From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeigh Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear wants an attorney general’s opinion on the hiring of Lexington attorney Brad Cowgill as permanent president of the Council on Postsecondary Education.Despite calls from Governor Beshear for a nationwide search for a new CPE president, the council voted Monday to retain interim president Brad Cowgill. Eight of the ten votes for Cowgill came from Republicans. Beshear believes the council’s actions violate state law."To me, they clearly ignored the statute that requires them to do a national search for a president," Beshear said. "But obviously the attorney general is the chief legal officer in the Commonwealth and I think his legal opinion will be helpful to us."Beshear also sent CPE chairman John Turner a letter asking the council to refrain from executing a contract with Cowgill until the legal matter is resolved. During a national search last year, Cowgill applied for the permanent post, but was eliminated early in the process.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.