LINK Kenton Reader - Volume 2, Issue 14 - March 1, 2024

Destination NKY: How we live, work and play in Northern Kentucky

Kenton Hornbeck on Northern Kentucky’s labor shortage p3

Robin Gee on how economic development in NKY stacks up ..........................................................p5

Noah Jones on how NKY is attracting – and retaining – its immigrant population ................p7

Northerner staff writers on how NKU is drawing students from around the country – and the world p9

Haley Parnell on NKY’s appeal for tourism, business and talent ................................................. p11

Emma Balcom on Northern Kentucky’s tourism industry.............................................................p13

One newspaper, every household in Northern Kentucky

By Lacy Starling

It’s hard to get Northern Kentucky’s attention. Trust me, we’ve been publishing for two-and-a-half years, and we’re just now getting to the point where most folks have heard of us. But in an era where there are so many demands on our attention — social media, 5,000 — streaming options, radio, broadcast TV, I could go on - it is hard to cut through the noise and bring a singular message to everyone in the NKY Metro.

But there are some issues so important to our community that we feel everyone needs to know about them. Elections, housing, education, healthcare and workforce are all issues that will affect every single Northern Kentuckian, either now or in the near future. As a community, we need to be

informed in order to make decisions about what we want for our future.

The question remains, though — how do we reach everyone, regardless of age, location, income or access to technology and make sure they have the information they need? At LINK, we’ve found the answer in an old technology — the newspaper. We think that putting a newspaper — the same newspaper — in the hands of every single North-

ern Kentucky resident is the best possible way to ensure our entire community is informed about the issues that matter.

We produce, print and mail our Super Is-

sues four times a year, to all 161,587 households in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties. Each Super Issue is almost twice as long as our regular weekly paper, The LINK Reader, and we use that expanded space to dive deeper into the issues that matter.

It is incredibly expensive to print and mail this many papers. Each Super Issue costs us nearly $50,000 in design, printing and postage. But we believe it is worth it to give our community the information we need to continue to thrive.

We hope you enjoy this edition — we take a long look at what makes NKY special, and how those factors can be used to attract tourists, workers and students. And if you’d like to support our work, flip to Page 3 where you can subscribe or donate.

PRESIDENT & CEO Lacy Starling

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Mark Collier

MANAGING EDITOR Meghan Goth

SPORTS EDITOR Evan Dennison

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Love what we're doing? Want to support public-interest journalism in Northern Kentucky? Make a tax-deductible donation to support our work. Scan the QR code below, or mail a check payable to the Northern Kentucky Community Journalism Fund to 50 E. Rivercenter Blvd., Suite 431, Covington, KY 41011.

No part of this publication may be used without permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings, and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please let us know and accept our sincere apologies in advance.

NKY gets creative to tackle labor shortage

By Kenton Hornbeck

As the United States rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s economy faces a daunting labor issue: There are many available jobs but not enough workers to fill them.

Across the country, employers are scrambling to find workers to fill open positions. Recent data published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found there are 9.5 million job openings in the U.S., but only 6.5 million unemployed workers. That means that, if every one of those workers were hired, approximately 3 million jobs would still go unfilled.

Locally, Northern Kentucky business leaders are grappling with this reality. For now, the region is experiencing economic growth. If the labor pool shrinks in the coming years, though, whether through a lack of migration or baby boomers aging out of the workforce, the region’s leaders will be forced to reassess their economic goals and reckon with the consequences brought on by inaction.

“I’m unaware of an area in the country that is thriving, that isn’t growing,” Brent Cooper, president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, told LINK nky.

Attracting and retaining talent is a central component of economic strategy for regional bodies such as the NKY Chamber of Commerce, BE NKY Growth Partnership, meetNKY and OneNKY Alliance, among others.

“It doesn’t matter the industry. When we survey, the overarching No. 1 issue is we don’t have enough people,” Cooper said. “I think the leaders in the community have committed to the fact that the No. 1 overarching issue is growing, attracting and retaining talent.”

In addition to his duties at the Chamber of Commerce, Cooper is CEO of C-Forward, an information technology firm based in Covington. Cooper said that, despite raising wages since the pandemic, his business, along with many others in Northern Kentucky, has struggled to attract new employees.

Currently, all three Northern Kentucky counties boast low unemployment rates. Kenton County sits at 3.5%, while Boone and Campbell are at 3.4%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, the unemployment rate is 3.7%. Along with low unemployment rates, the counties’ combined civilian workforce is at an alltime high.

In Kentucky as a whole, the unemployed persons per job opening ratio was 0.8 in November 2023 and has been below 1.0 since November 2020, according to data provided by BE NKY. That means there is less than one available worker for every job opening.

So how did the U.S. – and Northern Kentucky – get into this precarious situation?

Unsurprisingly, some of the reasons can be traced to the pandemic. When offices were forced to close, a portion of white-collar workers were either laid off or required to work remotely.

When the pandemic subsided, employers added an unprecedented number of jobs. In 2022 alone, the U.S. economy added 4.5 million jobs. The only problem – there weren’t enough people to fill them.

Many workers used the pandemic as an opportunity to reassess their careers. Some workers decided to quit their jobs altogether, a phenomenon dubbed the Great Resignation.

Locally, the industries that were affected

the most by retirements and resignations are blue-collar jobs, said David McAleese, research director at BE NKY.

“A lot of it is for those production jobs, construction, retail service, things like that. We are hearing this from the companies that we serve,” McAleese said. “In a lot of instances, the office and professional jobs – they’re having a much easier time, but, when it comes down to some of those more production and labor-intensive jobs, that’s where a lot of the challenge is.”

In the coming years, baby boomers – the second largest generation in the U.S. – will age into retirement, exiting the workforce and taking their decades of intellectual capital with them.

Janet Harrah, chief economist at Northern Kentucky University’s Center for Economic Analysis and Development, told LINK that there aren’t enough millennials and Gen Z workers available to fill the void left by the baby boomers. “Our population is aging rapidly. There’s not as many young people to come in at the back end to fill in the jobs,” she said.

From Harrah’s perspective, demographic trends play an outsized role in analyzing workforce trends. “Our population is getting older or having fewer children,” she said.

Not only are there not enough young workers now, there are not enough potential workers being born. In 2020, the U.S. birth rate dropped to its lowest level since the 1930s at 1.64 births per woman; the accepted replacement level birth rate – the rate at which the population is at least maintained – is 2.1 births. By the year 2034, older adults will outnumber children for the first time in the nation’s history, according to a report published by the Lightcast consulting firm.

Lee Crume, CEO of BE NKY Growth Partnership, speaks at the organization’s annual forum in the Eva G. Farris Ballroom at Hotel Covington. Crume talked with prominent Northern Kentucky business and political leaders about the importance of addressing the region’s shrinking labor pool. Photo by Joe Simon | LINK nky

Continued from page 3

Another cause of the labor shortage is decreasing immigration to the U.S. Between 2020 and 2021, when borders were shut down due to COVID-19, net international migration to the U.S. contributed only a 247,000-person increase to the nation’s population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That’s a 76% reduction when compared to the 1,049,000-person increase in the U.S. population between 2015 and 2016 from net international migration.

From the Chamber of Commerce’s point of view, increasing the number of legal immigrants in Northern Kentucky is necessary. Cooper said an internal Chamber of Commerce survey found that 78% of member businesses supported the organization being engaged in “reasonable legal immigration solutions.”

“I will say, it is an essential part of any ultimate workforce solution for our region long term. It has to include us being a welcoming place, and that’s making sure that people can come here and work here and pay taxes here and raise a family,” he said. “Those are key ingredients.”

If this issue isn’t adequately addressed, Cooper said Northern Kentucky could risk exacerbating already existing shortages in

essential jobs such as police officers, nurses, teachers, emergency responders and firefighters.

“I think people miss when they talk about, ‘Hey, we don’t need more people, you know, we’re fine,’” Cooper said. “Not really. Just maintaining the quality of life – we don’t have enough nurses, we don’t have enough teachers, we don’t have enough police officers. Basic services that we’ve all come to depend on are going to are going to be delayed or denied.”

To avoid this outcome, what can Northern Kentucky do to help skill up its current workforce, while making the region more attractive for workers and employers to relocate here?

Northern Kentucky is in active competition for younger workers.

Last September, BE NKY invited Ernst & Young Economic Development Advisory Services Leader Amy Holloway to speak at their quarterly meeting. Holloway gave a presentation that outlined potential solutions such as increasing “quality-of-life investments” in recreation, housing and reliable public transportation. In the audience were Northern Kentucky officials, representatives and business leaders.

“What do we do with fewer people in our communities, and how important it is now to be investing in those quality of life assets, in those programs that make us an attractive place for people – to retain the population that we have, and even attract more people,” Holloway said during the presentation.

Lee Crume, BE NKY’s CEO, said Northern Kentucky leaders should prioritize these types of investments so the region can become a more “attractive place for the younger cohorts.”

“The community that solves daycare, pre-K, quality education, good career, good amenities – the communities that get that mix right I think are going to have a tremendous competitive advantage, and we’ve got to continue to work in that fashion,” Crume said.

Another key solution is increasing the workforce housing supply in the region.

The Northern Kentucky Area Development District released a housing study last September that revealed the region’s econom-

This chart illustrates unemployed persons per job opening, seasonally adjusted, in Kentucky. In November 2023, the ratio in Kentucky was 0.8. It has been below 1.0 since November 2020. Photo provided | BE NKY Growth Partnership

ic and population growth has outpaced its available housing supply.

Just to support economic development over the next five years, the study found that the region needs to build 6,650 housing units across all demographics – 1,330 units per year.

The study defines workforce housing as households whose wages range from $15 to $25 hourly for full-time workers, with monthly housing costs between $500 and $1,500. Overall, there is a need for 3,000 new workforce housing units to be constructed.

However, that is only for the existing Northern Kentucky residents in one income range. To remain competitive with other regions, local homebuilders need to construct thousands more housing units across a variety of income levels, from workforce housing to luxury condos.

Besides adding more housing, another solution is to improve the skills of workers already living in Northern Kentucky. Whether it’s in nursing or trade jobs like plumbing or welding, the region needs younger workers in critical industries.

Educational institutions like Gateway Community & Technical College, NKU, the Enzweiler Building Institute, and public and private high schools offer a variety of skilled-labor curricula to people of all ages. “We need to have mechanisms in place to raise the skill level of people coming into the workforce, and quickly retrain or upskill,” Crume said.

For companies, automation is looked at as a solution. Don’t have enough workers to do low-skilled jobs? There might be a solution in robotics or artificial intelligence.

“This year, companies are automating like crazy,” Crume said. “As they automate, you lose the entry-level job in the companies.”

The elimination of these roles disproportionately affects less educated workers. A 2022 study published in Econometrica found that automation accounts for more than half of the increase in the income gap between more- and less-educated workers over the past 40 years.

As an IT professional, Cooper said he does not fear automation but rather thinks the phenomenon will lead to the creation of new roles. Additionally, Cooper believes that students, in college and younger, should be taught about artificial intelligence. Nonetheless, he views automation as only a small part of the solution.

“It may change, but I don’t see us automating our way out of a workforce shortage,” Cooper said.

Regardless of the prescriptions, Northern Kentucky is in the same boat as countless other regions in the U.S. There is a battle for talent, both nationally and internationally.

“The communities that figure out how to succeed with workforce are going to win the battle for talent, and right now we as a region need to step up our game.” Cooper said.

A masonry student at the Covington Academy of Heritage Trades. Photo provided | Enzweiler Building Institute

Economic development: How does Northern Kentucky stack up?

By Robin Gee

We hear a lot in the news these days about the country’s slow economic recovery. Experts predict, after the turmoil and insecurity of the pandemic, we are coming in for a “soft landing.” We are expected to avoid a recession in favor of slow growth at about 2.4 percent per year. Yet, that growth is uneven across the country.

Regions, states and cities are competing for investment dollars and looking for strategies to attract people and businesses. Northern Kentucky is competing, too. We are growing, but we are also challenged by the need to provide the things that can bring in the people and build our workforce. Affordable and safe housing, educational opportunities, access to medical care, easy transportation routes and options for entertainment are among the things experts say we need to stay competitive and grow our local economy.

What does this mean for our region? How do we compare with other communities of a similar size, and how do we ensure Northern Kentucky continues to grow and stay economically healthy?

Finding answers to these questions is not easy, but it is the focus of business and community leaders, development experts, government officials, job seekers and residents alike as we move forward into the next decade and beyond.

Trends affecting growth

“Whether you’re looking at Kentucky or the whole United States, there are three big trends that are affecting every community to one degree or another across the United States,” said Janet Harrah, executive director of outreach for Northern Kentucky University’s Center for Economic Analysis and Development.

“The rate of population growth is slowing,” Harrah said. “It doesn’t mean we’re declining, it just means we’re not growing as fast as we used to. Our rate of population growth basically peaked when the millennials were born, and it’s been coming down since.

“Our population is aging pretty much

across the country. Obviously, some regions are older than others. But across the United States, our population on average is getting older. And … our population is getting more racially diverse.”

The question arises: Is there a direct correlation between population numbers (growth or decline) and economic success?

Experts say it’s complicated, and it’s about more than just population numbers. Some of this depends on the number of people in the labor force and the number and quality of jobs. Harrah said it’s important to look at the entire picture to see how an economy is doing.

“There’s no one way to measure economic success. The way I look at it is: A successful economy is No. 1, attracting and retaining people,” Harrah said. “No. 2, it’s attracting and retaining jobs. No. 3, it’s attracting new capital investment. And No. 4, it is creat-

ing jobs that are paying a living wage, and hopefully increasing the overall average wage of the community.”

Labor force challenges

David McAleese is the research director at BE NKY Growth Partnership, an economic development firm focusing on business and community growth in Northern Kentucky. He agrees with Harrah that population is a key factor in the economic health of a community, especially how it relates to job growth.

“When you’re looking at regional economic development, the traditional metrics that we would focus on would certainly be things like jobs, measured by overall employment change. We’re looking at our population, and particularly the population that is in our labor force,” he said.

“The size of the labor force is something from an economic perspective, you definitely want to try to maximize and continue to see growth in. ... That’s what companies are looking for who are interested in locating to the region. They want to make sure that there’s enough people to fill those jobs, and then on top of that make sure that those people have the necessary skills.”

He noted a U.S. Census Bureau projection that for the first time in U.S. history, older adults — those 65 and over — will outnumber children under 18 by 2034.

“At one point, 2034 seemed like far away, but here we are, knocking on the door. It’s the next decade,” he said. “If you look at some of the projections for our region, right now older adults are about 15% of the population. By 2030, they’re going to be closer to 20%. Our labor force … is going to change dramatically.”

If we want to grow, we need to look at attracting people from outside the region and beyond, McAleese said.

“Immigration is a tough subject, and there’s a lot of political implications around it. But it’s something that collectively our political leaders are going to need to address, as well as this idea that, demographically, we’re getting more diverse,” he said. “We’re gradually seeing more and more diverse populations finding their home here. How do we make sure that, No. 1, they feel welcome? And, No. 2, they get assimilated into our economy and enjoy the same benefits we’ve enjoyed over the last couple of decades?” he asked.

If we build it, will they come?

Both Harrah and McAleese said attracting young people requires both ensuring the basics — good jobs, affordable housing, access to health care, quality childcare, transportation options and educational opportunities — while also providing the right mix of amenities and extras.

“Housing has become more and more important in recent years,” McAleese said. “Because, not surprisingly, in order to have a sufficient population or labor force, you need to be able to have sufficient both supply and quality of housing in the type

Continues on page 6

Continued from page 5 of ranges within the incomes of the population. We’re looking at what our housing supply looks like today and how many housing units we’ll need going forward.”

A recent study by the Northern Kentucky Area Development District looked at housing in the region, and BE NKY is working with the organization to understand the findings and determine the next steps. It is also paying careful attention to the quality of K-12 education in the area.

“What is the educational profile of our community? What does the quality of our schools look like? That is something we’re starting to track using information from Kentucky’s Department of Education,” McAleese said. “They do their annual school report cards. And so, we’re able to really better understand the performance of our local schools on key things like thirdgrade reading, which we’ve come to find is such a critical determinant of later life outcomes.”

In addition, most people want to be some place where they are going to enjoy living, Harrah said.

“If one of your strategies as a community is to try to attract young families, then you better have a really good K-12 school system,” she said. “If you’re trying to attract young professionals who have not yet married, outdoor activities are something they usually find very attractive. Do you have trails? Do you have walking paths, things like that?”

She noted that it helps that Northern Kentucky is in a large metro area that provides big-city attractions like an NFL team, MLB team and FC Cincinnati. We have several entertainment venues. We have worldclass health care facilities, such as Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

A skilled workforce

Another challenge brought on by a slowgrowth population is having a pool of workers who have the right skill sets to fill the needs of businesses moving into our area. One key strategy is to provide more opportunities for people to build and upgrade skills.

“I think we’re hearing this from a lot of our companies in the area. … They are having challenges finding skilled labor, in some cases, because the people that were previously in those roles have hit retirement age and have now left the workforce,” McAleese said. “Replacing that expertise and that knowledge is certainly something I think a lot of our companies, both in the region as well as across the U.S., are having to grapple with.”

He said a lot of companies he works with have started their own in-house training programs. The need for higher-level skills places more importance on post-secondary institutions in our region, such as NKU and Gateway as well as technical and tradeskill training programs.

“Manufacturing and advanced manufacturing has always been the bread-and-butter of Northern Kentucky, but the nature of manufacturing is changing rapidly,” McAleese said. “Making sure that people have the necessary skills to be effective in

that is important.

“We have a strong concentration in motor vehicle parts manufacturing. But what does that mean as we move towards more electronic vehicle manufacturing? How do we equip those workers? And the good news is, this is very achievable. But we need to make sure that we’re aligned as a community on these priorities. If so, I think we have the collective willpower and an ability to address them.”

Making comparisons

Our region is competing with other communities for people and businesses. Who are our competitors? Experts look at metro areas that are roughly the same size and have similar demographics. Comparisons can be tricky, as our region is part of the Greater Cincinnati area.

In fact, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget produces a list of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) across the U.S. Northern Kentucky is officially in the MSA known as the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area.

Harrah said that if Northern Kentucky were considered its own MSA, it would have a population of less than 500,000. There are about 274 metropolitan areas with a similar population size. If you divided that list up further into quintiles, we would be in the middle quintile and would compare to Ann Arbor, Michigan, or Corpus Christi, Texas.

If taken as part of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area, McAleese said, cities of similar size come to mind like Indianapolis, Louisville, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Detroit, as well as what he calls aspirational metros — those the media has characterized as seeing a tremendous influx of people and jobs. Those cities, he said, are mostly in highgrowth Southern portions of the country,

in places like Florida and Texas.

Getting the word out

McAleese said our area has enjoyed strong growth over the last 10 years, and that puts us in a good position. And, as far as quality of life goes, we have a lot to offer. Still, the challenge has been getting the word out.

Lee Crume, CEO of BE NKY, shared a story that illustrated the problem. The company did a program last fall in which it interviewed leaders from 40 local companies. Many people they spoke with said that our region was a hidden gem or a well-kept secret.

“The first time you hear that, it’s nice,” Crume said. “The 10th time you hear it, you realize it’s not a compliment. It’s actually a detriment that we have this wonderful region, Cincinnati metro, Northern Kentucky. And people just don’t know about it. How do we tell that story better to compete, especially on the population workforce side of the equation?”

McAleese expressed similar thoughts about telling our story better.

“We’ve got the amenities. We’ve got the access. We’ve got CVG. … Our cost of living is still relatively reasonable,” he said. “We don’t want to be that hidden gem. We want to get the story out. We want the potential migrants to know where we are and that we’ve got opportunity here. I think that’s our challenge going forward. And if we’re doing our job right, then hopefully, we’re moving the needle there.

BE NKY is completing a population assessment study with NKU that is expected to be published soon. It looks at how Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati have grown historically, relative to 17 metro areas.

Many programs at Gateway Community & Technical help prepare people to meet the labor needs of the Northern Kentucky region. Photo provided | Gateway Community & Technical College

With declining state birthrate, where will Kentucky find a workforce?

By Noah Jones

At 30 years old, Francisco Tello was offered an exciting opportunity. His then-employer, Mars, producers of M&M’s and other candies, transferred him in 1999 to Waco, Texas, from Querètaro, Mexico, to serve as an industrial engineering manager.

“I felt all of the emotions,” he laughed, “Excited to come to America and learn something new. Nervous to be away from my

family and bring my children who did not speak English.”

Global companies have been transferring their employees to the U.S. for decades. Now Northern Kentucky economic experts are suggesting that finding workers outside the country may be the best option to continue fueling a growing workforce.

Grow, baby, grow

A 2023 Northern Kentucky Chamber of

Commerce survey found 73% of its 1,700 members think they should be advocating for improved legal immigration policies to bolster the workforce. From 2007 through 2022, Kentucky’s birth rate per 1,000 people fell from 14 to 11.6, a 17.1% decline, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2021 national estimate and components of change released in December 2021, the population of the United States

grew by 392,665, or 0.1%, through 2021, the lowest annual increase since the country’s founding. Nancy Spivey, vice president and talent strategist at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, said there will likely be more adults than children for the first time in U.S. history. There are several reasons for lower birthrates in the U.S., including higher cost of living, rising income and more women in the workforce.

Tello – now vice president of supply chain Continues on page 8

River is waiting.

A warm, gentle breeze, the sun dancing and flickering on the water, the sights ever-changing, ever-shifting. It won't be long before these short, gray days are behind us, and we're back to doing what we love, cruising The Mighty Ohio. You can kick back and relax anywhere, but if you ask us…

Life is better on a boat.

Francisco Tello is vice president of supply chain management at Perfetti Van Melle North America. Photo provided | Francisco Tello

Lee Crume is CEO of BE NKY Growth Partners. Photo provided | BE NKY Growth Partners

Continued from page 7

management for Perfetti Van Melle North America, producers of Mentos and other sweet treats – said he tries to hire immigrants already in the country when possible. He became a U.S. citizen in 2022.

“Diversity is important to us,” he said. “Diversity of thought, diversity of seeing issues and seeing solutions – we are a global company, so having people with the ability to speak multiple or different languages is an advantage.”

Lee Crume, CEO of BE NKY Growth Partners, a local economic development group, said companies that follow this practice will have the opportunity for workforce growth, while companies that don’t may get stuck at a plateau.

“You can choose not to grow and do nothing – you’ll get smaller,” Crume said. “If you want to grow, there are two options. There are only two places you can get more [working] people – from the rest of the U.S. or from outside the U.S.”

Crume added it’s much harder to get workers within the country to move to a new location, which has led to companies looking for foreign workers.

The immigrant economy

Nearly half of American immigrants have a college degree, according to Bryan Wright, executive director of Cincinnati Compass, a collaborative project of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the city of Cincinna-

ti and more than 65 community partners that believe immigrants and refugees are key contributors to a strong regional economy and a diverse and vibrant community.

Immigrants make up 4% of Kentucky’s population, and, according to the American Immigration Council, 79.9% of immigrants are of working age. The AIC also reported that immigrants in the commonwealth have $4.2 billion in spending power and pay $1.4 billion in taxes. Cheryl Besl, vice president of marketing and communications at BE NKY, said 115 foreign-based businesses in Northern Kentucky employ 15,495 people, a mix of foreign- and U.S.born.

As globalization increases, David McAleese, research director for Be NKY, said Northern Kentucky is focused on creating gateways to bring immigrants to the region.

“Some things that come to mind are our regional local universities. These are students who are getting a good education by traveling abroad. Are they able to stay after obtaining a degree? We need these workers. How do we get them to stay and feel welcome?” he said. “One of the things is we have an aging workforce that is retiring and living longer. We’re not making things in the way that we used to.”

Helping immigrants feel at home

Tello said he has enjoyed living in Erlanger since moving there in 2018.

“Northern Kentucky is a very good fami-

ly-oriented community. I have found a lot of support and a good-sized Latin community, so there are a lot of products and places that remind me of home,” he said. He added some things that he feels need to be improved.

“Transportation and job opportunities for people that don’t speak English are challenges I see in the area,” Tello said. “We are looking at ways to address the language barrier at Perfetti Van Melle.”

With the birthrate and American workforce in flux, both Be NKY and Cincinnati Compass agree the best place to look for workers is outside of the U.S.

The Northern Kentucky Chamber created a growth plan in 2016 to build a region in which immigrants would choose to live, focusing on engagement in existing cultural activities, marketing multilingualism as a desired skill, and creating pathways for leadership development to enhance the presence of minorities on boards and committees.

“We need to reduce those barriers (for immigrants),” Wright said. “We need to be able to retain that talent as well; we have to be able to find that talent.”

Tello added it’s important to try to improve the systems for legal immigration – a hot topic for the country today – because it will affect the gross domestic output going forward. Wright said the Kentucky and Ohio chambers of commerce and chambers

across the country include immigration in their growth strategies.

Tello said his experience of transferring from Mexico to Waco, Texas, serves as a guide for helping foreign hires. “I like to create visibility and coach them,” he said. “When I transferred, Mars helped me with the transition. They had people from Mexico and other open-minded people who would invite me to their house.”

In the meantime, those in Northern Kentucky want to make their community as welcoming as possible to retain and recruit as many immigrant workers as possible.

“We want to embrace those differences and cross those lines. And look into how we can be more welcoming,” Spivey said.

“Is it possible to get medical advice in the middle of the night?”

William, Taylor Mill, KY

NKU programs attract non-locals with its strong local appeal

By Mildred Nguyen, Braden White, Kylie McCulloch, Killian Baarlaer and Shae Meade

The numbers into NKU

Logan Pendleton was shocked, when she first started at NKU as the director of admissions, at how supportive everyone at the university was.

“One of the things that stood out to me in my time here is the amount of people that said, ‘We’re so glad you’re here,’” Pendleton said. “We love admissions, and we can’t wait to help NKU be better. That is not always the attitude that admissions gets at different universities. You don’t always get people that are just ready to help and so excited about helping and so excited to welcome leadership change.”

Campus culture is also something that

NKU’s associate director of outreach and recruitment, Hannah Schummer, said draws people to the university from all over the country — and the world.

Just about one-third of total students enrolled as of the 2023-2024 school year (5,118 out of 14,985) were from out of state or out of the country, according to NKU Institutional Research.

What is it about NKU that is drawing students from so far out of the region?

For Faith Meghrian, it was the nursing program.

Hailing from Illinois, Meghrian is a firstyear nursing student. The quality and the perks of the nursing program are what beckoned her to travel south for college.

Many nursing schools require prospective

students to declare pre-nursing as their major, prompting them to apply for the nursing program after completing their foundational courses. NKU’s nursing program matriculates students in this fashion, but it also offers a direct-admit program called Norse Nurse Scholar. It gives incoming freshmen who meet a list of academic and application requirements an opportunity to be preselected for a guaranteed spot in the nursing program.

Meghrian, who successfully applied to be a Norse Nurse Scholar, said knowing that her spot in the program is reserved gives her peace of mind.

“You don’t have to worry about if you’re going to get it or not,” she said.

When searching for schools, Meghrian was intentional about applying to schools with direct-admit nursing programs. She

learned of NKU while combing through a list of institutions that offer such a program.

Scholarships at NKU

Merit-based scholarships are another attractive aspect of NKU’s admissions process for out-of-state students. Alanna Pittman, a senior elementary education major from Texas, came to NKU for a few reasons, but she said there is one that trumps them all: fully covered tuition.

Students who apply to NKU before a specified deadline are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships. One of these scholarships is the presidential scholarship, which awards students full tuition and a $6,000 on-campus housing stipend.

Pittman earned the presidential scholarContinues on page 10

Effective Conservative Leadership for NKy

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About one-third of all students at NKY for the 2023-24 school year are from out of state or out of the country. Photo by Sydney Bellm | LINK nky contributor

Continued from page 9

ship and decided NKU was the right place for her after visiting the campus.

She had been offered full rides at other schools but said she liked the balance she noticed at NKU. The student population is big, but not too big; Highland Heights is quiet and easygoing, but it’s a short trip on I-471 away from Cincinnati’s buzzing downtown, Pittman said. Meghrian also liked the idea of being close to a large city.

Tista Nazrul is a junior at NKU, studying criminal justice. Like many students, Nazrul researched a handful of schools before deciding to attend NKU. Being an international student, she had a list of specific characteristics she looked for at each of these schools: the environment of the school’s location, the diversity of the student population and the cost.

Nazrul’s search for the best school for her started with looking for schools with tuition rates on the lower end. With this in mind, her counselor at the time suggested that she research NKU.

“When I did a little bit of research about the university, I got to know it is in a suburban setting, which seemed interesting to me,” Nazrul said.

According to Francois Le Roy, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Global Engagement at NKU, international students are often choosing from among thousands of universities.

“The fact that NKU is, year after year, ranked as one of the safest campuses in the United States matters a great deal when I travel to various parts of the world and I meet with students and parents,” Le Roy said.

NKU’s location

NKU, while neighboring Cincinnati, isn’t fully immersed in the urban setting, often appealing to international students and their families, according to those LINK nky

spoke with. Its location also gives it an edge in the form of several degree programs that take advantage of local economic demands.

The Global Supply Chain Management program responds to logistics, said Mark Thackeray, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Management. Over the years the talent pool, land availability and low cost of living have attracted companies here, spurring the growth of construction, order fulfillment, manufacturing, and various industrial and commercial operations.

The major notably features a cohort program, where students with the PSG Institute of Advanced Studies in India take classes at the Highland Heights campus for up to a year. Franklin Prabhakar is one such PSG cohort student who has been studying at NKU for seven months. Prabhakar had no interest in supply chain management at first — his bachelor’s degree is in computer applications — but he pursued his goal of coming to the U.S. Now, the program has really grown on him, he said.

NKU’s geographical location similarly draws students to Health Communications. Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Whittney Darnell pointed out that Greater Cincinnati is a hub of hospitals and health care providers, an exciting place for students to apply their knowledge and tackle practical issues around health-related information.

Twenty-four percent of Health Communications students live outside of a 30-mile radius of campus, and 6% are international students, according to demographic data provided by School of Media and Communications Director Stephen Yungbluth.

School of Computing and Analytics Director Traian Marius Truta said that one-fifth of graduates from the Data Science program have been international students, the remainder coming mainly from the Tri-State area. Data Science also responds to an evolving field: Companies and organizations collect a huge amount of data, which needs to be analyzed by qualified

graduates.

Another degree program, Construction Management, has drawn students from Europe — Haile College of Business Senior Associate Dean Sean Foley, Ph.D., remembered a Ukrainian student who now works in virtual construction on the West Coast — as well as Africa, Asia and South America.

Amid the majority from Greater Cincinnati, one current student came from Nebraska, Foley said. More than 80% of Construction Management graduates stay in the area due to the strong demand for qualified managers in local construction projects, large and small.

As for Schummer, who has been at NKU both as a student and now a staff member, she has a deep admiration for campus culture.

“Our faculty, they are here because they want to teach and they want to help you learn,” Schummer said. “They want to help you become the best version of yourself. I think you can see that in the way that faculty and students interact and the way that people interact with each other around campus. Everyone is happy that they get to be here.”

A class meets at the Hub of Global Supply Chain Excellence at Northern Kentucky University's Business Center, which houses the Haile College of Business.

Photo provided | Mark Thackeray

Tista Nazrul is a junior studying criminal justice.

Photo by Sydney Bellm | LINK nky contributor

Gateway to the commonwealth: Northern Kentucky’s appeal for tourism, business and talent

By Haley Parnell

When you think of Northern Kentucky, do you think of the iconic water tower, or maybe the region’s ties to bourbon?

Northern Kentucky is a community of 37 cities, three counties and over 400,000 people, many of whom are chest-beatingly proud to be a Northern Kentuckian, said Julie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of meetNKY.

Yet Northern Kentuckians and their busi-

nesses are struggling with how to identify the place they call home.

NKY growth organizations are working together with a branding agency to get the narrative on how they should be talking about NKY from a tourism standpoint, a business attraction standpoint and a talent development standpoint.

“We hear it from large companies, small companies, nonprofits,” Kirkpatrick said. “We also hear it from people who live here that they struggle with the narrative to describe Northern Kentucky.”

The growth organizations involved in the branding are the NKY Chamber of Commerce, BE NKY Growth Partnership, OneNKY Alliance and meetNKY.

Kirkpatrick described Northern Kentucky as the place where the North ends and the South begins.

As Northern Kentucky’s official tourism bureau, Kirkpatrick said, meetNKY does market the Cincinnati region but differentiates by marketing what only Kentucky can bring to the table.

“From that aspect, it’s about — we are the

portion of where bourbon starts, we’re the portion of where Southern hospitality starts, where Southern culinary starts, Southern music tradition starts,” Kirkpatrick said.

The region is unique because it is where two cultures combine, mixing the Midwest and South. Kirkpatrick said that gives visitors the best of both worlds.

When it comes to meetNKY’s more southern partners, Louisville and Lexington, Kirkpatrick said one big distinguisher for our region is the Cincinnati/Northern KenContinues on page 12

According to MeetNKY, one of the three identifying symbols of the region is the iconic Roebling Suspension Bridge that connects Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. Photo provided | meetNKY

tucky

“We really say that we are the gateway to the commonwealth,” Kirkpatrick said. “You look at the multimillion visitors that come through I-75 or CVG International Airport. We try to be their first sip of Kentucky hospitality.”

BE NKY is the region’s economic development company. Lee Crume, president and CEO of BE NKY, said that to create the region’s brand identity, the organization surveyed 70 regional employers of various sizes and sectors, from industries includingIT professional services, financial services, food, life sciences and manufacturing. One thing he said they heard from clients, especially on the talent side when recruiting people, is that there is a hurdle of where NKY is and what it represents.

Regarding differentiating the region to clients, Crume said there are some standouts. “We sit at a really great crossroads of interstates,” he said. “We sit on I-71/75. You’ve got I-74 that goes to Indy. We’re a short hop up to I-70 that goes to East/West. So, from an access and transportation perspective, compared to other Kentucky communities, we’ve got river, rail, and highway. That is outstanding.”

Crume also said the region is geographically located well with CVG.

“If you want to do professional services, whether you’re a TiER1 organization or Fidelity or Citi, just to name a few, the fact that we’re in the eastern time zone, and you can jump on a plane at CVG and within 75 minutes you can be in Atlanta, Chicago, D.C., Boston, New York, Toronto (is key),” he said. “Just as easily as you can drive a truck to those cities, you can put a person to serve clients in those cities.”

Crume said that, if BE NKY were to come to a situation where it was competing with an organization in the Cincinnati Metro, it might then sell the advantages of being on the Kentucky side of the metro area, such as favorable tax situations, cost of land, cost of doing business and cost of labor.

Even though the growth organizations want to create a brand identity for the region, Crume said that when working with

clients, especially in the early selection phase, the organization wants them to know that NKY is part of Kentucky and the Cincinnati metropolitan statistical area. Crume said this helps them understand where NKY sits on a map.

Crume said Kentucky has a favorable business climate perception in how it works with companies and its cost of doing business — something he said BE NKY wants to trade off with. When it comes to the Cincinnati metro, Crume said when the group is selling a company to come to Northern Kentucky, it talks about the Reds, Bengals, Kings Island, the Ark Encounter, Creation Museum and all the attractions encompassed inside of the metropolitan statistical area — because NKY is a part of that.

Kirkpatrick said everything right now comes back to the workforce.

While someone’s primary reason to come to the region might be a Bengals game, and they may have come up from Florida to attend, the goal is to have them visit five to six other things in the area while they’re here, she said.

“Eventually, we want to show you enough

that you fall in love with this region, and you move here,” she said. “That is how we get talent.”

Crume echoed those remarks and said that people are reluctant to move to a place they haven’t visited, so tourism often becomes that front door.

She said from the tourism industry standpoint, there is a significant need for talent, but the region has also benefited from the halo effect of talent recruitment in the region.

Kirkpatrick gave a hypothetical that if the region recruited 100 pilots and their families moved to the region, then their spouses might be, for example, a teacher who could work in education. Their kids might pick up a part-time job in the tourism industry.

“That’s the halo effect of talent recruitment, and that’s a real win for the tourism industry,” she said.

The final deliverables of the branding, Kirkpatrick said, involve creating a hub that businesses and entities can use when they’re recruiting.

Quality of life is also a focus for meetNKY.

“What is the quality of life here in this region? What’s the vibe, per se? That kind of stuff is really important when you’re looking at young talent,” Kirkpatrick said.

Affordability and value, Kirkpatrick said, are phenomenal in the region. It’s also easy to get around. She said sitting on I-75 for 20 minutes in traffic is nothing compared to other areas of the country she has experienced, like Dallas.

Kirkpatrick said a lot of Midwestern and mid-Southern destinations struggle with their identity.

MeetNKY has found three successful identifying symbols for the region. The first is the “Florence Y’all” water tower. Kirkpatrick said this is a mile marker when coming from the South; you are “almost there.”

The next symbol is the span of the Roebling Suspension Bridge, which symbolizes the connection of NKY to Cincinnati.

Lastly, Kirkpatrick said the big glass span of New Riff Distilling in Newport showcases NKY as a region of “makers.”

“We make things here, and we make great things here, whether it’s bourbon, whether it’s Mentos, whether it’s incredible manufacturing at Mazak or Bosch, or the fact that Amazon is here. And we move things, as well,” Kirkpatrick said. “We are a region of makers.”

Timothy

The Florence Y'all water tower is one of the most identifying symbols of the region.. Photo provided | meetNKY

Tourism is surpassing 2019 levels: ‘A very

Northern Kentucky’

By Emma Balcom

Five years ago, Northern Kentucky’s tourism industry was on an upward trajectory. The industry’s economy was booming, furthered by the growing urban development.

“When we look at the economic impact, tourism generated about $1.5 billion of impact in Northern Kentucky in 2019,” said Julie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of meetNKY, the tourism and convention services bureau of Northern Kentucky. “These are really strong numbers. We call them ‘top-of-market numbers.’”

Then in early 2020, the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic turned life upside down. As life moved indoors and behind computer screens, the tourism industry’s growth came to a screeching halt.

Yet four years later, having emerged from the dark days of COVID, Northern Kentucky has made a full recovery, Kirkpatrick said.

About 2 million of 2.8 million total hotel rooms were booked in the region in 2023, she said, in comparison with 1.9 million of 2.6 million total rooms booked in 2019. Visitors paid an average of about $121 per night for a hotel stay — a $15 increase from pre-pandemic times.

Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore can attest to the substantial rise in hotel stays. According to Moore, over 20 hotels and counting have been built in Boone County since 2019, and they consistently tout at least 75% occupancy rates.

“Our tourism and visitor numbers are extremely strong. Very few communities could compete with that kind of success,” he said. “We did see, of course, because of mandatory closings by the governor and by the state, impact on hotel occupancy for a period of time, but it bounced back very quickly.”

Further, meetNKY research reveals that the total economic impact from tourism

Kristen Hall of Bellevue celebrates the city’s temporary renaming of a street as “Taylor Swift Avenue” last summer. Photo provided | City of Bellevue

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has risen to over $2 million since before the pandemic — at least a $500 million increase since 2019 — and is continuing to grow as the months go on.

In addition to the post-pandemic attendance spikes at popular tourist attractions such as the Newport Aquarium and Ark Encounter, Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati have experienced a number of significant events that drew crowds of tens of thousands of people — the return of BLINK, the Cincinnati Music Festival and the Taylor Swift Eras tour, to name a few.

“Really, all of the tourism assets are growing by double-digit visitation,” Kirkpatrick said.

CVG airport data confirms that the number of people coming to the region is picking up once more.

“We had seen several years of record-breaking growth leading into the pandemic. Of course, like a lot of other airports, we saw about 90% of our passenger traffic just dropped overnight,” said CVG spokesperson Mindy Kershner. “But we’ve been able to regain all, if not more, of that traffic in certain parts of the year.”

According to Kershner, passenger volumes for the Northern Kentucky region are trending higher than ever during busy leisure travel periods such as spring break, summer vacation and the holidays.

“We ended 2023 with about 8.7 million passengers, and pre-pandemic in 2019 I think we served about 9.1 million,” said Kershner. “Leisure travel is high and is above normal, but if you look at business travel, that’s the part that might be a little slacking still.”

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The bounceback in numbers may be attributed to the airport’s expansion of services for customers. CVG recently added two new airlines to its service — British Airways and Breeze Airways — meaning more passengers can get nonstop flights to where they need to go.

“When you have a mix of carriers, it really helps keep that stimulation of travel going and is able to keep air fares at a good price,” Kershner said. “We’ve been happy to be able to say we’ve had the lowest fares in the region for several years now.”

The spike in tourists may be significant news for Kentucky cities, as officials have recently proposed introducing further income tax cuts throughout the state if it were to meet certain economic conditions.

“If you didn’t have $2 billion of tourism receipts in the economy, it would be a really big problem,” said Kirkpatrick. “It generates a lot of taxes. Those taxes would have to be made up by local taxes, state taxes, a lot of payroll taxes … sales tax at the state level. Not having as vibrant of a tourism industry as we do in this region would absolutely impact that.”

Some cities have already made the move to increase their revenue through tourism sales. Last year, Bellevue proposed the idea of increasing its restaurant and sales taxes in order to raise money to reconstruct the Marianne Theater.

According to City Administrator Frank Warnock, once the theater is reconstructed, events could be held there that would draw tourists to the city, who would then fill local restaurants and bars.

“Folks would go to the concert venue, and

it fills up all the bars and restaurants and stores when those concerts are happening and all hotels are filled. … And people (would) spend a lot of money as a result of the restaurant tax,” he said. “It can do a lot of good if it’s managed correctly. It will increase business for restaurants if it is managed correctly.”

While the idea is still in discussion, Warnock said Bellevue’s tourism industry is already thriving, even without the tax, and has surpassed 2019 levels.

“The events that we sponsor to try to bring people to the city have been very successful,” said Warnock. “There’s more people coming here now than ever.”

Some of these events include themed First Fridays and Sunday Farmers Markets. Additionally, Bellevue has created an entertainment district on Fairfield Avenue, established an interlocal agreement with neighboring city Dayton to allow driving golf carts on the road, and even temporarily renamed a city street “Taylor Swift Avenue” in honor of the Eras Tour in June 2023. “That brought a lot of folks to Bellevue who would not have otherwise come here,” Warnock said. “That event generated roughly 330,000 hits to our website and Facebook page.”

All in all, Kirkpatrick said Northern Kentucky residents should expect to see continued growth over the next five to 10 years, especially as cities start accommodating more amateur sports teams and making spaces more outdoor-friendly.

“We’ve all got big plans. We all in the entire region partner together to keep that engine going,” she said. “I think we’re at a very exciting time in Northern Kentucky.”

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CEO Candace McGraw welcomes British Airways as a provider at CVG last summer. Photo provided | CVG

How Incubator Kitchen Collective

helps local food

entrepreneurs succeed

By Killian Baarlaer

When Incubator Kitchen Collective’s founder, Rachel DesRochers, created the membership-based community and commercial kitchen, she planned to confront a shared problem by forging a shared solution.

Incubator Kitchen Collective gives food-focused startups and small businesses a commercial-grade and health code-certified facility in which to produce their goods. The idea sprouted because DesRochers felt the need for the resource herself. She had a thriving vegan graham cracker brand called Grateful Grahams, but limited kitchen space kept her from ramping up production. She wasn’t the only one.

“We were doing so many farmers markets that we were surrounded by entrepreneurs who were in the same position, and so this idea of, ‘What if I could find a space and then open the doors and start inviting people in?’ … That’s really how we got started,” DesRochers said.

Many people who launch a food entrepreneurship start as a cottage industry, said DesRochers. Kentucky allows people to produce food for sale in their home kitchens, but restrictions on equipment, food types and annual sales place a ceiling on growth. Home-based processors can sell up to $60,000 worth of products per year, and the use of commercial kitchen equipment within a residence is prohibited.

Incubator Kitchen Collective launched in 2013 and hosts about 40 food companies a month, DesRochers said.

In addition to providing a kitchen space, Incubator Kitchen Collective gives entrepreneurs access to coaching and networks that set them on a path to a sustainable business.

“Making things is the easy part; selling things is the hard part,” said Matt Spaulding, director of operations at Incubator Kitchen Collective.

Initiatives like Good n’ Local, which connects local food producers with wholesale buyers, or the Kroger Food Artisan Grant, which awards food entrepreneurs with memberships at Incubator Kitchen Collective, are examples of how the incubator encourages its ecosystem of food entrepreneurs.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 23.2% of private sector businesses that started in 2022 shuttered by 2023. DesRochers said that about 90% of Incubator Kitchen Collective’s members remain in business after their first year.

DesRochers said that while many of the kitchen’s members join with their venture representing a secondary income, they often capitalize on the opportunity to expand their business with the incubator.

“Maybe they started it as a side hustle, but it’s grown really quickly because they’re in a space, they’re in a commercial setting, and they see the possibility of growth that you can’t see when you’re in your house,” she said.

Soul Juici

Fawn Hayes, founder of Soul Juici, won a Kroger Food Artisan Grant in last year’s round of disbursements and hopes that access to the facility will help transform Soul Juici into her full-time job.

Soul Juici is a juice brand that uses fresh and organic produce in its beverages. Hayes said she’s been a cook since she was a child, but the idea of being a juicer came to her in the thick of the COVID pandemic. She said her eating habits worsened during the lockdown because she was working remotely and spending more time at home, and with the constant fear of illness being spread, she wanted to make healthier choices.

She had a juicing machine gifted to her years prior that she had never taken out of its package, so she gave it a try.

Hayes began devising and writing down

juice recipes, and she was astounded by how they were turning out.

“The taste was so good, I decided to keep doing it,” she said.

The months wore on, and she was still making juices, so she shared them with her family and friends. The drinks were met with a praising reception. One of her friends said she should sell them. So she did.

Hayes created social media accounts to build a brand and a customer base. She also started taking juice orders through social media and meeting up with people to sell them. That grew into outings at farmers markets and pop-up shops, catering orders, and eventually, the formation of an online store.

As Soul Juici grew, Hayes took on the challenge of making the business her full-time job. She resigned from her day job as a customer service representative and went allin.

“I started to get bored with my job, my 9-to5, and I started to think about Soul Juici more than ever,” she said.

At this point, she was relying on two of her friends’ commercial kitchens to make her juices.

One day, she was meeting at Wyoming Community Coffee with someone who had been mentoring her as she worked to grow her venture. Her mentor encouraged her to speak with the shop’s owners to strike up a retail partnership. Despite her nerves, she

Continues on page 16

Fawn Hayes sells her Soul Juici products at a farmers market. Photo provided | Fawn Hayes

approached the manager, set up a meeting with the owners and prepared a presentation touting the benefits of her products.

“I began to make juices for this coffee shop weekly and deliver them to their coffee shop, and they would sell out every week,” said Hayes.

But along came a bump in the road. Food and Drug Administration regulations require fresh juices to be treated with a sterilization method — like pasteurization — to be sold through a retail outlet, which Hayes wasn’t doing. Since the partnership she had with Wyoming Community Coffee was on a wholesale basis rather than directly from producer to buyer, the partnership came to a halt.

“I don’t have the resources or the money to be able to support that. So toward the end of the summer of 2023, I was discouraged and completely shut down. I went back to a 9-to-5,” Hayes said.

After a couple-month hiatus from Soul Juici, Hayes applied and won the grant to have her membership to Incubator Kitchen Collective paid for. The news motivated her to crank her business into overdrive.

Hayes’ access to the kitchen started in February this year. She still won’t be pasteurizing her juice for the time being, but she said she is eager to take advantage of the opportunity to increase production in the facility.

“It ignited my fire again, you know, to not give up on my business,” Hayes said.

Incubator Kitchen Collective’s facility in Newport helps food entrepreneurs. Photo by Killian Baarlaer | LINK nky contributor a hot sauce maker follow a familiar pattern. He was never fond of hot sauce, explaining that he thinks many are excessively hot at the expense of flavor.

She plans to focus on catering, online and farmers markets channels while she stabilizes and grows her business at the incubator.

Hot Llamas Hot Sauce

Derrick Kisabeth is another Kroger Food Artisan Grant recipient who gained access to the facility this month. His beginnings as

But he loves to cook and experiment with imaginative flavors. Knowing this about him, a friend challenged Kisabeth to use his good flavor judgment to make hot sauces.

He lived in Florida when he started casually making hot sauce, and when he moved to Northern Kentucky, his newfound girlfriend inspired him to continue making his sauces.

“When I finally moved up here before COVID really hit, I kind of had put it on the back burner just because I had moved to a new place. I wasn’t really doing it much anymore,” Kisabeth said. “And then I started dating my current girlfriend, and I was like, ‘You know, I’m gonna make some hot sauces, because she says she can never really find one that she likes.’”

She was impressed with his culinary creations and urged him to sell them. He spent a period of time making his hot sauces at Incubator Kitchen Collective in 2022 but put his side hustle on pause for some time for personal reasons, he said. He picked it back up after a six-month pause, making use of a friend’s commercial kitchen to house his production. When he learned of the grant at Incubator Kitchen Collective, he applied.

He hopes to double his sales over last year in the new space, he said.

“The first year, I sold roughly, I think, 2,000 bottles of hot sauce. Last year, I came closer to 5,000, and my hope is that I would like to do more than double again this year. So I’d like to get into like the 10,000 realm,” Kisabeth said.

He said he plans to support this growth by appearing at as many pop-up markets

as possible and getting his sauces onto shelves at retail stores. While selling at pop-up markets is an effective way to build a base of loyal customers, he said the seasonal nature of that vending setting limits what he can do as a one-man team.

“One of the things I love about doing the markets myself is that I recognize people,” Kisabeth said. “It’s always really nice to see people come up like, ‘Oh, we went through your bottle in like a week.’”

Kisabeth works a full-time job at Constant Contact designing training programs, he said. He loves making his sauces and is amenable to expanding it into a full-time career. What it boils down to, he said, is the financial feasibility and creative opportunities of the move.

“That would be phenomenal to have a business that’s sustaining me as its own, but to keep me I think intellectually interested, I have to keep growing, whether it be coming up with new sauces, coming up with new ideas or anything like that,” Kisabeth said.

His love of making hot sauce derives from the process of concocting and refining the flavors. With the resources and coaching of Incubator Kitchen Collective, he hopes to formulate a business plan that would eventually allow him to allocate the tedious work of bottling and selling the sauces so he can focus on the part that drives him: making it.

Where to find a fish fry near you in NKY

By Maggy McDonel

With the start of the Lenten season upon us, fish frys have begun in Northern Kentucky. Each county has a plethora of places to participate in your weekly fish feast. Read on to find a fry near you.

In our list below, unless otherwise noted, the fish fries run Fridays through March 22. If you don’t see your favorite fish fry on our list, feel free to submit it to our event calendar at linknky.com.

BOONE COUNTY

Burlington

Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish

4 p.m.

5876 Veterans Way, Burlington 859-689-5010

Florence Center Table Catering (Brighton Recovery Center)

4 to 6:30 p.m.

375 Weaver Road, Florence 859-292-5492

St. Paul Parish

4 to 7:30 p.m.

7301 Dixie Hwy, Florence 859-371-8051

(Dine in or drive thru. Drive thru runs through 7:30 p.m.)

Union

St. Timothy Parish

5 to 7:30 p.m.

10272 US 42, Union 859-384-1100

(Dine in or drive thru. Drive thru 4:30 to 7 p.m., credit card only).

Walton

St. Joseph Academy

4:30 to 8 p.m.

48 Needmore St., Walton 859-485-6444

(Dine in or drive thru).

CAMPBELL COUNTY

Alexandria

St. Mary of the Assumption

4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

8246 E. Main St., Alexandria 859-635-4188

(Runs Fridays, Feb. 16 to March 8. Dine in, drive thru or carryout).

Camp Springs

St. Joseph Parish

4 to 7:30 p.m.

6833 Four Mile Road, Camp Springs 859-635-2491

(Dine in or carryout order online).

Cold Spring

Newport Elks Lodge 273

4 to 7:30 p.m.

3704 Alexandria Pike, Cold Spring 859-441-1273.

Dayton

St. Bernard Church

5 to 7 p.m.

401 Berry St., Dayton 859-261-8506 (Dine in or carryout)

Fort Thomas

St. Catherine of Siena

4:30 to 7 p.m.

1803 N. Fort Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas 859-441-1352 (Dine in or carryout).

St. Thomas School

4 to 8 p.m.

428 Fort Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas (Dine in school cafeteria or carryout).

Wilder

Wilder Fire Department

4 to 7 p.m., 522 Licking Pike, Wilder 859-431-5884 (Dine in or carryout).

KENTON COUNTY

Covington

Covington Firefighters Fish Fry

5 to 8 p.m.

IAFF Local 38 Union Hall 2232 Howell St., Covington 859-431-8777

Holy Cross High School

5 to 8 p.m.,

3617 Church St., Covington 859-431-1335

(Dine in school cafeteria or carryout).

St. Augustine Parish

Doors open at 4 p.m.

413 W. 19th St., Covington 859-431-3943

(Dine in or carryout).

St. Benedict Church

4:45 to 7 p.m.

338 E. 17 St., Covington 859-431-5607

(Dine in or carryout).

Erlanger

Mary, Queen of Heaven Parish

4 to 8 p.m.

1150 Donaldson Hwy, Erlanger 859-371-810.

(Drive-thru lanes, online ordering with curbside pickup. Dine-in available).

St. Barbara Church

4:30 to 8 p.m.

4042 Turkeyfoot Road, Erlanger 859-371-3100

(Dine in and drive thru closes 7:30 p.m.).

Independence

St. Cecilia Catholic Church

5 to 8 p.m.

5313 Madison Pike, Independence 859-363-4311

Bradford Masonic Lodge

4 to 8 p.m.

5403 Madison Pike, Independence (Runs through March 29).

Taylor Mill

St. Patrick Church

4:30 to 7:30 p.m., 3285 Mills Road, Taylor Mill 859-356-5151

(Dine in or carryout. Carryout ends at 7:15 p.m.).

Churches and restaurants across the region are holding fish fries during lent. Photo provided | Davey Gravy via unsplash

kenton county briefs

Beechwood students honored by school board for spirit wear designs

At its Feb. 12 meeting, the Beechwood Independent Public Schools Board of Education recognized student winners of the district’s spirit wear-design contest.

The contest, done in partnership with Cincy Shirts, challenged students to create district-themed T-shirts. The winners were fourth graders in Miss Chaiken’s and Miss Klare’s classes.

“It’s a great opportunity for our kids to go

through a challenge with a business partner and actually know what it takes to create a design, a proof of concept, all the way to the final product,” said Beechwood Superintendent Mike Stacy at the meeting.

Shirts featuring the winning designs are available through cincyshirts.com and at all Cincy Shirts retail locations. A portion of all purchases benefits the district.

Kenton County board OKs election security, emergency plans

The Kenton County Board of Elections unanimously approved the security and emergency plans for this year’s elections in two separate votes at their meeting Feb. 12.

The security plan, said Gabe Summe, chair of the Kenton County Board of Elections, includes measures like 24-hour surveil-

LEGAL NOTICE

The City of Florence, Kentucky will receive bids Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 10:10 am . for the Walnut Creek Area Street Improvements. This Notice was published by posting in full on the City of Florence, Kentucky Internet Website, www.florence-ky.gov . The address where the full posting may be directly viewed is https://florence-ky.gov/publication-of-bid-solicitations-enactedordinances/ . The public has the right to inspect and obtain a copy of any document associated with the posting by contacting the City Clerk of the City of Florence, Kentucky, 8100 Ewing Boulevard, Florence, KY, 41042, Telephone no. 859-647-8177.

lance of equipment as well as various protocols for carrying, sealing, monitoring and operating the equipment. The emergency plan would address catastrophic situations, such as fires, that might arise at polling stations. That includes what to do if a voting machine is damaged during an emergency and how to protect the machine’s voting logs.

As an example, Summe discussed a time when a voting machine was damaged because someone knocked it over. “We had to quarantine the machine,” Summe said, “and we basically followed our emergency contingency protocols to take out the ballots … and rescan them into the machine.”

The next regular meeting of the Kenton County Board of Elections is scheduled for 8 a.m. March 4 at the Kenton County Government Center on Simon Kenton Way Park Hills welcomes Simon Kenton grad as new police officer

Independence native Chelsea Little is Park Hills’ newest police officer.

Little graduated from Simon Kenton High School in 2020. She played basketball into her college career at West Virginia University Institute of Technology, where she majored in biology and minored in criminal

• AJ’s Towing & Recovery

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justice.

City council voted to approve Little’s hiring at its Feb. 12 meeting, at which she told council members she has always wanted to be a police officer. Little will now begin field training, complete course work and await word from the police academy that she can begin its program.

Police Chief Cody Stanley said he expects Little will be fully trained and operating on her own by January at the latest.

“I did the interview with her, and she’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Stanley said. “Everybody I’ve talked to speaks highly of her, and her background was fantastic.”

• City of Silver Grove

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• Northern Kentucky Port Authority

• Northern Kentucky Water District

• Planning & Development Services of Kenton County

• The Baker Firm PLLC

• The Hidden Chapter Bookstore LLC

This is the winning design for the spirit wear competition. Photo provided | Cincy Shirts

The Kenton County Government Center. Photo provided | Kenton County Facebook account

Police Chief Cody Stanley, new Officer Chelsea Little and Park Hills Mayor Kathy Zembrodt pose for a picture after Little’s appointment. Photo provided | Kathy Zembrodt

Fort Wright to boost traffic enforcement to counter recklessness

Fort Wright Police Department will take a more “proactive approach to traffic enforcement” following Mayor Dave Hatter’s orders, according to police Chief Ed Butler.

In the past, the city has tried to give out citations and tickets sparingly. However, concern from residents about reckless driving on city streets prompted the city to address the issue at a February city council meeting. At that meeting, Hatter introduced the new approach and instructed Fort Wright Police, represented at the meeting by Capt. Jonathan Colwell, to increase traffic enforcement.

“Generally, I don’t want to give Fort Wright residents tickets,” Hatter said. “It is not my intent to give out a lot of tickets, but nothing else seems to be getting through.”

The city has already attempted appealing to drivers through the government building’s main sign, asking for residents to be courteous and safe while driving.

On Feb. 9, the city released a message to the public explaining the concerns that brought about this change and how it might affect drivers in Fort Wright. “Residents across the city continue to express serious safety concerns about speeding, reckless driving and failure to obey traffic signals,” Hatter wrote in the message.

While Butler said the number of car collisions in Fort Wright has remained steady, there is evidence of more reckless driving. A speed tracking sign on Amsterdam Road found that 70% of vehicles which passed that point during an eight day period in January exceeded the speed limit.

When LINK asked Butler about this shift, he said, “There is no change in the policing philosophy of [the department]. The more proactive approach to traffic enforcement is being done with the goal of preventing potential issues that may occur if the driving behavior of some does not improve.”

A more proactive approach, he said, includes “regular police presence near identified problem areas.”

Hatter stressed at the council meeting and in the public message that there is no correlation between traffic citations and the city’s revenue.

“Only an exceedingly small percentage of the fees associated with a citation are returned to the local community, and this is for the express purpose of aid in covering the cost of DUI enforcement,” Hatter said. “The bottom line is that traffic violations do not generate any meaningful revenue for the city.”

Hatter urged the community to remember the city’s motto – “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” – when driving in Fort Wright. “Focus on the safety of your family, your neighbors and the many visitors we have

in our community, and please slow down, stop for stop signs and follow our other traffic laws whenever operating a vehicle within the Fort Wright city limits.”

Sports facility for individuals with disabilities opens in Edgewood

Basketball and pickleball are just a few of the many activities that will be able to take place in New Perceptions’ newly constructed sports facility in Edgewood.

The non-profit organization, which provides growth, employment and education for over 400 individuals with disabilities, unveiled the new facility officially at a ribbon cutting Thursday.

The over $25,000 project was made possible with the help of Toyota Boshoku, an automotive manufacturer.

Rich Norris, vice president of corporate planning, said he is excited for members to have access to physical activity in the new space.

“I know how important it is for these members to have the opportunity to have a safe place to have this type of physical activity,” Norris said. “This [facility] provides them a safe, comfortable environment to do that.”

Shawn Carroll, executive director of New Perceptions, described the new facility as “transformational” for the organization.

“The physical activity you get, along with the camaraderie that comes from playing sports, is amazing,” Carroll said. “We’re really thrilled that Toyota Boshoku has gifted us with this. We wouldn’t be able to do this on our own.”

Wenzel Whiskey’s ‘Wheated Two’ wins at World Whiskies Awards

Stacked up against whiskies from around the world, Wenzel Whiskey’s “Wheated Two” release was named the best Ameri-

can Blended Limited Release at the World Whiskies Awards.

The World Whiskies Awards happened on Feb. 8 in Louisville The awards were launched by Whisky Magazine to “commend the best whiskies in more than 20 categories covering style and production methods.” Each entry is evaluated blindly by independent spirits experts. Wenzel Whiskey won the Blended Limited Release category for 12 Years and Under for releases of blended whiskey limited to 3,600 bottles or less.

“Wheated Two” is a barrel-proof wheated bourbon made up of six and seven-yearold barrels selected to create a “harmonious marriage of flavors.” Wenzel Whiskey, located in Covington, has a history dating back over 150 years.

Kenton County chooses firm to build new farmers market pavilion

Kenton County tapped a Northern Kentucky construction firm to build the county’s new farmers market pavilion in Independence.

On Tuesday, the Kenton County Fiscal Court chose Fort Wright-based Schrudde & Zimmerman, Inc. as the contractor for the planned farmers market pavilion adjacent to the Kenton County Courthouse in Independence. The firm’s $748,859 bid was selected from a six-company applicant pool. Kenton County plans to build a 25-by-50-

foot outdoor metal pavilion, two public restrooms, vendor storage, and a parking lot. Additionally, the pavilion will feature a cupola to match the aesthetics of the neighboring courthouse. As of now, there are no available renderings of the project’s design.

The new facility will allow six to eight more vendors to use the pavilion, according to the county’s Kentucky Agricultural Development Board Project Application. The county hopes the farmers market’s expanded footprint will increase vendor sales and overall foot traffic.

The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board and Durr Foundation are providing a combined $375,000 for the project’s construction costs. In total, it’s expected to cost $680,781, according to a county press release.

“Building a home for the Independence Farmers Market on our campus gives us the opportunity to celebrate our Kenton County farmers and builds upon the County’s long-term ambitions of turning the courthouse campus into a space that will serve our residents for generations to come,” Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said during the meeting.

The New Perceptions facility has opened in Edgewood. Photo by | Braden White, LINK nky contributor

Streetscapes strolls Sycamore Shoppes in Florence

By Maria Hehman

This Streetscapes we head to Florence where we explore a small strip, the Sycamore Shoppes along Highway US 42. We will explore three of the smallest sized small businesses in NKY. Even though they’re small, they each have large and loyal fan bases Coffee, tacos and sushi await on this Streetscapes.

Jet Coffee

One of the biggest determining factors of deciding where to get a coffee is convenience. As much as one may want to support a smaller business, drive thru and order ahead just makes more sense for many of us. Jet Coffee has fused small business with convenience where their drive thru only coffee shop gives guests top tier coffee without big business prices. This woman owned business sits central in the Sycamore shoppes. This shop sits directly in the middle of the parking lot where the only option is their drive thru.

Jet’s menu covers the barista basics; brewed coffee, espresso options, tea and smoothies, yet their speciality latte flavors set them apart from both chains and other local coffee shops. The Jet Cloud blends vanilla and white chocolate, while their Flower Power is a floral forward beverage with lavender and honey. All lattes can be made hot, iced or frozen and customized with guests milk of choice. They also offer seasonal drink options from a cotton candy frappuccino to everyone’s favorite, PSL. Drinks are made quick and best part, guests never have to leave the warmth of their car. For quality coffee on the go, there truly is no better option.

El Taco Feliz

Originally a local food truck, El Taco Feliz opened their store front location in May of 2023. El Taco Feliz had a fan following long before their restaurant opening, but have only gained more fans through the addition of their location in Florence. For mouth watering food and a familial feel, this taco shop is top tier. Most can easily find themselves with a full meal for under $10. However since taco is in their name, it would be wrong to not order at least one.

Their tacos are street style tacos, smaller than Americanized tacos, making them ideal for sampling a variety of tacos or to order in addition to their other menu items including, burritos, tortas, quesadillas and memelas. (two corn tortillas topped with beans, hot sauce, onion and queso.) They have familiar favorites of carne asada, pollo and chorizo to some lesser common meats in the US. Tripe and lengua tacos are great options for those wanting to try something unique. Order their elote street corn and a Jarrito for a truly authentic Mexican meal. This is a place to save room for dessert, their rotating desserts include tres leches, a decadent dessert that will be the perfect conclusion to an already tasty meal.

Oishi Express Japanese Grill

For a small shop there is no shortage of menu options at Oishi Express. They boast an ample menu with bento boxes, sushi

rolls, hibachi and customizable bowls. Their bento boxes are the best way to sample a little bit of everything on their menu. They come with guests’ choice of an entree, appetizer, sushi, ginger salad and white rice.

Their menu also has noodle and soup options as well as a hibachi menu that has over twenty choices. Those looking for an even healthier fare are best ordering a custom salad or burrito bowl. The express hibachi experience is perfect for those on a lunch break. Those wanting to eat in can still watch as the hibachi is prepared from behind their glass counter. They’re priced much lower than a traditional hibachi restaurant as the experience is much quicker here, making this a great option for those wanting Japanese cuisine on a budget.

Have a street, city or business you want to see covered next? Email Maria Hehman at mchehman@gmail.com and it could be featured on the next installment of LINK Streetscapes.

What to Know If You Go:

Jet Coffee

Location: 8302 US Highway 42, Florence

Hours: Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Website: jetcoffeeflorence.com

Phone: 859-444-6032

El Taco Feliz

Location: 8211 US 42, Florence

Hours: Monday, closed; Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Phone: 859-803-8206

Oishi Express Japanese Grill

Location: 8201 US 42, Florence,

Hours: Monday, closed; Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Saturday, noon10:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-9 p.m.

Website: oishiexpressky.com

Phone: 859-282-6088

Dark chocolate mocha is a favorite at Jet Coffee.

Photo by Maria Hehman | LINK nky contributor

March

Flip to Page 18 for a full list of fish frys around Northern Kentucky

Mainstrasse Village Food & Culture Tour, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Cedar, 701 Main St., Covington. Call 859-289-0035 or go to riversidefoodtours. com for more information.

Bonded Spirit Bluegrass Festival, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Smoke Justis, 302 Court St., Covington. Call 859-814-8858 for details. Cost $100 to $175. Buy tickets at bit. ly/3SNpGS9.

Union Commission meeting, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., 1843 Bristow Drive, Union.

Boone County Fiscal court meeting, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m, 2950 Washington St., Burlington.

Campbell County Fiscal Court meeting, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., 8352 E. Main St., Alexandria.

Southgate City Council meeting, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 122 Electric Ave., Southgate.

Boone County Planning Commission meeting, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., 2950 Washington St., Burlington.

SINGO at Barleycorn’s Brewhouse, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 402 Licking Pike, Wilder. Singo is a fresh and exciting twist on the classic game of Bingo. Call 859-291-2739 or go to barleycornsbrewhouse.com/events for more information.

Barks and Brews on the Levee, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., 1 Levee Way, Newport. Bring your dog and enjoy drinks from Beeline, Bluegrass & Sass, and more.

Alexandria City Council meeting, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., 8236 W. Main St. Alexandria.

For more events, scan the QR code or visit: https://linknky.com/events/

a

Covington condo offers sweeping views of the Cincinnati skyline

Address: 1196 Grays Peak, Covington

Price:

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

Square feet:

School district:

County:

Special features:

fers panoramic views of the Cincinnati sky line. The property offers three bedrooms with en-suite baths, a large kitchen, a din ing area and a great room with a fireplace. The condo has an attached two-car garage, as well as a large deck. Residents will also have access to the association’s fitness center, clubhouse and pool.

From LINK nky Frankfort Correspondent Rebecca Hanchett, here’s a summary of what’s going on with Northern Kentucky’s legislators in Frankfort.

Constitutional amendment to expand homestead credit wins easy Senate approval

Older Kentuckians who own their home could see future property tax savings under a constitutional amendment proposed Feb. 12 in the Kentucky Senate.

The savings would come from expanding the state’s homestead exemption, a statutory tax break for Kentuckians 65 and older that exempts a set amount of a home’s value from the property tax rolls. The exemption is currently set at a maximum of $46,350. The proposed amendment would freeze the home’s taxable value, exempting it from future increases.

Kentuckians who have the exemption would see tax savings in future tax years if the amendment in Senate Bill 23 gets House approval this session and voter approval this November. The bill cleared the Senate on a bipartisan 32-2 vote, with one pass vote.

The question asked of voters in the proposed amendment would be: “Are you in favor of providing an additional ad valorem tax exemption for real property maintained as the permanent residence of an owner who is 65 years of age or older by amending the Constitution of Kentucky to read as stated below?” The new constitutional language would also be on the ballot.

Kentuckians age 65 and older or classified as totally disabled must own and occupy

their home to qualify for a homestead exemption under Kentucky law.

Sen. Michael Nemes (R-Shepherdsville) is the sponsor of SB 23. He told the Senate Monday that older Kentuckians have a growing property tax burden the amendment would relieve going forward.

A homeowner “will still pay the property taxes when he turns 65 or when he purchases the house, but not additional on the assessment,” Nemes said.

All but two Republican senators voted in favor of SB 23. One of the two voting against the bill was Sen. Stephen West (R-Paris), who cited concerns with how the proposed amendment could impact schools and other public institutions.

“A lot of these local taxes go to support our schools and libraries, and so for that reason, although I respect the sponsor’s intent, I personally vote no today,” West said.

House panel OKs ‘Seth’s Law’ to widen who could make needed health care decisions

A bill that would add “adult friend” to the list of individuals allowed by law to make health care decisions for another person was approved in a House committee Wednesday.

House Bill 385 passed the House Judiciary Committee on an 18-0 vote. Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser (R-Taylor Mill) is the bill’s sponsor. She introduced the bill this year on recommendation of the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health, a state commission overseen by the Kentucky Court of Justice. The bill is named “Seth’s Law” for Seth Stevens, a young attorney

with the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts who died by suicide last year.

Kentucky law now allows only legal guardians, those with durable power of attorney, spouses, adult children, parents or the “nearest living relative” to make health care decisions for someone who hasn’t outlined his or her wishes through an “advance directive” (such as a living will) and is unable to make health care decisions. Friends –including live-in partners – are not on the list.

Elderly patients with dementia or others deemed incapable of making health care decisions for themselves – but who don’t have an advance directive or anyone under current law to speak for them – would be most helped by HB 385, said Moser. The bill could, for example, help hospitals determine where a patient should go when they are discharged, she told the committee Feb. 7.

“Do they want to go home, do they want to go to long-term care, do they want to go to hospice?” are some questions that a close friend may be able to answer, said Moser. Without someone to speak for them or legal documentation, many patients are left to emergency guardianship as a last resort, according to Kenton County Attorney Stacy Tapke, who testified with Moser before the committee.

“That is problematic for a lot of individuals, particularly those who are low income. It presents barriers for them, both from taking off work, transportation concerns, and it can be a deterrent to even step up to begin with,” said Tapke.

Tapke, who often handles court-ordered emergency guardianship at her office, said that authority most often goes to a friend or a significant other living with the person anyway. Pastors, priests, even neighbors also can be tapped to do the job, she said.

“I’ve had a neighbor, someone who checked on (the patient) on the regular, and they were willing to step up and do this,” said Tapke. “I think you would not want to be too restrictive.”

“Adult friend” is defined in the legislation as someone who “has maintained regular contact with the patient and is familiar

with the patient’s activities, health, and religious and moral beliefs.”

Some lawmakers on the committee questioned how broadly “adult friend” could be interpreted.

Rep. Patrick Flannery (R-Olive Hill), who ultimately voted to pass the bill out of committee, said, “I guess my concern is that could be somewhat broad, and I wouldn’t want there to be some potential of abuse on that.”

Ashland Republican Scott Sharp, who also voted out HB 385 on Wednesday, asked how hospitals looking at an adult friend would “document their relationship.”

Basically, who qualifies as an adult friend would be left up to the hospital or medical staff in a majority of cases, Tapke said. “I would defer to the hospitals. I suspect they are going to have a pretty healthy process where they are going to document how they came to decide they were going to allow them to be a decision maker.”

Bill would require reporting abuse allegations against school job applicants

Allegations of abuse made against a teacher or other school employee would follow that individual from job to job – at least initially – under a bill approved Feb. 8 in the Kentucky House.

Under House Bill 275, anyone applying for a job in a public school district would have to tell the district if they have been accused, investigated or faced disciplinary action within the past 12 months for “abusive con-

Continues on page 26

Sen. Damon Thayer (R-Georgetown) guides floor proceedings during the Feb. 12 vote on SB 23.

Photo provided | LRC Public Information

Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser (R-Taylor Mill) presents legislation in committee. Photo provided | LRC

The Kentucky General Assembly meets in a joint session in 2019. Photo by Bryan Woolston | Associated Press

duct” involving a student. Applicants also would have to report if they were fired or resigned as a result of those allegations.

In addition, reference checks with past public or private school employers would be required for all applicants, and former employers would be required to disclose any allegations of abusive conduct they have on file for the applicant.

Rep. James Tipton (R-Taylorsville), chair of the House Education Committee, is the sponsor of the bill. He told the House that the goal of the legislation is to prevent persons in a “position of trust” from taking advantage of students or minors.

“If you watch the news, it’s almost daily somewhere in the United States you’ll see some type of story or some type of allegation where someone in a position of trust and authority has taken advantage of a young child or student,” Tipton said. “That’s what we’re trying to prevent in HB 275.”

Abusive conduct is defined in the bill as “misconduct involving a minor or student, including sexual misconduct and conduct subject to mandatory reporting” under state child abuse and neglect statutes. Allegations of that conduct made against a school district employee would stay in a personnel file unless “the allegation is determined to be false,” the bill says.

Rep. Tina Bojanowski (D-Louisville) asked Tipton if allegations would have to be disclosed if they are unsubstantiated. As the bill is now written, the answer is yes, he said. He also said he’s open to an amendment.

“We get this through the House, let’s get it over to the Senate,” Tipton said. “I’ve talked to the chair of the Senate Education Committee about this, so that we could have a conversation about some of these issues people have brought forward.”

More than $4.5 million in opioid settlement money benefiting NKY counties

Northern Kentucky counties are benefiting from over $4.5 million in grant funds pulled from a 2022 Kentucky opioid settlement, and more funding could be on the way.

To date the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission has awarded $4.57 million in grants directly impacting NKY out of more than $32.5 million awarded statewide. Commission awards directly impacting NKY include:

• Northern Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy: $1 million for prevention services (Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties).

• Voices of Hope: $1 million for multicounty treatment and recovery (includes Campbell and Kenton counties).

• The Healing Place: $850,000 for multicounty treatment and recovery (includes Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties).

• Recovery Cafe Lexington: $657,000 for multicounty treatment and recovery (includes Kenton County).

• Kentucky Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs: $500,000 for multicounty prevention services (includes Campbell and Kenton counties).

• Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky Inc.: $320,098 for treatment and recovery (Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties).

Legal Aid of the Bluegrass: $250,000 for multicounty prevention services (includes Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties).

Another round of funding is in the works. Organizations have until March 31 to apply for new funds, tapped from $900 million in total settlement dollars – including $478 million owed to the state by four drug companies (Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Johnson & Johnson) as part of a $26 billion multistate settlement agreement in 2022.

Half of the settlement money goes directly to cities and counties. The other half is being awarded by the commission, led by former Trump official and Drug Enforcement Administration veteran Chris Evans. Funding is being rolled out over 18 years, according to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, which handled the state’s lawsuits against major drug companies.

Kenton County is also included in a multicounty four-year pilot program that allows low-level drug or other nonviolent offenders who complete substance use or mental

health treatment to clear their records. The $10.5 million program began in 2023 and now covers 12 counties statewide.

“It’s excellent,” commission member and House budget subcommittee chair Rep. Danny Bentley (R-Russell) said about the pilot program – called the Behavioral Health Conditional Dismissal Program –during a commission update Feb. 7 before his subcommittee. “And there’s no taxpayer money. It’s all coming out of the commission.”

Evans, who testified before the subcommittee, said the commission is taking “a fresh look” at its work since Evans took over as the agency’s executive director last month. “I think there will be real opportunities to see where funding is being spent,” he said.

Substance use is a “significant concern” in NKY, according to the Northern Kentucky Health Department’s overdose data dashboard

Between March 1, 2022, and Jan. 26, 2024, the dashboard reported 1,124 emergency room visits and 2,026 EMS/paramedic calls (including 1,188 administered uses of the overdose drug Naloxone) related to suspected drug overdose in the NKY Health Department region, which includes Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties.

In cases of suspected drug overdose, most EMS calls were in Boone and Kenton counties, while a majority of the ER visits were reported in Kenton County, the data shows.

NKY EMS agencies reported 90 fatalities linked to suspected overdoses during the period, according to dashboard data. None of those fatalities were reported as occurring this year.

Mentioning Evans’ law enforcement back-

ground, Rep. Rachel Roberts (D-Newport) asked him at the Feb. 7 meeting how treatment fits into the commission’s work to fight opioid addiction in Kentucky. Evans said it’s part of the “pillar” that government agencies work under to fight substance abuse.

“I know there are people who have asked about different aspects of which is more important,” Evans said. “My response is they are all important.… The earlier the engagement, the better off it is.”

Kentucky Senate passes ‘anti-DEI bill that would curb diversity at colleges

A bill that threatens action by the state’s Attorney General against Kentucky public colleges and universities that promote “discriminatory concepts” linked to race and gender has passed the Kentucky Senate.

Senators voted 26-7 along party lines on Feb. 13 to approve Senate Bill 6, sometimes referred to as an anti-DEI bill, for its proposed curbing of diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives many Kentucky public universities have embraced.

The bill now goes to the Kentucky House for consideration.

Northern Kentucky University and Gateway Community and Technical College both have DEI initiatives currently in place. NKU Office of Inclusive Excellence states on its website that its mission is to ensure “principles and practices of diversity, equity and inclusion are embedded into all aspects of university life.” That office has not yet responded to LINK nky’s request for comment on SB 6 emailed to staff last week.

Gateway President and CEO Dr. Fernando Figueroa told LINK nky in an email Friday that “Gateway and the Kentucky Community & Technical College System are currently reviewing the impact of Senate Bill 6, and working on setting up the proper strategies that could help our programs be compliant with the spirit of the legislation.”

Rep. Danny Bentley (R-Russell) led the update on the work Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. Photo provided | LRC

By Rebecca Hanchett

Each week, LINK nky is publishing a profile of one of our local legislators so that Northern Kentuckians can get to know the people representing them at the state level.

Sen. Gex Williams’ professional background is in computer science and information technology. So it was no surprise when Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers in June appointed the senator from Verona to cochair the newly created Investments in IT Improvement and Modernization Projects Oversight Board.

The board’s purpose is to look for ways to fund and deploy new technology systems across Kentucky state agencies. Williams was eager to get started.

He said in a news release following his appointment that his goal as co-chair “is not just to make technology work better for state government, but to make government work better for people throughout our commonwealth.”

The way to do that, Williams said, is to give people the tools they need to innovate. Innovation, he said, leads to change. And change is something Williams seems to like.

In a Ballotpedia candidate survey prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Williams described himself as an “experienced change-maker” who learned how to shake up the status quo in Frankfort during two earlier terms in office in the 1990s. He served one term in the Kentucky House in the early 1990s before running to fill the unexpired term of late Sen. Dick Roeding in 1993. Williams won that election, then was reelected to a full term in the 24th Senate District in 1994.

“I disrupted the way things had always been done and exposed politicians who said one thing and did another,” Williams said in his survey response.

Meet state Sen. Gex Williams

Leading the tech modernization effort in the Senate gives Williams a say in how Kentucky state government IT will change over the next quarter century. The Northern Kentucky lawmaker doesn’t plan to stop there.

Williams told Ballotpedia that he has other legislative goals to conquer before his current term ends in January 2027: creating “good-paying jobs,” eliminating the state income tax while lowering inflation, defending the Second Amendment and opposing abortion.

“Kentucky’s at a key time in our development, and it’s time to get things done. We have so many great opportunities, and we

need leaders in Frankfort making wise decisions that provide more opportunities for Kentuckians, more jobs with better pay and better benefits, with low taxes and great education and job training so our kids can succeed,” Williams said. “I strongly support parental rights and the ability of all families to choose the type of education that is best for their kids.”

Sen. Gex Williams (R-Verona) represents the 20th Senate District, which includes parts of Boone and Kenton counties and all of Carroll, Franklin, Gallatin, and Owen counties. In addition to his work as Senate co-chair of the Investments in IT Improvement and Modernization Projects Oversight Board, Williams is vice chair of the Senate Edu-

cation Committee and chair of the Senate Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary. He’s a member of the Senate’s Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee; Transportation Committee; Natural Resources and Energy Committee; and State and Local Government Committee. Williams also is a member of the Interim Joint Committees on Education, Natural Resources and Energy; Transportation; Local Government; State Government; and Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection. He also served as a member of the 2023 Senate Committee on Impeachment and is a member of several legislative caucuses.

Sen. Gex Williams presents a bill on the floor of the Kentucky Senate. Photo provided | LRC Public Information

Kentucky basketball star Maddie Scherr’s roots run through Ryle

By Evan Dennison

As she walked through the upstairs hallway facing the Ryle High School gymnasium, Maddie Scherr was looking at pictures of past teams and memories made.

Those memories include three straight 9th Region titles from 2018-20 and a state championship in 2019, the lone state title in program history.

After playing across the country for two seasons at the University of Oregon and then getting her feet under her last year in Lexington at the University of Kentucky, the 2020 Ryle graduate finally got to come back home and see the Raiders play on Jan. 31 as she was honored with a jersey retirement and poster for winning the 2020 Miss Kentucky basketball award.

“Just how nostalgic it is being back here and the memories that come with it are just so, so great,” Scherr said. “I mean it’s such a great feeling. I’m just grateful to be a part of it and you know to be celebrated in the community, and everybody’s so kind and loving still. So it’s just been an amazing opportunity.”

Scherr was recognized prior to the Raiders’ contest with Frederick Douglass by head coach Katie Haitz for her achievements as a Raider. Those include posting the program’s all-time scoring, rebounding and assist marks.

“I was glad it worked out that we could finally celebrate her and make sure that she knows that we were excited for her,” Haitz said. “Miss Kentucky Basketball is a rare thing. There’s only like six in Northern Kentucky, and she’s one of them, and I’m really, really happy and proud of who she is, what she’s done for our program. Then you see what she’s gone on to be, and I can’t wait to see how it continues to go.”

Haitz is correct: The award that’s been around since 1976 has seen six from NKY win the Miss Kentucky Basketball award, the most prestigious individual award one can earn on the hardcourt.

Newport’s Donna Murphy was the recipient of the inaugural honor in 1976. Since then, besides Scherr in 2020, the region’s honorees are Highlands’ Jaime Walz-Richey (1996), Bishop Brossart’s Katie Schweggman (2001), Holmes’ Erica Hallman (2002) and Boone County’s Sydney Moss (2012).

Scherr was a staple in the program in her time in Union. Not only with her personal performance, but her leadership exuded throughout the program, school and community. Wednesday was a chance for the program to give back a little.

A little girl was seen wearing a Scherr UK jersey, and players on the current team still idolize her.

“It’s pretty exciting that she came back,” said Quinn Eubank, a Ryle senior. “I’ve always looked up to her and Lauren Schwartz. They’ve always been pretty big idols of mine and what I tried to start playing like technique-wise and whatnot. So seeing her come back was pretty cool.”

Eubank is a Miss Basketball candidate herself, having a standout year. She’s averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game, and she’s one of the prime candidates for 9th Region Player of the Year. She’s also one of two from Ryle headed to play Division I basketball next season, Eubank signed with Belmont, while Sarah Baker signed with Youngstown State. It’s a continued pipeline of basketball players that continue to head to the next level under Haitz’s watch.

“These two saw her when they were in seventh grade,” Haitz said. “One of the things for me is they know how important it was to see what they did to be successful, and that helps our program. The more that you can see those kids move on, you know how to set those goals and what those dreams look like and how to get there.”

Scherr isn’t the only woman that hails from Union to be thriving in college basketball. Lauren Schwartz is at the University of Washington, Brie Crittendon at Eastern Kentucky University. Both were Scherr’s teammates.

“I love those girls. Still keep in contact with

Maddie Scherr (center) was recently honored with a jersey and poster, celebrating her 2020 Miss Kentucky Basketball award. Scherr is pictured with her father Rick and mother Amy. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

Maddie Scherr (right) celebrates with Ryle head coach Katie Haitz (left) prior to Ryle’s contest with Frederick Douglass on Jan. 31. Scherr was honored with a poster and a jersey for her 2020 Miss Basketball award. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

them,” Scherr said. “Lauren is doing great, loves her coach and they have a great program out there. Same with Brie. We were more than teammates when we were here, which is part of why we were able to win a state championship, so it’s great to be able to see everyone’s success.”

Scherr’s busy day included classes at UK, practice, leaving early and making her way to Union. With the college and prep seasons overlapping, scheduling a trip home during high school hoops season is difficult.

“It’s the same season, so it’s not easy to get back here,” Scherr said. “Had to leave practice early tonight and have a game tomorrow. That’s the beauty of an hour drive being in Lexington.”

Scherr is majoring in sports communication and has one more year of eligibility if she plans to take it with a COVID waiver. She is a roommate with a former Ryle teammate, Jaiden Douthit. Scherr said she’s most likely to take the extra year of eligibility and try and build on what she’s done in Lexington.

“Just going with the flow. So much change that can happen in the next three to five years for me,” Scherr said. “I’m trying to enjoy the process and take it slow and figure out where God can be leading me. I’ve learned so much in these past four years. Living across the country in a pandemic I learned a lot. Figured a lot about myself and wanting to be close to family. I’ve had great people along the way helping me with every bump in the road.”

In the 2022-23 season, her first in Lexington, she filled the stat sheet for the Wildcats, averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. She led the Southeastern Conference in free throw percentage (91.8%) and ranked fourth in the conference in assists and steals.

Through 19 games with the Wildcats this season, Scherr is averaging a career-high in college in points per game with 13.6. The team has struggled with consistency this season, currently 9-14 overall and 2-7 in conference play.

Scherr is thriving off the court as well, taking advantage of NIL opportunities. In December, Scherr became the first Kentucky women’s athlete to score an NIL car dealership deal, doing so with Paul Miller Mazda in Lexington. She’s also built an NIL portfolio with St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Six Star Pro Nutrition, HOIST and Shady Rays, among others.

Scherr is averaging a career-high 13.6 points per game with Kentucky this season. Photo provided | Maddie Scherr Instagram

Scherr filled the stat sheet for the Wildcats with her first season in Lexington. Photo provided | Maddie Scherr Instagram

Scherr (right) does a halftime interview with 859 Sports radio’s Mark Wehry and David Hartman. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

news from other places

Ky. Senate passes bill to move more teens to adult courts for trial

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – More Kentucky teenagers charged with gun-related felony offenses would face trial in adult courts under legislation passed Feb. 14 by the state Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 20, cleared the Senate, 25-9, to advance to the House.

SB 20 is part of a broader push in the GOP-dominated legislature to toughen penalties for a range of crimes. Under the bill, youths age 15 and up would be transferred to circuit court for trial as adults when charged with serious felony offenses, including robbery and assault, and if they are alleged to have used a gun when committing the crime. In circuit court, teens can face the same penalties as adults, including prison.

Republican Sen. Matthew Deneen, the bill's lead sponsor, said it would ensure that “the time fits the crime” for gun-related offenses committed by teens. “We owe the victims of these gun-related felonies justice, by holding these perpetrators accountable," he said.

The measure would roll back a criminal-justice policy enacted three years ago in Kentucky. Lawmakers then ended the automatic transfer of youths from juvenile court to circuit court in certain cases. Judges now must hold a hearing to determine whether a transfer is appropriate based on evidence. Under the new bill, teens convicted in circuit court would be held in a facility for juveniles until turning 18.

Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield, who opposed the new bill, said there's “not one whit of evidence” to indicate that judges are systematically refusing to send such cases involving violent offenses to circuit courts. He said the bill would remove a judge’s discretion in deciding which court should hear a case. Various factors are considered, including the youth’s prior record, the likelihood of rehabilitation, whether the child has a serious intellectual disability or there was evidence of gang participation.

The bill was amended to allow prosecutors to return such cases to juvenile court. Westerfield responded that it's “exceedingly rare” for cases to return to juvenile court once they're transferred to circuit court.

Opponents also said the focus should be on the root causes of juvenile crime – such as poverty and recruitment into gangs – as well as intervention and education efforts.

Former Reds pitcher, World Series champ

Don Gullett dies at 73

Don Gullett, a Kentucky native who pitched for four consecutive World Series champion teams in the 1970s, died Feb. 14. He was 73.

No information provided on his death, but previous published reports said he’d faced recent health issues.

Gullett posted a 109-50 record with a 3.11 ERA in nine seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees. The lefthander had 44 complete games, 14 shutouts and 11 saves in 266 career games. He was inducted into the Reds' Hall of Fame in 2002.

“Don Gullett, the best athlete and competitor I ever saw or played with! He will be missed,” former Reds catcher Johnny Bench posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Gullett, a native of Lynn, Kentucky, was selected by Cincinnati in the first round of

the 1969 amateur draft. He was 19 when he made his major league debut in April 1970 – with Bench behind the plate. Gullett helped Cincinnati win the World Series in 1975 and ’76, going 26-7 for the Big Red Machine with a 2.68 ERA and 12 complete games in 45 appearances combined over those two seasons.

He then signed with New York in free agency, and the Yankees won it all in 1977 and ’78. He went 18-6 with a 3.59 ERA in 30 starts during his two years with New York.

Gullett retired after the 1978 season and went on to coach in the Reds organization.

“Don dedicated 24 years to this franchise as a player, coach and minor league instructor," Reds owner Bob Castellini said in a team post on X. "His contributions to our rich tradition, our city and his community will never be forgotten.”

Ford CEO says strike may spur reevaluation of where it builds vehicles

DETROIT (AP) – Last fall's contentious United Auto Workers’ strike against Detroit’s automakers changed Ford's relationship with the union to the point where it will “think carefully” about where it builds future vehicles, Ford's top executive said.

CEO Jim Farley told the Wolfe Research Global Auto Conference in New York on Feb. 15 that the company always took pride in its relationship with the UAW, having avoided strikes since the 1970s. Then Ford’s highly profitable factory in Louisville became was the first truck plant the UAW shut down through its strike. As a result, Farley said, “we have to think carefully about our (manufacturing) footprint” as the company moves to producing more electric vehicles.

Ford, Farley said, decided to build all of its highly profitable big pickup trucks in the U.S., and by far has the most union members – 57,000 – of any Detroit automaker. This came at a higher cost than competitors, who went through bankruptcy and built truck plants in Mexico, he said. But Ford thought it was the “right kind of cost,” Farley said.

“Our reliance on the UAW turned out to be we were the first truck plant to be shut down,” Farley told the conference. “Really our relationship has changed. It's been a watershed moment for the company. Does this have business impact? Yes.”

The UAW made strong wage gains after a six-week strike at selected plants run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. Top-scale factory workers won 33%

raises in a contract that runs through April 2028, taking their top wage to around $42 per hour.

Kentucky lawmaker seeks to limit pardons after 600 signed by departing Bevin

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – A proposed constitutional change to limit a Kentucky governor's pardon powers won quick approval Feb. 14 from the Senate State and Local Government Committee to advance to the full Senate. If the measure wins approval there, it will move on to the House.

Senate Bill 126 seeks to amend the state's constitution to remove a governor's pardon powers in the month leading up to a gubernatorial election and the time between the election and inauguration. If the proposal clears the legislature, it would go on the November statewide ballot for voters to decide the issue.

State Sen. Chris McDaniel, who proposed SB 126, said he wants to guarantee that what happened at the end of former Gov. Matt Bevin's term never occurs again. Bevin, who lost his reelection bid, issued hundreds of pardons on his way out in late 2019, several stirring outrage from victims or their families, prosecutors and lawmakers.

SB 126 seeks to amend the state's constitution to remove a governor's pardon powers in the month leading up to a gubernatorial election and the time between the election and inauguration. If the proposal clears the legislature, it would face voters on the November ballot.

“This, in essence, is a two-month period out of every four years when a governor could not issue pardons,” McDaniel said during his presentation to the committee.

During his final weeks in office, Bevin issued more than 600 pardons and commutations. Among the recipients was Patrick Baker, whose family had political connections to the Republican governor, including hosting a fundraiser for him. Baker was pardoned for a 2014 drug robbery killing but later was convicted for the same slaying in federal court. In another case, Bevin commuted the death penalty sentence of Gregory Wilson, who was convicted in 1988 for the rape and death of a woman, to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

McDaniel has pushed for the same constitutional change since 2020.

Don Gullett, a mainstay in the Big Red Machine’s pitching staff and later a Reds pitching coach, died Feb. 14 at 73. He’s seen here at his 2002 induction into the Reds Hall of Fame. Photo by David Kohl | Associated Press

Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford Motor Co., said Feb. 13 that last fall’s contentious United Auto Workers’ strike changed the company's relationship with the union. Photo by Carlos Osorio | Associated Press

Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel is pushing again for new constitutional limits on a Kentucky governor’s pardon powers. Photo by Timothy D. Easley | Associated Press