HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) -A bipartisan group of national leaders held a public hearing in eastern Kentucky to gather input on building a stronger rural economy.
The Brookings–AEI Commission on U.S. Rural Prosperity held the hearing at Hazard Community and Technical College. The commission, run by the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute, is conducting field hearings across the country as part of its “America’s Rural Future” initiative.
Former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp and former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu led a 90-minute panel. The discussion focused on how communities can create and attract jobs, train a modern workforce, and use artificial intelligence to help workers reskill.
National leaders spent Wednesday evening listening to eastern Kentuckians. The bipartisan commission picked Hazard as one of just a few stops nationwide after seeing momentum in the area during the last several years.
“It was such a profound visit and they got to talk to a lot of the people that I know and got to see a lot of the stuff I’m seeing and they wanted to bring other people to show them this,” said Luke Glaser, a panelist and Hazard city commissioner and assistant principal at Hazard High School.
Glaser told the commission about the city’s civic fellowship, a program that pulls bright local students into city hall to fight “brain drain”.
“Come work with us for a summer so you can see what makes a city tick,” Glaser said. “You can be in leadership spaces. You can be a part of decision-making bodies right now. You don’t have to wait. So you can go work for Senator so-and-so answering phones or you can be here building things in your community.”
In a region hit by deadly floods, an aging population, and families moving away, Glaser said leaving is not the answer. Making it safer to stay is.
“People will die before they leave the home of their ancestors,” Glaser said. “There is an incredible connection to place here. What we need to do is appreciate that connection to place and make it safer for people to be here and mitigate these flooding disasters so that people can feel safe to be here.”
Glaser said the fact that national policymakers came to Hazard is a win by itself.
The commission said what it heard in Hazard will help shape its recommendations for rural America.
Local leaders from Partners for Rural Impact, the city of Hazard, and Appalachian Regional Healthcare also shared what is working in the region and what still needs help.
This is one of six field hearings across the country. What the commission hears in eastern Kentucky will feed into a national rural strategy they plan to unveil in 2027.
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