Reading, felony offenders and scandals: Courier Journal stories that made an impact in 2022

Staff Reports
·6 min read

We entered last year hoping our community would be in a better place after a record year of homicides in the Louisville metro area and on the heels of devastating tornadoes that caused so much pain in Western Kentucky. We saw our communities start to rebuild from those tornadoes and saw homicides decrease locally this past year.

And despite a second deadly natural disaster, this time in Eastern Kentucky, there were other positive changes — including some that resulted from Courier Journal reporting. Our journalists, through deliberate, fact-based reporting that addressed real issues in our community, were able to create change and bring about impact.

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It came in the form of lawmakers voting to ax the contract with a state literacy center after our investigation into Kentucky's failed reading programs. And lawmakers examined a felony offenders law after we wrote about its devastating impact on families.

One of The Courier Journal's most important missions is to help make our community a better place. While we reach millions of readers, we measure our impact by the real changes and dialogue that we spark through our journalism.

Now as we look ahead with even more hopes for another new year, it's an opportune time to look back at some of the stories told by Courier Journal journalists that made a difference in 2022:

Lawmakers cut ties with reading program after investigation into why Kentucky kids can't read

Amy Toncray, left, tutors a student while other educators observe behind a two-way mirror during a Reading Recovery teacher training session at Peaks Mill Elementary School in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Amy Toncray, left, tutors a student while other educators observe behind a two-way mirror during a Reading Recovery teacher training session at Peaks Mill Elementary School in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Our October five-part series “Between the Lines: Why Kentucky kids can’t read and who’s to blame” focused on the commonwealth’s dismal reading scores among school children and dug into the methods being used to teach reading.

Reporter Mandy McLaren spent months poring over state records, analyzing literacy data and interviewing more than 125 children, parents, educators, literacy experts, higher education faculty and government officials. She found that while other states are changing their reading instruction methods to a more phonics-centered approach, much of Kentucky is holding fast to a form of teaching that's being criticized across the nation as potentially harmful to kids' long-term reading abilities. The investigation also showed the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development, which has received at least $60 million in state funding since 2004, isn’t meeting its mandated requirements for supporting teachers, shirking entire portions of its statutory responsibilities.

Related:How the Courier Journal brought people together through events in 2022

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Soon after the series debuted, lawmakers moved to cut ties with CCLD, headquartered at the University of Kentucky. The state Department of Education agreed with the decision. Also, Jefferson County Public Schools, the state’s largest district, is now reevaluating the way it teaches reading, and schools Superintendent Marty Pollio said he wants to see more phonics instruction in classrooms by the next school year.

Marcus Jackson, left, shows an old family picture to his daughter Dya Jackson and son Jordan Troutman during a recent trip to Jackson's hometown of Paducah, Ky. Marcus Jackson is the organizing coordinator with ACLU of Kentucky and is leading an effort to change Kentucky's persistent felony offender law.
Marcus Jackson, left, shows an old family picture to his daughter Dya Jackson and son Jordan Troutman during a recent trip to Jackson's hometown of Paducah, Ky. Marcus Jackson is the organizing coordinator with ACLU of Kentucky and is leading an effort to change Kentucky's persistent felony offender law.

Lawmakers take aim at Kentucky's broadly harsh persistent felony offender law

In February, we published a monthslong investigation examining Kentucky's persistent felon offenders law, which legal experts argue may be the biggest reason why Kentucky has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. TheCourier Journal investigation, Locked Away, led by reporters Jonathan Bullington, Chris Kenning and Matt Mencarini, detailed how the law has extended sentences most often in connection with the lower-level felonies, including nonviolent property or drug crimes.

The reporters collaborated with nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice and Public Broadcast Services' Independent Lens to produce the series. The partners shared their insights on news programs, a podcast and in-person and virtual events. Following the series and community events, Kentuckians noted their concern about the impact law has had on families and communities. Many indicated that they planned to raise the issue of sentencing reform directly with their legislators. As a result of this reporting, Kentucky lawmakers introduced several bills in March designed to rein in the law. The measures gained little traction in 2022.

Commonwealth's Attorney Ronnie Goldy
Commonwealth's Attorney Ronnie Goldy

Kentucky prosecutor suspended after Courier Journal investigation reveals he promised favors for nude images

The Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council unanimously voted in late September to have the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office take over all criminal cases from Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Goldy Jr., who was suspended from practice after being accused of trading favors with a defendant in exchange for nude images of her. The Courier Journal first disclosed in July that Goldy had exchanged 230 pages of Facebook messages with defendant Misty Helton, for whom he promised to do favors in court in exchange for videos and photographs of her. The nine-member council also voted to strip Goldy of his salary.

And as the Kentucky legislature opened its 2023 session, Rep. Jason Nemes, a Louisville Republican, filed a resolution calling for the appointment of a committee to determine whether there is cause to launch impeachment proceedings against Goldy. The last time a Kentucky official was impeached was 1991.

Chad Meredith
Chad Meredith

Biden abandons plan to nominate anti-abortion, GOP federal judge who McConnell pushed

President Joe Biden abandoned plans to nominate a conservative, anti-abortion attorney as a federal judge in Kentucky in July after Courier Journal reporters Andy Wolfson and Joe Sonka broke a story uncovering the proposal in June. The White House's retreat from its planned nomination of attorney Chad Meredith — in what was a purported deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — follows a strong backlash from Democrats and progressives furious that Biden would choose a Federalist Society member who has argued against abortion access. The White House cited opposition from Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky's junior Republican senator, in deciding not to nominate Meredith.

Mayor Greg Fischer shakes the hand if Manfred Reid Sr. at the unveiling of a historical marker in honor of the Louisville Black Six. A group of business people and activists falsely accused in 1968 of plotting to destroy buildings in the West End. Dec. 30, 2022
Mayor Greg Fischer shakes the hand if Manfred Reid Sr. at the unveiling of a historical marker in honor of the Louisville Black Six. A group of business people and activists falsely accused in 1968 of plotting to destroy buildings in the West End. Dec. 30, 2022

Black Six forum leads to apology and marker for group

Nearly 54 years after a group of Black business people and activists were acquitted of conspiracy charges, surviving members of the Louisville Black Six and their families have received an apology for the city and have had a historic marker erected in their honor. The events follow a May panel discussing the Black Six case, organized by The Courier Journal, the Frazier Kentucky History Museum and Lean Into Louisville, during which Mayor Greg Fischer apologized to the surviving defendants and their family members. In December, the city erected a historic marker outside Metro Hall on Fifth Street honoring the Black Six defendants. Prior to the event, Courier Journal reporter Bailey Loosemore wrote about the case, interviewing surviving members, their families and local historians. The story brought attention to a part of history that one local historian said had all but disappeared from local memory.

$4M immersive children's museum in western Louisville gets major donations

The first-ever immersive, interactive children's museum is finally coming to Louisville. Modeled after the City Museum in St. Louis, AHOY, the Adventure House of You Children’s Museum will be located in one of Louisville's historically low-income neighborhoods. Following the publication of a story by reporter Olivia Evans bringing awareness to the museum, which will benefit children across the city and the region, the Portland Museum has raised $550,000 in major gifts to be used toward the development of the children's museum. The museum, which is expected to cost $4 million, is slated to open next year.

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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Courier Journal stories that made a difference in 2022