Economic Development leaders from Northwest Kentucky, Southwest Indiana, and Southeast Illinois, along with their Chamber of Commerce counterparts, recently participated in a joint mission to Washington, DC.
The group, which came out of the November 2008 Regional Economic Summit, is working together on areas of mutual concern. We met with Congressmen and Senators from the region, as well as DOT and key associations, to promote I-69 and US 50 as well as to encourage the members to carefully consider the impacts of both cap and trade legislation and the EPA’s recent moves to attempt to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air act.
Nearly every office commented on the uniqueness of seeing a tri-state region working together.
NWKF believes that education excellence and lifelong learning are essential for a competitive workforce. Our goal is to encourage involvement and support for schools to foster excellence. The following are two accounts of unique initiatives occurring in Northwest Kentucky schools:
Ellie Wright, Education and Workforce Coordinator, recently visited 3 Union County Elementary schools with UCPS Superintendent Josh Powell. Among the impressive sights, seeing 2nd graders who are learning to speak Chinese. Not only were they counting to 100 in Chinese, but the teacher was speaking almost exclusively in Chinese to the students!
Also, the most recent NWKF board meeting was held in the library at McLean County High School. A presentation was made on the school’s new dual-enrollment program with a local college. Nearly one-third of all seniors are enrolled in dual credit courses earning credits towards both high school diplomas and college!
The Existing Business arm of NWKF recently conducted a survey of our existing businesses. This survey covered the 133 companies in the four-county region which could potentially apply for incentives under Kentucky primary economic development incentive programs.
The survey measured current and future economic trends among these companies. NWKF Existing Business Manager, Cj Maple, worked with a group of existing businesses to find out what they wanted to know and what questions they wanted asked. As a result, more than 65% of companies responded!
Overall, the picture for businesses in NWKY is very positive. But don’t just take my word for it, you can view the survey results yourself.
Governor Steve Beshear was in the Henderson on Friday to announce that Rio Tinto Alcan, which operates a large aluminum smelter in southern Henderson County, has been approved for $15 million in incentives.
The incentives are to encourage RTA to move forward with a planned $50 million reinvestment that would secure the facility for the long-term. The smelter which employs more than 500 high wage positions is arguably the most important economic engine in this region.
Most of the incentives are in the form of state corporate income tax credits made available through the new Kentucky Reinvestment Act (KRA) which the General Assembly approved last June. NWKF had strongly lobbied for this program for several years and praised its passage as key to future growth and opportunities.
NWKF congratulates RTA on this announcement and looks forward to continuing to work with them.
