintendent Rob Clayton to extend the school system's univeral mask requirement through at least October.

“This will allow us the opportunity to monitor exposures related to fall break activities as our historical data reflects the increase in exposures and quarantines after extended breaks from school," Clayton said.

All residents of Kentucky’s 5th largest county should have access to reliable, high-speed internet by the end of next year.  

A ribbon-cutting was held on Thursday for a broadband expansion project in Warren County.

Warren Rural Electric Cooperative and North Central Telephone Cooperative began a partnership in 2019 that has so far brought broadband access to rural areas of southeast Warren County.  On Thursday, local leaders celebrated an expansion of the project that will provide broadband to the final under-served parts of the county. 

“It’s a historic day in my mind for Warren County," said Wayne McDonald, President and CEO of Warren RECC.  "High speed internet service to the residents of Warren County, it’s not a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity for life.”

More than a dozen Kentucky Career Centers around the state are ready to help what they hope will be an influx of job seekers now that federal unemployment benefits have expired. 

More than 86,000 Kentuckians were still out of work in July, nearly a year-and-a-half since the start of the pandemic. 

The federal government suspended enhanced unemployment benefits on Sept. 6, and with people losing that extra $300 a week, that could send more looking for work. 

Jon Sowards, head of the South Central Workforce Development Board, said employers have made returning to the workforce more lucrative.

“Ask yourself, 'which side of the wave do you want to be on?'. Do you wanna be on the front side or the back side? If you’re on the front side, right now what we’re seeing is that wages are higher than ever, compensation and benefits packages are better than ever, there’s more bonuses than I’ve ever seen.”

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says President Biden will not be impeached over his withdrawal from Afghanistan, despite calls from some Republican colleagues. 

Speaking in his home state on Thursday, McConnell urged voters to hold the president accountable in next fall’s mid-term elections. 

During a stop in Glasgow, the Senate minority leader called President Biden’s withdrawal and evacuations from Afghanistan "incompetent."  McConnell noted Congress is run by Democrats and said voters angry with Biden should respond at the polls.

“I think the president needs to be held to account, and of course the way we have accountability in this country is called elections, and they’ll be an election next fall," stated McConnell. "Typically, the election two years into any administration, is a referendum on how they’re doing.”

The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure has filed a complaint against an obstetrician who allegedly botched a delivery at TJ Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow. 

According to witnesses, Dr. Gerald Thorpe caused major bruising to an infant’s head trying to rush a delivery because he feared missing his vacation flight.  Thorpe allegedly told a woman in labor he could have another doctor deliver the baby or he could use forceps to help speed the delivery because he “had a plane to catch.”

When forceps and a vacuum failed, he then asked another physician, Dr. John Craddock, to do an emergency C-section.  Craddock delivered what he called a very unresponsive baby who had to be resuscitated.  He described the baby as extremely bruised, with pale gray skin. He also said the baby  developed seizure-like activity.

A bus driver shortage in Kentucky and across the nation is adding to families’ stress as students return to school.  The shortage of bus drivers is complicating the start of a school year already besieged by COVID-19. 

Chip Jenkins is Transportation Director for Warren County Public Schools.  He’s normally behind a desk, but lately he’s been behind the wheel.

“It’s definitely tasking, mentally, physically," Jenkins told WKU Public Radio. "I drive six hours a day myself sometimes.”

Starting today, the Warren County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office will no longer issue or renew driver’s licenses. Those services have transitioned to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s new regional office in Bowling Green. 

All counties will eventually do the same as the commonwealth transitions from standard driver’s licenses to REAL IDs, which are federally compliant and less susceptible to fraud. 

Warren County Circuit Court Clerk Brandi Duvall says neither her office nor others in the state are equipped to process the new licenses.

“It was going to be very overwhelming to the circuit clerks and our staffing, because it’s a lot more detailed than what you’re used to now, just being able to come in and renew your license, just because of all the documentation, all the verification," Duvall explained.