WKYT’s Kentucky Newsmakers spotlights EPIC’s leadership, Lexington’s opportunity efforts, and local government appointments

Kentucky Newsmakers, a WKYT interview program hosted by Bill Bryant, aired its June 14 edition featuring discussions with four Kentucky leaders: Eric King, executive director of EPIC; Ciara Coleman, the City of Lexington’s opportunity officer; Madison County Judge-Executive nominee Donna Agee; and Eric Frankl, president of Blue Grass Airport. The episode was published on June 26, 2026.

King and Coleman were each interviewed about their roles leading major local and regional efforts focused on community needs and public-facing services. King leads EPIC, and Coleman serves as the City of Lexington’s opportunity officer, a position WKYT described in the program materials as focused on opportunity within the city. The interviews centered on how the organizations’ work is organized and the kinds of priorities their leadership teams are working to advance.

The program also included a discussion with Agee, who is identified in the episode lineup as a nominee for Madison County judge-executive. As presented in the episode preview, the conversation addressed the county’s leadership transition and the public role associated with the judge-executive position, which oversees county operations and administration in Kentucky.

Frankl, the president of Blue Grass Airport, was interviewed as well. WKYT’s episode materials identify Frankl as the guest representing the region’s aviation hub, and his portion of the interview focused on the airport’s perspective on operations and planning within the scope of its responsibilities to travelers, employers, and surrounding communities.

Across the interviews, WKYT framed the episode around how local government, public institutions, and service organizations operate day-to-day, and how leadership decisions can affect residents and local economic activity. With four separate interviews in one program, the episode presented multiple angles of Kentucky governance and public service, from county leadership selection and city opportunity programs to the management of a major airport and the direction of a community-focused organization.

The episode does not include a single unified policy announcement in the program materials provided with this coverage. Instead, it functions as a wide-ranging public briefing on who the leaders are, what their roles encompass, and how their work intersects with public priorities in Madison County and the Lexington area, along with broader regional interests tied to Blue Grass Airport.