Kentucky is awaiting word from Washington on a request to declare the state a major disaster area in the wake of last week’s deadly ice storm.Governor Beshear says the state is making substantial progress in the massive recovery effort, but one week after the storm first hit, 255-thousand utility customers remain without power. Seventy-three hundred Kentuckians remain in shelters and there are now 24 confirmed fatalities.“We have approximately 10 related to carbon monoxide poisoning. The rest are accidents in hypothermia situations,” Beshear said.Besides asking President Obama to declare the state a major disaster area, Beshear wants the federal government to reimburse the state for 100-percent of expenses incurred during the first seven days of the storm. He also wants the feds to pick up the costs of dispatching a record number of Kentucky National Guard troops into the field.
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.