Monica Kast
@monica_kast
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Covering higher education @heraldleader | @wkuherald & @WKU_SoM alum | Previously @knoxnews | Pumpkin pie enthusiast & lots of tweets about pop culture
Lexington, KY
Joined February 2016
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It’s Reed Sheppard’s first Derby, and his pick is Mystic Dan
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Colleen Hoover announcing she's releasing a coloring book based on "It Ends With Us," having to limit the comments and then deleting the post less than 24 hours later was exactly the niche Wednesday morning drama I needed
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Time for some ✨personal news ✨ After nearly three years at
@knoxnews
, my last day is Friday. I'm returning home to Kentucky, where I'll cover higher education for
@heraldleader
.
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People who aren't in journalism: "Wow your job must be so exciting every day! Non-stop action!"
What I actually did today: Emailed Kentucky universities to ask how many seats are in their campus planetariums.
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“When everyone believes ya, what’s that like?” -
@taylorswift13
The Full Taylor Swift-Kanye Phone Call Leaked And, Turns Out, Taylor Swift Was Telling The Truth
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In light of teacher shortage talks happening today, here's a text I got from a friend who's a teacher: "We just want to be paid like we should be & have enough time to get our extra work done during the day. I spend so much time outside of work doing work, so I can work at work."
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Earlier this week, a report from ProPublica revealed that UK was one of the largest holders of Native American remains and artifacts that had not been returned to tribes. Today, UK announced they are investing nearly $900,000 to make returns happen.
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New this morning:
@bereacollege
is donating a total of more than $1 million to Eastern Kentucky flood relief.
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Hi folks! I took a few days off Twitter while I was moving, but today is my first day at
@heraldleader
! If you’re in the Kentucky higher ed space and want to reach out, my new email is mkast
@herald
-leader.com.
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Lots of excitement for
@jackharlow
on the red carpet. He says Happy Jack has to be his Derby pick.
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BREAKING: UT Knoxville has 28 active cases of COVID-19 and 155 people in self-isolation. Dorms opened on Sunday.
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NEW: Today, the Board of Trustees discussed removing the "interim" from
@UT_President
's title and extending his time at UT through 2025.
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No one told me that
@taylorswift13
closed out her
@nprmusic
Tiny Desk Concert with "All Too Well" and I was not emotionally prepared for this!!!
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I have written about the coronavirus every day since March. But, like, OK.
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I can't stop laughing at this pic
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I honestly cannot handle a Taylor Swift announcement this week so I’m going to apologize in advance for whatever happens tomorrow (I’m not actually sorry tho)
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Excited for people to stop looking at me like I’m the crazy one when I wear a mask in public.
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Today I learned that Meredith Blake (
@elaine4animals
) is from East Tennessee and this was my reaction.
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Something about Matt Bevin driving to the Capitol in a 12-passenger van to NOT announce a run for governor is just so funny to me
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Just saw a sorta viral, but incorrect, tweet about vaccinations at
@universityofky
so just to be clear: There is not a vaccine mandate for employees, and the overall campus vaccination rate is 89.6%, not 99%.
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News this morning: KY Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles has been named the next president of KCTCS.
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BREAKING: First confirmed case of COVID-19 is in Knox County. 18 in the state currently.
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“Western Kentucky University’s journalism program is something we’re proud of, something we will continue to support and elevate at this institution,” President Timothy Caboni said.
I didn’t feel very supported or elevated when WKU sued the campus newspaper, just saying.
Controversial school name change was approved by the Board of Regents.
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Today in "my family does not understand what a journalist does": My mom told me I should drive to my parents' house in the middle of a work day (3.5 hours away) and if I have to write a story, "type it on your phone."
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I’m very excited to announce that I’ve moved to Knoxville and this week, I start at
@knoxnews
! I’ll be reporting on higher education in the area and can’t wait to get started! 🎉
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Today is my two year anniversary of working at
@knoxnews
, even though covering a pandemic makes it feel like it’s been at least double that. What a ride.
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I’m very excited to announce that this week, I start as the journalism intern at the Student Press Law Center (
@SPLC
) in Washington D.C. I’m so honored and excited to be selected for this position!
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BREAKING: Randy Boyd has been approved as the UT System President through June 30, 2025.
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Over 2,000 people have signed an open letter asking
@universityofky
to issue a vaccine requirement for students and employees.
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Hazel Head, mother of former Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt, has died
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For the record, I do not start interviews with “Yo yo, this is Monica Kast,” but imagine if I did
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My younger brother told me he used one of my articles for a current events project at school 🥺 The highest honor I’ve had as a journalist
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This week was rough but please admire this beautiful cake I made today.
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Earlier today,
@KnoxSchools
,
@UTKnoxville
and
@TNedu
announced a new program that will place UT students studying to be teachers in Knox County classrooms.
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It’d be real cool if the DC/NY/LA journalists constantly tweeting about the importance of local news actually used their platforms to lift up local journalists.
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Happy Tuesday, everyone. I tried to leave for work this morning and now I’m trapped in my apartment.
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Andi Dahmer asks about removing additional fees w/ online classes and moving more colonnade classes to online to increase accessibility; Alicia Pennington says she will take those questions back to the Academic Innovation and Excellence Committee for consideration
@wkuherald
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Today I found out that my great-great grandmother's death certificate says she died from "pumpkin pie poisoning" and like honestly what a way to go out
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Today marks one year since I started at
@knoxnews
. I’m so thankful I’ve been able to write about higher education for the last year can’t wait for what’s ahead! (ty to
@EricaBreunlin
for taking a picture of me today!)
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Today is my one year anniversary at the
@heraldleader
! I'm so grateful to everyone I've met in the last year who allowed me to tell their stories, and who were gracious and patient as I reacquainted myself with Kentucky higher ed. Thanks for supporting my work🥳
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I'm running out of creative ways to write "Everything is different this year, here's one more thing."
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Grandma: Have you interviewed anyone interesting lately?
Me: I interviewed the guy from the Bachelor!
Grandma: Is he married? Did he leave you his number?
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Me, two months ago: There’s no way I’m watching
#TheBachelorLTYH
Me, one month into quarantine:
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More from Chancellor Plowman: Students who do not cooperate with contact tracers or who throw parties that don't follow guidelines could face expulsion.
BREAKING: UT Knoxville has traced its first cluster of COVID-19 cases to an off-campus party.
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“Wait, when did this happen? When did I get here???” -me during tonight’s ceremony
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If Leslie Knope lived in Knoxville, she would download the free
@knoxnews
app and set up personalized notifications. She's a model citizen, so I know this is true. If you actually live in Knoxville, you can download the app here:
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I don't even have the energy to cleverly respond to ~that media tweet~ because of the year it's been. Support your local journalists, we are all struggling this year.
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FWIW, I believe I was the only reporter who sat through the entirety of the UK Title IX trial. Here's a recap of what happened this week.
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Update on the UK student who attacked and used racist slurs toward another student this weekend: Sophia Rosing has been permanently banned from UK, and is not eligible to re-enroll.
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@TravisAllen02
You linked to my reporting here, so just to clarify: There is no vaccination mandate. There are 24 employees who have been out of compliance since the testing requirement was put into place. There are more who are out of compliance for a few weeks.
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I put in a maintenance request this morning because I was having some issues with my HVAC and came home to find it was 99 DEGREES IN MY APARTMENT. PLEASE SEND HELP. I’M SWEATING.
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Sophia Rosing, the 22-year-old former UK student accused of hurling racial slurs at a Black student desk clerk, has been criminally indicted on all charges by a Fayette County Grand Jury. Story w/
@TaylorSixHL
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He's an 8 but said he doesn't need to pay for the news because you can "get it for free on Twitter"
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One last hurrah before we head out to take the journalism world by storm.
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If you send me the Taylor Swift reporter job posting today, I'm charging you $10 on Venmo for being late to the party.
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Imagine my disappointment when I realized at 2:43 p.m. that today is not a Friday
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So grateful for this! 🥳🥳🥳
Congratulations to
@monica_kast
and
@knoxnews
for winning the Horace V. Wells Jr. Community Service Award of the 2020 Golden Press Card Awards.
#journalism
#Tennessee
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Since the pandemic started, I've received multiple emails per day asking if I want to interview a CEO/author/speaker about schools closing. I have responded to exactly zero of these emails. Please stop sending me these emails.
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The
@knoxnews
crew is glued to the TV, watching
@btoppmeyer
talk about Jeremy Banks being dismissed from the team.
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My brother’s analysis of 7th grade: “I think I’ll last about...one week.”
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BREAKING:
@UTKnoxville
has announced some changes to their academic calendar to allow the semester to end early. Classes will begin as scheduled, and will now be held on Labor Day and during fall break.
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Good morning from Lexington, where it’s not even 9:30 a.m. but a reader has already called to tell me that I’m the reason no one reads the Herald-Leader anymore 😌
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The newsroom was promised tacos at noon. We have 54 minutes left, but who's counting? (It's me, I'm counting)
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Georgetown College has named its provost as the next president of the school. She will be the first woman to hold the position of president in the college's history.
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we're getting more snow AND it's daylight savings this weekend ... quite simply I refuse.
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Congrats to the class of 2021!
@UTKnoxville
graduation ceremonies are taking place at Neyland Stadium for the first time this year.
#UTGrad2021
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In case you forgot,
@wku
is still suing its student newspaper. It’s been almost four years.
The intervening complaint in WKU's lawsuit against the Herald was put in place by Andy Beshear. Now Attorney General Daniel Cameron requested its removal.
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Today was my last day at
@SPLC
. I had the best summer and got to work with the BEST people. I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity. 😊 I’ll miss you guys!
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After a particularly long week of covering everything from floods to board meetings, I opened my mailbox to find a potato from the wonderful
@emmacaustin
featuring an iconic outfit ♥️😭
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Imagine my disappointment when I realized this didn't say "Bread Museum"
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...who’s gonna tell him about life as a professional journalist?
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I wore a sweater to work today because it’s October 1st but it would appear that I’ve played myself.
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I was five minutes late for newsroom pie this afternoon and three people asked where I was so at least my brand as “newsroom food supervisor” is strong
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The best news would be if Kentucky universities would just, I don’t know, stop suing their student newspapers. But until that happens, this is still some great news.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Kentucky Kernel in its defense of a lawsuit from the University of Kentucky this morning. The ruling could have an impact on the Herald's case, as the student publication faces a similar lawsuit from WKU.
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Sometimes it feels like my family only texts me for my Amazon Prime.
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Gov. Andy Beshear shares his thoughts on the 150th Derby, and his Derby pick: Sierra Leone for the horse’s connection to Kentucky.
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Finals week.
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This is my formal petition to get Kentucky universities to stop holding graduation ceremonies the same weekend as Derby
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this is the content you missed while verified accounts were locked
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KY higher ed legislative news: HB 630, which would give WKU the ability to add up to 5 research doctorate degrees just passed 97-0 in the House.
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A sad update from Bowling Green: A student who was scheduled to graduate today is among those who died in the storms overnight.
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BTW if you started following me bc of my Reed Sheppard video you should know that I tweet about sports like once a year
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Thinking about how much heartbreak Austin-East High School has already been through this year. Before today, four other teenagers had been killed in East Knoxville since January. The shooting at the school today marks five teens killed.
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Full transparency: I’m being told by coworkers I missed seeing Travis Kelce by about 45 seconds because I stopped to get chicken tenders.
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I just cleaned out my purse and found SEVEN pens in a variety of colors. SEVEN.
#PartyLikeAJournalist
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