From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighThe Kentucky attorney general’s office has cracked down on a Texas-based charity that claimed to be raising money to buy equipment for sheriff’s offices in Kentucky.Attorney General Jack Conway says the United States Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the telemarketing firm Courtesy Call are very good at raising money, both in Kentucky and nationally. The money’s supposed to help local police departments buy equipment, like bulletproof vests, but Conway says little of the cash is being spent on equipment.“Between August 2008 and August 2009, they raised over $2.5 million. Of that, 85-percent went to the professional solicitation company.”In a settlement with the state, the deputy sheriff’s association and Courtesy Call have agreed to halt misleading solicitation practices in Kentucky, donate more than $71,000 in equipment to local sheriff’s offices and pay attorneys’ fees.
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.