-
Where jobs are scarce, over 1 million people could dodge Trump’s Medicaid work rules
By Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News September 29, 2025 Millions of Medicaid enrollees may have a way out of the new federal work requirement — if they live in a county with high unemployment. By January 2027, President Donald Trump’s far-reaching domestic policy law will require many adult, nondisabled Medicaid enrollees in 42 states and
-
Speed enforcement cameras coming to highway work zones, including Inez and Louisa
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is installing automated speed enforcement devices in active highway work zones that include Martin and Lawrence counties, officials announced Friday. Among the first places to receive cameras this week and in the coming weeks are KY 3 (MP 7.314 to 13.735) at Inez and U.S. 23 at
-
KSP Post 9 officers receive honors
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT LEXINGTON — Three officers from Kentucky State Police Post 9 Pikeville were among those receiving top honors Friday in Lexington as the KSP recognized 61 troopers, detectives and officers for acts of valor and service that went beyond the line of duty. Trooper Nicholas Taylor, a three-year veteran, is the Trooper of
-
Fall wildfire hazard season begins Oct. 1
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT INEZ — Kentucky will enter its fall wildfire hazard season Oct. 1, ushering in statewide restrictions on outdoor burning that remain in place through Dec. 15. State law (KRS 149.400) bars residents from burning between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. within 150 feet of woodland or brushland. Officials say the seasonal limits
-
Federal Bureau of Prisons ends union contract; CPL-33 vows legal fight
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT The Federal Bureau of Prisons has terminated its collective bargaining agreement with the Council of Prison Locals, a move the Trump administration says will improve working conditions but which union leaders denounce as an attack on employee rights. Bureau Director William K. Marshall III announced Thursday that the contract with CPL-33, which
-
‘We didn’t choose this:’ Mingo locals voice frustration, worry to WV DEP over proposed power plants
by Caity Coyne, West Virginia Watch September 22, 2025 GILBERT, W.Va. — At a public hearing last Thursday for two proposed natural gas plants in Mingo County, resident Pam Surber had a message for regulators from the state Department of Environmental Protection: “We were here first.” At 63 years old — and turning 64 in
-
Lovely man arrested on federal drug charges
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT LOVELY — The Kentucky State Police DESI Unit with lead investigator Duston Thompson, Post 9 troopers, the U.S. Marshals Service and Martin County Sheriff John Kirk executed a search warrant Friday morning at a residence at 1934 Long Branch in Lovely. Sheriff Kirk confirmed that Cody G. Spears, 29, of Lovely, was
-
Search for missing Martin County man suspended at reservoir
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Authorities suspended search operations Friday evening at the Curtis Crum Reservoir after divers failed to locate any sign of an Inez man who has been missing for more than six months. Divers from the Ashland Fire Department scoured the reservoir for several hours, deploying sonar technology and conducting
-
Search underway at reservoir for missing Inez man
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — A search for a missing Inez man is underway at the Curtis Crum Reservoir, where authorities on Friday deployed cadaver dogs and a dive team from Ashland to comb the waters. By midafternoon, at about 2:40 p.m., divers had dropped anchors from their boat and were preparing to
-
Police catch woman cutting copper phone lines on North Wolf Creek
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PILGRIM — A late-evening copper theft in Pilgrim ended in handcuffs Tuesday after deputies came upon a mud-stuck truck, cut utility lines and piles of stripped wire in a field. Martin County Sheriff John Kirk and his deputies responded to North Wolf Creek Road after a trespassing complaint. When they
