News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
Eight die in flooding across Kentucky as rescues continue, governor warns of ‘wild weather week’
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Eight die in flooding across Kentucky as rescues continue, governor warns of ‘wild weather week’
by Liam Niemeyer, Kentucky Lantern
February 16, 2025
Flooding statewide is responsible for at least eight deaths in Kentucky as emergency crews continue to conduct search and rescue missions after already making more than 1,000 rescues, Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday.
Beshear urged Kentuckians to stay off the roads. While flash flooding is receding, rising rivers could bring more flooding in the coming days, he said.
In a Sunday afternoon news conference, Beshear said at least eight deaths are attributed to the weather, most from flooding and people attempting to drive through high water on roads. He said he expected the number of deaths to rise.
Among the deaths were a mother and her child in Hart County. WBKO in Bowling Green reported the Hart County coroner said a woman and a 7-year-old child were swept away by floodwaters in their vehicle near Bacon Creek in Bonnieville.
“We hope it doesn’t grow quickly or grow much larger,” Beshear said. “But one way that you can help us out to ensure we have as few fatalities as possible is don’t get on the roadways now. Give time for the water to go down. We’ll probably find out about more families that are hurting. We don’t want yours to be one of them.”
Beshear said President Donald Trump’s administration approved his request for an emergency disaster declaration. He said it is likely Kentucky will qualify for assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help individuals and repair public infrastructure. Beshear said Saturday on social media that he had spoken directly to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the acting director of FEMA.
The governor said impacts from the flooding reached across the state with portions of more than 300 roads seeing damage, drinking water access disrupted with approximately 9,800 service disconnections and nearly two dozen wastewater treatment plants either not operational or functioning with limited capacity. He said one of those treatment plants is underwater, and water lines may burst from flooding damage similar to past flooding.
Tens of thousands are without electricity, mostly in Eastern Kentucky.
Beshear urged Kentuckians needing help with power outages, utility disruptions or other situations not constituting an immediate emergency to avoid calling 911 so that dispatchers can handle life-threatening emergencies.
He asked Kentuckians facing non-life threatening situations to call 502-607-6665 or reach out online through the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management’s website.
Some places in Western Kentucky have seen more than 6 inches of rain over the past 48 hours, according to the Kentucky Mesonet.
Beshear said more rain and snow are on the way this week and could cause even more disruptions to travel, with West Kentucky potentially seeing 6 to 8 inches of snow Tuesday and Wednesday. “We know this is going to be a wild weather week,” the governor said.
Jim Gray, the secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, said as water drains in Eastern Kentucky it could potentially freeze over roadways.
“It’s very difficult to identify that. So this, too, is why caution and not driving unless necessary is urged,” Gray said. He also said saturated soils that freeze can create additional rock slides.
Beshear said Kentucky State Parks officials were housing 142 people displaced by the weather with the hope that more state parks can be opened to house Kentuckians. He said Jenny Wiley State Park in Floyd County is at capacity.
The governor said while some counties in Eastern Kentucky have been spared of the magnitude of flooding faced during catastrophic floods in 2022, other counties are grappling with worse flooding compared to past natural disasters.
“Pike County has gotten hit really, really, really hard,” Beshear said. “We got a lot of resources there and helping, but they’re also doing a great job with their local emergency management. Hundreds of rescues have occurred in Pike County alone.”
The Transportation Cabinet posts information about road closures at https://goky.ky.gov/.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
More sunshine and seasonable temps Saturday
SUMMARY: Saturday will bring sunshine and seasonable temperatures near 60 degrees, perfect for outdoor activities. However, Sunday will bring rounds of showers and a few thunderstorms, with the rain expected to last throughout most of the day. While severe weather is not anticipated, light to moderate rain may fall, with the potential for some thunder. The rain will start in the morning and continue intermittently into the afternoon, clearing by late evening. Monday will see partly cloudy skies and temperatures around 58 degrees, with a few showers expected on Tuesday before warming up again later in the week.

WLKY meteorologist Eric Zernich’s Friday night forecast
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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
March Madness: Kentucky gets ready to take on Troy
SUMMARY: Kentucky fans eagerly await their NCAA Tournament matchup against 14-seeded Troy. Head coach Mark Pope aims for his first tournament win, with the game tipping off in less than two hours in Milwaukee. Notably, Kentucky natives Trent Noah and Travis Perry, both freshmen, fulfill childhood dreams as they suit up for their team. They’ve stepped up in larger roles due to injuries and are excited to experience March Madness firsthand, rather than watching from afar. The Wildcats are set to make their postseason debut tonight, aiming for victory in the tournament.

March Madness: Kentucky gets ready to take on Troy
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News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
Ex-Gov. Matt Bevin grills adopted son about a pet dog in hearing on protective order
Ex-Gov. Matt Bevin grills adopted son about a pet dog in hearing on protective order
by Deborah Yetter, Kentucky Lantern
March 21, 2025
LOUISVILLE — An unusual bit of courtroom drama unfolded Friday when former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin — acting as his own attorney — grilled his adopted son, Jonah, about an emergency protective order the son is seeking to keep in place against Bevin.
Jonah, 18, adopted at age 5 from Ethiopia, alleges he experienced abuse and neglect in the Bevin home, culminating in his abandonment at a brutally abusive youth facility last year in Jamaica while he was 17. Jonah is seeking an extension of the temporary protective order he obtained March 7 against Matt Bevin, saying he fears him and wants no contact with him.
Matt Bevin, seated beside his ex-wife, Glenna, at a table next to Jonah’s, spent about 30 minutes questioning him about a three-page statement Jonah provided in support of his request for an EPO — at one point challenging his claim that Matt Bevin had threatened to euthanize Jonah’s pet dog if the youth failed to follow his directives.
In a series of questions, the one-term Republican governor, seated with a stack of documents before him, demanded to know who paid for the dog, bought dog food and purchased its dog bed.
“You paid,” Jonah replied, but “I had to pay you back for everything.”
Friday’s hearing was continued until Tuesday by Family Court Judge Angela Johnson after parties said they would need more time to present witnesses. The couple’s divorce became final March 18.
Glenna Bevin, who is not subject to the EPO, appeared alongside her lawyer, Steve Romines, a prominent Louisville defense lawyer
In addition to seeking the protective order, Jonah Bevin has filed a report with Louisville Metro Police, alleging he was abandoned in Jamaica at age 17 by the Bevins, a Class D felony in Kentucky.
She sat quietly, hands folded in her lap, while her lawyer handled questions on her behalf. Romines spent most of his time apparently seeking to distance Glenna Bevin from allegations involving her ex-husband and show that she had attempted to get help for Jonah’s emotional problems and learning disabilities.
Neither Bevin has commented on Jonah’s allegations, first reported in the Kentucky Lantern Feb. 28.
After the 90-minute hearing ended Friday, Matt Bevin twice ignored a reporter asking if he had any comment on the proceedings, walking by without reply. Glenna Bevin’s lawyers said they would have no comment until the hearing is concluded.
Jonah also left without commenting.
Dawn J. Post, a New York lawyer and child advocate also representing Jonah, said the experience of having to testify about his ordeal — especially under questioning from Matt Bevin, who he has accused of abuse — was “emotionally retraumatizing.”
She called Bevin’s decision to represent himself, and thus directly question his son, “unexpected.”
“That certainly can feel like another form of abuse,” Post said, referring to the questions by his father.
Jonah, sitting beside his lawyer, John Helmers Jr., spoke softly, at times, almost inaudibly during the hearing, at one point prompting Family Court Judge Angela Johnson to ask him to speak louder.
During Matt Bevin’s questioning, Helmers twice asked the judge to direct him from interrupting Jonah while he was attempting to answer, which she did.
Jonah was asked by the judge to verify the statement he provided in support of the EPO was truthful after Johnson read it into the court record.
“Yes ma’am,” he replied.
The statement alleged a threat by Matt Bevin that “I can take your life” and “I can make your life miserable.”
It also included allegations Glenna Bevin slapped and struck him and the Bevins recently tried to “coerce” him into a trip to Ethiopia to meet his biological mother, whom they previously had told him was deceased.
“I now believe they were trying to get me to disappear,” his statement said.
The judge also asked if had any contact with the Bevins during the several months he was held at the Atlantis Leadership Academy — which he said involved brutal beatings and punishment that amounted to torture — before Jamaican child welfare authorities shut it down for suspected abuse and neglect.
“I didn’t have any contact with them,” he said, adding youths were not permitted to make phone calls to families.
“Did they call you?” Johnson asked.
“No ma’am,” he replied.
Jonah also said he had no help from the Bevins after he was removed from the Jamaican facility and eventually returned to the United States, he believes with the help of the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica, which was involved in the case.
Under questioning from Romines, Jonah detailed a troubled life he acknowledged involved being kicked out of several schools, running away, altercations with the Bevins and other problems. He has said he was sent to the first of a series of out of state facilities by the Bevins at age 13.
He also said he was sexually assaulted at age 10 by someone connected to the Bevin family and said Glenna Bevin had obtained counseling for him.
The case will be back in court April 1 with the Bevins planning to present witnesses expected to include some of their adult children. They have four children adopted from Ethiopia, including Jonah and five biological children, all but one is over 18.
Helmers, Jonah’s lawyer, declined to predict the outcome but said this: “We’re just confident the judge is going to do the right thing.”
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
The post Ex-Gov. Matt Bevin grills adopted son about a pet dog in hearing on protective order appeared first on kentuckylantern.com
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