News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
Dry and mild Friday, soaking rain late tonight
SUMMARY: Today’s forecast predicts a sunny start to Friday, with morning temperatures in the mid to upper 20s, reaching up to 54°F by afternoon. As evening approaches, expect rain showers to develop after 10 PM, leading into a wet Saturday morning with lighter rain and drizzle throughout the day. Saturday temperatures will drop into the 30s. Sunday will be very cold, with highs around 26°F and potential flurries. The following days will remain frigid, with lows dipping to 7°F on Monday and highs only reaching the low 30s through midweek, with a snow chance on Thursday.

WLKY Meteorologist Matt Milosevich has the latest on a brief chance to thaw Friday, with rain, flurries and colder air moving in for …
News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
KY settlement with hedge funds delayed as judge orders mediation in state workers’ lawsuit
by Tom Loftus, Kentucky Lantern
February 17, 2025
FRANKFORT — A Friday afternoon court order will delay and possibly jeopardize final approval of the recently announced settlement of a long-running lawsuit over controversial investments by Kentucky Retirement Systems in hedge funds more than a decade ago.
That high profile case alleged that some former officials of the retirement systems (since restructured as the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority or KPPA) and four big investment firms violated their fiduciary duties beginning in 2011 by gambling more than $1 billion of Kentucky pension money on hedge fund investments that carried high risk, high fees and low transparency.
Early last month Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, who is pressing the case for the state, announced that he had reached a settlement in which the investment firms agreed to pay $227.5 million to the state’s pension system, but admit no wrongdoing.
A key part of the settlement required dismissal of other lawsuits related to the same claims.
However, attorneys representing four Kentucky public employees who filed a separate case against the same defendants have objected to the proposed settlement in motions filed with Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate, who must approve the settlement before it becomes final.
These attorneys, led by Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach, said the settlement would recover only a “pittance” for the state but result in a “bonanza” of as much as $45.5 million from the settlement for private attorneys hired under contract by the attorney general’s office to represent the state.
But the main objection by Lerach was that the proposed settlement of the original suit would dismiss her separate case.
Judge orders mediation by mid-March
Wingate heard arguments Wednesday on Lerach’s motions, and late on Friday he granted Lerach’s request that the separate case be referred for resolution to a mediator.
Wingate directed that parties in this separate case agree on a mediator. He said if they do not agree on a mediator they must give him a list of three mediators and he would pick one.
“The mediation shall be conducted by March 14,” Wingate ordered.
The judge had previously scheduled a hearing on whether to approve the proposed settlement of the original case for Feb. 26. Because of his order directing mediation in the separate case, Wingate postponed that hearing until March 26.
In response to Kentucky Lantern’s request for comment on the impact of Wingate’s order, Coleman released this statement: “The Commonwealth’s proposed settlement remains in place for Kentucky workers and retirees. We will continue reviewing the court’s order to determine the path forward for the Commonwealth, KPPA, and all beneficiaries.”
But Lerach said the order was a “complete victory” for her clients in the separate case.
“In light of Judge Wingate’s order, it is extremely unlikely that the Attorney General‘s settlement will go forward as currently attempted — if at all,” Lerach said in a statement. “The Court ordered our case to mediation and we intend to mediate with the hedge fund sellers to reach a real settlement. If that cannot be done, we will be able to go ahead and litigate our claims without any further interference from the Attorney General.”
Grahmn Morgan, an attorney representing three investment firms (KKR & Co., Prisma Capital Partners, Pacific Alternative Asset Management) who are defendants in the original case as well as Lerach’s separate case, said he had no immediate comment on Wingate’s order.
Vanessa Cantley, one of the Louisville attorneys working under contract with Coleman’s office in the original case, also declined comment.
Cameron revived case after Supreme Court ruling
The original case was brought by a group of eight state pensioners in late 2017 alleging that the financially troubled Kentucky Retirement Systems gambled with the hedge fund investments that resulted in big losses. The defendants said there was no wrongdoing, that the actions were all legitimate investments.
A major development in the case happened in July 2020 when the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs — whose pensions had not been reduced and were protected in law by a legal doctrine called an “inviolable contract” — did not have standing to file their claims. The high court sent the case back to Franklin Circuit for dismissal.
But then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron intervened and the court allowed him to take over as the plaintiff to recover damages to the pension system.
His office contracted with two of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the original case — Ann Oldfather and Cantley, of Louisville — to handle the case for the state.
But in 2021 Lerach and some other attorneys who originally worked with Oldfather and Cantley in representing plaintiffs in the original case filed a new separate case on behalf of our state employees. These new plaintiffs had standing because they were hired after a 2013 pension reform law put them into a new hybrid cash balance pension plan whose state pensions do not enjoy the same security as the plaintiffs in the original case who were hired before 2013.
On Jan. 8 Coleman put out a statement announcing the original case had been settled and that boards of the KPPA had voted to approve the settlement. He said the big investment firms had agreed to pay $227.5 million, money he said would go to Kentucky’s pension funds. Coleman’s statement noted that this total included the return of about $145 million that had been held in reserve by Prisma, one of the defendants.
Lerach’s objections to the settlement say that this $145 million is not a recovery by the state because it always has been the property of Kentucky’s pension system. Lerach said the proposed settlement involves just $82.5 million in “fresh money” to the state. Moreover, Lerach said that under terms of contracts with the attorney general’s office, the attorneys representing Coleman in the original case can claim $46.5 million in legal fees if the settlement is approved by Franklin Circuit Court.
Among other things, Lerach’s separate case argues that Prisma must return the $145 million to Kentucky’s pension system with penalty and interest — a total of about $807 million.
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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 KY settlement with hedge funds delayed as judge orders mediation in state workers’ lawsuit appeared first on kentuckylantern.com
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.
The post Eight die in flooding across Kentucky as rescues continue, governor warns of ‘wild weather week’ appeared first on kentuckylantern.com
News from the South - Kentucky News Feed
Saturday evening flooding update 2/15/2025
SUMMARY: A severe weather alert is in effect for the Blue Grass region, with ongoing flooding and heavy rainfall. Although some flash flood warnings have expired, flooding persists in certain areas, particularly near rivers, as steady rain continues. The South Fork of the Kentucky River is near minor flood stage but is expected to rise to major flood stage soon. A tornado watch is also in place for some counties until 2 a.m. Tonight, additional rain accumulation of 2 to 3 inches is expected, transitioning to snow by Sunday morning, with cold temperatures anticipated throughout the week and potential winter storms ahead.

Saturday evening flooding update 2/15/2025
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