There have been changes afoot at LINK nky toward the end of 2022. The beloved Michael Monks is heading to Los Angeles, and we’ve reshuffled reporters’ beats heading into the New Year.
One of those beat changes brings former Kenton County Reporter Kenton Hornbeck over to a newly developed business beat.
There will be no shortage of business stories coming out of one of the fastest-growing regions in the state and what Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers referred to as one of the state’s “largest economic drivers.”
Kenton told me it’s pretty hard to narrow down, but he’s paying attention to the changing culture of the river cities through the lens of 21st-century development – for example, the West End of Newport’s rapidly changing landscape amidst a flurry of development, with only long-standing Big Daddy’s Liquor Store the last bastion of Old Newport standing in the shadow of the Ovation Development.
“I think it’s a big deal because the developments are symbolic of two different eras in Northern Kentucky’s history, so in a way, they’re highlighting the economic progress the region has made while also bringing to light new problems that come along with that progress,” Hornbeck said.
Across the Licking River, Kenton will be paying attention to how the expected Brent Spence Companion Bridge without tolls will affect Northern Kentucky businesses.
While we’re over in Kenton County, the new reporter on that beat is Alecia Ricker. Ricker is no stranger to Kenton County, though; she also said she’d be paying close attention to the bridge development.
“The 71-75 interstate is a heavily traveled route for semi-trucks delivering goods from Florida to Michigan,” Ricker said. “The bottleneck here at the bridge creates slowdowns in the delivery and transport of materials and increases costs. Eliminating the bottleneck will shorten wait times, lower costs, and rid headaches for many of the residents of Kenton County.”
Further, Ricker said, she’ll be paying attention to one of the largest scale projects in Covington in 50 years — the redevelopment of the 23 acres where the IRS building once stood.
“As the gateway to Kenton County, the riverfront in Covington will take on a new look,” Ricker said. “A redesigned neighborhood will greet visitors and entice businesses to relocate to the area, offering more residential and commercial spaces for newcomers and current Kentuckians (and their anticipated tax dollars).”
Returning to Campbell County, Campbell County beat reporter Haley Parnell said she’ll be paying attention to the issue with the DAV property in Alexandria.
Last week, the Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed the Campbell County Circuit Court’s decision that the Board of Education was entitled to eminent domain to acquire the former Disabled American Veterans (known locally as the DAV) property located on U.S. 27 to use as a new middle school.
While there’s a lot of development in Campbell and Kenton, Boone County is the fastest-growing county in Northern Kentucky. One of the big stories in Boone is the Union Promenade — a 61-acre commercial and residential development that will include a Cincinnati Children’s Hospital location,
“It’s the biggest project because it’s going to serve as a ‘destination’ place for the people of Boone County,” said Boone County Reporter Grace Tierney. “It will also feature 50 single-family homes and 300 multifamily units.”
Lastly, as the politics and government reporter, I will closely monitor the state legislature. But, by far, the governor’s race will be the most significant political news in Kentucky in 2023. It’s one of only three governor’s races occurring in the country in 2023 — the others are Louisiana and Mississippi.
It will be one of the country’s most watched governor’s races, as Democrat Andy Beshear is one of the country’s lone Democrats holding that seat in a very Republican state. It will also be one of the most expensive races in the country.
So far, the race features 11 Republicans for the primary. The number was recently 12, but Northern Kentucky Rep. Savannah Maddox (R-Dry Ridge) dropped out of the race on Dec. 20.
Other notable candidates include Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Auditor Mike Harmon, Somerset Mayor Alan Keck, and former U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft.