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6.25.26 · Kentucky Business News

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Speaker 1: Hello. Today, I'll be reading from business sources in Lexington
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and Louisville, including The Lane Report and others from around
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the Commonwealth. Your reader today is Julia Shane. As a reminder,
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RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or who have other disabilities that make it difficult
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to read printed material. Our first article comes from the
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June twenty second, twenty twenty sixth edition of The Lane
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Report and is titled new Space Logistics Company, Aying Kentucky,
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the economy is no longer split between companies doing business
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here on Earth versus those operating in space, and Kentucky
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aims to land some of the commercial operations now launching
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into a megabillion dollar industry. A newsletter from Kentucky Space Futures,
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a joint initiative of Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation the
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Cabinet for Economic Development and Humanity in Deep Space begins
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with the facts that the world is facing a thirty
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times in das increase in the number of objects going
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to space just in the next decade, and that only
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includes satellites already announced. To remain competitive, companies require rapid
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and guaranteed access to space, but there's a catastrophic bottleneck.
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Large providers that prioritize internal payloads have industry tied up
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to prove the point. Industry indications are that SpaceX is
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no longer signing new commercial contracts to launch anything but
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their own satellites. Sagittary's Logistics is an orbital launch company
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designed to meet this moment reusable, flexible, and high cadence,
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and this startup is considering Kentucky as a viable site
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to establish its operations. Built on the founding team's twenty
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plus years of pioneering space experience SpaceX, Blue Origin, etc.
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And rocket landing technology with reusable rocket firsts that inspired
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SpaceX's own reuse program, Sagittarius is building a launch infrastructure
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around proprietary IP and advanced manufacturing process that will let
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customers book space missions in weeks instead of years. The
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team is preparing for a large scale fundraise this fall
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and is meeting now with aligned investors who like to
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get to know a company well before a priced round.
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Alongside raised planning, Sagittarius is evaluating site options for its
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large scale advanced manufacturing facility. Selecting the right location and
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getting ahead of planning will position the company to scale quickly.
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This requires excellent logistics, a strong manufacturing workforce, a strong
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partnership with local and regional stakeholders committed to company and
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community success. We believe Kentucky, with its highly competitive and
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expanding space ecosystem, is the right location to locate for
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this game changing space company, said Don Sinkle, Sagittarius Logistics
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code founder. Sagittarius is now planning three launch platforms, the Yellowstone,
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the Sequoia, and the Denali. Yellowstone is designed for hundreds
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of suborbital flights per airframe, taking five hundred pound payloads
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to five hundred kilometers or three hundred and ten miles,
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a high cadence workhourse for research payloads, hypersonic test articles,
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and short duration microgravity. Every system the orbital vehicles will
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inherit gets flown here first. The first Yellowstone flights are
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anticipated in twenty twenty seven. Sequoia is designed for medium
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lift orbital payloads of up to four tons with a
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target price of five hundred per kilogram to place companies
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equipment in low Earth orbit. The first flight is targeted
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for twenty thirty. Denali is a heavy lift vehicle. The
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answer when a customer needs thirty tons in a single
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trajectory and a price per kilogram of two hundred dollars
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per kilogram, opening new categories of orbital business, such as
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in space manufacturing that has not been economical before. The
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first Denali flight would follow in the period after Sequoia.
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The next article from the Lane Report is titled Behind
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the Blue. Senate President Stuivers on how UK can help
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move Kentucky forward, written by Cody Kaiser and Amy Jones.
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When Kentucky's Senate President Robert Stuivers first came to the
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University of Kentucky as a student, Lexington felt like the
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big city. Growing up in southeastern Kentucky between London and Manchester,
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Stivers saw UK as a place that opened his eyes
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to the diversity of the Commonwealth, its people, geography, industries
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and needs. Decades later, as one of Kentucky's most influential
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legislative leaders, he says his view of the university has
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expanded far beyond the classroom. On this episode of Behind
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the Blue, Amy Jones Timony with UK Strategic Communications, talks
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with Stuivers about his path from Laurel County to Lexington,
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his time as a UK student, his journey into public
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service and the university's role in helping shape Kentucky's future.
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In the conversation, Stuivers reflects on the needs he hears
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from constituents across his district, including access to good jobs,
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reliable broadband and cell service, quality, healthcare, and education. He
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also discusses how UK's land Grant mission reaches communities across
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the Commonwealth through education, extension, healthcare, research and service. Stivers
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says his appreciation for UK's research enterprise grew through both
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his role in the legislature and deeply personal experiences with
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cancer in his own family. He shares how his mother
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received care at UK Marquee Cancer Center and how seeing
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constituents from Eastern Kentucky receiving treatment there helped shape his
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understanding of why investing in research matters. The episode also
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explores how research can drive economic development. Stuivers points to
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examples ranging from cancer care and health research to forestry, agriculture, engineering,
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and partnerships with industry. Research, he says, is not only
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about new discoveries, it also brings talent, investment and opportunity
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to Kentucky communities. Looking ahead, Stuivers discusses the pace of
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technological change, including artificial intelligence, and the role he believes
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UK and other universities must play in preparing students for
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jobs that may look very different in just a few years.
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He encourages students to remain adaptable, ready to train, retrain,
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and respond to a rapidly changing world. Throughout the conversation,
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Stivers returns to the idea that Kentucky's flagship Unity must
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help the state think not only about today, but about tomorrow,
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next week, next month, and next year. As he puts it,
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UK must continue to be the tip of the sphere
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in helping provide ideas and direction for the future. Behind
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the Blue is available via variety of podcast providers, including
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Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe to receive new episodes
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each week featuring UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research artists, writers,
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and the most important news impacting the university. Behind the
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Blue is a production of the University of Kentucky. Transcripts
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for most episodes are now embedded in an audio file
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and can be accessed in many podcast apps. The next
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article from the Lane Report is titled Homes for Sale
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Search forty percent across Louisville housing market, the greater Louisville
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housing market continued to demonstrate resilience in May, with home
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prices reaching new highs, inventory levels improving, and closed sales
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posting a strong year over year increase. According to data
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released by the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors GLARE and
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APEX MLS, a total of one thousand, five hundred and
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sixty one homes closed in May, representing a fourteen point
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six percent increase compared to May of twenty twenty five.
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Year to date, closed sales are up four point six percent,
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signaling continued buyer activity despite elevated mortgage rates and affordability challenges.
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At the same time, housing inventory continued to improve. The
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number of homes available for sale rose to four thousand,
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fifty two, a thirty nine percent increase from one year ago.
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Months of supply increased from two point four months to
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three point two months, giving buyers more choices than they
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have seen in several years. The market continues to improve
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toward a healthier balance betwe buyers and sellers, said GLARE
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president Rip Phillips. We are seeing more homes come onto
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the market, giving buyers additional options, while sellers are still
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benefiting from steady demand and continued home price appreciation. The
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median sales price increased two point five percent year over
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year to two hundred ninety five thousand dollars, while the
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average sales price rose three point four percent to three
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hundred fifty one thousand, two hundred thirty five dollars. Year
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to date, the median sales price stands at two hundred
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eighty nine thousand, nine hundred dollars, up four point five
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percent from the same period last year. New listings also
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continued to climb, with two thy four hundred forty nine
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properties entering the market in May, a seven point seven
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percent increase from a year ago. Year to date, new
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listings are up nearly eighteen percent, reflecting growing seller confidence
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and providing additional opportunities for perspective buyers. While buyer demand
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remains present, activity has become more measured. Pending sales declined
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fourteen point seven percent in May, and homes spent an
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average of forty nine days on the market compared to
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forty one days during the same month last year. Sellers
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received an average of ninety eight point five percent of
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their list price, indicating that properly priced homes continue to
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attract serious buyers. Showing activity remained strong throughout the region.
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Jefferson County recorded more than fifteen thousand showings during May,
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while Bullet, Oldham, Shelby, Harden, and Nelson Counties all continued
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to experience consistent buyer traffic. Today's buyers have more negotiating
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power and more homes to choose from than they did
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a year ago, Phillips added. At the same time, home
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values remained strong and well positioned for homeowners considering a
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move that's creating opportunities on both sides of the transaction.
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Our next article comes from the June twenty twenty sixth
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edition of Business Lexington and is titled KSR Walkon's team
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up on new sports bar with familiar Lexington names. Less
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than a month after KS Bar and Grill closed its stores,
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the Lexington Sports Bar, founded by Kentucky Sports Radio's Matt Jones,
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has found new life through a partnership with growing national
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chain Walkon's sports bistro Walkins announced it will open a
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new location at one zero three zero South Broadway, in
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the former Tilted Kilt location and adjacent to the former
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KS Bar space. The restaurant is expected to open ahead
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of the University of Kentucky football season this fall. The
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venture is a partnership between walk On's Jones and local
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businessman Jamie Daniel, owner of the former Tilted Kilt property.
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Under the arrangement, walk Ons will operate the restaurant year round,
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while the former ks Bar space will reopen as an
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event venue for Kentucky game days and select special events,
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including live broadcasts of the Kentucky Sports radio program. Ks
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Bar has always been about bringing Kentucky fans together, Jones
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said in a statement. This partnership allows us to preserve
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that spirit while giving fans access to a bigger experience,
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a larger menu, and the resources of one of the
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most successful sports bar brands in the country. Founded in
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Baton Rouge in two thousand and three by former Louisiana
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State University basketball walk On, Brandon Landry, and Jack Warner,
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walk Ons has grown to nearly eighty locations nationwide. The
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Lexington restaurant will be the second of three walk On
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franchises planned by Daniel Hospitality Group. Daniel, who will co
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own the Lexington walk Ons with Jones, said the partnership
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combines the national brand's sports bar concept with the passionate
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fan base surrounding UK Athletics. A Kentucky native and diehard
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Kentucky fan, opening a Walkons here was a long time coming,
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Daniel said. By partnering with Matt and the KSR community,
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we are serving a fan base that lives and breathes
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Kentucky sports. The new restaurant will feature more than fifty
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televisions and serve Walkon's scratch made Louisiana inspired menu. The
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next article comes from the June twenty third, twenty twenty
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sixth edition of The Lexington Times and is titled Kentucky
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wins Area Development Silver Shovel Award for second year. Governor
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Andy Basheer announced that Kentucky has been awarded the Silver
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Shovel Award for the second consecutive year by Area Development,
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the industry publication recognizing states for exceptional economic development performance.
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The Commonwealth also earned recognition for Ge Appliances as a
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Manufacturing Project of the Year. The Silver Shovel designation, awarded
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in the three to five million population cat represents Kentucky's
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fourth Gold or Silver Shovel honor during the Basher administration.
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The recognition caps a record setting twenty twenty five for
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the state when Kentucky recorded ten point five billion dollars
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in new private sector investments, the second highest total in
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state history. We worked hard last year to attract great
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companies and create more good paying jobs for our people,
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which resulted in our state's second best year on record
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for new private sector investment, Basheer set in a statement,
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This recognition reflects that Kentucky has the infrastructure and workforce
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needed to continue attracting the businesses of the future. The
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award recognizes major twenty twenty five projects, including General Matters
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one point five billion dollar uranium enrichment facility in McCracken County,
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Apple's more than two billion dollar investment in Corning's Mercer
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County facility to produce smartphone, Ford Motor Companies nearly two
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billion dollar investment at its Louisville assembly plant for electric
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vehicle production, and Kroger's three hundred ninety one million dollar
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distribution center in Simpson County. Ge Appliances, a hair company,
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was one of twenty projects nationally recognized as a Manufacturing
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Project of the Year. The company will invest four hundred
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ninety million dollars and create eight hundred jobs at its
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global headquarters at Appliance Park in Jefferson County, with production
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of more than fifteen washer models scheduled to begin in
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twenty twenty seven. The twenty twenty five investments came from
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one hundred eighty five new location and expansion announcements, projected
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to create nearly ninety six hundred full time jobs, with
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the average incentivized hourly wage reaching twenty nine dollars and
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fifty eight cents, the highest on record. Manufacturing projects alone
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accounted for nearly nine point five billion dollars in new announcements.
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The next article from The Lexington Times is titled Who
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should pay for Lexington's Growth? Committee to consider new developers
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privilege fees? Written by Aaron Mudd. During its June twenty
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third meeting, members of Council's Budget, Finance and Economic Development
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Committee will weigh a new mechanism for funding expensive infrastructure
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buildouts in areas where Lexington is expanding. Back in twenty
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twenty three, Council voted to expand Lexington's urban service area
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in five zones around the city. It was the first
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time the council had done so since nineteen ninety six. However,
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a major sticking point at the time was the cost
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of building key infrastructure such as roads, sewers, and similar projects,
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as those expansion areas are largely undeveloped. Dig deeper. Lexington's
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Urban Service Area, or USA for short, is a boundary
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line around the city that contains almost all new development,
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leaving the rest of the county as rural land. It
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shapes what land can be developed and receive city services
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like water and sewer. During Tuesday's committee meeting, council members
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will consider advancing an ordinance establishing a new privilege fee
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program for developers who benefit from expanding city infrastructure. The
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program is designed to cover the upfront capital costs for
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these projects, which, according to meeting materials, could cost an
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estimated five hundred sixty nine million dollars. How would the
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privilege fee program work? As outlined in a committee presentation
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included in the meeting materials, privileged fees are a way
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for new development to bear the cost of shared infrastructure
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and to reimburse whoever shouldered the cost of building said infrastructure.
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The new ordinance establishing the program states that privileged fees
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shall be used to finance, defray, and or reimburse all
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or a portion of the co incurred by the government
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or a developer for the construction of sewers, roads, and
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other public infrastructure improvements identified here under that serve new
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development and redevelopment projects. The process works something like this.
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One a developer or local government builds the shared infrastructure,
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such as a sewer or road. Two, the local government
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identifies properties that benefit. They must pay a privileged fee
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before they can get approval for a future subdivision plan. Three,
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the shared infrastructure cost is split up between the properties
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based on their gross acreage. Together, they reimburse the original developer,
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and four, the local government reviews the project costs and
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designed for compliance. The local government would still be responsible
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for one regional growth projects, two neighborhood parks, three fire
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and police and four major transportation network improvements. How will
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future and ongoing infrastructure costs be paid? Even beyond their
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initial buildouts, There are ongoing operations and maintenance costs for
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new infrastructure. Roads have to be repaved, Trash has to
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be picked up. Community facilities such as parks and fire
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stations have to be maintained once they're built out. Expanded
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city services are projected to have a negative general fund
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impact and revenues aren't expected to keep up. While privileged
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fees have been pitched as a way to cover upfront
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infrastructure costs, the mechanism for funding ongoing operations and maintenance
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remains an open question. Partners for Economic Solutions. The firm
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presenting to the Council Committee previously suggested these costs could
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be paid by one private fees such as those collected
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by homeowners associations in new developments, two new special tax
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assessment districts in the expanded service areas, and three expanding
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existing user fees similar to lex serve for the new
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areas or county wide. The next article comes from the
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June twenty third, twenty twenty six edition of Louisville Business
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First and is titled Louisville manufacturer opens first retail store,
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written by Michael Jones. A Louisville based kitchen and bath
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manufacturer launched its first direct to consumer retail outlet in
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South Louisville last week. Compass Manufacturing International CMI specializes in
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wholesale distribution of faucets, sinks, and other products under its
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own brand and private label for retailers like Menards, Lows, Amazon,
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and Home Depot On June eighteenth, the company opened Compass
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Outlet at six seven zero two Enterprise Drive. The four
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thousand square foot store offers open box discontinued and excess inventory,
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along with vanities from a sister company and re Pecolor Paint,
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an exclusive line of recycled paint from a partner based
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in Boston. The outlet marks CMIS pushed to expand direct
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to consumer sales, a shift from its traditional wholesale model.
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Scott Streier, CMI's director of finance, said the outlet concept
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emerged after CMI donated fourteen thousand dollars worth of products
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to Habitat for Humanity that generated thirty thousand dollars in
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sales at the nonprofits restore outlet, evidence of pent up
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local demand for discounted home goods. We first attempted to
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sell these discontinued items to our current customers. We were
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told that there was no interest in this, Streyer said.
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After seeing what Habitat for Humanity did, we saw there
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was a market for these items. Streyer said. The outlet
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store offers consumers a low cost option for budget conscious
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homeowners and contractors. The recolor products sell for about twenty
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eight dollars per gallon, compared to forty dollars or more
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at big box retailers. There are also steep discounts on
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discontinued and open box items. CMI owner and CEO Danny Lee,
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who lives in New York, began his career roughly two
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decades ago as a solo broker, sourcing faucets and sinks
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from China, traveling extensively to build supplier relationships. In twenty twelve,
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Lee and his business partner acquired TBA Incorporated, a Louisville
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company he had previously worked with as an importer. I
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started to do business with TBA back in let's say
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two thousand and seven. Lee said, So, then we went
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through the economic crisis. They had some issues in the
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finance area. We purchased the company back in twenty twelve
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and started CMI. We discontinued the non popular items and
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expanded the product line. Today, CMI employees more than fifty workers.
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The company generated about fifty million dollars in revenue in
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twenty twenty five, and it expects to do about sixty
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million dollars this year. In addition to the retail expansion,
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CMI is pursuing Foreign Trade Zone FTZ status for its
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Louisville operations. The designation would allow the company to import
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goods without paying duties or tariffs until products are sold,
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improving cash flow and inventory management. Stryer said rising tariffs
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in recent years accelerated the company's push to secure FTZ
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designation as part of a broader cost control strategy. Everything
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is manufactured out of the country. We manufacture in China, Vietnam,
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and Thailand, Streyer said, Danny has a very close relationship
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with the owners at these factories. We have two distribution centers,
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one being here in Louisville and the other is outside
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of Dallas in Carrollton, Texas. The FTZ application is in
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its final approval with federal authorities. CMI has begun installing
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additional security metas, including fencing and cameras, at its twelve
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point five acre site. Once approved, the company plans to
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offer duty free storage services to other businesses as well.
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Streyer joined CMI about two years ago after working in
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forensic accounting with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
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Explosives and later providing CFO services to startups beyond its
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core business CMI is investing in brand visibility through an
24:28
unusual marketing strategy motorsports and hobby culture. The company sponsors
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two transam race cars, a TA two car and a
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GT car to promote its brand at twelve national racing events,
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many of which are televised. A CMI sponsored gtcar recently
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won a race at Indianapolis. CMI works with driver Adrian Woltowski.
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That racing connection extends to the outlet store, where customers
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can see an actual racecar hood and roof panel on
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display alongside branded merchandise. CMI has also built what it
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says is Louisville's only public radio controlled drift track inside
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the store, aimed at driving foot traffic and creating a
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destination retail experience. Stryer said the track has already attracted
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hobbyists and families, with visitors racing cars while others browse
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the store selection of discounted fixtures and paint. The outlet,
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he added, reflects a broader strategy to grow the company
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and potentially position it for future public offering. The next
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article from Louisville Business First is titled upsi's major facility expansion,
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written by Joel Stennett. Ups could be expanding its lab
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Port campus. The Atlanta based company is planning to build
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two new phases of Labport on a ten point five
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to nine acre site at eight two zero three National Turnpike,
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according to a development plan letter filed with the Louisville
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Metro Planning and Design last week. That address is currently
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home to the UPS Employment Center. The first phase will
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include a thirteen thousand, forty seven square foot building that
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will be constructed on the east side of the current
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fifty four thousand, three hundred and fifty six square foot
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facility on the property. The new building will house additional
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offices and labs and a one hundred sixty seven new
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parking spaces. According to the filing, the second phase will
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add fifty six th six hundred twenty two square feet
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along the southeast side of the existing facility, which will
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house more laboratory space. The project will also create a
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new access point from National Turnpike. Louisville based design build
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from Mendel Scott wrote the letter on behalf of UPS.
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UPS Senior vice president of Engineering and Asset Intelligence Joel Stenson,
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is listed as the applicant on the filing. It is
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not clear when the construction may begin on the expansion
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or how much it will cost. It is also not
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clear if the company's employment center will remain on the site.
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Earlier this year, Business First reported that UPS is planning
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to build a new six point one million dollar, forty
27:13
two thousand square foot cooler at six two zero four
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Newcut Road, inside a separate existing UPS healthcare facility. UPS Worldport,
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which employs about twenty six thousand in Louisville, is the
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city's largest employer and is one of the main reasons dozens,
27:29
if not hundreds of businesses have operations in the area.
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Louisville's airport is among the world's most important cargo facilities.
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The Louisville Regional Airport Authority reported in September that SDF
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and Bowman Field generated a record twelve point eight billion
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dollars in total economic output in twenty twenty four, supporting
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nearly ninety thousand jobs across the metro area. UPS's Worldport
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in Louisville handles more synchronized express flights than any other
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cargo hub globally. This concludes the reading of the most
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recent business news in Lexington, Louisville, and around the state.
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Your reader today has been Julia Shane. If you have
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any questions or comments about this program, please give our
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Lexington Studios a call at eight five nine four two
28:16
two six three nine zero. Thanks for listening and now
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please stay tuned for readings from the Kentucky series here
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on RADIOI