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Kentucky annual unemployment up in 2024

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Kentucky’s annual unemployment rate saw an increase in 2024. 

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says the state’s annual unemployment rate for 2024 was 5.1 percent. That is up from the 4.3 percent annual rate for 2023, and trends higher than the national annual unemployment rate of 4 percent.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the Kentucky civilian labor force saw an increase in 2024 of about 37,000 people. The estimated number of Kentuckians in the labor force is 2,093,848, with an estimated 106,205 of them unemployed.

Kentucky’s annual unemployment rate for 2024 ranked 48th in the country. Nevada posted the highest annual unemployment rate for 2024 at 5.6 percent while South Dakota posted the lowest at 1.8 percent. 21 states experienced significant increases in annual unemployment rates from 2023 to 2024.

Kentucky’s Education and Health Services, Government, Construction, Manufacturing, Leisure and Hospitality, and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sectors saw increases in 2024. The Mining and Logging, Financial Activities, Information, and Professional and Business Services sectors saw decreases.

Find more unemployment and labor market information at kystats.ky.gov.

Deadline to provide input on design of Grayson County skatepark Friday

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Friday is the deadline for area residents to provide their input to the Twin Lakes Skatepark Project as they work with Hunger Skateparks on the design of the planned skatepark in Grayson County.

“We want to know ‘what do you want to see?’” said Twin Lakes Skatepark Project Chairman Casey Keown. “We don’t want to just put together a park based off of what we think it should be, right? ‘Unity through community’ is our motto, so we really want to incorporate everybody’s input in this new skate park.”

Keown says the organization wants to hear from Grayson County residents as well as residents of surrounding counties that would utilize the skatepark. A link to the survey can be found on the Twin Lakes Skatepark Project’s Facebook page and website.

Keown says the project team has continued to make progress, including official recognition as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

“Right now our focus is on community engagement and fundraising,” Keown said. “We’re all really excited to see where this is going and you know I think for the most part we’ve kind of got everybody on our side, and our cards are just falling in the right place at the right time.”

Visit twinlakesskatepark.org for more information on the project.

Water districts make annual reports to Hardin County Fiscal Court

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their first meeting of the month Tuesday.

Hardin County Water District No. 1 General Manager Jeff Metz and Hardin County Water District No. 2 General Manager Shaun Youravich gave the court their respective companies’ annual presentations.

Metz said despite lower than anticipated revenues, District 1 was able to keep expenses under control and finished 2024 with a positive margin. Metz noted several projects which expanded the district’s water efficiency by 18 percent and connected unserved roads in the county to water service, and many projects benefited from county ARPA funding and other grant opportunities.

“That would basically be impossible without grant funding to help make that happen, so all those citizens I can assure you are greatly appreciative of being awarded those grant dollars, and we appreciate giving opportunities to expand that and get that water service to them,” Metz said.

Youravich said District 2 was anticipating a loss for sewer operations in 2024, but the BlueOval SK plant getting online in 2024 had not been anticipated in projections and instead sewer operations had more than $400,000 in revenue. Water revenue saw an increase in 2024 partially due to an extended dry season, and Youravich noted the efficiency of the district’s operations.

“We had 10 breaks per 100 miles, because we had about 1,100 miles of water main, so we were well within the excellent performance category, and when you compare that to other utilities across the U.S. the national average is 25 to 30 breaks per 100 miles,” Youravich said.

Metz said District 1 was awarded the Best Tasting Water award from the Kentucky Rural Water Association, and Youravich said Kentucky as a whole ranked third in best drinking water rankings nationwide.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet March 25.

Health officials advise of importance of vaccination after two more child flu deaths reported

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The deaths of two more Kentucky children from influenza have been announced. 

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services says a total of three children have died from influenza this respiratory illness season after the deaths of a child from the Barren River District and a child from Jefferson County were reported.

According to a release from the cabinet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has described this flu season as the worst in over 15 years. Health officials recommend necessary precautions including washing hands regularly with soap and water, covering coughs and sneezes, staying home when sick, and staying up to date on vaccinations.

The CDC recommends everyone that is six months of age or older get the annual flu and COVID-19 vaccines, especially people with high-risk medical conditions. There’s still time to get vaccinated as flu season traditionally runs through April, and there are two codominant subtypes of influenza currently circulating. Contact your medical provider or your area health department for vaccination information.

More information on respiratory illness data can be found at CoverYourCough.ky.gov.

Murder trial for Rineyville man set to begin this week

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The murder trial of a Rineyville man is due to begin this week.

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that jury selection began Monday for the Commonwealth of Kentucky versus Jordan Henning. Henning was arrested and charged with Murder following the June 2023 shooting death of his wife Ashley Henning.

“From my knowledge, it was her birthday and they were having a party, and sometime during that party, the husband and wife get into it,” said Hardin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy David Lee, discussing the incident with Quicksie and the Wolf in 2023. “People at the party start to leave. Neighbors come over to try to talk to them, and I think one of the neighbors actually takes the children and takes them home. He kind of runs the neighbors off. The majority of the people leave, and evidently they still get into it, stay into it, and he shoots her five times and then leaves, and he was caught by our deputies shortly after he left the scene.”

Officials said both of the Hennings were active duty service members stationed at Fort Knox at the time of the incident, which led to the Fort Knox Criminal Investigation Division joining the sheriff’s office in the investigation.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin Wednesday. Henning has been held at the Hardin County Detention Center on a $1 million cash bond.