State Briefs

Five cities will share in nearly $89 million in USDA investment in 13 projects to enhance rural development projects across the state, including both grant and loan programs. 

Critical utilities investments are being made in the municipalities of Celina, Erin, Gallaway, Selmer, and Vanleer.  

Celina...

Tennessee’s unemployment rate increased to 3.6% in July, up from the 3.5% rate the state reported in July but still below the national rate of 4.2% in July. In addition to increasing month-over-month, the rate had also increased by 0.2% over the same month last year. Employers added 21,500 non farm...

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti launched Operation Robocall Roundup, a bipartisan, multistate effort by the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force to crack down on robocalls across the country. 

Attorney General Skrmetti and 50 attorneys general are sending warning letters to 37 telecommunications...

Tennessee is among the states with the highest violent crime despite overall declines in violent crime in the state and nationwide since 2019. Both violent and property crime rates declined again in 2024, the lowest the violent crime rate has been since recording of rates began in 1969. However...

The Tennessee Department of Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Division returned a record $125 million of missing cash money to the rightful owners or their heirs during fiscal year 2025. This milestone is double the $62.5 million paid out last year and exceeds the previous record of $68.7 million by...

Tennessee’s June unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, the same rate the state has reported for three months. The state's June 2025 rate is higher than the 3.3% recorded in June 2024. The 3.5% rate is more than half a percentage point below the national rate,  according to data released by the...

Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson reported that total June tax revenues were $2.36 billion, $173.1 million more than the budgeted estimate and $68.2 million more than June 2024. 

The total tax growth rate for the month was 2.98%. 

General fund revenues were $171.6...

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of Outdoor Recreation announced more than $22 million in grants to be shared among 23 municipalities across the state. 

The $22,059,191 in funds awarded come from the Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF) program, the Tennessee...

Tennessee has signed on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler Family, which would resolve litigation between the company and the family for their roles in creating and worsening the opioid crisis nationwide. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti today...

The iconic “See Rock City” barns are among 10 locations in municipalities across Tennessee added to the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the “See Rock City” barns in Crossville and other locations, new additions to the register include: Alamo’s Central High School, Chattanooga’s...

Tennessee’s tourism industry set a new record in 2024, generating $31.7 billion in direct visitor spending and welcoming 147 million visits, according to newly released data from Tourism Economics and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. 

Tourism is a powerful economic driver across all...