While a struggling economy may now be front and center, residents in Knox County have been living through tough times for at least a handful of years. On Saturday, Congressman Phil Hare joined a group of local leaders to come up with ways to combat the rising number of residents in poverty.

Over the past couple years, the county's largest employers like Maytag and Butler Manufacturing have locked their doors, leaving hundreds looking for jobs.

A recent report puts Knox County on the poverty warning list for the third straight year. The county faired worse than the state average in high school graduation, teen birth, unemployment and poverty rates.