Business View Magazine | August 2020

247 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2020 RUSSELL COUNTY , KENTUCKY happening on downtown, and applied for inclusion in the network’s Home Town Takeover series, wherein Home Town hosts, Ben and Erin Napier, take on the task of revitalizing not just individual homes, but an entire downtown. It submitted an application video – one of a half-million photo and video submissions representing more than 2,600 towns across the U.S. - highlighting several inhabitants of Main Street, including the Star Theater and Xtreme Detailing Auto Spa. Unfortunately, the winner just chosen for a takeover was not Russell Springs, but Wetumpka, Alabama. Thomas remains undaunted. “In five years, I hope to see Russell Springs’ downtown revived and moving forward,” he enthuses. “When you’re looking to move somewhere, you look at parks, hospitals – ours is growing - and the school system. I think we’ve got the best of all of them. Infrastructure: we’ve got grants in for sewer lines. They’ve been in since the ‘40s and ‘50s, and we want to replace them. If Russell Springs in the state. The Kentucky Trail Town Program is designed to help connect communities to trail systems and develop them as tourist destinations, while guiding travelers to trails, food, lodging, campgrounds, museums, entertainment, and other services. “We got that designation about five years ago,” he recounts. “We are connected and developed for biking, hiking, and kayaking.” Eddie Thomas, the mayor of Russell Springs, touts that city’s efforts to revitalize its downtown. It has seen the opening of several new businesses, and it is getting ready to build a new police station as well as a new ABC building for the administration of liquor sales within the city limits. For almost a century, Russell County has been “dry,” meaning that alcohol was prohibited. But in a referendum in 2016, the county voted to go “wet.” “We should break ground on it within months,” he reports. This past February, Russell Springs invited HGTV to come and be part of the change already