Industrial hemp legalization has failed to make it into draft copies of farm bills in the U.S. House and Senate.
The hemp issue enjoys the support of seven of the eight members of Kentucky’s federal delegation, and Senator Mitch McConnell had explored the possibility of inserting a hemp legalization provision in the Senate farm measure.
However, that provision didn’t have wide enough backing among Senators to make the farm bill draft.
A McConnell spokesman told the Courier-Journal that McConnell and Senator Rand Paul “continue to look at several options to move the hemp legislation through the Senate.” The spokesman said inclusion in the farm bill isn’t the only option for changing federal laws regarding industrial hemp.
Kentucky lawmakers this year passed a bill allowing farmers in the state to grow hemp if the federal government legalized the crop.
WKU Public Radio has contacted the office of Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer for any response to hemp's lack of inclusion in the draft farm bills. We will bring you any reaction when we receive it.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear Wednesday announced a $66 million expansion at Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products in Warren County.
The move includes 100 new full-time jobs and an additional 87,000 square feet at the plant outside Bowling Green, where employees build aluminum suspension products for the automotive industry.
Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said Kobe's announcement is a shot in the arm for the region.
"Kobe has been a great corporate citizen for the past eight years, and we look forward to continuing this relationship long into the future," said Wilkerson. "We congratulate them on their decision to expand here again and send well wishes for their continued growth."
Kobe first opened its Warren County facility in 2005, and currently employs 270 full-time workers.
A crash on the Western Kentucky Parkway at mile marker 130, west of Elizabethtown, has closed the eastbound lanes. The closure comes after a semi crashed into a bridge.
Eastbound motorists must exit at White Mills and use U.S. 62 to continue to Elizabethtown.
The closure is expected to last until 5:00 p.m. central/6:00 eastern.
Owensboro Public Schools didn’t have to go far to find the new chief of its city school system. Nick Brake, president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, has signed a four-year contract to lead Owensboro Public Schools.
WKU didn’t have to look too far for the school’s new Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations.
Rick Dubose is a familiar face to many on the WKU campus. He graduated from WKU in 1973, and returned to the hill in 1997 to serve as the first major gift officer for the Potter College of Arts and Letters and the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.
Since 1999, he’s been WKU’s director of corporate and foundation relations.
Dubose starts in his new position May 15, taking over from Donald Smith, who was recently named President of the College Heights Foundation.
