Joe Sonka
Enterprise Statehouse ReporterJoe Sonka is Kentucky Public Radio’s first enterprise statehouse reporter. He joined the team in October 2023.
Joe has covered Kentucky government and politics for nearly two decades. He grew up in Lexington and moved to Louisville in 2011, covering city and state government at LEO Weekly and then Insider Louisville. He became state government reporter for the Courier Journal in 2019 and was a lead reporter for the newspaper's 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning series on former Gov. Matt Bevin's controversial pardons just before leaving office.
You can email Joe at jsonka@lpm.org and find him at BlueSky (@joesonka.lpm.org).
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Cuts to federal agencies and grants for museums and libraries will have a large impact on the Kentucky Humanities Council and the ability of Appalshop to preserve its flood-damaged historic archives of the region. -
The Kentucky General Assembly passed bills making major changes to Medicaid, pollution regulations and worker safety rules, but Beshear says he cannot implement them without specific appropriations. -
Kentucky’s GOP-controlled legislature quickly voted to override nearly all of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s vetoes on 29 bills and resolutions. -
The Kentucky General Assembly's Republican supermajority sped more than 100 bills to passage ahead of the governor’s veto period. Some of the most contentious measures were heavily amended before the public could give their input, or even read them. -
Medicaid, concealed carry and telework ban: Friday was the final day for the Kentucky General Assembly to pass legislation that is veto proof, with some notable bills making the cut, and some left behind. -
Kentucky has a system to cut the income tax rate annually, so long as budget triggers are met. A new bill passed out of the legislature makes hitting those triggers easier. -
The Kentucky Senate passed legislation that would redirect $8.5 million of funding away from the Center for Rural Development, months after it nearly used the funds on a controversial land deal. -
An unusual coalition says they want to ensure Kentucky doctors aren’t afraid to give life-saving abortions. Reproductive rights advocates say their plan could make things worse for women. -
A Kentucky bill that would subject hemp-derived beverages to new regulations and ban certain products advances further, over the objections of the hemp industry. -
With little notice, Kentucky’s GOP is pushing sweeping changes to the state’s budget trigger system for annual tax cuts, as well as business tax incentives.
