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 non-Twitter apps such as Threads (@joesonkaky) and BlueSky (@joesonka.bsky.social).
-
The bill to cut Kentucky’s individual income tax rate to 3.5% passed the House with bipartisan support and is expected to clear the Senate next month. -
The agreed settlement could end the litigation filed seven years ago, which alleged hedge fund firms and state pension officials mismanaged retirement funds. -
The bill would lower Kentucky’s individual income tax rate from 4% to 3.5% in 2026, projected to lower state revenue by $718 million annually. -
State lawmakers return to Frankfort Jan. 7 for the beginning of the Kentucky General Assembly’s 2025 session. The first item on their agenda is expected to be a tax cut. -
The tax cut mechanism passed in 2022 is designed to gradually lower Kentucky’s individual income tax until it is eliminated. -
Medical cannabis is technically legal for eligible patients in Kentucky on Jan. 1, but it will likely be many months until homegrown marijuana makes its way into stores for purchase. -
Only one business to win a medical marijuana license in Kentucky’s first dispensary lottery was made up of only Kentucky residents. -
Two of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s political committees contributed $510,000 to help elect Pamela Goodwine to the Supreme Court, raising the question of potential conflicts. -
Mayor Craig Greenberg announced that Louisville and federal officials have reached a “historic consent decree agreement” that will shape the path of the city’s police reform efforts for years to come. -
The Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis deemed a list of applicants for the recently completed dispensary lottery in nine regions to be exempt from open records requests.
