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News Across Tennessee

Women's suffrage museum to open in Knoxville

The largest museum dedicated to the women’s suffrage movement will soon open its doors in Knoxville. The Suffrage Coalition is working with the team behind Pigeon Forge’s Titanic Museum to create a new immersive museum experience in Knoxville featuring more than 1,000 artifacts telling the story of...

AI-integrated cabinet maker to locate in Baxter

Anatolia Cabinet and Millwork officials announced the company will create 56 and invest $9.6 million with its first Tennessee location in Baxter.  The company’s new facility will be the first and only cabinet and millwork factory statewide operating with an AI-integrated production system, marking...

Memphis purchases downtown Sheraton for $22M

The city of Memphis has officially purchased the downtown Sheraton Hotel for $22 million. The 600-room hotel is connected to the Renasant Convention Center by a skywalk and has been seen by many as a key to attracting more conventions to the city. However, many believe the 1978 hotel needs...

Officials break ground on Ford-backed YMCA childcare center in Stanton

Officials with the town of Stanton, Haywood County, Ford, and the YCMA were on hand to break ground on a new YMCA childcare facility near Blue Oval City. Ford and the YMCA have partnered to provide more childcare options throughout West Tennessee as many of the areas around the new Blue Oval City...

Water treatment product manufacturer to expand operations to Knoxville

Aqua Membranes officials will expand its operations to Knoxville, the company’s first location outside its headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M. Aqua Membranes will create 95 new jobs and invest $6.6 million as the company constructs its newest facility in the Forks of the River Valley Industrial Park...

Columbia cuts ribbons on two new Duck River access points

Officials with the city of Columbia recently cut the ribbon on two new paddle craft access points along the Duck River, both located at the city’s Riverwalk Park. The new access areas were funded through a $200,000 State Tourism Enhancement grant and matching contributions from both the state and...
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People

Rhett Pratt rejoins TML legislative staff

Rhett Pratt
Rhett Pratt

Rhett Pratt has returned to the Tennessee Municipal League’s staff as the senior director of government relations and membership engagement.

“We are thrilled to welcome Rhett back to our team,” said TML Executive Director Anthony Haynes. “He knows and understands the issues that impact our cities and...

Shantell Hoefling

Shantell Hoefling
Shantell Hoefling

Shantell Hoefling has been selected as the new neighborhood specialist for Jackson Mayor Scott Conger’s Office of Innovation. Hoefling will work with residents and community partners to strengthen engagement, support neighborhood initiatives, and help foster a stronger sense of connection across the...

Russell Brackins

Russell Brackins
Russell Brackins

Russell Brackins, former mayor of Erwin, died Oct. 15, 2025, at the age of 96. A lifelong resident of Erwin and a graduate of Unicoi County High School and East Tennessee State University, Brackins career in government began with the Internal Revenue Service with Brackins retiring as a senior...

Don Stallions

Don Stallions
Don Stallions

Don Stallions has been selected as the new city manager of Townsend. Stallions previously worked as the director of general services for Blount County since 2014. Prior to that, he served as Blount County’s HR director and risk manager from 2003 to 2014. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal...

J. Scott Miller

J. Scott Miller
J. Scott Miller

J. Scott Miller, city manager of East Ridge, will retire in January 2026 after a more than 45-year career in public service. Miller has served as East Ridge city manager since January 2023, having first returned as interim city manager in November 2022. He previously served as city manager from 2016...

Steve Alexander

Steve Alexander
Steve Alexander

Steve Alexander has been appointed the new fire marshal of the Johnson City Fire Department (JCFD). Alexander has spent 22 years with JCPD, beginning as a firefighter as well as serving as a driver/engineer, lieutenant, district chief, and most recently as interim fire marshal since September. Prior...
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State Briefs

TWRA aquires nearly 4,700 acres of Hatchie Bottom

A 7,457-acre tract of ecologically rich bottomland hardwood forest along the Hatchie River has been acquired by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), in partnership with The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee (TNC) and The Conservation Fund (TCF). The Hatchie Bottom acquisition represents a...

Three cities receive historic preservation grants

Three municipalities have received federal historic preservation grants through the Tennessee Historical Commission.  

The office recently awarded 26 matching grants totaling more than $1.1 million to non-profits, local governments, universities, and civic organizations across the state to support...

Tennessee graduation rate improves

Tennessee’s graduation rate for 2024-25 was 92.3%, breaking the state’s previous record set in the 2023-24 school year of 92.1%. The Tennessee Department of Education (TDE) said 1,892 more students graduated in the 2025 cohort compared to last year, for a total of 69,124 students graduating across...

Nine cities to receive park planning grants

Nine municipalities are among the local governments sharing nearly $968,000 in Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF) grants recently announced by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The program awards state funding to match local government investments to create or update a...

State agencies to restore Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Plans are underway to reintroduce the red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) to Tennessee. , The RCW was once native to upland mature pine and oak-pine savannas in Tennessee, but disappeared from the landscape due to fire suppression, logging, and habitat fragmentation. The last known RCW in Tennessee was...

More than 1,200 Tennesseans are aged 100 or older

There are 1,256 centenarians living in Tennessee – putting approximately 1.82% of the state’s population over the age of 100, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. There were only about 80,000 centenarians in the U.S. in 2020 – 0.02% of the population – but the milestone is becoming more common...

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TML Updates