Research that works for Kentucky
The Government Shutdown Fight Is About Making Life, and Health Care, More Affordable
Getting health care when you need it can be the difference between life and death, between happiness and misery.
Budget & Tax
Kentucky Is Now a Casino State: Slot Machine Gambling Surpasses $10 Billion Annually, But at What Cost?
Kentucky has rapidly become a casino state as legalized slot machine gambling has proliferated across the bluegrass in recent years.
Tracker: How the White House and DOGE Are Cutting Kentucky Jobs and Services
The Trump administration, with the help of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is cutting...
Federal Budget and Tax Law Will Worsen Health and Hardship in Kentucky and Provide More Giveaways to the Wealthy
The passage of Congress’s major budget and tax legislation, titled the One Big Beautiful Bill...
Trouble Looms If Congress Passes the Buck to the Kentucky State Budget
Congress is considering huge cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, energy and higher education in an attempt...
Criminal Justice
ICE Arrests Are Surging in Kentucky as Local Law Enforcement Joins Troubling Mass Deportation Effort
Anti-immigration enforcement has ramped up since the inauguration in January, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting more than 1,000 people per day on average nationally and locking up nearly 60,000 immigrants in detention facilities.
FBI Data Shows Violent Crime Dropped in Kentucky Last Year and Is Now Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
New FBI crime data shows violent crime in Kentucky dropped by 6.3% between 2023 and...
One Year Of House Bill 5: Hundreds of Unhoused Kentuckians Have Been Cited for ‘Unlawful Camping’
One year after 2024’s House Bill (HB) 5 went into effect, the harms of the sweeping...
The Hidden Web of Criminal Legal System Fines and Fees in Kentucky
Thousands of provisions in Kentucky state law, and untold local ordinances, make up a vast,...
Economic Security
Recent Federal Cuts Could Increase Student Hunger
Last year, 213,830 Kentucky kids didn’t get enough to eat.
The BlueOval SK Union Vote Is a Fight for All Kentucky Workers
The hard working men and women at the Ford Blue Oval SK (BOSK) plant in...
Red Tape, Empty Plates: An Analysis of the SNAP Work Requirement in Kentucky
Recent state and federal policy debates around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have frequently...
Slashing Federal Programs Would Deal Another Blow to Rural Kentuckians
Rural Kentucky, and eastern Kentucky in particular, is no stranger to extraction. For a long...
Education
State Report Shows Educators in Most Kentucky School Districts Received Little or No Raise
The typical Kentucky school district increased salaries for teachers and other certified employees by only 2% this year, and 40 districts provided no raise at all, according to an annual report released by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).
For the Same Cost as a Half-Point Income Tax Cut, Kentucky Could Meaningfully Reinvest in Public Education
In the 2025 General Assembly, Kentucky lawmakers reduced the individual income tax rate from 4%...
Education Funding in Kentucky Remains Inadequate, Inequitable and Uncertain as Kids Head Back to School
As Kentucky students head back to school this month, state funding for K-12 education continues...
Student Loan Interest Is Accruing Again for 1 in 5 Kentucky Borrowers
Interest begins accruing again today for the nearly eight million student loan borrowers enrolled in...
Health Care
Kentuckians in Every County Will See Health Care Costs Soar Unless Congress Acts
In 2025, more than 90,000 Kentuckians were enrolled in a health insurance plan through kynect, the state’s health insurance marketplace.
The Government Shutdown Fight Is About Making Life, and Health Care, More Affordable
Getting health care when you need it can be the difference between life and death,...
Make No Mistake, The Big Beautiful Bill Weakens Medicaid
Whether or not you’ve ever needed it, Medicaid forms the bedrock of Kentucky’s entire healthcare...
Costs on Kentucky’s Health Insurance Marketplace Will Explode Without Quick Action From Congress
For the nearly 100,000 Kentuckians who signed up for plans on kynect this year, the...
Jobs & The Economy
Kentucky Minimum Wage Now Half its Previous Peak, and Below Poverty Line
As of this week, it has been 16 years since the minimum wage was increased.
Job Corps Closings Raises Question of What Cuts Are Really All About
The budget axe wielded by DOGE and the Trump administration fell on Job Corps last...
Kentuckians Need a New Trade Policy, Not a Chaotic Trade War
Fruit of the Loom apparel plants once dotted the Kentucky landscape, with 11,000 workers at...
How Have Federal Workforce Cuts Affected You?
Tens of thousands of Kentuckians work for the federal government or other employers that receive...
