At the northernmost part of the state and towns like Covington and Newport, you'll find yourself peeking over at the Cincinnati skyline just across the Ohio River.

Northern Kentucky is intertwined with the culture and history of Cincinnati, and the partnership between the two areas goes way back.

We explore the past and present of Northern Kentucky as Kentucky edition goes on the road.

Home to more than 400,000 people.

Northern Kentucky isn't just a significant cultural and economic region to our state.

It's important for our country as a whole.

With an urban stretch along the Ohio River and a mixture of rural and suburban communities sprinkled throughout northern Kentucky sits at the core of the Ohio Valley, an area that's central to American development, past and present.

I like northern Kentucky so much because I see in it both Kentucky history that I can relate to, but I see American history.

And too often I think Kentuckians are not as aware of northern Kentucky as they might want to be.

And are all of us?

Along the Ohio River, we're not as aware of our importance in American history.

The Ohio River Valley was so significant and the growth of the nation from the Ohio River region or watershed, which currently covers 14 states, six of them border the river.

And there are over 30 million people who live in the Ohio River region.

The trade along the Ohio River region today is over 185 million tons.

That's carried on the Ohio River.

The urban nature of the region, the industrial nature of the region, makes it very unique, as does that Ohio River that Ohio River is key to everything that happened historically and is even happening now in the area.

Northern Kentucky's prom location on the Ohio River places it in a powerful partnership with Kentucky's two largest cities.

It's called the Golden Triangle.

And the three points of the Golden Triangle are northern Kentucky, Lexington and Louisville.

And all within that golden triangle.

Most Kentuckians live and the vast prosper city that is, and that is actually helping to increase the population of Kentucky, as well as the economic prosperity is coming from that region.

Northern Kentucky exists in a state of tension, both culturally and economically, between the pool of Ohio and Kentucky.

Tin Cotton says one of the bridges connecting Covington to Cincinnati tells the story.

Well.

The Roebling Suspension Bridge.

Many Cincinnati businessmen and people who owned real estate opposed that bridge because they knew that it would offer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year transportation across to Covington.

And they said what's going to happen is real estate values in Covington are going to rise at the expense of Cincinnati and they're going to fall in Cincinnati.

They were right.

Real estate values in Covington increased.

Covington grew greatly right after the bridge was opened officially in 1867, but that didn't mean that it ended the prosperity of Cincinnati.

They grew together.

For Kentucky.

Edition, I'm Clayton Dolan.