Chavez: Ohio Valley investments aim to keep workers from leaving for other states

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — Efforts are being made at the state level to ensure the Ohio Valley has what it needs to continue growing in the right direction.

From infrastructure to a skilled workforce, state leaders say Eastern Ohio already has many of the building blocks needed to attract new investment.

“Ohio has everything that we need to be successful and economically powerful,” State Senator Brian Chavez said. “We have the natural resources, the people, the workforce, the infrastructure, the water. We have everything that needs to be very successful.”

And with new data centers being discussed and plenty of revitalization happening in the Ohio Valley, officials are optimistic.

“If these folks are willing to do a job, we don’t want them to go to another state,” Chavez said. “We want to give them the opportunity to stay here for that. So, that’s what the state’s doing, is making sure we have the opportunities. Making sure we have the energy. Making sure that we have brownfield sites that are reclaimed. So that we a place for these industries to come land.”

Those efforts come as Ohio recently earned the top spot in CNBC’s rankings of the best states for business.

“That’s taken a lot of work, that’s taking a lot a vision to make sure that we have the opportunities to continue to develop,” Chavez said. “We have the energy, that we have resources, that have the workforce. Not just college folks, but also trade folks, and having opportunities to train them. And given them the opportunity to stay here in Ohio, it’s been important and it’s really paying off.”