Ryan Van Velzer
KPR Managing EditorRyan Van Velzer is the Kentucky Public Radio Managing Editor.
Ryan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and has more than a decade of experience in the industry. He has worked for The Arizona Republic, The Associated Press, The South Florida Sun Sentinel and as a travel reporter in Central America and Southeast Asia.
He has won numerous awards including regional Edward R. Murrow awards, Associated Press Broadcasters awards and Society of Professional Journalists Louisville Pro Chapter awards.
Email him at rvanvelzer@lpm.org.
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It’s been about a decade since Louisville Metro learned it had one of the fastest growing urban heat islands in the country. The risks disproportionately impact historically marginalized neighborhoods. Experts say the city has the chance to become a national leader at combating the problem, but an LPM News analysis finds it could take a century or longer at the current pace.
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State and Congressional officials toured environmental restoration projects along the Ohio River in Louisville on Wednesday. Environmental advocacy groups hope the projects can provide a model for improving water quality across the region.
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The Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District donated $200,000 to the Louisville Water Foundation. That funding will go toward helping residents who struggle to pay their water and sewer bills.
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Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities implemented rolling blackouts for more than 50,000 customers on the coldest day of the year last winter. At the time, they blamed the forced outages on a natural gas supply disruption, but new testimony reveals coal power failed too.
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Utility regulators at the Kentucky Public Service Commission denied Kentucky Power’s deal to discount electricity for an international cryptomining company on Monday. The three-member commission found Kentucky Power lacked the necessary power and would likely have increased costs for ratepayers.
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Researchers at Bernheim Forest have for years been studying golden eagle migration between wintering grounds in Bullitt County and summer nesting sites in Manitoba, Canada, and a new partnership is yielding additional insights.
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Louisville Water Company estimates that around 800 of the city’s older homes still have private lead service lines. They’re working to replace all of them.
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A utility case that will influence the future of Kentucky's energy portfolio began Tuesday. At its heart is whether Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities can retire several coal generators and replace them with a combination of natural gas and renewables.
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Dozens of Kentuckians spoke out against Louisville Gas and Electric’s plans to build two new natural gas plants during the last of five public meetings with utility regulators at Louisville’s downtown library on Wednesday.
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Young environmentalists won a landmark case in Montana on Monday when a court ruled the state violated their right to a healthy environment by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its impacts on climate change. The decision hinges on constitutional language that some Democrats in Kentucky have pushed for years.