In a rare moment of collective success across the Commonwealth, total unemployment fell in all 120 Kentucky counties over the stretch of December 2024 and December 2025.
It was one of the top pointed touts from Governor Andy Beshear during Thursday’s “Team Kentucky” update, noting that since 2020, more than 68,000 new jobs had been created through investments of more than $40 billion — most in state history over a six-year span.
Beshear also noted that these aren’t just jobs, but “good jobs.” Jobs on which families can rely.
A 2026-28 budget, he has long said, should bring the same kind of prosperity.
In other state news:
+ Storm impacts from January 23-26 include up to nine inches of snow and significant icing in parts of the Commonwealth, with winter-related deaths now increased to 22. Power outages are down to fewer than 700, down from the peak of 73,000-plus, while more than 12,000 water customers remain on a boil water advisory.
Kentucky now has 85 warming centers open across its borders, as cold temperatures have been reluctant to yield, and to this point, Kentucky State Police has handled more than 28,000 storm-related calls for service, including nearly 2,000 wellness checks.
This, Beshear said, isn’t even accounting for local law enforcement and first responders, who have their own data points on which to glean.
Meanwhile, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, as well as ancillary operations, have now surpassed the 1-million-mile mark in road clearing efforts.
+ To date, more than 18,500 Kentuckians have been approved for medical cannabis cards, and more than 500 medical practitioners have been registered to legally prescribe it to patients.
Two new dispensaries, he said, are opening in Jefferson and Boone counties, with more facilities approved and pending inspections.
+ Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman also noted that his “Pre-K for All” initiative is continuing to gain traction, even as the Kentucky General Assembly debates its value. To date, more than 90 school superintendents, half of the state’s districts, have openly endorsed the expenditure.
Support also comes from 46 chambers of commerce, 63 judge-executives, 34 mayors and the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, while more than 65,000 Kentuckians have plugged their positive input for it through their local legislators. Coleman also referenced that recent polling shows 87% public support.
Dr. Sherri Satterly, Frankfort Independent superintendent, said could stand on her opinion two-fold: first as someone who sees the readiness gap every August, and second as a mother who has lived the “stark reality of [Kentucky’s] fragmented childcare system.”
Her younger son, now seven years old and in the second grade, attended the public Pre-K program in her district.
According to Linda Younkin of The State Journal, Dr. Satterly just received a four-year renewal of her contract with the district, and by unanimous approval.
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