Justin Hicks
Data ReporterJustin Hicks is a data reporter serving the Kentucky Public Radio network as well as LPM's daily newsroom and Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
He's especially passionate about using data to uncover issues that disproportionally affect rural and Appalachian communities.
Email Justin at jhicks@lpm.org.
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Kentucky is the only state with a citizen science program to track the spread of invasive insects. The insect researcher who started it says it’s a great way to get people interested in science — and helps him stretch a tight budget a lot further. -
U.S. industry is a major source of the greenhouse gas pollution causing climate change. Some operations emit way more than others, and new reports show where they are. -
A giant salamander typically found in central Appalachia called the hellbender is on the way to being endangered. The bizarre-looking creature can only live in very clean water, which is getting harder to find. -
ReImagine Appalachia analyzed data showing the region already has an outsized role in some manufacturing sectors. Armed with that knowledge, they say communities could attract similar green manufacturing companies and add good paying jobs. -
In the final days of the Biden administration, labor officials are taking aim at self-insured coal companies who aren’t prepared to support workers who contract the deadly and incurable black lung disease. -
Keven Dawson Jr.’s family described him as a loving father and veteran who went to work at Givaudan Sense Colour just before his 50th birthday — but never returned. -
Proponents of Amendment 2 were counting on traditionally-blue urban areas in Kentucky to vote in favor of the “school choice” initiative. But even in the three most populous counties, it failed overwhelmingly. -
Each of the 106 counties and cities in Kentucky with a ballot referendum approved allowing medical cannabis businesses to operate in their jurisdiction. -
County election officials across Kentucky say they’ve already seen massive voter turnout for both excused and no-excuse early voting. Officials say it indicates that Election Day may also have record-breaking turnout. -
Federal prosecutors rested their case Thursday, the fourth day of testimony in the retrial of Brett Hankison, a former detective accused of blindly firing shots into Breonna Taylor’s apartment in March 2020.
