Justin Hicks (original) (raw)

Justin Hicks is a data reporter serving the Kentucky Public Radio network as well as LPM's daily newsroom and Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.

He's especially passionate about using data to uncover issues that disproportionally affect rural and Appalachian communities.

Email Justin at jhicks@lpm.org.

• Last week, Kentucky Public Radio reporter Justin Hicks went to parts of east Tennessee to help report on the aftermath of Helene. KPR’s managing editor Ryan Van Velzer sat down to debrief on the moments that stuck out to Hicks from his time on the ground.
• A week after flooding caused by tropical storm Helene devastated parts of the Southern Appalachian mountains, the water has receded but the muck remains.
• The remnants of Hurricane Helene are bringing wind gusts of nearly 60 miles per hour and dumping inches of rain all across Kentucky, after making landfall in Florida as a deadly Category 4 hurricane.
• The National Weather Service says Kentucky may see heavy rain and high winds Thursday evening through Friday.
• Bullitt County Schools are closed for early voting after the county clerk used a state law to override the district’s refusal to be a polling site.
• Last year saw the most mine deaths in nearly a decade. The rise was especially acute in surface mines. Now, there’s increased efforts to emphasize above ground mine safety just as much as underground safety.
• Voters in dozens of cities and counties across Kentucky will vote in November on whether to allow medical cannabis businesses to operate there.
• Kentucky Public Radio analyzed years of state fair entries. It turns out the most popular baking contest is the classic chocolate chip cookie. So what does it take to bake the perfect cookie?
• The 2024 Kentucky State Fair has two new competitions: wind chimes and sourdough bread. The fair says the new ideas help keep visitors engaged and coming to the fair.
• A group of rock climbers in the Red River Gorge want lawmakers to include the sport in Kentucky’s recreational land use law. They hope it will make landowners more comfortable with letting climbers on their private cliffs.