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News Across Tennessee

Centrus Energy to expand Oak Ridge operations

Centrus Energy announced a major expansion to transition its Oak Ridge facility to a high-rate manufacturing plant. The expansion will create nearly 430 new jobs and invest more than $560 million over the next several years to support both the growth in workforce investment in the production of...

Infrastructure grants awarded to 20 municipalities

Grants for water and sewer infrastructure were awarded to 20 municipalities through the Infrastructure Planning Grant (IPG) program.

East Ridge Fire Department holds push-in ceremony

Members of the East Ridge Fire Department held a push-in ceremony for Squad-1, the newest apparatus for the department. The 2025 Pierce Enforcer is part of a “continued investment” in the city’s emergency service, according to fire officials. The push-in ceremony harkens back to the days when...

LIS Technologies to expand Oak Ridge Operations

Laser Isotope Separation (LIS) Technologies officials announced the company will expand its operations in Oak Ridge, investing $1.38 billion and creating 203 new jobs. The investment from LIS Technologies marks the third-largest nuclear-related investment since the creation of TNECD’s Nuclear Energy...

Heil Trailer to expand Athens operations

Heil Trailer International officials announced the company is expanding its manufacturing operations in Athens, investing $9.8 million and creating 18 new jobs. The investment follows the securement of a 10-year U.S. Department of the Army contract for the company’s tactical fuel distribution system...

Memphis receives $74M state grant for Beale Street enhancements

The city of Memphis and Downtown Memphis Commission have received a $74 million safety grant from the state of Tennessee for public safety and infrastructure improvements in the Beale Street Historic District. Project improvements aim to enhance the public realm, foster a safe and welcoming...
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People

Chattanooga's Kelly to head regional rail initiative

Tim Kelly
Tim Kelly

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly has been selected to chair a coalition of municipal and state leaders working toward the creation and enhancement of passenger rail and freight networks in the Atlanta-Chattanooga-Nashville-Memphis rail corridor. 

The Sunbelt Atlantic Compact is looking to connect the four...

Linda McCrary

Linda McCrary
Linda McCrary

Linda McCrary has been selected to fill the vacancy on the Red Boiling Springs City Council left by the death of her husband George in December. A member of the Retired Teachers Association, McCrary is a lifelong Red Boiling Springs resident and served as a librarian for the Macon County Schools...

George Edwards

George Edwards
George Edwards

George Edwards has been selected as the new fire chief for the city of Hendersonville. Edwards began his career as a firefighter with the department in 1995 and has since been promoted five times. His most recent promotion was to assistant chief of the department in 2023.  

Daniel Estes

Daniel Estes
Daniel Estes

Daniel Estes, city manager for Elizabethton, has been selected to serve on the TCMA Board at a special called meeting. Estes has served as Elizabethton’s city manager since June 2018. Prior to that, he served as assistant town administrator for the town of Collierville. He also served as a local...

Jim Sells

Jim Sells
Jim Sells

Jim Sells, who was at one point the sixth-longest serving mayor in the country, died Jan. 15, 2025, at the age of 80. Sells served as mayor of Rogersville for 48 years from 1978 to 2025 and served as an alderman for the city from 1971 to 1977. The meeting room for the town's Board of Mayor and...

Bill Almon

Bill Almon
Bill Almon

Bill Almon, a captain with the Franklin Fire Department, died Jan. 15, 2026, from brain cancer at the age of 49. Almon retired as captain of Station No. 6 in April 2025 after his diagnosis in 2023. He spent 27 years with the Franklin Fire Department and was named Fire Office of the Year in 2023 and...
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State Briefs

Tennessee December 2025 unemployment remains steady

Tennessee’s December 2025 unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%. The state unemployment rate has remained at 3.6% since July, though no data was recorded for October due to the government shutdown. The U.S. rate for December was 4.4%, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month...

Tennessee December 2025 revenues $82.7M above estimates

Tennessee revenues exceeded budgeted estimates for the month of December with a monthly tax growth rate of 6.09%

Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson reported that total December tax revenues were $2 billion, $82.7 million more than the budgeted estimate and $116.5 million...

TDEC unveils new water quality maps

A new map is highlighting sources of pollution in state waterways as part of efforts to improve water quality. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation unveiled a map that helps monitor water quality in streams, rivers, and reservoir lakes across the state. The map shows that 19,000...

FEMA announces $9 million in Helene recovery funds

The Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) has approved nearly $9 million in federal funds to help communities across Tennessee rebuild following Hurricane Helene and other recent disasters. 

The funds are part of FEMA’s Public Assistance program, which is funded at a minimum of 75% federal...

Tennessee unemployment unchanged in November 2025

Tennessee’s November 2025 unemployment rate was recorded at 3.6%, which has remained unchanged since July. No unemployment rate was recorded for the state in October 2025 due to a lack of data from the federal government shutdown. The 3.6% rate was also one-tenth of a percentage point lower than the...

Savage Gulf State Park adds 670 acres

One of Tennessee’s newest state parks just got bigger. A private donation has added 670 acres of dense forest on the Cumberland Plateau to Savage Gulf State Park near Beersheba Springs. The addition was the result of a two-year joint effort from three conservation groups – the  TennGreen Land...
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