Call Center Company in Lexington, KY

Easter Sunday falls April 20 this year, and if you find yourself scrambling for that last-minute Easter basket, egg decorating kit or perfect outfit for church, it pays to know which grocery stores and retailers are open.

Several major retailers have announced they will close entirely for the holiday, including all Target stores.

To save you the hassle, we’ve called around or confirmed store holiday hours online for Lexington retailers. For your Easter weekend shopping needs, here’s a breakdown of which grocery stores, liquor chains and big box retailers.

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March 6, 2025 6:00 AM

All Aldi locations will be closed Easter Sunday, according to the grocery store’s website.

Lexington’s Costco Wholesale location will also be closed for the holiday, according to the Costco’s store locator.

Publix offers several order-ahead and pre-made dinners if you’re planning an Easter Sunday gathering, but all of its stores and pharmacies are closed for the holiday.

Additionally, if you have a Sam’s Club membership and want to stock up on Easter treats and goodies, make sure to do it before the holiday. Sam’s is closed Easter Sunday.

Target offers a convenient stop for Easter baskets, outfits and egg decorating supplies, but the popular retail chain is closing for the holiday, “consistent with past years,” a company spokesperson told CT Insider.

The following Lexington grocery stores, liquor stores and retailers will be open Easter Sunday, though in some cases, on modified hours.

As always, call ahead and double check before making a trip.

Do you have a question about Lexington or Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email [email protected].

This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 4:45 AM.

After filing for bankruptcy in September, and a later sale to another retail company, Big Lots national discount chain will reopen stores in several states, including Kentucky, in the coming months.

Following the bankruptcy filing last year, Big Lots shuttered multiple locations in the commonwealth, including one in Lexington, as part of a complete shutdown nationwide. The Lexington store closure resulted in the loss of 15 to 20 workers, an employee told the Herald-Leader in December, and came during the busy 2024 holiday retail season.

Now, North Carolina-based Variety Wholesalers, which operates other discount stores including Roses, will begin a wider rollout to reopen Big Lots locations in several states, the company announced in an April 4 release.

Among the “first wave” of reopenings is a Big Lots location in Mount Sterling at 1342 Indian Mound Drive, opened April 10.

‘We’re thrilled to bring the Big Lots! brand back to life by offering more deals than ever, lots of famous brands and a new apparel department for the entire family,” Lisa Seigies, president and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, stated in the release. “We’re opening stores quickly so we can serve the community. We know the stores won’t be perfect to start, but each week we’ll add more new products as we build towards the grand opening celebration in the fall. Every time a customer visits Big Lots! we want them to find something new and exciting!”

Four other Kentucky Big Lots locations are set to open in May as part of the second wave, though the Lexington store previously at 820 Lane Allen Road is not on the list.

The reopening locations include:

In all, Variety Wholesalers is set to reopen 219 Big Lots stores nationwide by June.

Do you have a question about business in Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email [email protected].

Thinking of moving away from Kentucky once you retire? You might want to rethink that plan.

According to one ranking, Kentucky is the seventh most affordable U.S. state to retire in, ranking below Missouri and just above Ohio.

The ranking was compiled by the retirement research journal Retirement Living and compared every state on various factors like median monthly rent, median home sale price, Medicare, Social Security tax and other expenses, like groceries. It was released April 9. The journal got its data from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Data of Labor Statistics, Tax Foundation, AAA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Here’s how Kentucky’s numbers add up for retirees, according to Retirement Living:

The state’s lack of Social Security income tax helped it receive a high ranking in the affordability report.

“Kentucky earned its ranking as the seventh-most affordable state for retirees through inexpensive housing and a tax-friendly environment,” the report reads.

For Kentucky retirees who may work part-time, the state’s income tax on those wages is also dropping. For several years, legislators have pursued a plan to cut the commonwealth’s income tax year by year until it reaches 0%.

Arkansas got the top spot from Retirement Living for the most affordable state for retirees, with a median monthly rent of $722 and Medicare Advantage plan of $7.74. Arkansas also doesn’t have a Social Security income tax.

In addition to the affordable retirement top-spot ranking, Kentucky ranked 25th for its cost of living in the analysis.

“While the average per gallon cost of gas is the third-lowest in the country ... expensive groceries largely offset this benefit,” the ranking reads.

Another analysis disagrees, however.

In a ranking released in January, finance site WalletHub named Kentucky the worst state in which to retire due to low marks for quality of life and health care. For affordability, WalletHub ranked the state 36th. Arkansas, Retirement Living’s winner for most affordable state, was ranked 42nd in the WalletHub study.

It’s not the first year Wallethub has ranked Kentucky low for retirees, either, and the site has named life expectancy a top issue.

Here are the 10 most affordable U.S. states to retire in, from Retirement Living:

The five least affordable states to retire in are Washington, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii and California, the ranking found.

Do you have a question about Lexington or Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email [email protected].

This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

A Kentucky judge took part in stealing more than $400,000 by putting a dummy employee on the payroll, who in turn paid the judge more than $500,000, a federal grand jury has charged.

Pike County Circuit Judge Howard Keith Hall faces two counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government funds.

A grand jury in Lexington returned the indictment Thursday.

Hall did not return a call seeking comment Friday morning.

The Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission issued an order suspending Hall as of noon Friday, citing the federal indictment.

The commission said Hall will continue to be paid, but is not to use his office while under suspension and is supposed to turn in any access passes or keys to the judicial center.

The indictment alleges that in October 2010, when he was the Pike County attorney, Hall appointed a part-time county attorney in his office.

The indictment identified that person only as Attorney A, who had a private law practice in Pike County.

Under state law, that employee was supposed to work an average of at least 100 hours a month. The position qualified for health insurance, retirement benefits and contributions to Social Security and Medicare, the indictment says.

Attorney A did almost no work for Hall’s office and didn’t even come in to the office, but between October 2010 and May 2020, Hall submitted false certifications that the attorney had fulfilled his duties, the indictment charges.

Sending that information to Frankfort is the basis for the mail fraud charges.

County attorneys in Kentucky are elected locally, but are part of a unified prosecutorial system governed and funded through the Prosecutors Advisory Council, a state panel in Frankfort.

Attorney A received $290,140 in gross pay. With the value of other benefits included, the total amount was $440,587, according to the indictment.

That’s the amount that the indictment charges Hall stole.

The indictment also alleges that between October 2011 and October 2020, Hall claimed to work at Attorney A’s private firm and A paid him $505,900.

County attorneys in Kentucky handle traffic and other cases in district court, collect delinquent property taxes, enforce child support collections and represent the county fiscal court, but also are allowed to maintain a private practice.

The indictment doesn’t say whether in fact Hall did any work at Attorney A’s firm.

The Appalachian News Express in Pikeville reported that Hall was county attorney for 24 years before resigning in 2020 to run for circuit judge. He was an assistant county attorney and district judge earlier.

The mail fraud charges in the indictment carry a maximum sentence of 20 years each, while the theft charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The indictment also includes a forfeiture count under which the government will try to get back the amount of money Hall allegedly stole if he is convicted.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew A. Stinnett issued a summons for Hall to make his initial court appearance May 16 in Lexington.

The Judicial Conduct Commission recently reprimanded Hall over improper comments he made in court and a threat to “make life difficult” for a prosecutor.

This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 9:28 AM.

A powerful solar storm has made the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, visible across many northern U.S. states this week, including as far south as northern Illinois, northern Iowa and Michigan.

So what about the Bluegrass State? If auroras were broadly visible here in Kentucky, it would mark at least the second time in about six months. Much of Kentucky saw the northern lights in October when another geomagnetic storm lit up the night sky.

However, according to the the latest forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the chances of glimpsing an aurora in the night sky Thursday, April 17 are dim. The solar storm observed between Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 16 seems to have subsided and you’d have to go a lot further north to view auroras.

It’s unlikely Kentucky residents will be able to glimpse the aurora borealis in the night sky this evening, given the latest available forecast from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

According to a NOAA forecast map, the red “viewline” indicating the southernmost locations auroras will likely be visible from has shifted further north. As of Thursday, it cut through the far northern states, including parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine.

The current forecast Kp scale, a numeric scale from 0 to 9 directly tied to how visible auroras are from the Earth’s poles, stands at 4. That value indicates auroras are visible from higher latitudes, but not widely visible across middle and lower latitudes.

Earlier in the week, when auroras were anticipated to be visible across 17 U.S. states, the projected Kp scale was at a stronger level of 6.

Even if conditions were ideal for aurora viewing in Kentucky Thursday night, the weather forecast isn’t cooperating in some parts of the state.

The latest available forecast from the National Weather Service in Louisville calls for mostly cloudy conditions in the Lexington area before clearing up later in the evening.

Do you have a question about weather or the environment for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email [email protected].

This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 12:35 PM.