Year in review: Kenton County's top moments from 2023

In 2023, the Kenton County Fiscal Court sought new ways to address some of the biggest challenges facing our residents, particularly our youth. We focused on investing in our people; building our infrastructure; and achieving sustained growth. These three things combined will provide the foundation for our future.?

Here are five moments that stand out from the year that was:

1. We made a multimillion-dollar commitment to the Enzweiler Building Institute and Life Learning Center so they can work together to provide the skills needed for our residents to be successful long-term.
2. We invested nearly $11 million to bring high-speed broadband to all our residents because we know having access to the Internet is one of the greatest ways to elevate our residents when it comes to education, work and medical care. By partnering with altafiber , we pushed the network to more than 20,000 new Kenton County addresses.
3. In 2023, we made big investments in our infrastructure to ensure we’re providing residents improved travel. We partnered with the city of Park Hills to replace Amsterdam Road, and we’re continuing to make improvements to Kentucky Route 536 in Southern Kenton County.
4. The Kenton County Fiscal Court celebrated the groundbreaking of the OneNKY Center in Covington. This building not only will house a $15 million life sciences lab to fuel our growing biotech community but will also serve as the home base for our region’s economic development organizations, including OneNKY Alliance , BE NKY Growth Partnership , meetNKY Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau , Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and others.
5. Sen. Chris McDaniel secured $13 million for Kenton County to invest in high-impact projects. We’ve been selective in how we want to use those dollars, and in 2023, we made our first two investments: purchasing a historic building in Covington to create a new hub of entrepreneurship in Northern Kentucky with Blue North and committing $2 million to help in the revitalization of the former Drawbridge Inn, one of our county’s most visible vacant sites. It’s getting new life and will become a marquee spot along the interstate for those traveling in and through Kenton County.

It was an incredible year for our team, and we look forward to serving our residents in 2024 as we continue to make Kenton County the best place to live, work and raise your family in the Commonwealth.

Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann shares more highlights from the year that was below: