Gov. Andy Beshear said on Thursday that Daviess County is on the verge of some major economic development in the near future.
Beshear said that there are “Non-Disclosure Agreements that are being signed” so he is unable to state what the project(s) are yet, but there are movements on the ground.
“Daviess County is in a great place due to the great education facilities from the high schools to the (Kentucky Community & Technical College System) and the universities,” Beshear said.
Beshear was in Owensboro Thursday afternoon to give an address at the Kentucky Association for Economic Development Conference. He said that the economic state of Kentucky has increased tremendously with big partners pouring into communities across the commonwealth.
Thursday morning, the governor announced $300 million worth of investments that will produce more 1,400 new jobs — though none of those announcements involved Daviess County. Year to date, the state has announced more than 6,000 new jobs.
While Beshear’s recent announcements have involved other communities, he noted that Daviess County has created plenty of economic development on its own. That includes Glenmore Distillery investing $23.2 million and 361 new jobs; Big Rivers Electric Corporation investing $10 million; Specialty Food Group with $7.6 million and 50 new jobs; Green River Distilling Company bringing in $5.5 million; and Riverside Transport Inc. with $60,000 and 10 new jobs.
“Everywhere across Kentucky, we are seeing an economy on fire and it didn’t stop last year,” Beshear said.
He believes that Kentucky has arrived at a point where the state is no longer seen as just a flyover state.
“We have arrived,” he said. “We have arrived to never to be a flyover state ever again; never to have people look down their nose at us again.”
