- 4/3/2025
Gov. Andy Beshear holds a press briefing following severe weather.
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NewsTranscript
00:00this week's team Kentucky update this week. We're going to start with an
00:03update on the weather since we have just gotten through what could have
00:08been a very dangerous weather system. But we're now in what's going to be at
00:14least another three days of significant rain where we're worried we could have
00:18both flash flooding and more widespread flooding. So last night was rough for
00:24many. Um, I was up twice with my kids down in the basement with the sirens
00:29coming off here in Franklin County. I know we had tornadoes touched down a
00:34number of places in Kentucky, including in the cracking county where the
00:37airport was hit and sustained damage as well as in Jefferson County, where a
00:42number of commercial buildings sustained some damage. Thankfully, we
00:48do not have any reported fatalities as of today and only a few injuries with a
00:55family injured in flying debris in Ballard County. Those are the only
01:00known injuries at the moment. One injury to that family was more
01:05significant than the others. I'm awaiting an update on that individual.
01:10I want to thank everyone who worked throughout the night as we saw a
01:14tornado warning after tornado warning. That's everyone from Kentucky Emergency
01:18Management to all of the meteorologists that spent virtually all night long
01:23tracking it, trying to give us the very best indications of when we needed to
01:28seek shelter. We're thankful that everyone is safe. But the next thing we
01:34have to do is to make sure we stay safe. We've got to make good decisions over
01:40these next couple of days. The February flooding that we really just got
01:45through that we are still cleaning up and rebuilding from, uh, showed us that
01:50especially when we have this much rain, it's the decisions about when to get
01:55out, about what to drive through, when to go stay with someone else. Uh, that
02:01could be the difference between life and deaths over these next couple of
02:05days. Know that we could have both flash flooding and more widespread
02:09flooding, especially in western and central Kentucky. And everybody make
02:14good decisions about again whether going to stay with friends or turning
02:20around that car and not driving through water. Emergency management
02:25remains activated and is ramping up to assist in any issues. Swift water teams
02:30are activated, including assistance that we're getting from the state of
02:34Vermont and our Kentucky National Guard is ramping up to assist. We will get
02:39through this if everyone takes the rising and standing water seriously.
02:44Don't drive through roadways. You cannot see it's how we lost too many people in
02:48the past. It's not worth it. Just turn around. And I want to remind everyone
02:52right now is not the time to drive around to look at damage. This causes
02:57traffic jams that can hinder response for cleanup efforts. I'm gonna go
03:01through slides about what we're gonna see the next couple of days, and and
03:05none of it is as severe as what came through last night. But it's the
03:11accumulation of what we could see in the next several days, though, though
03:15Friday is looking better than originally anticipated, but it's just
03:19all of it together and what it can cause. All right, so this is for today.
03:24We're going to have waves of storms and of showers coming through. And while
03:30every hazard is still on the table, while there's still a possibility of
03:35some tornadoes, we've had a couple of watches and warnings that are very
03:38local today. The hazards are much less than yesterday. Remember, this is a one
03:44and a two, a marginal and a slight risk of of of severe weather. Yesterday
03:52we were 54 and three throughout the state. But still, this is the type of
03:59forecast we at least need to be cognizant of and know that severe
04:03weather can come and hit us really at at any time. We're likely to get more
04:09this afternoon and this evening. We've had a little bit of a break, at least
04:12here in central Kentucky at the moment. Let's move to the next one. Okay, so
04:17that was that that is the last one was Thursday today. This is tomorrow,
04:22Friday. This looks better than what it did yesterday or the day before. It
04:28looks like the worst of Friday may miss us. Um, but again, we can have some
04:33additional waves of storms. Um, that's gonna ride along a stalled cold front.
04:38We could have hail and gusty winds. But again, the actual threats at any
04:44given moment in any given instant maybe less than last night. But as the rain
04:50continues, you gotta watch that water rising. You gotta watch where it's
04:54pooling on the roadways or if it's getting closer to your house and
04:57recognize that especially as we go through the day after this and show you
05:03total amounts of rainfall, we're gonna have some roads covered in parts of
05:06Kentucky probably for days, and you're not gonna be able to drive through
05:10them, and it'd be a big mistake to try. Okay, so Thursday, um, then you saw
05:16Friday and now Saturday. So Saturday's forecast is a little worse than than
05:22Friday. Again, we've got an enhanced risk of two across much of the
05:28Commonwealth. So we're expecting more storms that day. Again, you could have
05:33the large hail and strong gusty winds. These forecasts are changing as the
05:39days go by. But what you should what you should take away is rain this
05:43afternoon and this evening. Some could be significant and severe a chance for
05:48them tomorrow, but less. And then Saturday, it looks like we're gonna
05:51have a lot of rain that again is going to accumulate. Let's go to the next one.
05:57All right. This is just, uh, the additional rain we expect on top of
06:03what we got last night, which was significant in some places. What that
06:07means is in western Kentucky between last night and the end of Saturday, you
06:12could have a foot of rain that came in just those series of days. And what
06:19that means is flash flooding is possible. That's that very quick
06:22flooding. When a whole lot of water comes down, um, that sometimes gets
06:26people in their homes. Uh, and then widespread river flooding. And that's
06:32what oftentimes covers roads for a period of time. Um, and and can and can
06:38really be, uh, life threatening. Uh, it's a lot of rain right now. It looks
06:43like the east is primarily getting spared with everything they've been
06:47through. That's really important. But this is some of the most rain we've
06:50seen in a short period of time in western Kentucky and in central
06:54Kentucky for a long time. And remember, it's just gonna grow. You know, it's
06:59just gonna accumulate on top of itself. Let's go to the next one.
07:04Uh, this is the possibilities for major flooding. Uh, with today and Friday
07:12again, Friday looks better. But when you actually move from what are the
07:16storms gonna be like to how dangerous the flooding is? We're back to that
07:20worst number five, that pinkish color. Uh, and then the reddish color being
07:26just one step down. That's that's a level we're normally pretty worried
07:31about. So everybody needs to be really, really cognizant of flooding. If we got
07:36through one of the worst forecast for tornadoes we've seen in a while, this
07:40is one of the worst for flooding. We just want to make sure we keep
07:43everybody safe.
07:46We have any more.
07:46Mhm.
07:49Okay. So this is saturday again. Um, what you see is is significant. And
07:54then sunday, it all really tapers off early in the morning. But um, by sunday,
08:00especially the riverbank flooding with just the amount of rain that we're
08:04going to have had, the rivers are likely still going to be rising. Um,
08:08most of Kentucky's major rivers are looking at a potential flooding event
08:13depending on the amount of rain we get now through the end of the weekend.
08:18Just a couple reminders from the National Weather Service, which is a
08:23critical organization that we desperately need and need to be strong
08:28and should not be cutting employees from because of events just like this.
08:33They are our lifeline. They are the people that let us know ahead of time.
08:37They work with all of our tv stations to help make sure that everybody is
08:41spreading that same message and then flooding at night. A lot of this rain
08:47is coming at night. You can't see the road, you can't see the level of
08:51flooding. This is something that that we're worried about, not just in
08:54Kentucky, but all over the country. All right. As an update from emergency
09:00management, as of 9 15 this morning, we had 32,604 power outages. The power
09:07hadn't been hit as hard as as it has in some previous, uh, weather systems.
09:12Water lifeline is stable at this time. We've got 86 National Guard soldiers
09:17and airmen that are actively supporting communities with emergency management.
09:2159 of those are still in the east from the February flooding and 27 are ready
09:28to support pending this morning's assessments. Two boat crews from the
09:32123rd Airlift Wing Special Tactics Squadron are staged at the Wendell H.
09:38Ford Regional Training Center. They are ready as needed and crews from aviation
09:43are standing by with our Blackhawks with hoist capabilities. Our hoist
09:48capabilities are going to be improved by the end of today. They probably won't
09:52be needed until at least tomorrow or through the weekend. They're needed the
09:58most, especially when we see the widespread riverbank flooding K. S. P.
10:03Response. Their telecommunicators just last night received 3464 calls for
10:10service. The highest call volume was at a post one in Mayfield post three in
10:15Bowling Green and post six in Dry Ridge. Yesterday evening on Interstate 24 in
10:21Lyon County, a semi flipped over due to high winds, causing the interstate to
10:25be blocked for several hours. Troopers responded, but thankfully no fatalities
10:30from that crash. State police also responded to the Barkley Regional
10:34Airport in Paducah, which suffered significant damage, and they did a
10:38number of wellness checks and rescued several individuals trapped in their
10:42homes and in their vehicles as well as responding to road closures due to high
10:48water. State highway crews worked overnight and are still working in just
10:52about every county, clearing trees and debris and assisting utility crews.
10:58Brief closures of I-24 last night again. That was because of the high wind. At
11:03least 25 state highways are blocked by floodwater, many in western Kentucky,
11:07but they're scattered across the Commonwealth. Expect this number to rise
11:11as the rain continues. Crews will remain on high alert and ask you do to
11:16please. Um, if you are passing a crew, slow down. You know, I just signed a
11:22bill in the last couple days where we're gonna be able to use electronic
11:26means to record people's speed as they go past our highway workers. We've had
11:32far too many people on our highways that have been hurt. These are people
11:36that are out there protecting us. Let's just do our part to protect them. We
11:40need them. They're Kentucky ends with families just like us. So please slow
11:44down and move over. Uh, one state highway in Madison County that was
11:49close to a mudslide is now clear, but saturated ground does make mudslides
11:54possible that will occur over the next couple of days. You can check go k y
12:00dot k y dot gov for real time traffic information. All right, everybody. The
12:06key here is stay safe because this is kind of an elongated event. Our next
12:11updates are all likely to come by a social media. We may we may, um, cut a
12:16couple videos, but this is now in everybody's hands to stay safe these
12:21next couple days, watching how much it rains and again making those good
12:25decisions. Okay. Today we have some special guests here with us to
12:30celebrate. Donate life month. Could you all please come up and join me? As you
12:35all know, I believe that health care is a basic human right. And sadly, right
12:40now we're stopping to fight federal funding cuts. Um, please know that I'll
12:46keep working to ensure that Kentucky ins get the health care that they need.
12:50This has never been more important, and that includes those that are in need of
12:54an organ donation. More than 100,000 americans and more than 1000 Kentucky
13:00ins are on the organ transplant list. They're waiting for that phone call
13:04that could save their life. The call that says you have a match that this is
13:10where you could help a neighbor in need. You can register today to become
13:13an organ. I and tissue donor through the National Donate Life Registry at
13:18register me dot org. You can go to a regional driver's licensing office or
13:23any circuit court clerk's office. By taking this step, you could save up to
13:28eight lives through an organ donation, restore sight to two people through
13:33cornea donation and heal more than 75 people through tissue donation. Because
13:38of this special way to give life to someone in need, I was proud to sign a
13:43proclamation recognizing April is donate life month here in the
13:47Commonwealth. Joining me today are advocates of organ donation from the
13:51National Kidney Foundation Network for Hope. Second chance at life. Donate
13:57life. K. Y. Transplant surgeons from UK Healthcare and U of L Health, a living
14:02kidney donor that is Beth and family members of transplant recipients. So
14:07thank you all for being here. Let's take a photo with the, uh, declaration
14:13and make sure we get the word out. You can be the other governor here.
14:21Thank you. That's all right. It still counts. Thank you all very much. Thank
14:26you. Thanks for being here and thanks for your work on this. Thank you. Thank
14:29you. All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you.
14:37You don't have to stick around if you don't want to team Kentucky to that's
14:43the transplant Olympic team. That's amazing. Team Kentucky. And I brought,
14:46I'm sure I think I've seen their photograph too. You have pretty
14:50incredible.
14:53Next, we have some information on a federal hiring initiative. Federal
14:58employees have dedicated their careers to supporting our american families.
15:03Their hard work has improved lives across our country and right here in
15:07the commonwealth. Unfortunately, they're being treated unfairly by the
15:11current administration. They're being laid off despite the fact that they do
15:15good work. They're even being lied to saying it's their fault and they're
15:19doing a bad job when they've recently been promoted and they have spotless
15:23records. Now is the time for team Kentucky to be there for them, just
15:28like they've been there for us. So here in the commonwealth, we're working to
15:31make it easier for displaced federal employees to find employment. We have
15:36launched a new web page with resources for federal employees who want to find
15:41a career with the commonwealth. The website is team ky four fed employees
15:48dot ky dot gov. Here you'll find existing vacancies and opportunities to
15:54join team Kentucky information for veterans uh and links to job skills,
15:59career counseling and training. We also have a hotline with career
16:03counselors that are available. That number is 502-564-8030. And on april
16:1210th from nine a.m. To noon, we're hosting a virtual career fair to
16:16provide an opportunity for federal employees to learn about new and
16:19existing opportunities on team Kentucky to our federal employees. We know how
16:24much you've given to our country. Many of you all served in the armed forces
16:29before joining the federal government. And while I can't change how our
16:34federal government has treated you recently, what we can do is offer you
16:38that other opportunity at a career of service where you can help your fellow
16:44Kentucky ins, whether you live in the commonwealth or you want to make this
16:47your new Kentucky home. Team Kentucky is here to give you options to explore.
16:52Thank you for everything you've done for our country. And at least here in
16:57Kentucky, we appreciate you.
17:00All right. Today we're announcing our final winner of the new Kentucky home
17:04giveaway. If you remember, folks could win a free two night stay at a
17:08Kentucky State Park by sharing positive photos on social media using the
17:13hashtag new Kentucky home. See what we're doing right now is re
17:17introducing ourselves to the world. We're leaving the stereotypes of the
17:21past in the past and we're telling everybody what we love about Kentucky
17:26with an invitation to join. We're showing folks that in Kentucky, the
17:30pace of business is as fast as it is anywhere. But the pace of life is just
17:35right. We're combining our economic development, tourism and workforce
17:39training efforts all together. We're showing what we're doing in our parks
17:43and in our downtowns. We want people when you look at Kentucky not to just
17:47see a job that might be there or where you could move a business. But what
17:51it's like to live here. We believe where we're from is pretty special and
17:55we want y'all to be apart. And thanks to Kentucky ins who are helping us by
18:00sharing positive images on social media. We are spreading the word faster and
18:05faster. So today's winner is Skyler Dickerson, who took beautiful pictures
18:10of Lexington in spring bloom. Skyler, thank you for showing everybody what
18:15it'd be like to live there to be able to walk around during this period of
18:20the year. Um, and congratulations on winning a free two night stay at one of
18:25our 44 Kentucky State parks. Our team will message you with the details while
18:30the giveaway is over. We hope folks will still share their best photos.
18:35Listen, our pride and who we are and where we're from can continue this
18:40economic develop momentum that we have, which is a window of opportunity
18:45unlike any I've ever seen. And we're climbing all of the ranks, you know,
18:49number top five in economic development per capita each of the
18:53last five years. But I'm telling you this, this initiative, just all of us
18:59unharnessing, um, our love for for place and showing people we love
19:06Kentucky and you will too is how we take that next great step.
19:13Okay, next I'm turning it over to Dr Stack, who's going to tell us the most
19:17recent update to our healthy Kentucky home.
19:23Thank you, Governor. Good afternoon, everyone. Um, and good afternoon, Team
19:28Kentucky. This month we continue our journey to a healthier Kentucky,
19:32promoting clear and attainable goals to achieve better health and wellness by
19:36eating at least two servings of fruits or vegetables every day, exercising at
19:41least 30 minutes three times per week and engaging with others to stay
19:45socially connected. During the month of April, our healthy Kentucky home
19:49focuses on mental health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly
19:54one in four adults reported having a mental health condition in 2023. That
20:00equates to more than 61 million Americans. Mental health is an integral
20:05component of overall health and well being. It impacts every part of our
20:08lives, enabling us to thrive for meaningful relationships and contribute
20:13positively to society. Good mental health allows people to cope with life
20:17stressors, maintain a positive self image, have healthier relationships,
20:22improve productivity and enhance overall quality of life. Addressing
20:27mental health is every bit as important as addressing physical health as they
20:31are both essential elements of a healthy lifestyle. Mental health
20:35conditions such as depression increased the risk for many types of physical and
20:39chronic conditions, like diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Similarly,
20:43the presence of these chronic conditions can increase the risk of
20:46developing a mental health condition. Many factors influence our ability to
20:50thrive and experience optimal well being, such as family and community
20:54relationships, access to opportunities in environmental circumstances. However,
21:00by incorporating modest lifestyle changes into your daily routine, you
21:04have the power to improve your mental health and well being at every stage of
21:07life. Adopting a healthy eating pattern is also a good way to improve your
21:12mental health. Research shows that a healthy eating pattern is associated
21:16with a reduced risk of mental health conditions. High consumption of fruits,
21:20vegetables and nuts, moderate consumption of poultry, eggs and dairy
21:25products and only occasional consumption of red meat can have a
21:28lasting positive impact on your mental health. Even small dietary changes can
21:34make a big difference. Along with diet, regular physical activity is essential
21:39to improving mental health. Increasing physical activity can reduce feelings of
21:43anxiety and help you sleep better. Try starting small, consistently including
21:4930 minutes of moderate physical exercise at least three times a week is a great
21:53way to reduce your risk. It's also important to remember to stay connected
21:57with others. Engaging with others and having strong social connections is
22:01crucial to mental health. Strong social ties can help manage stress,
22:05reduce anxiety and depression and lead to a longer, healthier life. This month,
22:11I encourage you to sit down with your family and loved ones to discuss mental
22:14health. Conversation is a powerful tool. Talking with friends, neighbors and
22:18loved ones about feelings and concerns can relieve stress and promote
22:21resilience for access to helpful tools and resources on how to have
22:25conversations about mental health. Please be sure to visit the are healthy
22:29Kentucky home website at are healthy. K y home dot k y dot gov. Finally, it's
22:35okay to not be okay. It's important to remember that there is hope if you or a
22:40loved one is dealing with mental health related distress or crisis. The 988
22:45suicide and crisis hotline is a resource available to you. 988 offers
22:5024 7 access to train counselors who can help people experiencing mental health
22:54related distress no matter where they live by calling or texting 988 or by
23:00visiting 988 lifeline dot org. You can reach a caring, trained counselor who
23:06can help you or a loved one who may need crisis support to learn more about
23:11mental health and mental health resources or healthy habits. You can
23:14incorporate into your daily routine. Be sure to visit the are healthy Kentucky
23:18home website at are healthy. K y home dot k y dot gov. Please join us in the
23:23are healthy Kentucky home journey today as we work together to ensure
23:27that every Kentuckian achieves better health and their full potential.
23:33No, just a minute.
23:36Okay, so I have something to add. So, Dr Stack, thanks for staying up here.
23:40And if Secretary Eric Friedlander join us to
23:46this may look familiar to some. Most Kentuckians know these two leaders
23:52because they helped us through a once in 100 year pandemic. Together, we
23:57focused on helping our neighbors get through one of the most challenging
24:01times in our history, and we did it together. They joined me at regular
24:05press conferences to help inform our families on how to stay safe and really
24:09scary and uncertain times. Covid long shadow touched and really continues to
24:15touch all of our lives. Despite these challenges, Kentucky, we showed our
24:21strength and our leadership. We saw our health care heroes and our front
24:26line workers step up. We created what became a national model for drive
24:31through testing, which is one of the largest logistics challenges we'd seen.
24:37Once the life saving vaccines were available, getting them to people was
24:40the largest logistics challenge since World War two, and we met that
24:44challenge. We prioritize teachers becoming the first state to put them in
24:49the top group to get vaccinations. And because of that, we were one of the
24:53first states to have every single school district back in person, but
24:57back in person safely. During that time, I was glad to have these two with me.
25:03Their level of service goes beyond mere professionalism. They were both
25:08living out their faith and living out their values at the highest level,
25:12selflessly serving all of our neighbors. I know that that response
25:17was just one of many ways that they have both served our commonwealth. So
25:22thank you. And now I have to announce that Secretary Freelander has told me
25:27his plan is to retire August one. And after 40 years of experience leading
25:33and managing complex organizations, we all know he deserves it. He has worked
25:39day in and day out to help our Kentucky families, and we truly appreciate
25:43Secretary Freelander. We wish Eric and Indigo, his wife, the very best. I want
25:49everybody to join me in congratulating Eric Freelander.
25:56And there's more.
25:59Dr Stack is going to be transitioning from his role as a commissioner of the
26:03Kentucky Department of Public Health and chief medical officer for the
26:06Commonwealth of Kentucky to become C. H. F. S. Cabinet secretary. This is a job.
26:12He is more than ready for. He has shown leadership in the most difficult
26:17of times, taking on the most difficult of challenges. His knowledge and
26:21experience helped Kentucky fair far better than other states. He's already
26:25saved thousands of lives in his current role. And now we get to do what we
26:30talked about when we sat down a long time ago, and I asked him to be a part
26:34of this administration to get people healthier, to solve some of the
26:37complicated medical and health questions in front of us and to
26:42improve the lives of Kentuckians. Now, would you all like to say a few words
26:48if we could start with Secretary Freelander?
26:52Thank you, Governor. Very welcome. Thank you.
26:56It has been an honor to serve. It really has. How impossible with that
27:02job that the governor just described. If we didn't have a governor that
27:06actually believed in science, right? Thank you, Governor. Because it's
27:10science because it's science. If we if we if we didn't have a governor, right,
27:14that believed and you could hear it every day when he speaks that believes
27:19in lifting people up, not tearing people down that that believes in the
27:24importance of government service. Thank you. And and believes that our state
27:30it's right behind you. United. We stand divided. We fall. He is the embodiment
27:36of that, and it has been an honor to serve you and the Commonwealth in that
27:41capacity. And it is so wonderful to know that turning the Cabinet for Health
27:48and Family Services over to somebody who has been such a tremendous leader
27:52who has so much wisdom. Dr Stack. Thank you. It is. It is such a relief to know
27:57that I'm handing that off to somebody with such good hands. And lastly, to the
28:02Cabinet for Health and Family Services employees, right? The government
28:06employees who've come under a lot of stress, right? Who who who've had some
28:11of their that you've seen it at the federal level. Their jobs denigrated.
28:15Thank you. It has been an honor to serve you. Public service is a calling.
28:23Public service means that the people that work for all of government and
28:28particularly on bias for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, right? We
28:32work to lift people up. We work to lift individuals and communities when they
28:39face challenges. We work to lift them up. Our partners,
28:44cabinet employees. We always try to be the light when folks come across
28:51challenges. So for that, I thank you, Governor. Thank you for the opportunity
28:57to serve. It has been a tremendous honor.
29:04Thank you, Governor and Secretary. It does feel like a long, long time ago in
29:07a world away that the three of us stood up here in our fig leaf poses behind
29:11the governor during those early press conferences. So, uh, let me begin first
29:15by thanking Secretary Freelander. Secretary Freelander's had around four
29:18decades of service to the people of the Commonwealth, the overwhelming
29:22majority, if not nearly all of them in the Cabinet for Health and Family
29:24Services. You couldn't have had someone who had more kindness, more caring and
29:28more wisdom in leading the Cabinet during particularly difficult times as
29:32we face the covid crisis. So, uh, Eric, thank you so much. It's been a
29:36wonderful to have you as a boss. I couldn't have wished for better, and
29:39it's been a privilege to serve with you and Governor Bashir. Of course, thank
29:42you very much. I have two bosses. I had a weird skip level relationship during
29:46covid on working directly with the governor. It is a great privilege to
29:50work with someone who supports science, supports medicine and has always
29:54supported me and being able to be factual and straight with the people of
29:57Kentucky about what we see is our challenges and our opportunities and
30:01what we need to do to do better together. Um, it does feel for me
30:05something like getting a third act in a play. I signed up to be a
30:09commissioner and got covid. That was a bonus round of some sort. None of us
30:13expected that. Um, then we had a period of building and investing in
30:17public health and strengthening public health. And at this point, I'd like to
30:21say thank you to all those employees at the Department for Public Health at the
30:24state and to all the local health department employees. Kentucky and we
30:28have around 4000 people dedicated to supporting you every day and all sorts
30:33of things that we don't often talk about, but which make a tremendous
30:37impact in the quality and safety of your lives day in and day out. So thank
30:41you to all those dedicated public servants. It's been a privilege to
30:44serve alongside you and to be your commissioner these years. It feels now
30:48that we're entering a third act with all sorts of challenges coming from the
30:53federal government, and I'll save remarks on that for the future time.
30:56I'll have plenty of more time to address the people of Kentucky folks,
31:01public health and health and family services is essential to ensuring that
31:05we have healthier people and healthier communities. If we fail to invest in
31:09these services and supports to ensure that all of us have the opportunity to
31:13thrive, we will all be worse off for it. So I'll end by saying the message that
31:18we kept coming back to throughout covid a message that I'll harken back to
31:21often in the years ahead is for us all to please be kind and caring and
31:25compassionate, considerate to each other. We get a lot better and a lot
31:29further individually and certainly collectively when we treat each other
31:33with kindness, dignity and respect. And I'm going to continue to beat that
31:36drum and remind us about how much more we can do together than we can if we
31:40divide ourselves and put ourselves against each other. So, Secretary,
31:44thank you for your leadership and governor. Thank you for the privilege
31:46to serve the people of Kentucky in this new role. Thank you.
31:53So congratulations to Dr Stack and excited about the return of stack isms.
31:58We even got a couple today. Um, and for all of his service, um, Eric Friedlander
32:04has been an all star every day, but he is this week's team Kentucky all star.
32:09With that, we'll open it up to questions to journalists here with us
32:14and to virtually, we'll start with Karen czar.
32:19Uh, for you, how beneficial will it be that FEMA is actually already here and
32:24on the ground. And then for Dr Stack, how intricate have the 988 crisis line
32:30been in helping Kentucky and dealing with mental health challenges since it
32:34went online. So when this new administration was sworn in, I made a
32:39promise to everybody that when they did good things for Kentucky, I would
32:43support it. And when they did things that were bad for Kentucky, I would
32:46oppose it. They're famous doing a good job for Kentucky. They're doing a good
32:51job in responding. Uh, in the east, we've had far fewer complaints. Um,
32:56there's a lot of disaster recovery centers set up, and they did a really
33:00good job helping us through that emergency period of time. Those rescues
33:05for the first day they brought in extra boat teams. They've already been in
33:10contact. So I've sent a request off to President Trump that he'd have to sign
33:15that activates some of their emergency response folks, and we're waiting for a
33:18return on that. I think I just sent it this morning, so it's been minutes, if
33:22not an hour or so. But this this FEMA group is very responsive, very
33:28professional and is doing a really good job. And if we have significant
33:33flooding, they will be a big advantage. Now, the people that we need aren't the
33:37people that were still here, but they were people who were here a month and a
33:41half ago. Um, no, no, at least some of the terrain, but no, all of our people
33:45and the addition of the urban search and rescue. That's just the term. It's
33:49it's for rural to, uh, into our E. O. C. Has been really helpful, and we've
33:55already pre positioned our assets that we have around the Commonwealth. The
33:59challenge is how widespread this flooding could be. I'll turn over Dr
34:03Step.
34:08Thank you, Governor. Thank you, Karen. The the nine and a crisis line has been
34:11essential, and it's been. It's had a amazing amount of support. It's been
34:15able to provide folks. We've shared numbers before. I don't have them on the
34:18spot. We can get them to you. But, uh, one of the things about the 988 crisis
34:22hotline is it's available 24 7. Regardless of where you are, you can
34:26reach it by text. You can reach it by calling, and it maps you to people,
34:30ideally close to you. So people who are providing services within your own
34:34community so they know your context, they're able to hopefully plug you into
34:37resources close to where you are and resources that you can relate to. It's
34:42another example, though, of the essential partnership that has long
34:45been the federal and state government, along with local service providers. So
34:50that 988 service can only exist if the federal government continues to
34:54provide support for it. And then if we in the state have those resources to
34:58provide the services so no one should suffer in silence, no one should feel
35:03the loss of hope and feel that they don't have someone who can be there to
35:05help them in their time of need. 98 is a tremendous resource. It was long
35:09overdue when it was created, and it's something I hope we can all agree we
35:13should continue and not retreat from.
35:16Okay, Carolina. Governor Weatherwise. No anxious.
35:22Yeah, we've seen how bad what you can get
35:27rain forecast this time. It's a lot. Is there an elevated? Yeah, there is an
35:34elevated sense of concern for a couple of reasons. Number one, it's a huge
35:38amount of rain, and number two, it's a huge amount of rain in an area that
35:42doesn't always get that large of an amount of of rain. And so we're trying
35:47to be as prepared as we can be. I think the first part of today started off a
35:53little bit better than than originally forecasted. Tomorrow looks a little bit
35:58better. But still, when you looked at just the the inches of rain that are
36:02still expected on top of what we've gotten by the end of the weekend, that
36:07is really concerning. And look at how far it goes. I mean, that's the
36:13Kentucky River, the Ohio River, the Green River and so many others. So
36:17we're really gonna have to watch this in phases. You know, we've gotten, we
36:20hope through the main tornado threat stage. Next is our flash flooding stage
36:26with some of these storms. And then is the riverbank flooding stage. But we've
36:31been through this before. We've got great local emergency managers and
36:36leaders. I talked to Paducah's Mayor George Bray yesterday. Early in the day
36:41he was concerned and we talked about different things that each of us could
36:44do to get the message out. And he most certainly did that. And that's one of
36:48the reasons that while the cracking county got hit by a significant
36:53tornado, it looks like everybody in that county is is okay. So very
36:57grateful for the leadership throughout the state and it's gonna take that. But
37:01the number one thing that that we need to convey is people need to make good
37:05decisions. Just don't drive through the water, right? Turn back around.
37:08There's nothing that can't wait a day or two. Work wants to see you when
37:12you're safe and you can get back. So just make good decisions and and we'll
37:17get through all this together. Tom Latek on the line.
37:26Thank you, Governor. Good afternoon. Um, with the surprise announcement that
37:29you made here with Secretary Freelander and Dr Stack, who will be choosing Dr
37:34Stack's successor as public health commissioner. Will that be you or will
37:38it be Secretary Stack?
37:41Well, I'd like to say these decisions are collaborative. Uh, now we'll we'll
37:45talk through it. Certainly, uh, the soon to be cabinet secretary, Dr Stack has
37:51an opinion. I've relied upon, uh, almost every day. I've been governor in some
37:55of the toughest of times. Uh, Secretary Freelander and I have had a great
38:00working relationship. I know that's going to continue. And Dr Stack and I
38:04have always, I feel like, been able to come to decisions that take a little
38:08of his experience and a little of my experience and typically gets us to the
38:12to the best place that we can be very excited. He said yes to this. You know,
38:17he's in demand. There's a lot of different groups or folks out there
38:20that would love to have him leading their organization. But but really
38:24blessed. He's sticking with this administration. And remember, he is one
38:27of the only commissioners of public health that served during that
38:30incredibly difficult pandemic that's still here. Now, every single one of
38:34them was dedicated. So I don't say that to denigrate anybody else in this
38:38country who went through
38:40a very difficult time and took abuse near the end of it while doing it. Uh,
38:45they all paid their dues and and have the right to go anywhere else and
38:49should be celebrated. But the fact that Dr Stack is still here is just an
38:53amazing, uh, statement, an example of service. That's, uh, that's pretty
38:58special. And I know he's gonna do great things, at least these next 2.5
39:02years. And anybody after me would be lucky to keep him. Uh, Liam Nehemiah.
39:10Hi, Governor. I had two questions just on two different topics here. One I
39:17wanted to ask just about. Um, I know that there is, you know, ongoing
39:21federal lawsuits about funding freezes in the city of Dawson Springs in
39:26Hopkins County has been worried about, you know what they say is frozen funds
39:30for operating expenses that they're relying on through a female alone. I
39:36was wondering what your administration was aware about the status of trying to
39:41work to release the funds for Dawson Springs. And just, you know, if you
39:45could speak for general efforts that your administration is doing to, um,
39:50you know, working on any other funding freezes that you're aware of for for
39:55FEMA and SAS related funding in particular. The second question I had
40:00was related to House Bill 6 95. Um, one of the bills that you said didn't have
40:05an appropriation to implement. I was wondering if your administration, you
40:10know, regardless of the appropriation, still plan to, um, work with the, you
40:16know, the newly created Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board. Um, if
40:20you're aware of that in the bill. Um, thank you. Yeah, we're certainly gonna
40:25work with the new oversight board that was actually in two separate bills, and
40:30that's that's not the appropriation challenge that is in that statute. But
40:35let me say for each of the statutes that needed an appropriation, what we're
40:39doing doing is looking through them, um, really drilling down on them. Some of
40:45them are costs that were anticipated after a change, and that's a little bit
40:50different than an upfront appropriation that be required. Some
40:54of them take place a little bit later, which may give us the time to do some
40:59of the groundwork that would be required for them. For instance, if
41:03it's building a new system or registry going out because we normally get
41:09outside groups to do that than doing the R. F. P. And if there's no money
41:13appropriated, there probably won't be a lot of responses to that R. F. P. But
41:17what we can do is get a set cost that one of those groups would charge as we
41:22see what it would take the months that we put in and potentially be able to go
41:26to the General Assembly with something very specific on on how that's done.
41:31But let me say I welcome, uh, the General Assembly learning more about
41:35Medicaid. You know, the General Assembly has expanded Medicaid every
41:39session that I've been governor. They're worried about costs, but
41:42they've added services, and I've been supportive of it that have added costs.
41:47They've been an active part of what they're now saying they want to look at
41:50and understanding that more. Um, I'm fully in favor of what I'll say is
41:55it's incredibly complicated, and it can't be run day to day by the General
41:59Assembly. And some of the things that they passed are going to get in the way
42:03of what need to be day to day decisions of federal law changes. A regulation
42:07comes in. And what the General Assembly is basically saying is we have to do
42:11all of this or most all of it through statute. Well, the General Assembly
42:14doesn't exist for seven or eight months of the year under the law and and
42:20running Medicaid is an executive branch function. So I look forward to to them
42:25learning more about how it operates, but learning how the executive branch
42:30needs to operate it for it to go smoothly. And and let me just finally
42:34say on Medicaid, it covers the people we love the most. Our parents and our
42:39kids. 50% of Kentucky's kids are covered by Medicaid. 70% of our long
42:44term care costs are covered by Medicaid and the threats the federal government
42:48is making on Medicaid would be disastrous. They would harm the
42:53coverage for our families, and, um, they would close most all of our rural
42:59hospital systems. So if you live in rural Kentucky, whether you're covered
43:02by private insurance or Medicaid, you're gonna drive several hours
43:06prior to see the same doctor who had to leave a community they loved because
43:10their hospital or clinic were shut down because of what the federal government
43:14is looking at doing. And, um, the different plans you hear out there,
43:19they say, Oh, no, we're not going to cut it. We're just going to give a
43:22smaller block of money to the states. That's a cut. That's less money that
43:27then you try to blame the states for making cuts. Come on, folks. We know
43:30what that is. And or they say we're just gonna pay a certain amount per
43:34individual, but that's lower than what they are currently paying right now.
43:38Or, uh, the things I worry about FEMA and some other areas. They cut their
43:43staff that does a lot of the work, and then they make us do the overhead out
43:47of the money they send us. And so there's less money for medical care.
43:51We should want to get people healthier, uh, not not less healthy. Um, and and
43:57the federal government, I tell you, if they make drastic cuts to Medicaid, the
44:03people of America will respond. I've seen some data on it. People understand
44:07Medicaid and then it covers the people they love in their family. Um, up to
44:13the federal lawsuits, FEMA is right now claiming that they are not freezing
44:21payments. They're adding extra steps and how they evaluate payments. Now,
44:26these air payments under contracts that we have that are created through
44:31statutory programs. So this is money that is owed. We've got about $5
44:35million right now. Plus, uh, that is over the normal time period that the
44:40reimbursement happens. FEMA is saying that they're going to get that money
44:45moving. I believe what we're hearing is the money that Dawson Springs needs is
44:51going to move. But again, we can't keep setting up these excuses for delaying
44:57dollars that are owed under written agreements. That's more than a promise.
45:02That's a contract. And all of us have to live up to a contract. So does the
45:06federal government. And not just are they contracts. Typically, Congress has
45:10passed a law saying you shall do this. And then they put money in. They say
45:15you shall use this money to do this. And the Trump administration is saying,
45:19Eh, I don't think we're going to do it. Well, that's not legal. It's unlawful.
45:24And it's the reason that I joined a number of A. G. S. And my fellow
45:28governor, Josh Shapiro, ensuing over the attempted cuts to public health
45:32funds. You know, they're trying to claim that these were just covid funds.
45:36No, they were passed in bills that were related to covid. But you heard what I
45:40said. They were passed in bills. They became laws. These programs are written
45:45laws just like anything else out there. And money was appropriated for them
45:49that Congress has not taken back. Congress has passed new laws that takes
45:53back some money. This money, which is about $130 or $140 million in Kentucky
45:58has not been withdrawn by Congress. It is owed to Kentucky through through
46:03through federal law. It's owed to Kentucky through contracts. And I'm not
46:07gonna let someone try to violate that obligation they have for with us. Now,
46:13what they want to claim is it's for cause. Well, for cause would mean that
46:17we did something wrong as a state. But their cause is well, covid is over.
46:22That's not cause under the law. That is a made up cause that no judge is is
46:27going to accept. And so if I sound a little a little fired up about it, it's
46:33because this is very clearly unlawful. And these dollars go to public health.
46:38They go to us being able to track disease. They go to us being able to
46:42prevent a future pandemic. And folks, we've really only been out of it about
46:462.5 years. Does anyone want to have to go through it again? I mean, look at
46:50the cuts they're trying to make at the C. D. C. And and and and in other
46:53places while the bird flu is is concerning. I mean, we've got to be
46:58smart about health in the United States of America because when we're not, we
47:02lose people that that we love. So I'm gonna keep fighting for the people of
47:08Kentucky. I'm gonna keep doing what's right, and I'm gonna keep making sure
47:12that the dollars that are owed to us that we can then take and do good
47:15things with, um, that people keep their word and that they keep their
47:19contract. All right. Um, there is no scheduled team Kentucky update next
47:23week, so we'll see you two weeks from today. Thank you.