A bipartisan group of Kentucky lawmakers is writing a bill to legalize and regulate sports betting in the state.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that states should be allowed to legalize sports betting, striking down a nearly 30-year ban.

Rep. Jason Nemes, a Republican from Louisville, said the bill would generate between $6.5 million and $26 million for the state every year through licensing and taxes.

A multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 65 in Hart County near Mile Marker 66 has all southbound lanes blocked. A detour is set up via Exit 71 at Bonnieville where motorists can continue south and rejoin I-65 at Exit 65 in Munfordville via U.S. 31W.  Clearing is expected to take four or more hours, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. 

Motorists should expect significant southbound delays when approaching the area and may wish to utilize U.S. 31E from Hodgenville or the Western Kentucky Parkway to William Natcher Parkway routes via Exit 91 around the area.

The Environmental Protection Agency describes the 2015 coal ash rules as “self-implementing,” meaning utilities had to comply with the rules but the federal government would not oversee or enforce them. Instead, the EPA required utilities to publish the results of their groundwater testing on their websites.

The rules were written that way so that citizens could file lawsuits against utilities for contaminating groundwater or not following the regulations.

A Somerset businessman is in Washington, D.C. Monday and Tuesday of this week with a group of state and national leaders to encourage funding for American development and diplomacy overseas. 

Somerset Recycling President Alan Keck is part of the Kentucky Advisory Committee at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Summit in the nation’s capital.

The group is urging the Trump administration to fully fund the U.S. Agency for International Development, an organization that supports humanitarian efforts and promotes American prosperity through investments that expand markets for U.S. exports. Keck said the Trump administration has proposed cutting 30 percent of the USAID budget.

As farmers are combining their grain crops an increase in some diseases could impact their bottom line. University of Kentucky Extension Plant Pathologist Carl Bradley said a number of diseases that affect the heads of crops like wheat, barley and rye, have been observed in Kentucky the last few weeks.

Fusarium head blight, Glume Blotch and Loose Smut have all either been called into Bradley by other farmers in the state, or have been identified in his research plots at the Princeton based Grain Center of Excellence. 
“Of those three I think the most important is fusarium head blight, sometimes called head scab.” Bradley said. “It is easiest to observe this disease before heads completely mature.”

According to Bradley, symptoms of Fusarium Head Blight can appear to partially affect the heads of grains, with both healthy green and affected bleached areas present in the same head. 

Western Kentucky University is mourning the loss of its men’s golf coach.

Phillip Hatchett was killed early Sunday morning after being struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle with other cyclists on U.S. 68 in Logan County.

Hatchett was 55 years old.

Investigators in the Logan County Sheriff's Office have reported that 27-year-old Robert Stokes of Elkton, in Todd County, was driving west about 7:30 a.m. Sunday when he came upon the bicyclists in the emergency lane, also headed westbound.

The neighbor who admitted to attacking U.S. Senator Rand Paul outside his home last fall was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green to 30 days in jail. 

Rene Boucher was also ordered to serve one year of supervised release, perform 100 hours of community service, and have no intentional contact with the Paul family. 

Boucher addressed the court and offered an apology to the Republican lawmaker who sustained broken ribs and other injuries after being tackled from behind while mowing his lawn on November 3.

"What I did was wrong and I hope he and his family can one day accept my apology," Boucher said.