Community Members hope to revitalize Route 7

Community Members hope ...

  Route 7 Antique Alley and Route 7 Artisan Fellowship are teaming up in eastern Kentucky, working across county lines, and hoping to make change happen in their communities. With 5,200 plus members — to put it into perspective, Whitesburg had only 2,057 residents in 2013 — Route 7...
Mountain Music Exchange owners hope new model of trade-ins, online sales will usher in new era of doing business in EKY

Mountain Music Exchange...

Walking into Mountain Music Exchange in Pikeville, Ky., is a bit jarring. From the outside, the shop on Highway 23 looks nondescript enough. There’s an old radio-record player combo on one side of the lobby, next to a plush leather couch where parents wait on their children receiving...
Young eastern Kentucky entrepreneur creates his own opportunity

Young eastern Kentucky ...

By: Ivy Brashear Many people like to have a purpose behind the work they do – a reason why they do that work and what keeps them doing it. For Garrett, Ky., native Shane Hamilton, having purpose behind the work he does is more like a life mantra. “I have goals. I have a ‘why:’ ‘Why do I...
MACED helps create possible new economic model for rural communities

MACED helps create poss...

By: Ivy Brashear The City of Berea in Madison County, Ky., hopes the Berea Artist Accelerator, an innovative new program born of a unique set of partnerships, will help plug the leak of Berea College graduates fleeing town after graduation, and in the process, become a model example for...
Eastern Kentucky Transition stories in statewide media

Eastern Kentucky Transi...

At least two examples of economic transition in eastern Kentucky were in the media recently. Roundabout Music Company in Whitesburg was featured on Kentucky for Kentucky’s blog last week. Co-owners Matt Carter, Josh May, Jonathan Hootman and Ben Spangler spoke with KFK about what...
Kentucky Moonshine Trail? Whitesburg could be the first stop

Kentucky Moonshine Trai...

It looks like downtown Whitesburg, Ky., will soon be home to a legal moonshine distillery, and that’s a good thing. Kentucky has seen recent success with its Bourbon Trail drawing thousands of visitors to the state each year, and it stands to reason that eastern Kentucky could reap...
Who runs the Kentucky economy? Small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Who runs the Kentucky e...

Kentucky is powered by small businesses. And when I say small, I mean small. Ninety-four percent of small businesses in the state have less than 50 employees, and 74 percent have less than 10. This is part of the reason why increased investment in and support for entrepreneurs in eastern...
MACED releases five new strategy briefs

MACED releases five new...

Thanks to the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) initiative, there are more ideas than ever surfacing about how best to advance eastern Kentucky’s economy forward. Some of those ideas have real potential to make a lasting and broad-based impact for a high number of people. Some...