Rick has been a member of the WFPL News team since 2001 and has covered numerous beats and events over the years. Most recently he’s been tracking the Indiana General Assembly and the region’s passion for sports, especially college basketball.
ByRick Howlett and Kentucky Public Radio's Dan Conti
State and federal officials say new Ohio River bridges cannot be built without tolling as part of the financing plan.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear this week signed a memorandum of understanding with Ohio’s governor to construct a new, $2.5 billion double-deck span to replace the Brent Spence Bridge linking Covington and Cincinnati.
Beshear says there’s no chance the federal government will pick up the whole cost of this project or two new bridges planned for the Louisville area.
The Kentucky Department for Public Health says flu activity across the commonwealth has increased to widespread, meaning there are outbreaks of the illness in at least half of the state’s regions.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Craig Humbaugh says the flu usually peaks from January through March.
"In fact, last year’s flu season was relatively late in coming, and this year’s flu season is starting early," he said.
Outgoing U.S. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana says Congress and the president need to establish a closer working relationship, especially in the area of national security.
The Republican, who’s leaving Capitol Hill after 36 years, delivered his farewell address on the Senate floor today , saying the current dialogue on national security is one of the least constructive he’s ever witnessed.
The girls’ basketball coach at Indiana’s Bloomington South High School says he and his players were not trying to embarrass an opponent they defeated by a score of 107-2 this week.
The team’s rout of Arlington has sparked outrage among some fans and prompted a state prep sports association official to say he never wants to see anything so one-sided again.
Bloomington South coach Larry Winters tells the Indianapolis Star that he played everyone on his team and they didn’t stop shooting because he felt that would have been more embarrassing to Arlington.
Indiana's recently ousted state school superintendent is Florida's new education commissioner.
The State Board of Education selected Tony Bennett, a Republican who lost a bid for re-election in Indiana last month, today in Tampa.
The board picked Bennett from a slate of three finalists.
The others were Murray State University President Randy Dunn, who once served as state superintendent in Illinois, and Arlington, Va., education consultant Charles Hokanson, a former deputy assistant U.S. secretary of education in President George W. Bush's administration.
Nine companies are promising to bring more than 2,500 new jobs to Indiana within the next six years by locating or expanding operations in the state.
Gov. Mitch Daniels joined executives from the companies for Tuesday's announcement at his Statehouse office. He says the companies, ranging from Indianapolis-based Angie's List to an Arizona-based food maker, expect to hire 2,550 new workers by the end of 2018.
A Lexington lawmaker says she will apologize for making a disparaging comment about another legislator that appeared on Facebook.
Democratic state Sen. Kathy Stein told the Lexington Herald-Leader that she made the comment on an old blog and thought it would be private, but the commenting system was powered by Facebook and so her post also appeared on her Facebook account.
Western Kentucky University has introduced Bobby Petrino as the school’s 18th football coach.
Petrino returns to the college game eight months after his firing from Arkansas for lying about an extramarital affair he had with a woman on his staff.
"I'm honored to sit in front of you as the head coach of Western Kentucky University," Petrino said at a late afternoon news conference.
A Japanese company is said to be considering making an offer to buy Beam, Incorporated.
An official with Suntory Holdings tells Bloomberg News that the Osaka-based whiskey and beer maker could make a solo bid for the American distiller or a joint offer with Diageo, the global spirits company headquartered in Britain.
