FRANKFORT, Ky. — Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear hosted his weekly Team Kentucky update to share good news directly with Kentuckians, as the commonwealth emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to build on positive economic momentum.
“The theme of today’s update is progress, teamwork and opportunity,” said Gov. Beshear. “We’re going to have a lot of really positive news today about where the commonwealth is going. In fact, over the last four days alone, we have had more than five new announcements on good jobs coming here to the commonwealth.”
Today, the Governor also announced a new incentive program to encourage Kentuckians to return to the workforce. The Governor discussed job creation and economic momentum, federal funding for child care and vaccination updates and called on broadband providers to submit input on the state’s broadband deployment process, as he launched the next phase of the Better Kentucky Plan.
Return-to-Work Incentive
Gov. Beshear announced a new incentive plan today to pay as many as 15,000 Kentuckians on unemployment insurance a one-time $1,500 bonus to rejoin the workforce by July 30.
The Governor set aside $22.5 million in CARES Act funds to pay for the program to incentivize more people to leave unemployment insurance and begin filling job vacancies throughout the commonwealth to further ignite an economy that is beginning to lift off as Kentucky emerges from the pandemic with weekly job announcements and positive economic news. To learn more, see the full release. For full qualifying criteria, visit Team Kentucky’s Return-to-Work Incentive website.
State Seeks Input from Broadband Providers
Today, the Governor also called upon broadband providers to submit ideas, suggestions and comments as the state develops the process for distributing $300 million in funding to expand internet access to unserved communities across the commonwealth.
Through a Request for Information, the state is soliciting input from broadband networks owned, operated or affiliated with local governments, nonprofits and cooperatives, as well as private providers with a focus on serving entire communities. The RFI will remain open until July 12, 2021, and may be found at on the state’s vendor self-service portal.
Responses to the RFI may include application requirements, applicant qualifications, project areas, data reflecting the geographic areas of unserved communities, as well as other information that would assist in the development of the formal Request for Proposals, which will be released later this summer. To learn more, see the full release.
Job Creation and Economic Momentum
Gov. Beshear also highlighted the state’s continued economic momentum, including four job-creating projects taking place across the commonwealth.
Semi-trailer and equipment manufacturer Fruehauf Inc. plans to create 288 full-time jobs in the years ahead in Bowling Green, which will host the company’s first U.S. facility in nearly 25 years. To learn more, see the full release.
LION First Responder PPE Inc., a manufacturer of firefighter garments and other first responder equipment and apparel, will reopen its Beattyville facility 11 years after its closure. The development stands to create 75 full-time jobs for Eastern Kentuckians. To learn more, see the full release.
PJ Clark Lumber LLC, founded earlier this year by a Trigg County native, plans to locate in an existing facility in Cadiz and create 35 full-time jobs for Kentuckians. The company produces lumber for the multi-family and single-family construction market. To learn more, see the full release.
In Jessamine County, startup distiller E.J. Curley & Co. plans to establish a facility at the Kentucky River Palisades at Camp Nelson, a project slated to create 52 full-time jobs. To learn more, see the full release.
Vaccinations and Shot-at-a Million Update
On Thursday, Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, joined Gov. Beshear to provide an update on the state’s vaccination efforts. To date, nearly 2.2 million Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as new COVID-19 cases declined in Kentucky for the seventh straight week.
Dr. Stack also updated Kentuckians on the Shot at a Million sweepstakes, the state’s incentive program to encourage Kentuckians to get vaccinated against COVID-19. To date, 472,938 Kentuckians have registered for a chance at $1 million and 26,636 Kentucky youth have registered for the chance to win a full scholarship. The winners of the first drawing will be announced Friday, July 2. Learn more and sign up for your Shot at a Million at shotatamillion.ky.gov.
Child Care Funding
Gov. Beshear announced that Kentucky has been awarded more than $763 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to provide relief for the global pandemic-impacted child care providers in the commonwealth. The funding will offer assistance to financially stressed child care providers which in turn helps families with young children. To learn more, see the full release.
AgriTech Industry
This week, Gov. Beshear celebrated three milestones in the AgriTech industry, marking progress toward the goal to make Eastern Kentucky the AgriTech capital of the world. The Governor attended the groundbreaking for AppHarvest’s fourth and fifth facilities located in Morehead and Somerset, respectively. He also attended a ribbon-cutting for AppleAtcha, a new company in Martin County that will grow apples on abandoned mine land and create thousands of jobs.
Cullan Brown Memorial
Honoring one of Kentucky’s finest athletes, Gov. Beshear announced the Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet will dedicate the golf course at Mineral Mound State Park in honor of late Lyon County resident and University of Kentucky golfer Cullan Brown. Cullan, a native of Eddyville, grew up playing golf at Mineral Mound State Park and later joined the University of Kentucky men’s golf team before he passed away at age 20 after a battle with cancer.
“He was an incredible person who touched the lives of everyone he met both on and off the course,” the Governor said.
To honor Cullan’s legacy and his story of resilience, the Governor said an official renaming ceremony will take place in late August, with more details to come.