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Joe Sonka

Joe Sonka is Kentucky Public Radio’s first enterprise statehouse reporter. He joined the team in October 2023.

Joe has covered Kentucky government and politics for nearly two decades. He grew up in Lexington and moved to Louisville in 2011, covering city and state government at LEO Weekly and then Insider Louisville. He became state government reporter for the Courier Journal in 2019 and was a lead reporter for the newspaper’s 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning series on former Gov. Matt Bevin’s controversial pardons just before leaving office.

You can email Joe at jsonka@lpm.org and find him at non-Twitter apps such as Threads (@joesonkaky) and BlueSky (@joesonka.bsky.social).

Senate GOP pushes bill to move driver’s license renewals back to Kentucky counties

Republicans in the Kentucky Senate gave priority status to a bill that could return driver’s license renewals back to county offices, citing long wait times at regional offices.
By Joe Sonka
people in line at regional driver's license center

Democrats again leave many Kentucky legislative races unchallenged in 2026

The candidate filing deadline passed Friday in Kentucky, with Democrats again leaving many General Assembly races unchallenged to the Republican supermajority.
By Joe Sonka
2026 Kentucky House races map

Education, data centers, immigration and housing: The 2026 Kentucky legislative agenda

Beyond passing a two-year state budget, the GOP supermajority of the Kentucky General Assembly plans to advance bills addressing education, data centers, immigration and housing in the 2026 session.
By Joe Sonka
Ky Capitol

McConnell, Paul clash over Senate provision that critics say will destroy US hemp industry

Kentucky GOP Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell are clashing over a provision that opponents say will destroy the growing hemp industry in America.
By Joe Sonka
Rand Paul speaking

Kentucky hemp farmers urge McConnell in letter to not ‘criminalize’ their harvest

Kentucky hemp farmers sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell asking him for a meeting and to not again try to insert language into a bill banning certain hemp-derived products.
By Joe Sonka
man standing in front of hemp farm

Kentucky barely misses budget trigger for income tax cut in 2027

Kentucky tax revenues fell $7.5 million short of what was needed in the past fiscal year to trigger cutting the income tax to 3% in 2027.
By Joe Sonka
ky capitol

Trust the process? Kentucky GOP speeds bills through near session’s end, over objections

The Kentucky General Assembly's Republican supermajority sped more than 100 bills to passage ahead of the governor’s veto period. Some of the most contentious measures were heavily amended before the public could give their input, or even read them.
By Joe Sonka
(Left to right) GOP Senate President Robert Stivers, of Manchester; GOP Sen. Christian McDaniel, of Ryland Heights; and GOP Senate Majority Floor Leader Max Wise, Campbellsville; confer on the Senate floor as proceedings head into the evening Friday, March 14, 2025.

Kentucky water regulation bill slows over concerns about groundwater pollution

A fast-moving bill that could subject many rural water supplies in Kentucky to pollution may have hit a bump in the road, with a GOP chairman acknowledging “validity” of concerns.
By Joe Sonka
Kentucky's Rough River Lake in August 2024. (Kentucky Public Radio photo by Ryan Van Velzer)

McConnell the lone GOP vote against Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence

The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as the director of national intelligence on a nearly party-line vote, with Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky being the only Republican to vote against her.
By Joe Sonka
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell speaks to members and guests of the Hopkinsville Rotary Club on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at the Memorial Building. (Hoptown Chronicle photo by Jennifer P. Brown)

University of Kentucky expects to lose $40M in next year from Trump’s NIH cuts

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said he expects the Trump administration policy will cut tens of millions of dollars annually from its National Institutes of Health funding for research.
By Joe Sonka
University of Kentucky UK Gatton College of Business and Economics

Confusion and concern in Kentucky over Trump’s freeze on federal grants

The White House memo ordered federal agencies to pause all grants and loans, creating uncertainty for Kentucky recipients.
By Joe Sonka
Donald Trump

House committee advances bill to cut Ky. income tax rate to 3.5%

The bill would lower Kentucky’s individual income tax rate from 4% to 3.5% in 2026, projected to lower state revenue by $718 million annually.
By Joe Sonka
kentucky capitol
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