About a year ago, an EF three tornado touched down in Kentucky.

Much of that damage was concentrated in a commercial and industrial area in Jefferson Town.

That's just outside of Louisville.

Our June Lefler is back with more on how business has been since then.

Jefferson Town is one of more than 80 small cities in Jefferson County.

But it's not just some Louisville suburb.

It's an economic powerhouse in its own right.

The Bluegrass Commerce Park in Jade town is the largest swath of businesses in Kentucky.

Roughly 38,000 employees travel there daily.

So between the hours of eight and five, we become the largest.

The fourth largest city in the state of Kentucky.

And when we produce products not just locally, we're producing products nationwide and worldwide.

White collar, blue collar, dining and medical all kinds of businesses call this area home, like JSO Wood Products, which sells wood veneer flooring.

But the building was hollowed out a year ago after the tornado.

They found pieces of property eight miles away.

That way, you know, everything was just gone.

An EF three tornado hit Jade town businesses and Middletown homes on April 3rd, 2025.

I want to say that Jefferson Town has been devastated.

We have many, many buildings that have been totally destroyed, but I can say that we are lucky because no one has lost any lives or had any injury here.

The National Weather Service says the EF three tornado touched ground for nearly ten miles and lasted ten minutes, with peak winds of 145mph.

The contents were blown out, the wall was blown out.

So the wood veneer is very thin, very light.

So it just got sucked right out the door.

It leveled this daycare, which may or may not be rebuilt.

We were concerned.

Originally, FEMA said that there were $100 million in damage to the buildings.

Now, while that may have held true, it did not affect us the way we feared it might.

How did businesses survive this?

Steve Kitts kept selling products at a temporary location not far from home, though at a slower pace.

We had business interruption insurance, which I would highly recommend.

It really saved us.

It allows you time to regroup and take a look at your inventory and go through things and plan for your return.

The city offered what it thought might help most.

Waiving demolition and permitting fees for a year.

Now, that represents tens of thousands of dollars in savings to these businesses, the city says.

Of the 38 businesses hit.

Only 4 or 5 have not resumed business in Georgetown, with the.

Exception of very few businesses there took that their buildings were just flattened.

Most were able to continue on.

It did not move the needle, so to speak.

We are forever indebted to these businesses in Jefferson Town.

They are the lifeblood of a paying for the resources that we're able to distribute to the citizens.

With insurance battles settled and cold weather gone, construction is full steam ahead and Kitts is eager to move back in.

So it is like nothing happened here for ever.

Had three months where you're at a standstill.

About nine months, things start happening and you're fine when you see progress.

It might not look like it, but Kitts is just a few months out from returning to his old spot.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Jen Lefler.