SUMMARY: Federal court records reveal an IRS investigation into two Central Kentucky restaurants, Mi Pequeña Hacienda locations in Lexington and Nicholasville, accused of underreporting millions in sales from 2019 to 2023. IRS agents found credit card deposits alone exceeded reported gross revenue during multiple years, with the Nicholasville site allegedly understating receipts by $758,000 and the Lansdowne Drive site by $1.6 million, totaling $2.35 million in unreported sales. A 2024 undercover meeting labeled one location a “cash cow” with income far higher than advertised. During searches, agents seized extensive financial and business records. No charges have been filed yet.

Read the full article

The post Unsealed warrant reveals IRS claims of millions in unreported sales at Central Kentucky restaurants appeared first on lexingtonky.news

by Nicholas D. Hartlep, Kentucky Lantern
August 15, 2025

While the nation was distracted by headlines about celebrity trials and summer storms, a seismic shift occurred in American education policy: The U.S. Department of Education was effectively gutted by President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Billed as a move to return power to the states, this legislation dismantles the infrastructure of federal student aid, guts Pell Grants, halts income-driven repayment programs and eliminates Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The Pell Grants program is a lifeline for low-income students that covers up to roughly $7,400 annually, but still leaves significant unmet need.

The implications of these changes are catastrophic — and not just for students. This law represents a total abandonment of education as a public good, and the consequences will be felt in every community, including right here in Kentucky, where the median household income is just $58,000 and more than 40% of college students depend on federal aid. 

As someone who has spent years researching and writing about student loan debt, I know how fragile our current system already is: Tuition costs continue to outpace inflation, repayment programs are cumbersome and inconsistent, and federal aid has never kept pace with the true cost of attending college. But the new law doesn’t fix what’s broken — it breaks what was barely holding together, by closing pathways to professional advancement for future lawyers, teachers, doctors and scientists.

Ending income-based repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness means new doctors — who typically start their careers with six-figure debt — will be forced into unaffordable standard repayment schedules. Without the safety net of income-based repayment or the promise of forgiveness after serving high-need communities, many will abandon medical training altogether or avoid practicing in rural and underserved areas where salaries are lower.

These changes come as the U.S. faces a looming doctor shortage, especially in rural areas like Kentucky. But this law makes it harder than ever to grow our health care workforce.

The blow is even worse for aspiring doctors of color. In 2023, only 5.7% of active physicians in the U.S. were Black, despite Black Americans making up over 13% of the population. Latino, Indigenous and low-income communities are similarly underrepresented. How do we close health disparities if we close the door on the very students who would serve these communities?

This issue is personal for me, not just as a scholar of education and student debt, but as a father. My daughter recently graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington, where she completed the biomedical sciences magnet program, part of the nationally renowned Project Lead the Way curriculum. She is now headed to Amherst College to study pre-med, with dreams of becoming a physician.

Her journey exemplifies what’s possible when a school district invests in excellence. Under the leadership of Superintendent Demetrus Liggins — who was just named Kentucky Superintendent of the Year — Fayette County Public Schools are preparing students to lead, innovate and serve. 

How can a district so effectively prepare its students for college, only to have college become unreachable or unsupportive due to federal abandonment? This is the contradiction that cuts to the heart of America’s education crisis: We spend years cultivating brilliance in our youth — only to shrivel the pipeline at the very moment it matters most.

Yet Kentucky’s elected leaders have largely abandoned the state. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who once championed Pell Grants, has quietly voted in favor of the act. U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, who represents Lexington and many of our college towns, not only voted in favor of the act, he championed it. And U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie was so committed to gutting the federal Department of Education that he reintroduced the bill to abolish it.

These voting patterns aren’t surprising. The National Education Association legislative report gave all of Kentucky’s Republican congresspeople and senators a grade of F. Only a few officials, like U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, have spoken out against these cuts. McGarvey shows how we Kentuckians can build a new coalition for higher education — one that is bipartisan and unapologetically pro-learning. 

We must pressure our elected officials in Kentucky to restore federal student aid, reinvest in Pell, and protect public institutions by ensuring they have stable federal funding, guardrails against state disinvestment and the capacity to serve all qualified students regardless of family income.

Higher education should not be rationed to the wealthy. It must remain a public commitment — a bridge to careers, to service, to self-determination. Without it, we abandon not only students, but the very idea of a society in which talent — not zip code or family circumstance — shapes one’s future.

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 In Kentucky, we’ve spent years growing talent — only to have Washington slam the door  appeared first on kentuckylantern.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning

This content critiques a policy associated with former President Trump and Republican lawmakers, emphasizing the negative impacts on federal student aid and higher education accessibility. It advocates for increased federal support for education and highlights social equity concerns, aligning with progressive and left-leaning perspectives on education policy and social justice. The tone and framing suggest opposition to conservative education reforms and support for a more robust public education system.

SUMMARY: Lindsay Dover appeared in Logan County court for a pre-trial hearing, charged with second-degree manslaughter and evidence tampering related to the accidental drowning of a 2-year-old she was babysitting. Dover’s attorney raised issues with search warrants and officers’ inconsistent bodycam use during the incident response, requesting a continuance to review all interviews and evidence. The prosecution opposed the delay, calling the case tragic but straightforward, citing phone records and neighboring video capturing the child entering the neighboring yard and drowning in a pond. Judge Hendricks expressed doubts about the trial starting on the scheduled September 22 date, setting a motion deadline and a return hearing on August 26.

Read the full article

The post Woman charged in 2024 drowning death of Logan County toddler appears in court appeared first on www.wnky.com