Shelby Smithson
Reporter
Lexington, Ky.
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Shelby Smithson is happy to be back in her home state telling stories that matter to you.
Originally from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, she joined WKYT in August 2019, after working as a multimedia journalist for nearly two years at KAIT in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Shelby found her love for journalism while in college at Murray State University, where she majored in T.V. Production with a minor in Journalism.
Her favorite part about reporting is being out in the community and meeting so many new people every day.
When she’s not working, you can find Shelby at the dog park playing with her pup, Blue.
If you have a story idea for Shelby, email her at shelby.smithson@gray.tv.
Updated: Jul. 9, 2021 at 1:48 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson and WKYT News Staff
A suspect in a deadly shooting in Lexington has been arrested.
Updated: Jun. 24, 2021 at 3:48 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Council voted in favor of an ordinance banning no-knock warrants.
Updated: Jun. 23, 2021 at 6:36 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
A Lexington pool could be in for a major upgrade. In a council work session, Lexington Parks and Recreation proposed a $10 million plan for an aquatic center in Shillito Park.
Updated: Jun. 17, 2021 at 5:27 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson and WKYT News Staff
It happened Thursday afternoon at the apartment complex on Winnie Street.
Updated: Jun. 6, 2021 at 10:00 PM EDT
|By Garrett Wymer and Shelby Smithson
WKYT is asking officials: "What can be done to prevent more deaths?"
Updated: Jun. 1, 2021 at 5:13 AM EDT
|By Grace Finerman and Shelby Smithson
Investigators said a vehicle occupied by four people struck another vehicle and then a utility pole.
Updated: May. 25, 2021 at 7:20 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Tuesday evening, the same group that led protests a year ago gathered again. They held a memorial for George Floyd in front of the Lexington Police Department.
Updated: Apr. 27, 2021 at 4:32 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Counties like Breathitt, Estill, Lee and more are now able to get federal funding for things like home repairs and temporary housing, but people still recovering in Madison County feel like they’re on their own.
Updated: Apr. 20, 2021 at 6:22 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
There was no loud reaction or cheers when Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict was read. For a small group gathered in downtown Lexington, it was more of a sigh of relief.
Updated: Apr. 13, 2021 at 5:56 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Scott County Sheriff's Office Special Deputy Jaime Morales is not asking for money. He simply wants people to follow his page and share his videos so that he can reach others who may be struggling with their own disability.
Updated: Mar. 31, 2021 at 3:30 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Winchester Police say Esther and Kino Kendall were arguing outside of a home on Spruce Court around 7:30 Tuesday night.
Updated: Mar. 30, 2021 at 10:01 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Investigators are trying to figure out what led up to a woman’s death in Clark County.
Updated: Mar. 17, 2021 at 2:13 PM EDT
|By WKYT News Staff and Shelby Smithson
The Chris Stapleton concert scheduled for April 2021 at Kroger Field in Lexington has been postponed again.
Updated: Mar. 8, 2021 at 6:36 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
In Estill County, flood waters trapped entire neighborhoods underwater for days, now the water has receded but the recovery efforts are just getting started.
Updated: Mar. 4, 2021 at 8:42 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
In Estill County, flood waters have started to recede, leaving behind a lot of dirt and debris on roadways and in neighborhoods.
Updated: Mar. 2, 2021 at 5:44 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
God’s Outreach Food Bank, like so many other places in Estill County, is cut off by flood waters.
Updated: Mar. 2, 2021 at 4:31 PM EST
|By Grason Passmore and Shelby Smithson
Flooding is continuing to cause major problems in Estill County. Right now, main state roads like Highway 52 and Highway 89 are blocked.
Updated: Feb. 24, 2021 at 11:57 AM EST
|By WKYT News Staff and Shelby Smithson
The fire department says a section of the building’s brick veneer collapsed.
Updated: Jan. 27, 2021 at 10:17 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
Conditions are only getting worse as the night goes on, so if you have to be out on the roads make sure you take it slow and be extra cautious.
Updated: Dec. 24, 2020 at 10:43 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
Not a global pandemic, or snow covered streets could stop people from celebrating this Christmas Eve.
Updated: Dec. 16, 2020 at 5:27 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
A new grant relief program in Mount Sterling is aimed at helping small businesses that have taken hits from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Updated: Dec. 14, 2020 at 11:29 AM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
A Lexington coffee shop is back open Monday serving food and drinks. You may remember Brewed. The shop continued indoor dining despite Governor Beshear’s mandate.
Updated: Dec. 10, 2020 at 6:20 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
Police in Madison County are still investigating a crash that happened early Saturday morning, killing 18-year-old Jordan Ledford.
Updated: Dec. 8, 2020 at 10:44 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
The cruiser parked outside of the University of Kentucky Police Department headquarters isn't there to stop speeders or catch people texting and driving. It's there to signal the fourth annual UKPD Cram the Cruiser event.
Updated: Dec. 2, 2020 at 4:46 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
Tuesday, Fayette County Judge Thomas Travis issued a temporary restraining order against Brewed that meant the coffee shop needed to stop serving food and drinks to patrons.
Updated: Nov. 27, 2020 at 6:35 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
Zachary Nielson started this when he was ten years old, and as he learned more about electricity, the display grew.
Updated: Nov. 24, 2020 at 5:55 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
A Lexington coffee shop is defying orders from the governor and the health department.
Updated: Nov. 18, 2020 at 11:03 PM EST
|By Shelby Smithson
Stores across the country are beginning to see empty shelves as COVID-19 cases surge, and that’s happening here in the bluegrass, too.
Updated: Oct. 26, 2020 at 5:47 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
A group of parents and students are protesting outside of central office ahead of the Fayette County School Board meeting.
Updated: Oct. 20, 2020 at 4:17 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Employees at Sayre have switched gears from preventing the virus from entering the doors to stopping the spread from the inside.
Updated: Oct. 19, 2020 at 10:41 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
As students across the commonwealth are heading back into the classroom, school leaders are looking to the state's COVID-19 daily case incident rate maps for guidance.
Updated: Oct. 12, 2020 at 10:20 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
While quarantined, Governor Andy Beshear announced the largest number of cases of COVID-19 ever reported on a Monday.
Updated: Oct. 8, 2020 at 10:22 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
The 48 t-shirts on wooden crosses in the Madison County Courthouse lawn represent the Kentuckians who died in the last year due to domestic violence.
Updated: Oct. 6, 2020 at 10:33 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Lincoln County Schools are on fall break this week. But when students return, they’ll go back to online learning.
Updated: Oct. 6, 2020 at 9:47 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Kentucky State Police and Scott County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a shooting in a neighborhood off Homestead Parkway. KSP says one person was killed.
Updated: Oct. 5, 2020 at 9:25 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
A heated Kentucky Debate tonight transpired between Republican Representative Andy Barr and Democrat attorney Josh Hicks.
Updated: Oct. 4, 2020 at 9:58 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Kentucky Theatre played classics like Cool Hand Luke and Casablanca for its final showings Sunday night.
Updated: Sep. 23, 2020 at 7:05 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Even with 34 years of experience in the judicial system, Lexington attorney Scott White still had a few questions after Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s explanation of the indictment.
Updated: Sep. 16, 2020 at 10:34 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Patti Bridge lives in Georgetown and was vacationing in Gulf Shores, Alabama when Hurricane Sally hit.
Updated: Sep. 14, 2020 at 11:18 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
In Fayette County, school board members are talking about what the remainder of the fall semester might look like after Governor Andy Beshear said he would leave the choice up to the districts.
Updated: Sep. 14, 2020 at 5:00 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Fayette County students are on week three of virtual learning, and some say they’re ready to get back in the classroom.
Updated: Sep. 8, 2020 at 4:46 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Just hours before the first soccer game of the season, FCPS officials released the guidelines for fall sporting events:
Organizations using Suicide Prevention Month to raise awareness, inspire action in veteran community
Updated: Sep. 7, 2020 at 10:06 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and it's a different kind of pandemic that hits the veteran community especially hard.
Updated: Sep. 6, 2020 at 9:56 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
This Missouri family’s story traveled across state lines through a friend of a friend to 2009 Miss Kentucky Mallory Ervin.
Updated: Sep. 1, 2020 at 10:16 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
Overnight, the video got nearly 3,000 retweets and more than 9,000 likes
Updated: Aug. 27, 2020 at 10:42 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
There have been several incidents of violent crime in Georgetown just in the last week.
Updated: Aug. 26, 2020 at 10:25 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
That effort started with a community conversation Wednesday night at the Unity Worship Center.
Updated: Aug. 25, 2020 at 10:48 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
They say that starts with a conversation and an open invitation to the Unity Worship Center where they’ll talk about a new program they’re hoping to get off the ground called From Boys to Young Men, targeting middle school-aged kids to get to them before they can get to the streets.
Updated: Aug. 24, 2020 at 8:04 PM EDT
|By WKYT News Staff and Shelby Smithson
Fayette County Public Schools decided the district will follow the guidelines set by the KHSAA for fall sports.
Updated: Aug. 24, 2020 at 5:53 PM EDT
|By Shelby Smithson
There were students representing several different schools within the district there, each wearing their school colors, holding signs that say “let us play.”
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