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Lt. Gov. Hampton Discusses School Shootings, Education, Job Growth, Infrastructure

Jenni Todd, WKMS

Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jenean Hampton was recently in Murray, visiting businesses including Iwis and Pella as well as touring the engineering programs at Murray State University. She also stopped by WKMS.

On Sounds Good, Matt Markgraf speaks with Hampton about healing in the Marshall County community after a school shooting there last month, the Bevin administration's response to gun violence, the pension overhaul, STEM education, business growth and infrastructure demands.

Marshall County and School Shootings:

To the survivors and families, “I am praying for them every day.” Hampton said she spent time with the families who lost their children: Preston Cope and Bailey Holt and has memorials of them on her desk. “I think about them every day and just pray that God just wraps his arms around both families.”

We need to identify what causes certain people to “go off the rails” and hurt people and possibly themselves. “Until we answer those questions the weapons don’t matter. The weapons really don’t matter because bad people will always find a way to hurt other people, unfortunately,” she said. On Governor Matt Bevin’s suggestion that there needs to be a ‘cultural change,’ Hampton said she agrees and references his position on violence being glorified in video games. “I don’t think we can expect to have the breakdown of the family the way we’ve seen and not expect to see consequences.” She said the discussion needs to move beyond guns and gun control.

Pension Issue:

She said Bevin’s administration made a promise to fix the pension system so that teachers and other state employees will receive what they were promised. “That pension shortfall is so massive that if we continue down the road we’re going with doing nothing, then they would not receive what they were promised.” She said she wants to make sure the system remains solvent or will be solvent and noted that it will be a 30-year fix. “We all want to ensure that teachers and other state employees are given what they’ve been promised. That’s our goal,” she said.

STEM:

Hampton said she has an enthusiasm for STEM and trades alike. She said one way to get women and minorities involved is to expose them at a young age to people who are working in these fields and to give them opportunities to ask questions. She mentioned the Lieutenant Governor's STEM Challenge for Girls in Lexington that offered hands-on-activities and professional women each week to come and share their experiences. She said in the second year of this program has expanded to Louisville and to middle school students. In the future, the program may further expand to rural areas. “Many young ladies don’t even consider STEM fields as an option. And that’s all we’re asking them to do. Just consider it. Don’t rule it out just because you’re a girl,” she said.

Business Growth:

The state’s sizable aerospace industry is growing, Hampton said, noting the Exomedicine Institute and Space Tango programs in Lexington. She the state is trying to ‘woo’ a company researching flying cars.

She said business leaders have expressed concern about the workforce, needing people with certain skills. “Last year, in 2017, there was a record amount of economic development announcements. $9.2 billion in economic announcements where the previous record was $5.1 billion.” She said companies are choosing to come to Kentucky, noting the ‘right-to-work’ designation as having opened doors for opportunities as well as better ‘selling’ the state’s central geographic location.

Infrastructure:

In western Kentucky, she said, the new bridges connecting Land Between the Lakes are ‘fantastic.’ She recently toured the locks on the Ohio River - old and the new one slated to come online this year. “I don’t think Kentuckians realize how much of the nation’s products move through Kentucky’s waterways,” she said.

“The biggest issue by far that I’m hearing from manufacturers is workforce,” she said and credited the state’s apprenticeships program for helping to address that need. In eastern Kentucky, she said she spoke recently with a company retraining coal miners to become programmers. She said computer jobs are coming back to the United States as cybersecurity needs become more prevalent and as high-speed internet further develops into the state’s infrastructure.

Student Entrepreneurship Challenge:

This is the second year of the Lieutenant Governor’s Entrepreneurship Challenge for high school students. She said the first year was successful, with $80,000 in scholarship money given out - and $100,000 this year. She said she program needs judges - who can sign up at kylgec.com. Judges can review online business plans and videos. Live judges will be needed in April. The idea of the contest is to introduce the concept of starting and owning one’s own business at a young age.

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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