# Kentucky wins Area Development's Silver Shovel Award for second year **Published:** 2026-06-23T16:00:47.000Z **Source:** [Lane Report (KY Business)](https://www.lanereport.com/188219/2026/06/kentucky-wins-area-developments-silver-shovel-award-for-economic-growth/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/kentucky-wins-area-development-s-silver-shovel-award-for-second-year Gov. Andy Beshear announced that Kentucky has been awarded the Silver Shovel Award for the second consecutive year by [Area Development](https://www.areadevelopment.com/Gold-Shovel-Econdev-Awards/q2-2026/21st-annual-area-development-shovel-awards.shtml), the industry publication recognizing states for exceptional economic development performance. The commonwealth also earned recognition for [GE Appliances as a Manufacturing Project of the Year](https://www.lanereport.com/188219/2026/06/kentucky-wins-area-developments-silver-shovel-award-for-economic-growth/). The Silver Shovel designation, awarded in the 3-to-5 million population category, represents Kentucky's fourth Gold or Silver Shovel honor during the Beshear administration. The recognition caps a record-setting 2025 for the state, when [Kentucky recorded $10.5 billion in new private sector investments](https://newkentuckyhome.ky.gov/Newsroom/NewsPage/20251218_Gov._Beshe) — the second-highest total in state history. "We worked hard last year to attract great companies and create more good-paying jobs for our people, which resulted in our state's second-best year on record for new private sector investment," Beshear said in a statement. "This recognition reflects that Kentucky has the infrastructure and workforce needed to continue attracting the businesses of the future." The award recognizes major 2025 projects including General Matter's $1.5 billion uranium enrichment facility in McCracken County, Apple's more than $2 billion investment in Corning's Mercer County facility to produce smartphone glass, Ford Motor Co.'s nearly $2 billion investment at its Louisville Assembly Plant for electric vehicle production, and Kroger's $391 million distribution center in Simpson County. GE Appliances, a Haier company, was one of 20 projects nationally recognized as a Manufacturing Project of the Year. The company will invest $490 million and create 800 jobs at its global headquarters at Appliance Park in Jefferson County, with production of more than 15 washer models scheduled to begin in 2027. [The 2025 investments came from 185 new location and expansion announcements projected to create nearly 9,600 full-time jobs](https://newkentuckyhome.ky.gov/Newsroom/NewsPage/20251218_Gov._Beshe), with the average incentivized hourly wage reaching $29.58, the highest on record. Manufacturing projects alone accounted for nearly $9.5 billion in new announcements. ## Sources - [Lane Report (KY Business)](https://www.lanereport.com/188219/2026/06/kentucky-wins-area-developments-silver-shovel-award-for-economic-growth/) - [Area Development's 21st Annual Shovel Awards and state recognition details](https://www.areadevelopment.com/Gold-Shovel-Econdev-Awards/q2-2026/21st-annual-area-development-shovel-awards.shtml) - [Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development announcement of 2025 economic performance and investment data](https://newkentuckyhome.ky.gov/Newsroom/NewsPage/20251218_Gov._Beshe) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Lane Report (KY Business), enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.lanereport.com/188219/2026/06/kentucky-wins-area-developments-silver-shovel-award-for-economic-growth/.