30-04-2025
In Our View: Good for Wurtland
We've seen and reported excellent news for the small Greenup County town of Wurtland. A groundbreaking for Columbus-based Strawser Construction occurred recently.
Strawser is a well-established company that has been around since 1976. It focuses mostly on road construction and upgrades. At least 30 new jobs will be created with it.
Greenup County officials have been chasing this company and trying to reach an agreement since late 2023. Construction started this week.
Kentucky Power jumped in with a $100,000 grant for help with the 9,500 square-foot facility. Strawser will have plenty of land for expansion.
We were surprised nearly 50 people who live in Kentucky make the drive to Columbus to work at Strawser. That should serve as a wake-up call for local economic development leaders we have folks who commute that far for employment.
Greenup County, like many others in our area, has been hit hard by the closure of AK Steel, CSX furloughs and the closure of OLBH.
This region is in need of a dose of good economic news. Strawser is a great addition to our area. This will benefit much more than Wurtland. While the facility will be located at the riverport there, it'll benefit more than Greenup County, too. Those dollars earned by their workers will spread throughout the region.
The same is true for Wurtland-based Portable Solutions Group, which is now with VITALSpace. The company is preparing to expand, creating more jobs in the future.
Strawser Regional Manager Mike Szymborski pointed out their own David Kiser, a business development manager, lives in Olive Hill. Kiser had a role in this project at the riverport.
Thanks to Greenup County Fiscal Court, Kentucky Power and the Northeast Kentucky Economic Development Authority for working on this project. Strawser indicated it was looking for the perfect place. They found it.
