Beshear joins local officials to celebrate economic development
Published 6:00 am Thursday, April 3, 2025
Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Warren County Judge-Executive Doug Gorman speaks at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Mayor Todd Alcott speaks at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear talks with a group of children before speaking at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear talks with Warren County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Clayton before speaking at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Warren County Judge-Executive Doug Gorman speaks at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Mayor Todd Alcott speaks at a ceremony to celebrate Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine at SKyPAC on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
“We will never be a flyover state ever again.”
This is how Gov. Andy Beshear summed up recent economic development accomplishments in Kentucky and Bowling Green on Wednesday during a ceremony at SKyPAC recognizing Bowling Green’s designation as a top metropolitan area for economic development by Site Selection Magazine.
“I’ve loved Kentucky my entire life,” Beshear told a gathering of local and state officials. “But for far too long, people looked down on us. Now, they’re looking up to us. And they’re looking up to Bowling Green.”
Bowling Green was ranked by Site Selection Magazine in March as the number one performing economic city in the country with a population of 200,000 or less, the 13th consecutive time Bowling Green has placed in Site Selection’s top six and the second time in a row the city has hit the number-one spot.
Bowling Green was ranked No. 1 in two categories for the overall designation, total projects and number of projects per capita. Two other Kentucky cities, Owensboro and Paducah, rounded out the list and were tied at seven projects each.
Beshear said Wednesday that Bowling Green is “out-punching” larger cities, and cited recent business investments from Southern Coil Solutions, Clark Beverage Group and several others as evidence of this.
“That is a lot of jobs,” Beshear said, adding that for the first time, Kentucky has been upgraded by several major bond rating organizations.
“We’re going places,” Beshear said. “This is the biggest, best window of opportunity I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, and it hasn’t closed yet.”
Warren County Judge-Executive Doug Gorman said Wednesday that in his view, a “oneness” in the community is what drives successes like these, pointing to local government, education, healthcare and “everything in between.”
“I never want to lose that community we have,” Gorman said. “The community comes together to make things happen the right way.”
Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott also spoke on economic successes, describing the city as a “beacon of light” and praising the efforts of local government in working together.
“By focusing on what unites us, we are building a thriving economy, attracting companies that are committed to investing in our community,” Alcott said.
Alcott said the growth of the community has impacted every aspect of Bowling Green. He cited examples of recent infrastructure upgrades in town such as new parks, roadways and affordable housing.
Like Beshear, Alcott said Kentucky is a state “on the rise,” and called Bowling Green “the heartbeat of Kentucky’s future.”
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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