
Ryland Barton
State Capitol Bureau ReporterRyland is the state capitol reporter for the Kentucky Public Radio Network, a group of public radio stations including WKU Public Radio. A native of Lexington, Ryland has covered politics and state government for NPR member stations KWBU in Waco and KUT in Austin.
Always looking to put a face to big issues, Ryland's reporting has taken him to drought-weary towns in West Texas and relocated communities in rural China. He's covered breaking news like the 2014 shooting at Fort Hood Army Base and the aftermath of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.
Ryland has a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Texas. He grew up in Lexington.
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The deadline has passed for candidates to get into Kentucky’s race for governor this year. Now voters have a clear picture of who’s trying to topple the incumbent, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
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Peppy Martin, a former Republican who lost to incumbent Gov. Paul Patton in 1999 amid a series of controversial statements, has filed to run for Kentucky’s top political post in 2023.
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A Democratic legislator said the state’s ongoing labor shortage can be relieved by making it easier for refugees to get jobs and transfer work experience from their home countries.
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Continued enforcement of Kentucky’s near-total ban on abortion now hangs in the balance of the state Supreme Court.
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Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate said the Kentucky Constitution doesn’t block lawmakers from taking politics into account when drawing the maps.
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After more than a year of public speculation, former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft launched a campaign Wednesday to be Kentucky’s next governor.
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Lawmakers expressed hopes that the package wouldn’t be the last for the region, especially as people continue to languish in temporary housing situations after the flood.
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This was the twelfth-straight year the Kentucky Fairness Campaign and other LGBTQ rights groups protested the event, calling out the Farm Bureau for discriminatory policies in its handbook.
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Republican leaders of the legislature have indicated they’ve come to an agreement with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear over a framework for the package aimed at helping parts of eastern Kentucky decimated by recent flooding.
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The Democratic governor said he has come to an agreement with leaders of the Republican-led legislature on a bill that would help address the crisis.