1st woman statue on public property in city to be unveiled

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The first statue of a woman on public property in a Kentucky city will be unveiled on Mother’s Day.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports “Katsina” will be in the Lexington Women’s Recognition Garden at Wellington Park and will be revealed during a ceremony on May 13 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The statue will be the first artwork installed after the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights called for more works depicting and honoring women.

Victoria Meyer, who is chair of the garden, says organizers wanted something that represented all ethnicities and occupations.

School to give radio experience to some students with autism

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — A new fellowship program at Western Kentucky University aims to prepare students with autism to enter the workforce by providing broadcasting experience.

The David Brinkley Student Employment Fellowship Program will provide two positions to students with the goal of transitioning them to part-time WKYU-FM Public Broadcasting employees. Director of WKYU-FM Public Broadcasting David Brinkley tells The Bowling Green Daily News the fellowship is meant to address a need to help students with autism transition into careers.

Brinkley says the fellowship isn’t limited to broadcasting majors and will give fellows experience with every aspect of the station.

Fellows will be picked from a support group at the Suzanne Vitale Clinical Education Complex aimed toward students with autism. The program is a partnership between the station and complex.

Kentucky State Police probing death during arrest

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police are investigating the case of a person who died while being arrested by the Covington Police Department.

Kentucky State Police Spokesman Trooper Charles Loudermilk tells news outlets the death happened during a traffic stop Tuesday morning. Loudermilk says a gun wasn’t used during the arrest and that the person died as Covington Police arrested them. The person’s name hasn’t been released.

The Covington Police Department says in a statement that the department requested state police investigate the death.

To widen or not to widen road? Meeting to help decide

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky transportation officials plan a public meeting next week to get feedback on a proposal to widen part of the Gene Snyder Freeway in Louisville.

Transportation Cabinet spokeswoman Andrea Clifford told WDRB-TV that officials want to get input on whether the road should be widened along an 11-mile stretch from Taylorsville Road to the Interstate 71 exchange. The meeting is set for May 8 at Ascension Lutheran Church in Louisville.

Clifford says some road work projects have several options for construction, but there’s only two for this one: to widen or not to widen. She says public input will help officials decide.

In 2017, daily traffic volumes along the corridor ranged between 64,400 and 87,900. By 2045, those numbers are expected to jump to 87,400 to 162,500 vehicles per day.

Man convicted of murder as teen to get new sentence

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky man serving life without parole for a 1996 double murder he committed as a 16-year-old will be resentenced.

The Bowling Green Daily News reports that the Kentucky Supreme Court issued a ruling Thursday that says Sophal Phon’s sentence was an example of judicial overreach. The ruling says that the Kentucky Revised Statutes do not list life without parole as an option for juveniles convicted of capital crimes.

Phon was the triggerman in a home invasion by the Asian Boyz gang that resulted in the execution-style shooting deaths of Khamphao Phromratsamy and Manyavanh Boonprasert. The couple’s 12-year-old daughter was also shot, but survived.

The ruling did say the court believes the sentence was permissible under the state and federal constitutions, and proportionate to the crime.