FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2026  ·  EASTERN KENTUCKY'S COMMUNITY NEWS HUB
All the news from the hollows & hills of Eastern Kentucky

Today's Stories 63 stories · Updated 04:17 PM

Salyersville Independent17m ago

DRY BREAD – A Magoffin County man was arrested at a residence on Dry Bread on Saturday and charged with multiple drug trafficking charges. After receiving a tip, the Magoffin County Sheriff Department served a search warrant at a home on Dry Bread Road, in Magoffin County, with deputies seizing several grams of cocaine, numerous [...]

Salyersville Independent27m ago

CONNELLEY FARM – Two were arrested Sunday night after reportedly attempting to evade police on a moped. According to the arrest citations, Magoffin County Sheriff Deputies C. Risner and N. Watson were on patrol on KY Rt. 30 when they reportedly observed a moped with two occupants traveling eastbound with a dim headlight and no [...]

WTVQ ABC 3645m ago

ASHLAND, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) - A routine traffic stop in Ashland led to a significant drug seizure early Thursday morning. Police say officers conducted a traffic stop around 3 a.m. and discovered suspected heroin, cocaine, approximately 100 unidentified pills, and about three pounds of marijuana inside the vehicle. Authorities arrested Jason Wiper of Detroit at the scene. Officials say...

WSAZ53m ago

For many parents raising a child with special needs, planning for the future can feel like learning a new language while the world keeps moving at full speed. Therapies, school services, medical providers, and financial decisions can stack up quickly—often without a clear guide for how to connect the dots.

Salyersville Independent57m ago

SALYERSVILLE – The Magoffin County Fiscal Court met in regular session on Tuesday, March 17, discussing spring cleanup dates, some upcoming grant opportunities and county road additions. Under financial business, the court approved the following fund transfers from the general fund: $59,000 to the jail fund and $21,000 to the LGEA fund. They also approved [...]

WTVQ ABC 361h ago

source: Somerset Police Department SOMERSET, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) - A Golden Alert has been issued as police search for a missing woman in Somerset. According to local authorities, 35-year-old Megan Mahar was last seen Wednesday night in the Keeney Street area wearing a blue and white dress. Police describe Mahar as having blonde hair, blue eyes, and multiple tattoos....

Salyersville Independent1h ago

JELLICO – The North Magoffin Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Jellico Road, with one of their own losing their home. On Monday, March 16, 2026, a North Magoffin Fire Department member, Scott Phipps, was at home and in the bed when the fire started, waking up to smoke. He quickly ran out [...]

Salyersville Independent1h ago

SALYERSVILLE – The following indictment, handed down on February 19 by a Magoffin County grand jury, was released this week: Eric D. Allen, 34, of Bloomington Road, in Salyersville, is charged with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, first offense, greater than or equal to 2 grams of methamphetamine (Class C felony). According to the [...]

Kentucky Lantern1h ago

Oversight of Kentucky’s 900 optometrists and their licensing board would be examined by a task force under a resolution in the state Senate. The resolution, filed March 18 by Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, comes after the disclosure last year, first reported by the Kentucky Lantern, that the state Board of Optometric Examiners had improperly granted [...]

Harlan Enterprise1h ago

By Aaron Rowe Harlan Enterprise Black Mountain Utility District has received a proposal to sell its assets to Kentucky American Water, said Judge Executive Dan Mosley during the Harlan Fiscal [...]

Mountain Top Media2h ago

Jonah Hicks is the definition of a two-sport star. The baseball and football standout for the Pike Central Hawks is looking to build off an incredible freshman year heading into baseball season. Jonah has been playing baseball at an elite level for the Hawks since his eighth-grade year. Now a sophomore, Hicks is known as one of the best two-way players in the 15th region. The Pitcher/Shortstop can

Kentucky Lantern6h ago

How does a dangerous and unnecessary gun bill advance in the Kentucky legislature? Like this. There are 60 days in the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly. Day 5 — House Bill 312, to allow 18-20 year olds to carry concealed firearms, assigned to House Judiciary Committee. Day 13 — HB 312 passes with a vote of [...]

Kentucky Lantern6h ago

Kentucky’s Republican primary for the seat of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is a contest of who can show the most love for Donald Trump – or the most hatred for immigrants. That was clear in the first debate Monday night among the three leading candidates, who remained in lockstep behind Trump on the Iran War. [...]

WTVQ ABC 3618h ago

FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) - Kentucky State Police has released body camera footage tied to an excessive use-of-force case involving a former state trooper. According to KSP, the footage shows events involving former trooper Hayden Kilbourne, who has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and third-degree terroristic threatening. KSP Public Affairs Commander Sgt. Matt Sudduth said the footag

Kentucky Lantern18h ago

FRANKFORT — The GOP-controlled Kentucky House voted Thursday to raise the age to gamble on sports to 21 and ban proposition bets, or “prop” bets, on Kentucky college athletes. Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, the primary sponsor of House Bill 904, told a legislative committee earlier this month that the provisions had been worked on for [...]

WTVQ ABC 3618h ago

PULASKI COUNTY, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) - A Pulaski County man has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in connection with a 2024 double homicide. According to the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office, Brandon A. Mullins, 28, entered the guilty plea during a court appearance in Pulaski Circuit Court on March 18. Authorities say Mullins pleaded guilty to the murders...

WTVQ ABC 3619h ago

Courtesy: Office of Attorney General Russell Coleman (ABC36 News Now) — A former Magoffin County middle school teacher has pleaded guilty to child sexual exploitation charges, which will land them five years in prison, according to a press release by the Office of Attorney General Russell Coleman. On Thursday, 32-year-old Jordan Cobb of Salyersville pleaded guilty to one count of...

Kentucky Lantern19h ago

FRANKFORT — The Senate’s state budget proposal includes some funding for a long-delayed law to help Kentuckians raising minor relatives get financial support, but it’s nearly $10 million shy of what the Beshear administration says it needs to implement the law. The Senate’s plan also appears to rely on federal funding that the Beshear administration [...]

Mountain Top Media19h ago

SALYERSVILLE, Ky. -- A former Magoffin County middle school teacher has pleaded guilty a second time to charges related to sexual messages he sent to a 14-year-old student. Jordan Cobb, 32, of Salyersville, pleaded guilty Thursday to procuring the use of a minor by electronic means and harassing communications in Magoffin Circuit Court. He admitted to engaging in a conversation with a 14-year-old

Mountain Top Media20h ago

PHELPS, Ky. -- A Pike County man is facing burglary, wanton endangerment, unlawful imprisonment and other charges, after his wife reported him for trying to kill everyone in the house because he believed he had been poisoned. Ronald Coots, of Phelps, is being held in the Pike County jail. Police were called to his house on Friday, March 13, after his wife reported he was outside with a gun threate

Harlan Enterprise20h ago

I am writing to share my support of House Bill 496 to expand high-quality childcare options and to better support forest preschools as they serve families like mine across the [...]

Harlan Enterprise20h ago

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) - A Senate joint resolution seeking to expand Dolly Partpon's Imagination Library in Kentucky, won unanimous approval from the House Families and Children Committee on Thursday. Senate [...]

Harlan Enterprise21h ago

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) - Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources researchers have found the genetic keys to unlocking the potential for bigger largemouth bass, the most popular species sought [...]

Kentucky Lantern21h ago

FRANKFORT — A Kentucky House committee advanced two bills expanding the membership of the state’s longstanding utility regulator and reshaping a relatively new energy planning agency, changing or removing language that had received strong pushback. The two bills, Senate Bill 8 and Senate Bill 100, unanimously approved by the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee [...]

Kentucky Lantern23h ago

FRANKFORT — A Kentucky Republican bill to criminalize the sexual grooming of minors cleared another legislative hurdle Thursday. The Senate judiciary committee passed House Bill 4, which is a high priority for House Republicans. The bill needs approval from the full House and a signature from the governor to become law. HB4, which has 42 [...]

Mountain Top MediaMar 19

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State treks east to take on the Radford Highlanders in the opening round of the WNIT Friday evening in Radford, Va. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Morehead State returns to the court after a 15-day break since its last game. The Eagles were knocked off by Southeast Missouri 60-55 in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Evansville, Indiana, on M

Mountain Top MediaMar 18

Woman says student was forced to change schools, was dropped off at home without notice. The post Student’s treatment leaves family with questions appeared first on Mountain Top Media .

Mountain EagleMar 18

The Jenkins City Council has approved a resolution supporting a plan to renovate the former Elkhorn Country Club into a hotel. Letcher County currently has no motels or hotels following the closure of the Parkway Inn in Whitesburg. Bed-and-breakfasts and short-term rentals are the only lodging options. Now, Jonathan and Esther Brooke Tucker hope to convert the abandoned clubhouse at [...] The post

Mountain EagleMar 18

A federal lawsuit filed against the Jenkins Independent Board of Education by a Letcher County vlogger is among several cases facing delays after a Whitesburg attorney was found in contempt of court and suspended from practicing in federal courts. Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning has suspended attorney Jennifer L. Taylor from practicing in the U.S. District Court for the [...] The post Judg

Mountain EagleMar 18

Forty-four months after the Kentucky River rose more than three feet inside the Blackey Public Library, the building’s lower level remains gutted — and now the upper level could require major changes as well. The split-level library includes an addition at the rear that sits several feet higher than the front section. Although the upper level did not flood, it [...] The post Blackey library still

Mountain EagleMar 18

After Kam Williams broke his foot against Texas on Jan. 21 and needed surgery, it seemed almost certain he would miss the remainder of Kentucky’s season. Williams’ father, Greg, knew that was a possibility but also noted there was a “chance” he might return for postseason play if all went well. Last week, Williams was back on the court for [...] The post Kam Williams puts team first first appeared

Mountain EagleMar 18

Given the return to cold weather we’ve had this week, it might seem hard to believe that Friday is officially the first day of spring. The cool mornings, along with warmer days and evenings, will cause lake surface temperatures to slowly rise. As with everything in fishing, this happens for a reason. In early spring, pre-spawn bass begin moving into [...] The post Time to crank up the spring bite

Mountain EagleMar 18

As I look out the window, at first it seems like a good day to be outside and do a little fishing. Then my eyes move to the trees bending in the wind, and I know better. The wind could carry you into the next county. Remember the old saying, “Looks can be deceiving”? This is one of those days. [...] The post Spring teases as turkey season nears first appeared on The Mountain Eagle .

Appalachian News-ExpressMar 17

Two Pike County residents have entered Alford pleas to charges linked to an abuse case in which the investigating officer wrote in court documents that the victim showed signs of torture.

Appalachian News-ExpressMar 17

With the next state budget now in the Senate’s possession for its consideration, the House continued its work on the measures that will shape Kentucky’s long-term infrastructure investments. Lawmakers focused on bills and resolutions that establish the funding framework for the s