Health

FRANKFORT, Ky. — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles announced today the impending introduction of legislation in the United States Senate to support Kentucky’s hemp industry. The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 will legalize hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the list of controlled substances....

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has approved 209 applications from growers who have been approved to cultivate up to 12,800 acres of industrial hemp for research purposes in 2017, nearly triple the number of acres that were approved for the previous year. More than 525,000 square feet of greenhouse space were approved...

KENTUCKY — Perhaps because they can live for so many years, trees have a way of falling down homeowners’ landscaping priority lists. Trees also tend to be big and strong, so it’s no surprise that they often are overlooked in favor or other areas of a lawn and garden that don’t seem so strong in...

HOPKINS COUNTY, Ky. — Remembering physical education in school brings to mind dodge ball, running a track or playing four square. For several home schooled children in Hopkins County, PE means a weekly trip to Todd’s Gymnastics in Madisonville to spend their time flipping, cartwheeling and spinning on the bars. “There was an expressed interest...

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky farmers and processors interested in participating in the 2015 round of industrial hemp pilot projects must apply by Jan. 1, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture has announced. “The first round of pilot projects with the universities and individual farmers in 2014 yielded a tremendous amount of data about production methods, seed...

KENTUCKY — For far too long, the federal government has prevented most farmers from growing hemp. Although it was a foundational part of Kentucky’s heritage and today you can buy products made with hemp at stores across the country, most farmers have been barred from planting it in their fields. I have heard from many Kentucky...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), cheered the passage of their bipartisan Senate resolution designating June 4-10, “Hemp History Week.” Federal law currently prohibits American farmers from growing hemp on U.S. soil, except in certain limited circumstances. That means American farmers cannot...

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky launched its industrial hemp pilot program today when hemp seeds were planted at Spindletop Farm, marking another milestone in the drive to restore industrial hemp production to the Commonwealth. University of Kentucky employees plant hemp seeds at Spindletop Farm near Lexington as videographers and photographers record the moment....

KENTUCKY — Kentucky became the first state in the nation to receive a federal waiver to require able-bodied Medicaid recipients to work, go to school, or engage in community service at least 20-hours per week. Gov. Bevin said “This marks the first significant change to a federal entitlement program in more than 20 years.” It’s...

MADISONVILLE, Ky. — Bluegrass Pharmacy will offer a free 30-day supply of pre-natal vitamins to Madisonville women each month. The new Healthy Babies Free Vitamin Program, starting in September, will help fill in nutritional gaps and will save local families hundreds of dollars per year. Your “True Blue” Bluegrass Pharmacy wants to make it a...

KENTUCKY — National Eating Healthy Day is Wednesday, November 5, and the American Heart Association wants people pledge to reduce their sodium intake in two easy steps: take the sodium pledge at www.heart.org/sodium and increase their fruits and vegetable consumption. Americans typically consume about half their recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and twice...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Fine particulate matter air pollution may be associated with blood vessel damage and inflammation among young, healthy adults, according to new research in Circulation Research, an American Heart Association journal. “These results substantially expand our understanding about how air pollution contributes to cardiovascular disease by showing that exposure is associated with a...

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Agriculture Commissioner James Comer announced today that he is creating industrial hemp pilot projects in Kentucky. The pilot projects were made possible by the passage of the United States Farm Bill that was signed into law by the President on Feb. 7. Commissioner Comer and Attorney General Jack Conway have been in...

KENTUCKY – The Kentucky State Board of Education was one of only four states awarded a $6,000 grant by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) to help the board continue to strengthen and implement policies to foster healthy eating among students and promote school health programs. The grant will be used during...

PADUCAH, Ky. — Choosing the right foods to eat during the holidays is important for everyone, but especially for people living with diabetes. Baptist Health Wound Care offers helpful tips for making healthy choices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 29.1 million people, or 9.3 percent of the population, have diabetes, and nearly...

MADISONVILLE, Ky. — On Sept. 19 at Baptist Health Madisonville’s Trover Wellness Park, hundreds of families and business leaders will join together in the March of Dimes annual March for Babies—the nation’s oldest walk fundraiser honoring babies born healthy and those who need help to survive and thrive. This year’s community Ambassador Family is the Bearden...

MURRAY, Ky. — Samantha Durbin, Registered and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist, has joined Murray-Calloway County Hospital to offer outpatient medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling in several departments. Samantha DurbinDurbin works with patients at Bariatric Solutions to prepare a nutrition plan before and after weight-loss surgery to maximize results. She also offers self-pay nutrition counseling to...