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With 2025 already underway for over a month, the question of what direction Harlan County businesses and industry are expecting to take throughout 2025 and beyond is ready to be addressed.

Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley sat down for an interview recently, discussing various aspects of Harlan County’s outlook in areas such as the coal industry, internet connectivity and more.

Mosley stated there are multiple areas to consider when looking toward Harlan County’s future.

“You look at a variety of things that go into this,” Mosley said. “When somebody says ‘how’s the county doing,’ I say well, we’re always trying to find ways to create more economic opportunities for people, how to recruit more jobs, how to improve the quality of living, how do we get the kids more things to do to make living here more attractive.”

Mosley mentioned there were some layoffs in Harlan County last year related to the coal industry.

“I’m hopeful the new administration in Washington D.C. will alleviate some regulatory red tape where it will help coal mining companies,” Mosley said. “Coal is going to be a part of our energy landscape for decades to come, and we’ve still got it right here in these hills and we need to mine it.”

According to Mosley, while coal is not doing as well as it was at the industry’s peak, it is still viable. He explained revenue from the coal industry filters down into other areas of Harlan County’s economic structure.

“I feel like that will improve as we move forward,” Mosley said.

Harlan County has already had some obstacles in 2025, including water outage issues in the Black Mountain Utility District.

“We’ve had some water woes,” Mosley said. “We’ve got to work with Black Mountain Utility District to see that improve. We’re committed to being as engaged in that as we have been over the last several days until this crisis is stabilized.”

Mosley noted his office did not previously receive accurate information concerning the frequency and lengths of water outages in the district.

On another front, Harlan County is looking forward to improved broadband internet service in remote parts of the county.

“It’s exciting times with the broadband project that’s taking place across Pine Mountain,” Mosley said. “Those folks have had lackluster internet service for years.”

Mosley pointed out the county has been awarded funding through grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the state of Kentucky to help deliver a better internet experience in places including Bledsoe, Big Laurel, Straight Creek and Beechfork.

“They’ve had unreliable service for years, that’s going to change once this is up and running,” Mosley said. “Cloverfork is the same deal, that is being constructed by Harlan Community Television.”

Mosley mentioned improved internet service will aid children with their schoolwork as well as providing citizens an opportunity for remote employment.

“Remote work is such a huge thing in our country,” Mosley said. “Pre Covid, there were 6 million people who worked remotely. During the peak of Covid, there were 40 million people working remotely. Today, there are still 24 million people working remotely with digital jobs in the United States.”

Mosley added reliable, broadband internet is required for many remote jobs.

“You don’t have to have a major highway, you don’t have to have an interstate, you don’t have to have a big commercial skyscraper,” Mosley said. “All you’ve got to have is good internet to be able to do a job for so many companies. If we’ve got that internet service expanded to the hollows that exist here in Harlan County, that means wherever people may live they can work from home and generate an income for their family. Many are already doing that.”