LINK Kenton Reader - Volume 4, Edition 29 - June 12, 2026 by LINK nky

By Kenton Hornbeck

ATwo third-party candidates join race for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District

Libertarian Party candidate has gathered enough signatures to appear on the November general election ballot for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District.

Jeremy Todd, a member of the Libertarian Party and a Northern Kentucky resident, announced that he secured ballot access for the upcoming general election.

Kentucky state law dictates that a Libertarian Party candidate seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives can qualify for the general election by filing a nomination petition containing at least 400 valid signatures. Todd’s petition garnered over 750 signatures in 12 days.

“Our district has spoken clearly; what happened in our backyard cannot be tolerated,” Todd said in a press release posted to his campaign’s official Facebook page.

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How BE NKY and the Port Authority work (and why you should care)

By Nathan Granger

The new Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence, which will relocate Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law and the local branch of the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine from Highland Heights to Covington, passed a public facility review with the Kenton County Planning Commission last month.

The project has received $125 million from the General Assembly to get underway and could reshape that area of the city. The land on which the center will sit is owned by the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, which recently spent $3.8 million, according to Kenton County property records, to purchase the land on East Rivercenter Boule-

vard from the Butler Foundation.

If you’re a regular reader of LINK nky — or if you’re plugged into the local business community — you’ve probably heard of the Port Authority. How about SparkHaus or the OneNKY Center or BE NKY Growth Partnership?

What do these groups have in common?

A cursory look at any of these entities’ websites will reveal significant cross-pollination in their leadership structures. For instance, the executive director of the Port Authority is a former VP at BE NKY. The OneNKY Alliance’s CEO sits on the Board of Directors for the Port Authority. Many share connections with other pro-business

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The United States Capitol building. Photo provided | U.S. House of Representatives

Cargo containers at the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority. Photo provided | Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority

PRESIDENT & CEO Lacy Starling

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Meghan Goth

COMMUNITY EDITOR Christian LeDuc

SPORTS EDITOR Evan Dennison

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“Kentucky is not for sale. We will not allow Washington insiders or outside money to simply purchase a seat in Congress. This campaign is about sending a loud message that our freedom does not go to the highest bidder.”

Kenton County Libertarian Party Chair and former Crescent Springs City Council Member Bill Schult told LINK nky that the petition effort began on May 20, one day after longtime incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie, an ideological libertarian, lost in the Republican Primary to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein — the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Earlier that day, the Libertarian Party of Kentucky announced on X that they had nominated Todd to represent them in the general election.

The petition campaign ended on June 1 with more signatures than required. The petition was submitted to the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office on June 2.

“It speaks to not only the enthusiasm of the Northern Kentucky libertarians,” Schult said, “but also the general public, because it wasn’t just libertarians, it was Republicans, Independents, everybody, both collecting signatures and signing the petition.”

In addition, NKY-based Democrat Melissa Strange will appear on the November ballot as the Democratic Party nominee.

After Massie’s primary defeat, many of his allies announced their intention to support Todd as an alternative to Gallrein and the Republican Party.

Many of Todd’s campaign initiatives are similar to Massie’s, such as bringing U.S. troops home from wars, cutting government spending and the national debt, and opposing the influence of special interests and foreign lobbies in American policymaking.

Throughout his campaign, Massie voiced opposition to U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran. In March, he led a failed War Powers Resolution effort to remove the U.S. military from hostilities with Iran. In response, many prominent pro-Israel pundits and politicians criticized Massie for his position. Arguably, the most vocal was Trump.

Moreover, he routinely highlighted the high volume of spending by pro-Israel political donors, including casino magnate Miriam Adelson, hedge fund manager Paul Singer and lobbying organizations such as the Republican Jewish Coalition and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Some national outlets reported that as much as $32 million was spent in the Republican Primary against Massie, making it the most expensive primary in Congressional history.

Given the exorbitant level of spending in the race, Todd and Schult felt that Massie’s loss was largely a product of spending by anti-Massie political donors and political action committees.

“The goal is to give voters who actually believe in small government, who believe in avoiding foreign entanglements, who believe in government transparency some-

where to vote on the ballot,” Schult said.

In addition to Todd, NKY-based pro-Palestinian activist Mohammad Ahmad will also appear on the general election ballot. Ahmad, a vocal critic of Zionism, will appear on the ballot as a candidate for the Kentucky Party.

The Kentucky Party states on its website that it opposes the use of military force, coercion or violence to achieve political objectives. The party identifies ending Kentucky’s participation in U.S. military interventions abroad as one of its core policy goals. It also generally opposes military spending and arms exports, arguing that international disputes should be addressed primarily through diplomacy, negotiation and other peaceful means.

LINK nky has reached out to Ahmad for comment.

Mohammad Ahmad speaks at the Covington Commission meeting on Dec. 5, 2023. Photo by Sydney Bellm | LINK nky contributor

Jeremy Todd. Photo provided | Jeremy Todd campaign

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The center’s public facility review wasn’t without its criticisms, and the relationship between the NKY Port Authority and BE NKY is unusual when compared to other port authorities in the state. So now’s a good time to ask: How does all of this actually work? And why should you care?

Port authorities in Kentucky (and other states)

The port authority itself is old: Legislation establishing all port authorities in Kentucky dates back to the late 1960s, although the laws have been updated several times throughout the years. The law, as it stands, states that the purpose of an authority “shall be to establish, maintain, operate and expand necessary and proper riverport and river navigation facilities.” The law also grants authorities the ability “to acquire and develop property … to attract directly or indirectly river-oriented industry.”

Officially, the governance of Kentucky’s 10 port authorities falls under the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, or KYTC. The cabinet categorizes each authority as either active or developing — a somewhat informal designation; there’s no official threshold beyond which an authority stops being developing and becomes active. Instead, the categorization roughly corresponds to whether boats can drop their cargo directly at authority facilities.

NKY’s port authority is listed as developing, so if you’re hauling freight on the Ohio, the authority isn’t going to help you unload it. You have to take it to a private dock.

If you’re not familiar with the NKY Port Authority and its activities, it would be easy to think that its role would be dedicated to managing river cargo operations and similar commercial activities; there are port authorities in Kentucky that operate this way.

The Paducah-McCracken County Port Authority, for instance, likely matches what many think of when they first see the words ‘port authority.’ Located at the confluence of several major rivers, including the Ohio, Paducah-McCracken occupies about 48 acres of public land, has room for roughly 14,000 tons of cargo storage and maintains a large cargo crane for moving freight.

Other states have port authorities, too, and the authority that’s closest to NKY’s is located in Cincinnati, which, by its own admission, is less about managing river commerce and more about general economic development. Legislation allowing Ohio riverport authorities to take on economic development activities was passed in 1982. Additionally, the Cincinnati riverport can issue bonds and other forms of municipal financing, which Kentucky port authorities can’t do.

In any case, the NKY Port Authority views its role in the region as more akin to Cincinnati’s port authority than to Paducah-McCracken’s, which brings us to…

Tri-County Economic Development Corporation/Tri-ED/BE NKY

Although the transportation cabinet is the official governing body of the port authority, the local KYTC District 6 office has little direct impact over its operations. In fact, the NKY Port Authority remained unused and dormant for many years until 2022.

Enter the Tri-County Economic Development Corporation, or Tri-ED, known today as BE NKY (it still uses its original name on legal documents), a nonprofit business league whose purpose is to “generate, preserve and enhance high-quality economic opportunities for Northern Kentucky,” according to the organization’s bylaws.

BE NKY was created in 1987 by the fiscal courts of Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties for the purpose of attracting businesses and development (and the tax revenue and jobs that would come with them). The organization’s current bylaws reveal specifics, namely the organization’s emphasis on entrepreneurialism.

BE NKY’s marketing materials will often talk about activating the Port Authority in 2022. It’s not immediately clear just what

that means, but a memo from 2022 lays out the functional relationship between BE NKY and the Port Authority:

• BE NKY oversees the financial operations of the Port Authority, including the preparation of its annual budget, “a component of which will be a Tri-ED [BE NKY] Budget.”

• BE NKY provides an executive director and other necessary staffing.

• BE NKY assesses and manages any agreements with third-party specialists related to insurance, real estate, legal services and accounting.

• BE NKY provides up to $400,000 per year to the Port Authority through the end of fiscal year 2027 (June 30, 2027) “to be used for projects, products and services approved by Tri-ED and the Port Authority as set forth in the TriED Budget.”

BE NKY is governed by a board of directors consisting of appointees by Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties’ judges/executive, representatives from the private sector and a rotating seat for a local mayor. Current members of the board include representatives from major banks, local universities, major engineering firms and construction companies, Duke Energy, the Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport and local tech companies, among others.

The port authority also has its own board of directors, the members of which include appointees of the county fiscal courts and a liaison from BE NKY (not including Executive Director Christine Russell, who formerly served as BE NKY’s VP of strategy).

In this way, BE NKY, the NKY Port Authority and its leadership structure are a microcosm of the region’s political and economic power.

The Port Authority’s executive director, also Russell, said that BE NKY “activated the Port Authority in 2022 to be a real estate and development tool for Northern Kentucky.”

As a government agency, the port authority’s properties are exempt from municipal and county property taxes, although it may strike a deal to pay them voluntarily, as in the case of the SparkHaus (the business tenants within the SparkHaus and similar buildings do have to pay payroll taxes).

Likewise, the port authority’s properties are exempt from zoning regulations.

Not every BE NKY project involves the port authority. Some of these other projects include collecting and analyzing data on the region, recruiting businesses to relocate to NKY and issuing grants for the purposes of workforce development.

“We have a very targeted approach to businesses and companies we want to attract here because they create good, high-paying jobs,” BE NKY CEO Lee Crume said. “Our goal is to increase the prosperity of the region.”

Although BE NKY and the port authority are separate on paper, their institutional overlap is extensive, and BE NKY’s use of the port authority as a real estate investment tool is clearly aimed at economic development.

Large, headline-grabbing real estate projects like the OneNKY Center, SparkHaus, the Center for Biomedical Excellence or even the impending refurbishment of the old Duro Bag building in Covington are all owned by the NKY Port Authority. Moreover, many of them have been funded with a combination of private and public money.

The argument in favor of these projects (and their funding structures) is that they have downwind economic benefit for the region as a whole: They attract businesses, which offer jobs, which increase payroll tax revenue for local cities. Moreover, as in the case of the SparkHaus and the Duro Bag building, the old buildings where these projects are found are often dilapidated and expensive to restore. Without public subsidizing or some other alternative form of financing, they would arguably continue to sit unused.

“Partnerships with organizations like the NKY Port Authority, Kenton County and the Catalytic Fund are critical to advancing infrastructure improvements, strategic land acquisition and long-term economic development efforts that benefit our residents and businesses,” said Covington Mayor Ron Washington. “It’s important that the city and these regional partners remain aligned on decisions that directly impact city services and the future of our community.”

A map of Kentucky’s riverport authorities. Map provided | Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

BE NKY Growth Partnership CEO Lee Crume speaking at the BE NKY Annual Forum in January 2024. Photo provided | Joe Simon

In his conversations with LINK nky, Crume emphasized that his organization’s work was aimed at benefiting the region.

“What we do, how we do it and how we go about doing it, it really matters,” Crume said. “We take it really seriously. We take the results that we can deliver for this community seriously because we think they’re important.”

To recap: A government agency (the port authority) is used by a private nonprofit (BE NKY), which was founded by the local county governments, as a vehicle for real estate investment. Yet, this cross-institutional arrangement has generated concern, not only locally but also at the state level.

Private, public, community stakes

“I don’t think it’s good policy,” Kentucky Rep. Matt Lehman told LINK nky in early March.

This year, Lehman, a Democrat from Newport, filed a bill in the Kentucky House that would reform the statutory duties of Kentucky port authorities. It was co-sponsored by another NKY representative, TJ Roberts, a Republican from Burlington. Although the bill would have applied to every Kentucky port authority, it was clearly targeted at NKY’s.

When asked why he filed the bill, Lehman expressed concern about how local leaders and lobbyists fielded the establishment of the new Commonwealth Center and secured funding for it. The NKY Port Authority is the vehicle through which the $125 million in state funding will be deployed.

A Lexington Herald Leader report examined the process, which critics characterized as hasty and secretive: From its inception to the public announcement of the new campus, the plan took about a month and a half, a timeline critics said left little room for public comment.

“The top administrator of Highland Heights, Republican and Democratic members of Kentucky’s legislature that represent Campbell County and even Covington’s mayor — none knew about the project until the week the funding plan was announced,” writes Lexington Herald Leader reporter Austin Horn.

“We’re talking about $125 million,” Lehman said. “It’s not really creating new jobs or bringing new companies to Northern Kentucky. It’s moving two programs six miles down the road … My position is if we’re going to be spending that type of taxpayer money, this needs to involve public input and needs to involve some accountability and transparency.”

Lehman’s bill died in committee, but if it had passed, it would have immediately established several restrictions, namely preempting the delegation of port authority policymaking to outside entities (like BE NKY), mandating compliance with county comprehensive plans and land use categories and prohibiting any direct conflicts of interest within port authorities.

Finally, it would have expanded the purview of port authorities in such a way that they could “enhance, foster, aid, provide and promote transportation, economic development, housing, recreation, education, governmental operations, culture and research within the jurisdiction of the authority,” effectively establishing explicit allowances for the sorts of activities the NKY Port Authority and BE NKY already engage in. Lehman modeled his bill after legislation in Ohio.

Lehman spoke with LINK nky again in late April and reflected on the fate of his bill. In conversations he’d had throughout the state, he said he learned that other Kentucky port authorities, especially ones that actually functioned around managing river commerce, were concerned about the broad changes his bill would have enacted.

A letter from Kentuckians for Better Transportation and the Kentucky Association of Riverports to Lehman corroborates this.

“[The bill] would expand statutory authorization and duties for Kentucky’s public riverports,” the letter reads. “[Kentuckians for Better Transportation] and [the Association of Riverports] remain concerned about these provisions and believe that the expansion of duties could create confusion about the role of riverports, giving them the ability to operate more as economic development agencies. There’s no doubt that riverports are economic development drivers, however we believe, at this time, that the ports are better served focusing on the assets and infrastructure of the ports…”

The port authority allegedly has an internal legal opinion laying out how its current operations are in compliance with the law, but LINK nky’s records request for this document was denied due to attorney-client privilege.

Others have expressed concerns, as well.

“The simple fact is that the Port Authority is not operating within the plain language of the statutes authorizing port authorities,” said former Covington Mayor Joe Meyer, who also spoke with LINK nky in March. Meyer is the mayor mentioned in Lexington Herald Leader article who was reportedly cut out of the process of moving the schools.

“It’s doing stuff that no other port authority in the state can do or will do because they’re not authorized by law to do it,” Meyer continued, “and here, because of the proximity to Cincinnati, they think the way that the Cincinnati Port operates is the way they can operate.”

Meyer has been critical of the port authority in the past, expressing concerns that — because it’s a public agency — the port authority wouldn’t conform to municipal zoning and historical preservation standards, the latter of which are a big part of both Covington law and culture. In February 2024, Meyer called for a resolution for the port authority to abide by Covington’s standards or cease doing business in the city.

This call was later rescinded, but Meyer still expressed concerns about the Commonwealth Center, especially as it related to parking, an issue that took up a large part of the discussion at the planning commission. Although the commission ruled the facility conformed to comprehensive planning standards, it acknowledged the issues that may arise around parking and traffic. Meyer submitted a letter to the commission in which he characterized the parking study the port authority had done as “inadequate.”

Newport City Commissioner Ken Rechtin expressed similar worries about the port authority conforming with the letter of the law and how openly it was conducting its business. More broadly, however, he wondered if the public funds flowing through the port authority and similar entities might be better used.

“The potential is huge,” Rechtin said, “and we have all these entities — we got the Cincinnati Port Authority, Northern Kentucky Port Authority, we got OKI, we’ve got all these cities. Why can’t we come together and make [a] public investment?”

Examples of a public investment Rechtin gave were a boardwalk along the Ohio River or a public water taxi system.

Finally, at a recent candidate forum in Kenton County, several candidates for the Kenton County Fiscal Court felt BE NKY and its projects ought to be more subject to public oversight, although none thought it should be defunded entirely.

Crume responded to the concern about more public oversight, saying that “we’re really intentional about engaging the community.”

“We don’t pretend like we do all things for all people to Northern Kentucky,” Crume also said. “There are people that are caring and dedicated servants with the homeless shelter or around children or around education. Might they be less represented inside of our world than in other places? They might, but only because those services don’t get applied through us.”

Tuesday, June 23 7:30 - 9:00 AM

BE NKY recently approved its budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1. Read that story to learn more about BE NKY’s financial structures.

Former Covington Mayor Joe Meyer speaks at an event. Photo provided | The City of Covington

By Haley Parnell

WFort Thomas runner uses second chance to champion youth heart health

hen Fort Thomas resident Kyle Rust went in for a routine physical in 2021, he expected a clean bill of health. Instead, the then-22 year old learned he needed open-heart surgery.

Four years later, he’s turning that second chance into a mission to save young lives through heart health advocacy, fundraising and his goal of running 2,000 miles this year.

At the end of 2021, Rust visited his family physician for what he thought was a routine physical. At that appointment, his doctor ended up hearing a murmur in his heart. Being overly cautious, Rust said his doctor scheduled him for an echocardiogram (which allows doctors to evaluate the heart’s size, pumping strength and the condition of its valves and chambers.)

“I later found out the normal protocol for something like that is to normally say, let’s monitor it for three to six months, and I’ll see you back,” he said. “I later found out [that] I wouldn’t have made it three to six months to that next follow-up visit.”

The echo found that Rust had severe mitral valve regurgitation. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is a condition in which the heart’s mitral valve leaks heavily, allowing blood to flow backward. The condition forces the heart to work harder, eventually leading to complications like heart failure if left untreated.

The cardiologist said Rust’s only option was open-heart surgery to fix the mitral valve.

“I was 22 years old. I was kind of in shell shock at that moment,” he said.

Within six days, Rust was undergoing open-heart surgery.

“The surgeon told me that when they were in there fixing it that I probably had weeks, maybe a month, before my heart gave out and I would have collapsed in the gym, at work or something like that,” Rust said.

Prior to his surgery, Rust grew up as an athlete and later preferred working out in the gym, lifting weights. Post-surgery, he thought to himself, “What’s the best way to physically work the heart muscle?”

Running started as a way to rehabilitate Rust’s heart, but it also turned into an outlet to help him during struggles with his mental health.

Through hours of therapy, Rust said he learned he had a near-death experience while undergoing surgery.

“I was on the other side; I was in heaven with my two deceased grandparents in their living room, sitting with them,” Rust said. “Then I had another vision where I was with a godly figure, if you will, kind of showing me a vision where we were on a mountaintop. Between the near-death experience and the heart surgery, being so young and then having this guilty conscience of wanting to stay in heaven with my two grandparents. All that culminated into me dealing with a lot of mental health struggles.”

Rust said he then turned to alcohol as a way to escape.

That led him to an altercation that put him in the hospital with a traumatic brain injury. Rust said that was a turning point for him.

He is now over one year sober.

“So it [running] went from strictly rehabilitation and a way to exercise my heart to now, a way to kind of reflect, to learn more about myself, and also show to other heart

healthy people under age 25 in the United States die each year of sudden cardiac arrest, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After hearing that statistic, Rust set a goal to run 2,000 miles in 2026 in honor of the 2,000 lives lost every year. As of the end of May, Rust is ahead of schedule at 1,220 miles on the year.

The “hound” part of the mission comes from Rust’s two dogs, who run every mile with him, including the Flying Pig. He adopted one of them days before his openheart surgery and got the other one in the midst of his mental health struggle. He said his dogs are there for him every day, never letting him give up.

Rust has also advocated for legislative change with the American Heart Association. He went to Frankfort on its lobbying day to talk to legislators about changing Kentucky legislation to push for heart screenings in youth physical exams.

survivors or other trauma victims that it’s still possible to do these things that maybe you think you can’t or that you don’t think you ever will be able to do.”

Now 26, Rust is four years out from surgery and has established a mission called “Heart & Hound: Run To Save.” It exists to advocate for heart health among young individuals and educate young people, athletes and families about the importance of awareness, and ultimately fund heart screenings for young athletes aged 12 to 22 through the MCORE Foundation. The foundation provides education, screenings and enables research for sudden cardiac arrest in children and young adults.

“Kyle is an amazing example of how a personal experience can be used to help educate others,” said MCORE Foundation Executive Director/CEO Lisa Tennenbaum. “Prevention is the key in his story and in many others. Through screenings and early detection, we can save lives.”

Rust ran the Flying Pig Marathon in early May, but it wasn’t his first. He ran his first Pig roughly one year after heart surgery.

“One year out from surgery, I ended up running it, but that time I was strictly focused on just finishing it,” Rust said. “It really ended up just being something as a goal to train for, to keep me motivated. This time it was more about pushing the mission of advocating for heart health, specifically youth heart health, advocating for preventative heart screenings and proactive health care.”

Rust started his Heart & Hound mission in January. About 2,000 young, seemingly

American Heart Association Kentucky Government Relations Director Jon Dye said that advocating with Rust has been a privilege, and he continues to be grateful for the opportunity to work with him as one of the American Heart Association’s key volunteers.

“Kyle brings a unique combination of personal experience, professionalism and passion to every conversation,” Dye said. “Through his engagement with Kentucky legislators, he has already helped elevate the importance of initiatives like funding for CPR in Schools and the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival, playing a meaningful role in advancing conversations around these critical appropriation priorities.

“As an educator, he has an incredible ability to connect with policymakers and communicate why this work matters for students and communities across the Commonwealth. His willingness to share his story, advocate for change, and remain deeply engaged makes him not only an outstanding volunteer but an invaluable partner in advancing our mission.”

Rust is also working to fund heart screenings through the MCORE Foundation and to plan a youth heart screening event in Fort Thomas for June.

“It’s bigger than that [Flying Pig] race,” Rust said. “The sense of commitment to something bigger than myself is really what it came down to. During the training, all the thoughts of the families who lose their children every year, all that came flooding back. I wore my Heart & Hound t-shirt and heard people yell out, ‘Go Heart & Hound.’ Seeing our mission and saying it, it was like, ‘we’re starting something.’ It was a very emotional experience, for sure.”

Kyle Rust running the 2026 Flying Pig marathon with his two dogs. Photo provided | Kyle Rust

By Nathan Granger

PHow the heck does parking work in Covington?

arking can be weird in Covington. Even if you know why, it’s still easy to get frustrated with the state of things, especially if you’re in the north end of town where paid parking dominates. It can be difficult to keep track of where you can and can’t park, what to do if you get a citation and how to set up resident-only parking on your street.

Let’s unpack how it all works.

North of 12th Street is where you can find meters, paid public parking garages and other forms of regulation that are more involved than in the southern parts of the city. This is due largely to the proximity of the Ohio River and the risk of people from Ohio coming over one of the bridges to park during Reds and Bengals games.

Businesses, restaurants, hotels, the court house and convention center have also clustered in the northern parts of the city, so having a way to prevent people from parking indefinitely in a crowded area is necessary to ensure availability.

Parking in Covington is governed largely by the Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority, a citizen-governed board that manages meter zones and other parking mechanics north of 12th Street, including public parking garages. The authority is currently in the process of recruiting firms to perform a comprehensive parking study in its jurisdiction.

A five-person mayor-appointed board governs the authority. The board sets policy,

and a professional executive director, Jack Monts de Oca, manages its operations from a high level. The authority contracts out to ABM Parking to perform collections, monitor meters and perform general day-to-day work. ABM also performs some limited duties south of 12th Street.

“If you pay a meter or you come purchase a long-term parking pass or anything routine like that, it’s probably an ABM staff member that you’re interacting with, as opposed to the parking authority,” Monts de Oca, who formerly worked for ABM, said.

Two other Covington institutions are also involved with parking in Covington, namely the police and public works departments. Public works is in charge of signage, street sweeping and snow removal. The police are responsible for policing violations: If you have a complaint about someone not following the parking regulations, you should talk to them.

“We’re the smallest unit in the police de-

partment, but we handle the most calls as far as parking is concerned, traffic-related issues, speeding complaints and accidents throughout the city,” said Covington Police Department Senior Traffic Specialist Eric Ruete.

Parking meters allow you to pay with coins, a credit card or an app. You get 15 minutes free without pushing a button; the meters have sensors that should log your car’s presence. The equipment can break, however, which can lead to errors, which, in turn, can lead to unjust citations.

Usually, if you want to appeal, you have to fill out a form, gather evidence and present your case before the city’s Parking Violation Hearing Board. Monts de Oca said that there have been cases where equipment malfunctions and other errors can occur, in which case he can void a citation himself, but this is done on a “case-by-case basis.”

“Especially if they say, I’m willing to come down there and fight this, and you explain

it, I’m going to fill [the form] out; if you’re willing to do that, I’m willing to take a few minutes, listen to you and void this over the computer,” Monts de Oca said.

People living in residential areas can petition the city to limit parking in their neighborhoods to people living there. Licking Riverside, for instance, has already done this, and at least one other neighborhood, Mutter Gottes, has tried.

To petition for the establishment of a residential parking zone, someone must determine the boundaries of the zone they’d like to establish, gather signatures and “yes” votes from at least 60% of the property owners in the proposed zone, then submit those materials to the city, along with a letter explaining why the zone would be necessary.

The authority then performs a technical parking study. The zone can only be established if “at least 75% of the curb spaces in the defined area of the [zone] are utilized during peak periods under normal conditions,” according to city ordinance. Mutter Gottes’ study failed to yield the necessary criteria for the establishment of a residential zone.

If the study does yield the necessary results, however, a series of neighborhood meetings and public comment sessions follow to hammer out the details before finally implementing the zone. Even neighborhoods south of 12th Street can apply for a residential parking zone. Consult the city ordinance governing the process to learn more.

Finally, the authority will soon be rolling out a reservation service that will allow residents to make reservations at the Midtown and Rivercenter parking garages using a service called ParkWhiz, either through the service’s website, the authority’s website or ParkWhiz’s app.

“I hope that by deploying publicly available online reservations that guide you straight to the garage at a very competitive price — it’s actually cheaper than the meters — more folks will start utilizing that and start to see that there’s this really nicem publicly available, safe asset that’s only a few blocks from a lot of places they want to be,” Monts de Oca said.

The authority hopes to have the system rolled out by June 10.

You can get more details about paid parking, the role of the Motor Vehicle Parking Authority, the appeals process and other information about parking at covpark.com.

The authority held the first of what it plans to be a series of public community meetings on May 28. Dates for subsequent meetings will be announced in the near future. You can also attend one of its normal meetings, which occur every third Wednesday of the month at 9 a.m. at Covington City Hall on Pike Street.

New parking meters in Covington. Photo provided | The City of Covington

A map showing the public and paid parking in Covington, as of March 12, 2026. Map provided | Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority

kenton county briefs

Beechwood High School senior Ruby Fries wins Jordan G. McFaull Scholarship

Beechwood senior Ruby Fries has been awarded the Jordan G. McFaull Scholarship, a scholarship administered through Horizon Community Funds, that honors the legacy of Beechwood alumnus Jordan McFaull, who died from complications of type 1 diabetes in 2015.

Fries has earned a 4.4 GPA, was named a Kentucky Governor’s Scholar, is a National Honor Society member, is a winning member of the school’s track and field relay team, and is the captain of the girls’ varsity soccer team. She’s also won other academic awards and volunteers frequently in community organizations.

In order to earn the scholarship, competitors must submit an essay. In her essay, Fries writes, “Like Jordan, I will strive to lead

my life with compassion and to selflessly serve others. Ultimately, I hope to utilize my voice and unwavering passion to create lasting change in any community I touch.”

You can learn more about the Jordan G. McFaull Scholarship, including how to donate at horizoncfnky.org/fund/jordan-g-mcfaull-scholarship-fund

The LINK nky Educator of the Week: Megan Rider

The votes are in, and this week’s LINK nky Educator of the Week is Megan Rider, a teacher at Campbell County Middle School.

Rider was nominated by Shelbi Hitch because “Mrs. Rider has served as a strong mentor to her team this year, intentionally creating a collaborative atmosphere and building capacity among her colleagues. She consistently supports those around her, helping to strengthen instructional practices and promote a positive, team-centered culture.

“Beyond her work in the classroom, Mrs. Rider devotes a significant amount of time outside of school serving as an academic coach. Her commitment to student success

LEGAL NOTICE

DEARBORN COUNTY LATERAL PROJECT

DEARBORN COUNTY, IN, BOONE COUNTY, KY, & HAMILTON COUNTY, OH

NOTICE OF PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF INTERSTATE NATURAL GAS PIPELINE FACILITIES

On May 29, Texas Gas Transmission, LLC (Texas Gas), filed an application for its Dearborn County Lateral Project (“Dearborn Project” or “Project”) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act in Docket No. CP26-536-000.

As part of the Dearborn Project, Texas Gas is requesting approval to construct an approximately 12-mile, 20inch diameter natural gas delivery lateral, including appurtenant and auxiliary facilities in Dearborn County, Indiana, Boone County, Kentucky, and Hamilton County, Ohio, and a new measurement and flow control station for Vistra Corporation’s Miami Fort Power Plant, an electric generation facility located in Hamilton County, Ohio.

The Project is more fully described in Texas Gas’s application to the FERC. A copy of the application is available at the Ivy Tech Lawrenceburg Library (50 Walnut Street, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025), Boone County Public Library (1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington, KY 41005), and Miami Township Branch Library (8 North Miami Ave., Cleves, OH 45002) and can be accessed on the FERC’s eLibrary at https://elibrary.ferc.gov/ eLibrary/search. Search in the eLibrary by entering the docket number in the Reference Number field to access the Project documents. Texas Gas has also mailed Project notices to landowners who are considered directly affected by the Project, per the FERC’s regulations, and to relevant governing entities.

Texas Gas’s Project website (Dearborn.txgt.com) addresses general information about the Project, including Frequently Asked Questions, the regulatory process, environmental protection, safety, how to contact Texas Gas, and how to access the FERC’s website to review and obtain copies of public filings.

For information on becoming involved in the FERC review of this Project or to obtain the FERC pamphlet, “An Interstate Natural Gas Facility on My Land? What Do I Need to Know?,” go to the FERC’s website at www. ferc.gov or call the FERC Office of External Affairs at (202) 5028004, or toll free at (866) 208-3372.

For additional information about the Project, you may contact Texas Gas via its Project hotline (844-211-6282) or Project email address at community.voices@bwpipelines.com.

extends well beyond the school day, as she works to ensure all students are supported and challenged,” Hitch wrote about Rider.

Congratulations to Rider, and thank you to everyone who participated.

Erlanger to host Food & Wine Festival at Eons Park in August

Erlanger will host a free Food & Wine Festival at Eons Park, which is currently under construction.

The inaugural festival will feature “an exciting day of good vibes, live music, great food and even better drinks,” according to a social media announcement for the festival.

The event is free and open to the public. It will take place on Sunday, Aug. 2, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 4200 Houston Road. Levi Strauss & Co. has agreed to provide parking. Learn more at the city’s event Facebook page.

New Villa Hills Civic Club Playground officially opens

The Villa Hills Civic Club has a new playground that’s now open to the public. The club held a dedication to the new playground on May 29.

“The Villa Hills Civic Club Playground is an investment in our community’s children,” said Villa Hills Civic Club President Ernie Brown, “and a reminder of the importance of spaces that bring people together to enjoy connection.”

Construction of the playground was made possible with a $150,000 grant from the Chase and Cole Foundation, which honors the memory of Chase and Cole Fischer — sons of Fischer Homes’ founder Greg Fischer and his wife, Amy Fischer — who died in a boating accident in 2023.

The playground is open to the public seven days a week. You do not need to be a member of the civic club to use the play-

ground, although Brown encouraged parents whose children used the playground to consider joining. You can learn more about the Villa Hills Civic Club at villahillscivicclub.com.

Behringer-Crawford

Museum summer concert series returns June

Behringer-Crawford Museum’s summer concert series will return in June. The series feature live musical performances every Thursday for 10 weeks starting June 11.

“The popular concert series returns for 10 Thursday nights this summer, bringing some of the region’s favorite local bands to the museum’s front terrace for evenings filled with music, dancing, food, drinks and museum exploration,” according to an announcement from the museum.

Doors open at 6 p.m. each night, and performances begin around 7 p.m. Single-night tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for museum members and students ages 13–18 and free for children 12 and under.

Concert series VIP passes, which grant admission to all of the performances, are also available for $80 for nonmembers and $40 for museum members.

A list of the bands who will perform and on what dates is below. Learn more, including how to purchase tickets or passes, at bcmuseum.org/activities/music-bcm.

• June 11: Jake Speed & The Freddies

• June 18: Hey Bartender

• June 25: Gary Bertsch & The Blamers

• July 2: The Brotherhood Singers and Steve Bonafel & One Iota

• July 9: The Newbees

• July 16: The Turkeys

• July 23: Gina & Johnny

• July 30: Marty Connor Band

• Aug. 6: The Hot Magnolias

• Aug. 13: Soul Pocket

TradesNKY expands programs in Kenton County

TradesNKY, a nonprofit that provides trades training to students, is expanding its presence into five new schools in Kenton County: Holmes Middle School in Covington Independent Public Schools and Turkey Foot Middle School, Twenhofel Middle School, Woodland Middle School and Summit View Academy in the Kenton County School District.

“This expansion represents another major step forward in building strong workforce pathways for students across Northern Kentucky,” said Phil Griffin, co-founder of

From left to right: Rebecca Grunkemeyer, a previous recipient of the Jordan G. McFaull Scholarship, and Ruby Fries. Photo provided | Horizon Community Funds

People toast with wine. Photo provided | Kelsey Knight via Unsplash

The LINK nky Educator of the Week, Megan Rider

Equipment at the new Villa Hills Civic Club Playground. Photo provided | Villa Hills Civic Club

A concert at Behringer-Crawford Museum. Photo provided | Behringer-Crawford

TradesNKY. “We know there is tremendous demand for skilled trades professionals throughout our region, and these partnerships allow students to begin exploring those opportunities earlier through handson experiences.”

The programs employ a proprietary curriculum called BUILD, which introduces students to a variety of trades, including the construction trades, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and other skilled crafts.

The expansion was made possible through an injection of COVID emergency funding from the Kenton County Fiscal Court. The money can be used to purchase equipment and convert conventional classrooms into trades classrooms.

You can learn more about TradesNKY at tradesnky.org.

NKU president to speak at Lunchtime Leader Chat in July

Northern Kentucky University President Cady Short-Thompson is set to speak at the Northern Kentucky Young Professionals Lunchtime Leader Chat.

Running from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 16, at the NKU Student Union, young professionals throughout the region will have the opportunity to engage with Short-Thompson.

The Lunchtime Leader Chat series offers an exclusive opportunity for young professionals in NKY to connect with regional civic business leaders who share professional development tips, lessons learned, industry insights and personal mantras. The series is organized by the NKY Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals group.

“Nearly three years into her tenure at NKU, Dr. Short-Thompson has made a tremendous impact on our region, especially when it comes to preparing the next generation of young professionals for successful

lives and careers post-college,” NKY Chamber Director of Events Kyle Frizzell said in a news release. “We look forward to hearing her story and career insights and advice that are applicable not only to young professionals, but everyone, no matter where they are in their career journeys.”

Short-Thompson was named NKU’s president in October 2023. Prior to that, she spent 14 years in academia and the nonprofit sector.

Short-Thompson currently serves on numerous regional boards of directors, including for the NKY Chamber of Commerce, BE NKY Growth Partnership, Holocaust and Humanity Center, Horizon League, Life Learning Center, OneNKY Alliance and United Way of Greater Cincinnati, among others.

Registration for the event is $30 for NKY Young Professionals members, $35 for NKY Chamber members and $45 for non-members and walk-ins. NKY Young Professionals Event Pass holders are admitted free of charge. Registration is required and available online.

Summit Hills Country Club raises funds for Folds of Honor

The Summit Hills Country Club raised $610 for Folds of Honor at its Memorial Day Open Play golf event on May 25.

The annual event allows members and guests to play a round of golf while honoring military service members and veterans. Donations were collected at the first tee, with proceeds benefiting Folds of Honor, according to a news release.

Founded in 2007, Folds of Honor is a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to spouses and children of fallen or disabled U.S. service members. This was the eighth year Summit Hills has organized the Memorial Day event.

Summit Hills Country Club, located in Crestview Hills, has operated since 1929. The private, member-owned club includes an 18-hole golf course, swimming pool, tennis and pickleball courts, dining facilities and banquet space.

Dr. Cady Short-Thompson. Photo provided | Northern Kentucky University

Students work with tools. Photo provided | Trades NKY

Summit Hills Country Club’s golf course. Photo by Kenton Hornbeck | LINK nky

PROBATION CLERK VACANCY

The U.S. Probation Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky is accepting applications for a fulltime Probation Clerk (CL-23) for the Covington, Kentucky office (Vacancy Number 2026-03). The Probation Clerk performs office reception duties and provides administrative support to probation officers in a wide range of functions. Salary range is CL-23 Step 1 ($42,024) to CL-23 Step 61 ($68,361) depending upon qualifications and specialized experience.

Applicants must be a United States citizen or eligible to work in the United States. Please visit www.kyep.uscourts.gov to view the full vacancy announcement which outlines representative duties, qualification requirements, benefit information, and conditions of employment.

To apply, candidates must submit a completed AO 78 (Federal Judicial Branch Application for Employment – 5/24) which is available on the www.kyep.uscourts.gov website under Employment – Career Opportunities, a letter of interest addressing their particular skills and experience and how those skills can contribute to this position, along with a resume, to: Mr. Warren G. Little II, Chief U.S. Probation Officer, at kyepml_applicant@kyep.uscourts.gov by June 22, 2026. EOE.

PROBATION OFFICER VACANCY

The U.S. Probation Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky is accepting applications for a fulltime Probation Officer. The position will be located in the Covington office (Vacancy Number 2026-02). Salary range is CL-23 Step 1 ($49,033) to CL-28 Step 61 ($121,236) depending upon qualifications and specialized experience.

Applicants must have a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university and be a United States citizen or eligible to work in the United States. First-time appointees to positions covered under federal law enforcement retirement provisions must not have reached their 37th birthday at the time of appointment. Please visit www.kyep.uscourts.gov to view the full vacancy announcement which outlines representative duties, qualification requirements, benefit information, and conditions of employment.

To apply, candidates must submit a completed AO 78 (Federal Judicial Branch Application for Employment –5/24) which is available on the www.kyep.uscourts.gov website under Employment – Career Opportunities, a letter of interest addressing their particular skills and experience and how those skills can contribute to this position, along with a resume, to: Mr. Warren G. Little II, Chief U.S. Probation Officer, at kyepml_applicant@kyep.uscourts.gov by June 22, 2026. EOE.

Drees Homes proposes 135-unit townhome and condo development in Union

By Kenton Hornbeck

The Union City Commission heard a presentation from Fort Mitchell-based Drees Homes on June 1 regarding a potential residential development off Hathaway Road near Old Union Road.

Drees Homes, in conjunction with Arlinghaus Builders, wants to build 135 residential units on a nearly 22-acre plot of land.

To move forward, the developers have requested a rezoning of the property, which currently encompasses multiple zoning designations.

The developers are officially requesting that the property be changed from a combination of Agricultural Estate, Rural Suburban Estates, Rural Suburban and Union Town Center designations within the Union Town Overlay District to Suburban Residential Three within the overlay district.

Essentially, the rezoning would change the property from a mix of rural, estate-lot and town-center zoning to a suburban residential classification that would allow for the proposed development.

Matt Mains, a development manager at Drees, told the commission that the zoning designation was designed to align with both Boone County’s Comprehensive Plan

and the Union Town Overlay Plan, which both recommend higher-density suburban residential development in this area.

“We really try to hang our hat on that — make sure it’s following what the city, what the county’s kind of laid out,” Mains said. “First off, if you look at the (Boone) County comprehensive plan, what this is shown as is high suburban density residential, and what that means is just single-family or attached residential homes up to eight units per acre. What we’re proposing is all forsale attached units, so we’re requesting six units per acre, max.”

If approved, the complex would feature 29 townhouse units and 106 condo units. The exteriors and the open space of the complex would be managed by a homeowners’ association. Mains said the townhomes would be geared toward empty nesters and young professionals, while the condominiums would be in two-story buildings with one unit above another. Both products will include garages.

In addition, the complex would feature a small community gathering area with a gazebo, as well as a pedestrian walkway connecting to Old Union Road.

“When we had the executive team meeting, we asked them if there could be a walkway from this community down to the Old Union Road, because of the park that’s go-

ing to go in, and then access to that — that would be a nice way to get people there without a lot of traffic,” Union Mayor Larry Solomon said.

Prior to Drees’ presentation to the Union City Commission, the Boone County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the proposal at a meeting on May 6.

One of the biggest sticking points of the proposal was traffic. Mains confirmed that a traffic impact study has been completed. On the subject of adding turn lanes, Mains explained that, according to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet standards, the expected traffic from the development does not warrant turn lanes.

Nevertheless, concerns raised during the planning commission’s vetting process led the developers to add a left-turn lane into the community entrance as a condition of approval.

No action was taken during the meeting. After the commission largely expressed satisfaction with the proposal, Solomon directed staff to begin preparing the necessary ordinance for future readings. Because the affected acreage is within Union’s jurisdiction, the commission has ultimate decision-making authority over the proposal.

Drees Homes 135-unit proposal in Union. Photo provided | Drees Homes

CASE NUMBER 25-CI-00482

DIVISION 1

AMBER COMPTON VS.

WILLIAM ALLEN, AS ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE ESTATE OF ROSETTA E. ALLEN, ET AL.

BY VIRTUE OF A JUDGMENT RENDERED 4/23/2026 BY THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURT, IN THE ABOVE CAUSE I SHALL PROCEED TO OFFER FOR SALE AT THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURTHOUSE, 330 YORK STREET, NEWPORT, KENTUCKY 41071, OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR.

To the highest or best bidder at public auction on 6/16/2026 at 3:00pm, the following property, to-wit: 918 Thornton Street, Dayton, Kentucky 41074

Group No: 30323/A3

PIDN: 999-99-08-395.00

CASE NUMBER 26-CI-00043

DIVISION 2

ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC F/K/A QUICKEN LOANS, LLC VS.

PETER PURINS, ET AL.

BY VIRTUE OF A JUDGMENT RENDERED 5/8/2026 BY THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURT, IN THE ABOVE CAUSE I SHALL PROCEED TO OFFER FOR SALE AT THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURTHOUSE, 330 YORK STREET, NEWPORT, KENTUCKY 41071, OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR.

To the highest or best bidder at public auction on 6/16/2026 at 3:00pm, the following property, to-wit: 1308 Central Avenue, Newport, Kentucky 41071

Group No: 41102/A2

PIDN: 999-99-01-714.00

COMMISSIONER’S SALE

CAMPBELL COUNTY CIRCUIT

COURT

CASE NUMBER 25-CI-00586 DIVISION 2

CHECKERED WHEELS, LLC VS. TINA M. COBB, ET AL. BY VIRTUE OF A JUDGMENT RENDERED 4/27/2026 BY THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURT, IN THE ABOVE CAUSE I SHALL PROCEED TO OFFER FOR SALE AT THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURTHOUSE, 330 YORK STREET, NEWPORT, KENTUCKY 41071, OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR.

To the highest or best bidder at public auction on 6/16/2026 at 3:00pm, the following property, to-wit: 405 Brookwood Drive, Alexandria, Kentucky 41001 Group No: 70304/M2

PIDN: 999-99-24-344.00

CASE NUMBER 26-CI-00014

DIVISION 2

GITSIT SOLUTIONS, LLC, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY IN ITS CAPACITY AS SEPARATE TRUSTEE OF GV TRUST 2025-1 VS.

UNKNOWN SPOUSE, IF ANY OF CHARLEY JOHNSON, ET AL.

To the highest or best bidder at public auction on 6/16/2026 at 3:00pm, the following property, to-wit: 922 Clayridge Road, Alexandria, Kentucky 41001

Group No: 70119/Z & 70113/Z

PIDN: 999-99-31-346.00

THE COMPLETE LEGAL DESCRIPTION IS MORE PARTICULARLY SET OUT IN THE JUDGMENT AND ORDER OF SALE ENTERED IN THIS CASE.

CASE NUMBER 23-CI-00452 DIVISION 1

THE HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK VS.

KENNETH URLAGE A/K/A KENNETH E. URLAGE, ET AL.

BY VIRTUE OF A JUDGMENT RENDERED 10/23/2023 BY THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURT, IN THE ABOVE CAUSE I SHALL PROCEED TO OFFER FOR SALE AT THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURTHOUSE, 330 YORK STREET, NEWPORT, KENTUCKY 41071, OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR.

To the highest or best bidder at public auction on 6/16/2026 at 3:00pm, the following property, to-wit: 45 Burney Lane, Fort Thomas, Kentucky 41075

Group No: 30385/F2

PIDN: 999-99-16-859.00

Subject to conditions, covenants, restrictions, right of ways and easements in existence, including but not limited to those in prior instruments of record; legal highways, and zoning ordinances. SAID PROPERTY SHALL BE SOLD SUBJECT TO REAL ESTATE TAXES DUE AND OWING FOR THE YEAR OF SALE AND THEREAFTER PRIOR YEARS UNPAID TAXES SHALL BE PAID FROM THE PROCEEDS IF THE PURCHASER IS NOT THE PLAINTIFF. IF THE PURCHASER IS THE PLAINTIFF, PRIOR YEARS’ UNPAID TAXES SHALL BE PAID BY THE PLAINTIFF, IN FULL OR PRO RATA, PROVIDED THE SALE PURCHASE PRICE EXCEEDS THE COURT COSTS.

THIS PROPERTY IS BEING SOLD TO PRODUCE THE SUMS OF MONEY SO ORDERED TO BE MADE IN THE JUDGMENT AND ORDER OF SALE ENTERED IN THE WITHIN CASE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO COURT COSTS, AD VALOREM TAXES, IN THE SUM OF $4,271.16; AND OTHER LIENS, INTEREST, ATTORNEY FEES AND/OR OTHER SUMS AND JUDGMENTS THAT MAY BE AWARDED BY THE COURT. THE SALE SHALL BE MADE TO THE HIGHEST AND BEST BIDDER(S). ANY PURCHASER OTHER THAN PLAINTIFF WHO DOES NOT PAY CASH IN FULL SHALL PAY 10% CASH AND SHALL BE REQUIRED TO EXECUTE A BOND AT THE TIME OF SALE, WITH SURETY ACCEPTABLE TO THE MASTER COMMISSIONER AND PRE-APPROVED BY THE MASTER COMMISSIONER AT LEAST BY NOON, TWO (2) BUSINESS DAYS BEFORE THE SALE DATE, TO SECURE THE UNPAID BALANCE OF THE PURCHASE PRICE, AND SAID BOND SHALL BEAR INTEREST AT THE RATE OF 12% PER ANNUM FROM THE DATE OF SALE UNTIL PAID, AND SHALL HAVE THE SAME FORCE AND EFFECT AS A JUDGMENT AND SHALL REMAIN AND BE A LIEN ON THE PROPERTY UNTIL PAID THE BOND SURETY MUST BE PRESENT AT THE SALE AND EXECUTE SALE BOND AND THE AFFIDAVIT OF SURETY THE PURCHASER(S) SHALL HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF PAYING ALL THE BALANCE OF THE PURCHASE PRICE PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF THE THIRTY (30) DAY PERIOD. THE DEPOSIT SHALL BE WAIVED IF PLAINTIFF IS THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER. THE MASTER COMMISSIONER SHALL SELL THE REAL ESTATE BY PUBLIC SALE ON A DAY AND TIME TO BE FIXED BY HIM, OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR OF THE CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURTHOUSE, 330 YORK STREET, NEWPORT, KENTUCKY. BIDDERS MUST BE PREPARED TO COMPLY WITH THESE TERMS. THE COSTS OF THE SALE SHALL BE PAID WITHIN FOURTEEN (14) DAYS OF THE SALE.

JOSEPH F. GRIMME, MASTER COMMISSIONER 859-291-9075

Beechwood and Campbell County baseball, Highlands softball region champs

Champions of the diamond in Northern Kentucky in their respective regions were Beechwood and Campbell County baseball and Highlands in softball.

Beechwood won their fifth region title in the last seven seasons with a 4-0 victory over Ryle on May 28

They got dominant pitching performances from Paul Stephenson, Caleb Arrasmith and tournament MVP Sawyer Carlisle in

THE

their three victories. All three pitched complete games as Stephenson led them to a 9-1 victory over Newport Central Catholic, Arrasmith locked down Conner in a 6-1 victory and Carlisle notched the shutout in the championship game.

All-Tournament team members were the three mentioned above along with Zach True.

Campbell County won the 10th Region baseball title and are headed back to state for the first time since 2022.

The name of the game was shutouts. Campbell County has yet to allow a run in the postseason in five playoff games. In the 10th Region tournament, they defeated Bracken County 5-0, George Rogers Clark 8-0 and capped off the title with a 2-0 victory over Montgomery County on May 31.

Tyler Schumacher, Lucas Anthrop and Trip Mercurio combined for the three shutouts and all three were named to the All-Tournament team along with Gavin Kramer.

Highlands secured a fourth 9th Region title in the last five years with a 9-2 victory over Ryle on May 29.

They were the most dominant team in the region by a mile, going 15-0 in region play with 10 run-rule victories. In the tournament, they defeated Conner 3-1, Notre Dame 6-0 and Ryle 9-2.

Kaitlyn Dixon was dominant in the circle as she racked up 44 strikeouts in the three games and earned her tournament MVP honors. Kate Class and Payton Brown were also named to the All-Tournament team. The Bluebirds secured a fourth 9th Region title in the last five years with a 9-2 victory over Ryle.

They were the most dominant team in the region by a mile, going 15-0 in region play with 10 run-rule victories. In the tournament, they defeated Conner 3-1, Notre Dame 6-0 and Ryle 9-2.

St. Henry alum Carter wins 86th NKY Amateur

Ben Carter is the latest local prep product to capture the area’s top men’s amateur golf prize.

The former St. Henry High School standout won the 86th Northern Kentucky Amateur Championship at Summit Hills Country Club in Crestview Hills on May 29. Carter finished the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association event with a three-day score of 6-under-par on the par-70 course. He shot 169 over 45 holes.

Representing Boone/Lassing, Carter outlasted runner-up Christopher Harpum from Triple Crown and third-place Braden Herstich from the Northern Ohio PGA Junior Tour.

It’s the second year in a row that a local prep product has won. Last year’s champion Ian Asch finished in a three-way tie for fifth this week on his home course at Summit. Asch played high school golf at Covington Catholic. He came out firing with a firstround 6-under 64, tying his own course record.

Asch’s big day was good for a first-round

lead of two shots ahead of Carter, who rallied. On the final day, Thomas Kreusch from NCR Country Club tied Asch’s course record with his own 64. Kreusch tied for fifth.

Asch fell short in an attempt to become the tournament’s first repeat winner since former Campbell County High School standout Eric Fuldner in 2010 and 2011.

Even so, that’s three local winners of the Northern Kentucky Amateur Championship in five years bookending Rylan Wotherspoon’s title in 2022. Wotherspoon played high school golf at Cooper.

At least 10 different champions numbering 11 Northern Kentucky crowns over the last 25 years have been locals. Other winners in that span include Highlands’ Michael Kessling, CovCath’s Paul Huber, Ryle’s Austin Squires, Lloyd’s Scott Scudder, CovCath’s Jim Volpenhein and Boone County’s Lance Lucas.

University of Dayton golfer Riley Johnson won this week’s Women’s Division competition. Johnson, representing TPC Rivers Bend, shot a 54-hole score of 16-over 229. That was good for a seven-shot advantage over runner-up Paige Trehern from Hamilton Elks. Youngster Reese Anthony out of Traditions was third.

Chris Straley from Coldstream won the Senior Men’s event with a two-day 142. Jim Muething from Maketewah was runner-up and Peter Betzold from The Grizzly Course was third. Volpenhein placed fourth while representing Maketewah.

Carolyn Mindel from O’Bannon Creek rolled to the Senior Women’s championship with a two-day score of 155. Candy Begnoche from Vineyard Golf Course and Summit Hills’ Jenny Brallier tied for second.

Covington Catholic state runner-up in tennis

provided |

Covington Catholic made the state championship match in team tennis for the fourth straight year, coming up shy of a fourth straight state title in a 3-0 loss to St. Xavier on May 29.

They defeated Pikeville, North Oldham and Owensboro Catholic in a five-match thriller to get to the title game.

Earlier in the week, Blake Hussey was a state runner-up in singles while Jacob Kramer and William Tribble were semifinalists.

The rest of the players on the roster are: Gideon Bement, Nicholas Wagner, Shane Davis, Max Hildenbrand and Dylan Warner. Wagner and Warner are the lone seniors on the team.

Covington Catholic High School finished runner-up at the KHSAA state team tennis tournament. Photo

KHSAA

2026 men’s champion Ben Carter. Photo provided | GCGA

WEEKLY COMIC by Andrew Buchanan

Beechwood High School claimed the 9th Region title with a 4-0 victory over Ryle High School. Photo by Evan Dennison | LINK nky

Campbell County High School claimed the 10th Region baseball title on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Montgomery County High School. Photo provided | Will Jones

Highlands High School won a fourth region title in the last five seasons. Photo provided | Will Jones

30 data centers under discussion in Kentucky

By The Kentucky Lantern

Kentucky communities are grappling with the prospect of hyperscale data center projects — massive, sprawling warehouses of power-intensive computer clusters — potentially moving in. A lot more of them could be on the way.

Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, or LG&E and KU, the state’s largest utility, told the Kentucky Public Service Commission in March that 11 data centers, with a combined electricity demand of almost 3.5 gigawatts of power, have at least a 50% chance or greater of setting up shop in the state. That amount of electricity demand could power more than 2 million homes.

In total, LG&E and KU said it had 29 potential data center projects in its pipeline in total, and the CEO of LG&E and KU’s parent company told investors in May that the total prospective electricity demand from potential data centers could be around 12 gigawatts of electricity. Federal data showed Kentucky utilities generated a maximum of 18.4 gigawatts of electricity in summer 2024.

Other electric utilities in the state are also trying to usher in power-intensive data centers into Kentucky, with one company seeking to launch two enormous data center operations, one at the site of a former Western Kentucky aluminum mill and one at an Eastern Kentucky industrial park. The number of sprawling data centers that could move into Kentucky would still be dwarfed by data center hotspots such as Virginia.

But Kentuckians in communities near where these data centers want to locate have strong concerns: about the potential enormous electricity usage and whether it could exacerbate electricity bills; the source of water and the amount needed to cool data centers; whether property values will go down for homeowners living near a data center; the potential for noise pollution and in some cases the prospect of rural land being transformed for a data center site. What about water use?

State lawmakers in previous years have passed laws offering sales tax breaks to incentivize data centers to come to the state, but nothing to regulate them in terms of fiscal and environmental costs. A GOPbacked bill that would have required data centers to cover their own electricity and water infrastructure costs failed on the final day of this year’s legislative session. Some Kentucky utilities argue their own rules and rates already protect other ratepayers from the impact of data centers.

Kentucky and other states have been home to a number of smaller data centers that power various online services including digital cloud storage. But with the advent of services powered by artificial intelligence, much more massive data centers coined as “hyperscale” that can use the electricity equivalent of entire power plants have been expanding across the country.

Data centers in the pipeline

But how many of these data centers will ultimately arrive and set up shop still remains to be seen. Electric utilities in Ken-

tucky told the Lantern they’re fielding numerous requests to locate to the state. But one attorney for an environmental legal group told the Lantern, at least in LG&E and KU’s case, it’s not entirely clear the methodology the utility is using to vet how likely it is a data center will happen.

LG&E and KU in March told the Public Service Commission that four of the data center projects were considered to be “imminent” with an 80% chance of happening, pointing to a planned data center site in western Louisville among them.

“They just appear to be based on their business judgments, which doesn’t really have any objective grounding and truth so far as we can tell,” said Byron Gary, an attorney for Kentucky Resources Council.

This is as LG&E and KU is planning to spend billions of dollars to build two gas-fired power plants, in part, to meet projected power demand from data centers. The utility is also billing ratepayers for the cost of keeping a coal-fired power plant unit open that was slated for retirement because of future electricity demand.

Liz Pratt, a spokesperson for LG&E and KU, did not provide an updated number of data center projects in the utility’s economic development pipeline. In an emailed statement, she said “not all projects under consideration will ultimately come to fruition” but “the overall scale of interest remains significant.”

“Our approach is grounded in established economic development practices and reflects decades of experience managing customer growth opportunities within Kentucky and the Louisville region,” Pratt said.

Pratt said LG&E and KU respectfully disagreed with criticism that its economic development process lacked clarity or that data center prospects were speculative.

She said each category of its economic development pipeline is tied to “specific, observable actions and commitments,” adding that a project is considered “imminent” when the utility has already conducted infrastructure and siting evaluations.

Gary said it’s hard to know whether the revenue brought in by data centers for utilities will offset the costs to serve them — and whether other ratepayers will benefit from the revenue.

“At this point we haven’t seen any firm, marginal cost studies that show even if X-number of data centers come online, they will produce more revenue than costs,” Gary said.

An industrial park and an idled mill

One company building data centers in particular is making waves in Kentucky, announcing its plans to take over an industrial park last month.

TeraWulf, a company originally started to mine Bitcoin that’s expanded into building data centers, announced May 26 it’s planning on putting a data center that would use more than one gigawatt of electricity in a Greenup County industrial park. The EastPark industrial park is the same site where state and local officials tried and failed to get a proposed aluminum mill to locate, having to eventually claw back a $15 million investment made by the state into the project.

This is after TeraWulf had already announced putting another large data center on the site of an idled Century Aluminum Mill in Hancock County.

Paul Prager, chairman and CEO of TeraWulf, said in a statement he expected the planned Eastern Kentucky data center to be a “transformational economic development initiative for the region.” The company’s press release stated Kentucky was emerging as “an attractive market” for AI development “due to its robust energy infrastructure, supportive business environment and strong engagement from state and local stakeholders.”

Other communities, including in Mercer and Mason counties, are also grappling with potential interest from data center developers. In Mercer County, locals are distressed over the potential impacts to rural farmland that a local land developer is advertising as a potential use for a data center. The local planning and zoning commission is considering an ordinance to regulate data centers. In Barren County, the Cave City City Council advanced last month a temporary ban on data center developments after locals had been approached by developers.

Diane Floyd, one of the organizers with the group We Are Mercer County, previously told the Lantern last month that she doesn’t believe her local government has the resources to go up against “giant tech companies” backing data centers.

“It’s all going to have a long term impact, and it’s going to change the way our small rural life looks,” Floyd previously told the Lantern.

A spokesperson for investor-owned electric utility Kentucky Power, which is servicing TeraWulf’s data center project in Eastern Kentucky, didn’t say how many other data center projects Kentucky Power was fielding.

Kentucky Power spokesperson Sarah Lynch said the utility “actively engaged in economic development for a variety of industries, given this is the best vehicle for eventually balancing or lowering electric rates.”

Republican Boyd County Judge-Executive Eric Chaney in a Facebook post hailed the TeraWulf data center announcement, arguing that “data centers often get a bad rap and face skepticism” but “we’ve been able to watch other projects throughout the country and learn from their mistakes.”

A number of people on social media have criticized Chaney over a lack of transparency with the unveiling of the project, some organizing to attend the next Boyd County Fiscal Court meeting in early June to express concerns.

“This project is a huge step for us,” Chaney said. “We were able to bring a large industrial project to a space that was created for industry and has sat vacant for 28 years. We have been able to work a deal that will benefit our entire community, region and state.”

Covington Catholic High School won the LINK nky Team of the Week after winning the Class 2A state track and field title. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

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COVINGTON CATHOLIC TRACK & FIELD

Attendees gather at a Maysville-Mason County Joint Planning Commission meeting on Sept. 3, 2025. Photo provided | Max Moran

Address: 1760 Montague Road, Covington

Price: $279,000

Bedrooms: Three

Bathrooms: Two (plus one half bath)

Square footage: 1,039

School district: Ludlow Independent School District

County: Kenton

Special features: This three-bedroom home near Devou Park features hardwood floors, a granite kitchen with stainless steel appliances, two marble bathrooms and sunroom-style living and dining spaces. Recent updates include a new roof, plumbing, electrical panel, insulation and drainage improvements, while the walkout basement offers additional space for a recreation room, workshop or studio. The property also includes landscaped gardens, a covered outdoor living area and wooded views near hiking trails.

Lots of wood in Covington

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The exterior of this Covington home. Photo by Doug Mayberry | Huff Realty – Florence

The kitchen inside this Kenton County home.

The view of nature from the dining area.

Edited by Margie E. Burke

Each

Edited by Margie E. Burke

The Weekly Crossword

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Answer to Previous Sudoku:

in for

German surrealist

How great minds think?

Takes a

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cameras, lyric)

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