# Beshear Announces 4th Year of Declining Overdose Deaths, Record Economic Investment  
**Published:** 2026-04-30T17:59:58.000Z  
**Source:** [Office of the Governor](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2743)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/beshear-announces-4th-year-of-declining-overdose-deaths-record-economic

FRANKFORT, Ky. — [Kentucky recorded its fourth consecutive year of declining overdose deaths in 2025, with a 22.9% decrease compared with the previous year](https://www.wtvq.com/beshear-ky-sees-4th-straight-year-of-decline-in-overdose-deaths-with-22-9-drop-in-2025/), Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday during his regular Team Kentucky Update.

[The state recorded 1,110 overdose deaths last year — the lowest number since 2014](https://www.wtvq.com/beshear-ky-sees-4th-straight-year-of-decline-in-overdose-deaths-with-22-9-drop-in-2025/), according to Beshear's office. The achievement represents a 50.8% decline from 2021, when Kentucky experienced its highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded.

"We mourn all 1,110 Kentuckians who lost their lives to a drug overdose last year," Beshear said. "While we are proud of the progress we have made in fighting addiction, we know we must continue working every day to save more Kentuckians from addiction."

The governor also highlighted [Kentucky's best four-month start for investment in state history, with over $4.4 billion in approved investment in 2026](https://www.wtvq.com/beshear-ky-sees-4th-straight-year-of-decline-in-overdose-deaths-with-22-9-drop-in-2025/). The strong economic performance reflects continued momentum in the state's manufacturing sector and represents the strongest quarterly investment figures since the beginning of Beshear's administration.

The drug overdose progress comes as [fentanyl was present in 45.4% of deaths in 2025, down from 62.3% in 2024](https://www.wtvq.com/beshear-ky-sees-4th-straight-year-of-decline-in-overdose-deaths-with-22-9-drop-in-2025/), indicating shifting drug patterns in the state. Methamphetamine remained the second most prevalent substance involved in overdose deaths.

The governor credited [a broad coalition of community leaders, nonprofit organizations, first responders and advocates for the continued progress](https://www.wtvq.com/beshear-ky-sees-4th-straight-year-of-decline-in-overdose-deaths-with-22-9-drop-in-2025/). [The announcements were made during the Team Kentucky Update](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2743), which provides regular updates on administration initiatives across the commonwealth.

[Among Black Kentuckians, 129 deaths in 2025 were attributed to a drug overdose — a 25.4% decrease compared with the prior year and the second straight annual decline among that demographic](https://www.wtvq.com/beshear-ky-sees-4th-straight-year-of-decline-in-overdose-deaths-with-22-9-drop-in-2025/).

## Sources

- [Office of the Governor](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2743)
- [WTVQ reporting on April 30, 2026 Team Kentucky Update announcing overdose deaths and economic investment figures](https://www.wtvq.com/beshear-ky-sees-4th-straight-year-of-decline-in-overdose-deaths-with-22-9-drop-in-2025/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Office of the Governor, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2743.