WQXE News

Paving crews will be making repairs between mile markers 91 and 98 on Interstate 65 in Hardin County Sunday and Monday nights.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says work will begin at 8 p.m. Sunday and continue until 6 a.m. Monday. Work will resume at 8 p.m. Monday and wrap up at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

I-65 northbound will be reduced to one lane Sunday night, and due to proximity to the interchange the northbound on-ramp at Exit 91 from the Western Kentucky Parkway on to I-65 will be closed. The off ramp will remain open. No Exit 91 ramp closures will be required Monday night when work shifts to the southbound lanes.

“This time of year, we’re always subject to weather, so it looks like the forecast is going to cooperate with us real well here Sunday night and Monday night, so we’re trying to get this work squeezed in, need to get these repairs complete here heading into winter and snow and ice, and doing this work at night minimizes the impact to traffic and makes it more safe and efficient for the crew out there too,” said KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie.

Lane closures will be in effect both nights. Drivers should watch for signage, slow down, and use caution when approaching work zones.

Unemployment in Kentucky in October came in just above the state average for September.

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says the state unemployment average for October was 5 percent. That is a slight increase from the 4.9 percent average reported in September as well as from October 2023 when the average was reported at 4.3 percent.

Kentucky’s unemployment average also came in higher in October than the national unemployment rate, which the U.S Department of Labor reported at 4.1 percent for the second straight month.

The Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet says the state’s civilian labor force, which includes people currently employed and people actively searching for work, saw an increase of about 6,000 people from September into October, bringing the civilian labor force to about 2,075,000. It is the eighth month in a row the state labor force has seen an increase.

The manufacturing, educational and health services, and construction sectors saw increases, while the leisure and hospitality sector, the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, and the professional and business services sectors saw decreases.

Visit the Kentucky Center for Statistics to learn more about labor market information.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he has been at announcements, groundbreakings, and ribbon cuttings for the BlueOval SK Battery Park as well as the ECTC BlueOval SK Training Center, so getting to see those facilities starting operations is a testament to the commonwealth’s commitment to the future.

“It is really exciting to know that the batteries of the future are going to be produced right here in Kentucky and, as I got to tour the training facility today, to see people whose lives are being changed, to see how excited they are to be a part of this industry, and knowing that this is going to be an industry in operation for decades to come,” Beshear said.

The governor toured the training facility and the battery park during a visit to the site Wednesday with company officials. Beshear said BlueOval remains the catalyst for Kentucky’s bid to be a leader in the EV industry, and the facilities are evidence of what collaboration between industry, government, and education can look like.

“The training is technical, it’s new, it takes a lot of work, so it’s exciting to see both the teachers that are helping to provide the training as well as everybody working to pick it up so they can do their jobs safely and, we hope, better than anywhere else in the United States,” Beshear said.

BlueOval SK CEO Michael Adams said the governor’s visit comes on the heels of an important milestone as employees began moving into the Kentucky One plant on Tuesday.

“We were able to do it successfully, bring our employees in, and now we’re just getting ready to start building those samples in our plant and then validate those samples so that we can be prepared for that launch and the start of production in 2025,” Adams said.

About 750 of the expected 5,000 employees that will call the battery park home are now on the job.