Monday February 2, 2026
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Photo: Kentucky Labor Department

Labor Cabinet Deputy Secretary Mike Nemes visited Raytheon Company in Louisville today to present a Governor’s Safety and Health Award for working 1,384,573 production hours without a lost-time incident.

“Congratulations to Raytheon Company on achieving another Governor’s Health and Safety Award,” said Labor Cabinet Secretary Derrick Ramsey. “Working over 1,000,000 hours without a lost time incident is a great accomplishment and I commend Raytheon on their dedication to keeping their workers safe. On behalf of Governor Bevin and all of us at the Labor Cabinet, thank you for all of your hard work and commitment to workplace safety.”

Raytheon is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 95 years, Raytheon provides electronics, mission systems integration, C5ITM products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon employs 63,000 employees worldwide with their local Louisville branch now employing 330 employees.

“Our entire Raytheon team in Louisville is honored to receive this award,” said Raytheon Louisville Site Executive Ken Gyure. “Maintaining a safe work environment is a priority for us all and we will never become complacent when it comes to keeping our people safe.”

The Kentucky Labor Cabinet presents the Governor’s Safety and Health Award to highlight outstanding safety and health performance in Kentucky’s workplaces. A business may qualify for the award if its employees achieve a required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost time injury or illness. The required number of hours is dependent upon the number of employees.

According to a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Kentucky employers reported the lowest incident rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in the state’s history.

Based on a mathematical calculation that describes the number of recordable incidents per 100 full-time employees, Kentucky’s rate improved from 3.8 in 2014 to 3.7 in 2015 – reflecting the most recent data available. This rate has steadily declined since it was first calculated in 1996, when a rate of 8.4 was reported.

Follow the Kentucky Labor Cabinet on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates.

Pet owners have a chance to find out what goes on when they are not at home with June’s Free Summer Movie. The 2016 American computer-animated comedy film “The Secret Life of Pets” is the feature film at Iroquois Amphitheater on Saturday, June 17th.

“As the Free Summer Movies celebrates its tenth year, we have a fun film for everyone. It’s free to the community at the Iroquois Park Amphitheater, a state of the art outdoor facility,” says Councilwoman Marianne Butler (D-15).

The movie tells the story of Max and Duke and other pets in a New York apartment building as they vie for the attention of their owner, Katie. What follows is a series of adventures where they encounter other animals after getting separated from their owner.

The Secret Life of Pets features the voices of stars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Steve Coogan in a dual role, Ellie Kemper, Bobby Moynihan, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Jenny Slate, and Albert Brooks.

Joining Councilwoman Butler as sponsors of this year are Council Members Rick Blackwell (D-12) Vicki Aubrey Welch (D-13), Dan Johnson (D-21) President David Yates (D-25), Mary C. Woolridge (D-3), David James (D-6), Cindi Fowler (D- 14), Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5), Angela Leet (R-7), Pat Mulvihill (D-10),  Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4), Bill Hollander (D-9), Robin Engel (R-22), Barbara Shanklin (D-2), Madonna Flood (D-24), Stuart Benson (R-20) and James Peden (R-23).

The remaining summer lineup for “Movies Under the Stars” is as follows – all movies begin at 8:00pm:

July 15 – Zootopia

August 12 – Sing

Here is the lineup of Free Monday Night Movies for 2017 – all movies begin at 8:00pm:

June 19 – Madea’s Big Happy Family

July 3 – 1776

July 10 – School of Rock

July 17 – The Jungle Book

July 24 – Dial M for Murder

July 31 – The Wild Life

August 14 – The Legend of Tarzan

The Concession Stand is open for these events selling hotdogs, popcorn, ice cream and sodas.

To see all the great summer entertainment this year at the Iroquois Amphitheater, go to www.iroquoisamphithearter.com or call 502-368-5865.

Iroquois Amphitheater is located at 1080 Amphitheater Road in Iroquois Park.

Photo: Secretary of State website

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes this week returned from an international trade mission to Taiwan with a delegation from the United States. She is releasing a report with information about the status of the sister-states’ economic relationship.

“This mission to Taiwan affirmed for me that even though the Kentucky-Taiwan economic relationship is strong, there are more ways to enhance our bond for mutually beneficial economic growth,” said Grimes, Kentucky’s chief business official.

Grimes was one of four secretaries of state selected to participate in the trip coordinated and funded by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO). She made a similar visit in 2013, making the trip her second in office.

Grimes met with several businesses with Kentucky ties in Taiwan, including Sunspring America, Inc., and Taihu Brewing. She also met with officials from Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, Council of Agriculture, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“This trip reinforced for me the need for a Kentucky trade office in Taiwan, which would help facilitate more business relationships that are mutually beneficial to the Commonwealth and Taiwan,” said Grimes. “It’s the key to growing and reinforcing our already strong trading partnership.”

During her tenure, Grimes has called on Kentucky administrations to establish a trade office in Taiwan.

Taiwan and Kentucky have been sister states since 1982 in a partnership formed by former Gov. John Y. Brown, Jr.

Grimes’ Kentucky-Taiwan Report is available here.

Photo: Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation

Those who want to embrace their inner pop, R&B, country or rock star will have a unique opportunity to impress their friends with “Full Contact Karaoke” at the Iroquois Amphitheater on three nights this summer.

Full Contact Karaoke allows a participant to take the stage with a live band to sing their favorite song. The song menu includes hits from Journey, OutKast, Katy Perry, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Chris Stapleton and dozens more. The full song catalog can be found at http://www.fullcontactkaraokeband.com.

The three dates begin with a Friday, June 16 show at the 2,300-seat amphitheater, located just off New Cut Road outside Iroquois Park.

The show will return on Friday, July 14 and again on Friday, August 11. Admission is $5. Gates open at 6:30 and tickets can be purchased at the door, or online at iroquoisamphitheater.com. A full range of refreshments, including alcoholic beverages, are available at the Amphitheater.

“This is the perfect opportunity to get together with a group of friends and to have a party without doing all the planning,” said Mike Hallett, manager of the Iroquois Amphitheater. “For anyone who’s ever dreamed of playing a gig at the Amphitheater, these three nights are going to be a lot of fun.”

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes on Wednesday marked the 238th birthday of Kentucky bourbon and National Bourbon Day with a visit to Shelby County’s Jeptha Creed Distillery.

Jeptha Creed, a 15,000-square foot, $3-million distillery, opened in November 2016. The owners are mother-daughter team Joyce and Autumn Nethery. Joyce is one of three female master distillers in Kentucky. She, along with her daughter and marketing manager Autumn, designed the distillery from the ground up. The two had taken courses on distilling before deciding to open their own distillery.

“Today is another milestone in the history of Kentucky bourbon. As the bourbon industry continues to experience a tremendous boom, I’m excited Jeptha Creed – a woman-owned small business – is adding to Kentucky’s rich bourbon tradition,” said Grimes, Kentucky’s chief business official.

Jeptha Creed employs 14 people and is as a “farm-to-glass” operation with production using ingredients grown on-site or at nearby farms. The distillery sits on 64 acres of farmland.

“Even though we’re new to the industry, we feel right at home,” said Joyce Nethery. “Our whole family is involved. My son takes care of the bees and my husband is heavily involved and grows all of our corn. We grow everything we can think of to flavor our spirits straight from the Kentucky soil. We’re excited to join Sec. Grimes in celebrating bourbon’s birthday today.”

Jeptha Creed uses the “bloody butcher” corn variety in their products, an heirloom crop they grow and harvest themselves that dates back to 1845. This makes the bourbon mash pink rather than yellow. Current products include vodkas, moonshines, and Bloody Butcher’s Creed, a limited-edition bourbon that previews the distillery’s full roll-out of bourbons in 2019. Jeptha Creed’s products are distributed across Kentucky.

“Jeptha Creed is the quintessential Kentucky small, family business ­– mix hard work and bourbon and you have a recipe for success,” said Grimes.

Photo: Kentucky River Authority

The Kentucky River Authority (KRA) encourages volunteers to help in 19 Kentucky counties that will have teams removing debris as part of the Kentucky River Sweep this Saturday.  The river sweep, a cooperative effort of the KRA and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, encourages volunteers to clean the waterways of debris in six states.

The first Kentucky River Sweep, in 1994, was organized by the KRA to clean up the banks of the Kentucky River and its tributaries. Over the years, volunteers have removed tons of trash, debris and recyclable items.

The Kentucky River, including its upper tributaries, is approximately 420 miles long from its beginning in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky to the Ohio River in Carrollton. There are 42 counties in the Kentucky River Basin and more than 750,000 people depend on the Kentucky River for their primary source of drinking water, agricultural production, and industrial uses.

Individuals interested in participating in cleanup activities and a list of contacts for participating counties, visit www.kra.ky.gov or contact Sue Elliston 502-696-2830 or sue.elliston@ky.gov.

Credit: KY State Parks

A series of four Kids Day Camps on archaeology start June 23 at Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site.

The camps, also scheduled for June 30, July 7 and July 14, are open to kids ages 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each of these four days.

These exciting and educational summer day camps will provide children hands-on learning experiences about archaeology. The four camp sessions will provide interactive activities about the methods and practices of archaeology at a kids level, a guided tour of the site, making clay pots, excavating in a simulated archaeological dig, identifying artifacts, playing Native American games and demonstrations of primitive lifeways.

The fee is $25 per child. If a child attends two or more camps, the fee for the subsequent camp is $20. Those who attend will also receive a gift bag with certificate.

Registration is required, so call early to save your spot.  To register, call the park office at 270-335-3681.  Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site is located at 94 Green Street, Wickliffe, KY 42087.  Visit our website at www.parks.ky.gov

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