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Beshear says food company to create 925 jobs in Kentucky, adding to the state's economic momentum

Kentucky Governor
December 19, 2024

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) โ€” A food company has chosen Kentucky for a facility that will employ more than 900 people, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday, saying the project ranks as the fifth-largest jobs project since he took office.

Kitchen Food Co., an Australia-founded premium ready-meals business, will locate a prepared foods facility in Hopkinsville and create 925 jobs as part of its $69 million investment, Beshear announced. Hopkinsville is about 170 miles (275 kilometers) southwest of Louisville, Kentucky.

โ€œTodayโ€™s announcement is a great reminder that Kentuckyโ€™s economic momentum is not only here to stay, but the commonwealth is open and ready for business from companies all over the world,โ€ the Democratic governor said at a news conference.

It adds to another strong year of economic growth, he said. This year ranks as the fourth-best year in state history for economic investment with 170 private sector new-location and expansion announcements totaling more than $6.9 billion in investments and 9,425 new full-time jobs, he said.

Since he took office in late 2019, the state has achieved its first-, second- and fourth-best years in Kentucky history for private-sector investments, he said. And the average incentivized hourly wage for those new jobs has topped $26 an hour in three straight years for the first time in state history, he said.

The momentum has changed perceptions as Kentucky becomes a โ€œpremier destinationโ€ for business, the governor said.

โ€œFinally, the rest of the world is looking up to us, instead of looking down on us,โ€ he said. โ€œIt is a special time to be a Kentuckian.โ€

Beshear typically begins his weekly press conferences by touting the Bluegrass State's latest successes in economic development. The stateโ€™s Republican supermajority legislature says the record private-sector investments are the result of GOP-initiated policies that are business friendly.

Looking ahead to 2025, Beshear said his focus will remain on jobs, infrastructure, education and health care. Beshear, who won a second term last year, is one of several Democratic governors who are the subject of early speculation as potential contenders for the partyโ€™s presidential nomination in 2028.

Beshear mentioned those same core issues during a sit-down interview Wednesday when he gave suggestions on what Democrats should look for in their next presidential nominee on everything from more affordable health care to pro-public education and greater public safety in communities.

โ€œI think the next Democratic nominee should be a pragmatist that is about getting things done, getting real results,โ€ he said. โ€œA track record of showing people that they can help lower their bills or help them make more money to pay them. Somebody whoโ€™s got a track record on improving the infrastructure of this country."

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