Ryan Van Velzer
Kentucky Public Radio Managing EditorRyan Van Velzer is the Kentucky Public Radio Managing Editor.
Ryan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and has more than a decade of experience in the industry. He has worked for The Arizona Republic, The Associated Press, The South Florida Sun Sentinel and as a travel reporter in Central America and Southeast Asia.
He has won numerous awards including regional Edward R. Murrow awards, Associated Press Broadcasters awards and Society of Professional Journalists Louisville Pro Chapter awards.
Email him at rvanvelzer@lpm.org.
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Louisville Public Media’s former energy and environment reporter will lead statewide politics coverage and manage a collaboration of Kentucky public radio stations.
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Kentucky officials and environmental advocates secured the deal last week. In total, it will protect nearly 55,000 acres in the Cumberland Forest Wildlife Management Area in Bell, Knox and Leslie counties.
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In the latest round of testing for forever chemicals, the Kentucky Division of Water discovered high rates in two communities. Now, municipal leaders are working with state officials to try and fix it.
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Kentucky’s state government and some of the state’s largest cities are both applying for hundreds of millions of dollars to support the growth of solar for low-income and disadvantaged communities.
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The threats Kentuckians face from climate change are growing. So long as there are greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, warming is virtually guaranteed to continue harming human health, the economy, infrastructure and food systems, according to the latest federal report on climate change released Tuesday.
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This week the state’s largest power companies got approval to build more solar power, a battery storage facility, and a bunch of energy efficiency programs — all of which push Kentucky toward a greener future.
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Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities want to retire seven fossil fuel generating units — four coal and three gas units. State regulators have until Monday to make a decision.
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The first sighting of the invasive spotted lanternfly was confirmed earlier this month in northern Kentucky, according to University of Kentucky Entomologist Jonathan Larson.
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Kentucky’s clean energy workforce was the second fastest-growing in the country last year behind Tennessee, according to a new report.
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The Kentucky Public Service Commission approved a special contract allowing a cryptomining facility in Pike County to receive discounted electricity from Kentucky Power, even though the utility won’t have the capacity to meet existing customers’ demand in 2026.