News

Monday Morning Quarterback with MSPR News Director Chuck Mraz and MacKenzie Bates, Sports Editor of The Morehead News. 

Walter Blevins, Rowan County Judge Executive (1/23)

Reader’s Notebook Archives: Week of Jan. 26, 2015

Morehead State University’s Star Theater will feature several favorites and its most popular live program for the month of January.

The programs will start Friday, Jan. 30, with the “Dawn of the Space Age” at 6 p.m., followed by “Lazer Pop” at 7 p.m. and “Electro laze” at 8 p.m.

Programs will continue on Saturday, Jan. 31, with “Earth, Moon and Sun,” at 1 p.m., “Night Sky over Morehead” at 2:15 p.m., and “Dawn of the Space Age” at 3:30 p.m.

Programs continue on Saturday evening with laser shows “Laser Pop” at 6 p.m. and “Electro laze” at 7 p.m.

Sunday Night Jazz Showcase

Program #55 (January 25 at 8:00pm)

Roy Hargrove is a bop-oriented musician (and acclaimed "Young Lion") who became one of America's premier trumpeters during the late 1980s and beyond.

A fine, straight-ahead player who spent his childhood years in Texas, Hargrove met trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis in 1987, when the latter musician visited Hargrove's high school in Dallas.

“We are still in the middle of flu season and with more flu cases on the rise we need to do everything that we possibly can to protect ourselves, our families and the people around us,” says William Melahn, M.D., SCR vice president of medical affairs.

“We are seeing an elevation in the number of flu cases across the Bluegrass State, and much of it is due to the actual strain of flu, H3N2 Flu-type “A”, that has been most prevalent,” adds Melahn.

The Morehead State men's basketball team knocked down 9-of-12 from three-point range in the first half and led from start to finish in a 66-63 Ohio Valley Conference win over Jacksonville State on Saturday evening at Mathews Coliseum.

The Eagles improve to 9-13 overall, 4-3 in league play and 5-7 on the road, while the Gamecocks slip to 9-13 overall, 2-6 in conference action and 8-3 at home. Morehead State also improves to 20-8 in the all-time series with its fourth straight victory over Jacksonville State.

Ashland’s first Craft Beer Festival will be held in the city’s downtown area this summer. City commissioners voted 3 to 1 on Thursday (Jan. 22) to permit the event on Winchester Avenue between 15th and 17th Streets.

The festival, to be held on Saturday, June 20th, was proposed as a fundraiser for Ashland in Motion, the city’s Main Street organization.

Though concerns were raised about possible public intoxication and security, Danny Craig, director of Ashland in Motion, doesn’t see that as a problem. He thinks the beer tasting will be a big success.

The Jan. 31 Eastern Kentucky at Morehead State men's basketball game will be televised live by This TV, which is WYMT's newly-launched secondary channel. The contest will also be simulcast on the CW Lexington, which is WKYT's secondary channel.

The Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader at Johnson Arena will feature the MSU and EKU women at 2 p.m. ET, with the men to follow around 4:30 p.m. The Saturday twillbill is being dubbed a "Gold Rush" as the first 250 fans at each game receive a free t-shirt, courtesy of St. Claire Regional Medical Center.

Comment on Kentucky (10:00am)

Journalists from around the state discuss news of the day with host Bill Bryant from WKYT, Lexington. 

Connections with Renee Shaw (10:30am)

Sen. Gerald A. Neal (D-Jefferson County) was recently chosen by his Democratic colleagues in the Senate to serve as caucus chairman. The appointment makes Neal the first African-American to serve in a leadership role in Kentucky's General Assembly in its 222-year history. 

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers believes the General Assembly will pass legislation this year to combat heroin abuse and expand domestic violence protections for women.

The Manchester Republican is not as confident that the legislature can find common ground on charter schools.       

Stivers spoke on KET’s “One to One with Bill Goodman.”

The new year arrives with events that defy logic – the Charlie Hebdo massacre, tanning bed injuries, Tony injures his ankle – and Health Matters struggles to make sense of it all.  This wide-ranging show covers Dr. Oz, new obesity drugs, e-cigarettes, and the sensible use of cholesterol medicine, while trying to maintain hope that the year is still salvageable.

Carter Caves State Resort Park is hosting its sixth annual Winter Adventure Weekend. MSPR's Jordan Simsonson has the story...

http://parks.ky.gov/calendar/details/winter-adventure-weekend/20241/

Kentucky is offering a new form of secondary education to students that allow them to get their degrees, along with hands-on experience, while incurring little to no debt. MSPR's Jordan Simonson has more...

http://www.kyfame.com/

Morehead State University will present the U.S. Fleet Forces Band’s Uncharted Waters Thursday, Jan. 29, at 3 p.m. in the Duncan Recital Hall of Baird Music Hall.

Uncharted Water performs throughout the Mid-Atlantic region with a diverse, high-energy show that blends chart-topping hits and traditional New Orleans style brass band favorites.  These Sailors are among the Navy’s most talented and versatile musicians entertaining audiences of all ages.

A Kentucky native has been honored by the National Action Network for her life’s work on behalf of civil and workplace rights.

The award for 92-year-old Augusta Thomas was presented in Washington on Monday (Jan. 19) during the NAN’s Martin Luther King Day celebration.        

American Federation of Government Employees President Jeffrey David Cox accepted the award on Thomas’ behalf. Thomas was a mother of six living in Louisville in 1960 when she went to Greensboro, North Carolina.

Reader’s Notebook Archives: Week of Jan. 19, 2015

Senior guard Almesha Jones scored a season-high 27 points, while sophomore forward Shay Steele and freshman forward Eriel McKee registered double-doubles to lead the Morehead State women's basketball team to an 82-72 victory at Austin Peay Monday night.

The Eagles won their second game in three days, improving to 8-11 overall and 4-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. MSU evened its all-time series with the Lady Govs at 38 games apiece. APSU fell to 6-13 overall and 3-3 in the league.

Rowan County Judge Executive Walter Blevins believes students at the Rowan Campus of Maysville Community and Technical College would benefit tremendously if Congress were to approve a plan for two years of free tuition at community colleges across the nation. 

President Obama is recommending such an initiative and is expected to discuss it in more detail Tuesday night during the State of the Union address.       

Law enforcement officials are on the lookout for two suspects wanted in relation to burglaries in the Lewisburg area.

Mason County Sheriff Patrick Boggs and deputies with the Mason County Sheriff's Office were conducting traffic stops last week on vehicles matching the description of a car seen in the area of the burglaries.

Boggs said two homes on Kentucky 419 were burglarized last Wednesday (Jan. 14) within minutes of each other sometime before noon.  Entry to the residences was gained by kicking in a door and electronics, jewelry, money and medications were taken.

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell says President Obama’s State of the Union speech could signal a truly productive time for the country. 

That is, says the Kentucky Republican, if the President lays out an agenda that corresponds to the message voters delivered last fall.

An official with Kentucky’s Health Benefit Exchange says the opening of a retail store this fall has been a big help in getting people signed up for health insurance.

Nicole Comeaux is deputy executive director of Kynect. She says the store in Lexington’s Fayette Mall has been a hub of activity.

“We decided to experiment with it this year and it has been a great success. We’ve had over 5,500 individuals who have come into the store to work on an application and it has been a great place for individuals to get in person access to assistance.” –Nicole Comeaux

The director of the Rowan Campus of the Maysville Community and Technical College is confident a new school will be built in the John Will Stacy Industrial Park within the next two years.

However, Russ Ward is reminding people that the project can’t get underway until several million dollars have been raised.

A free one-hour class focused upon job opportunities in the field of logistics will be take place at Maysville Community and Technical College.

As explained by Barb Campbell with MCTC and Jeremy Faulkner with the Kentucky Career Center, careers in logistics are "more than driving a truck."

"We want to get people interested in this field ... there are opportunities for advancement," said Faulkner.

Dr. Jay Box has officially took over the leadership of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System Friday as the second president of the statewide system of 16 colleges.

Maysville Community and Technical College is a part of KCTCS.

As the former KCTCS chancellor, he announced his vision for the system as being the fulfillment of students’ dreams.

The number of calls to poison-control centers about electronic-cigarette incidents more than doubled last year compared with 2013, according to new data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Children under age 6 were the victims in more than half the cases.

The rise in calls has the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids calling on the Food and Drug Administration to finalize its proposed rule to regulate the products.

The recent arctic blast that sent Kentuckians into a collective shiver arrived just as the window was about to open for low-income families that need help paying their bills to keep the heat on.

They can now sign up for crisis home-energy assistance. It's the second phase of a federal program commonly known as LIHEAP for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Porgram.

Mike Moynahan runs the program for Community Action Kentucky, the agency that administers the funds.

Morehead State's all-girl cheerleading squad claimed its second consecutive national championship Saturday at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) College Nationals in Orlando, Fla.

The all-girl team edged out West Georgia to win its 10th UCA championship and 36th overall title for the Morehead State cheer program since 1988.

MSU's coed team finished as the national runner-up for the second straight year, narrowly coming in behind Delaware.

Governor Beshear says he hasn’t changed his mind about the need for Kentucky to generate additional revenues through expanded gambling but he’s not confident any new efforts in that direction will take root.

The Democrat spoke to reporters in Louisville on Jan. 14.

“I fought that battle, uh, you can’t get the horse industry together, that’s like herding a bunch of cats, uh, in terms of trying to get them all on the same page, and until they can get on the same page, I don’t see us having much success.” –Gov. Steve Beshear

The Eastern Illinois men's basketball team knocked down nine consecutive field-goal attempts in the second half to escape with a 65-62 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Morehead State on Saturady afternoon (Jan. 17) at Johnson Arena.

The Panthers improve to 12-6 overall, 6-0 in conference play and 5-4 on the road. The Eagles slip to 7-13 overall, 2-3 in league action and 3-5 at home. Eastern Illinois also snaps a five-game skid in the series and moves to 23-13 all-time against Morehead State.