Governor Signs Memphis Schools Takeover Bill, Announces First Appointees to Oversight Board

by Kaitlin Housler | May 26, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The South

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee officially signed a bill into law on Friday that creates a new state-appointed oversight board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools and announces five of the nine members who will serve on the panel. The legislation, sponsored in the Tennessee...

Tennessee Court of Appeals Strikes Down Lawsuit Against National Guard Deployment in Memphis

by Kaitlin Housler | Apr 28, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The South, TN LEAD

The Tennessee Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s temporary injunction blocking Governor Bill Lee from deploying the Tennessee National Guard in Memphis to assist with the Memphis Safe Task Force. In its ruling, a three-judge panel found that all of...

Tennessee Legislature Adjourns the 114th Session

by Zachery Schmidt | Apr 24, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South, TN LEAD

The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned the 2026 legislative session this week, concluding Governor Bill Lee’s final session. “Over eight legislative sessions, we’ve passed strategic measures to invest in education, strengthen our workforce, improve infrastructure,...

Tennessee Senate Approves Expansion of School Voucher Program to 35,000 Students, Bill Now Heads to Governor’s Desk

by Kaitlin Housler | Apr 16, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The South

The Tennessee Senate on Thursday narrowly approved an expansion of the state’s Education Freedom Scholarship program, advancing a version of House Bill 2532 that would grow the program to 35,000 students, an increase of 15,000 scholarships from the initial amount...

Elon Musk’s xAI Donates 500 Generators to Assist with Ongoing Outages in Nashville

by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 2, 2026 | Culture, News, Tennessee, The South

Elon Musk, CEO of the artificial intelligence company xAI and electric vehicle company Tesla, has donated 500 generators to the Nashville area as tens of thousands of households remain without power following last week’s Winter Storm Fern. The generator donations are...

Former State Rep. Andy Holt Takes Over as New Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner as Charlie Hatcher Retires

by Kaitlin Housler | Oct 1, 2025 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South

Former State Representative Andy Holt officially began his tenure as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture on Wednesday, succeeding Charlie Hatcher, who retired from the position after nearly seven years. Holt, who had been serving as deputy...

Tennessee Congressional Delegation Requests President Trump Approve Governor Bill Lee’s Disaster Declaration

by Kaitlin Housler | Apr 24, 2025 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South

All eleven members of the Tennessee congressional delegation sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting that he approve Governor Bill Lee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration following severe weather in the Volunteer State earlier this month. On April 2...

Tennessee General Assembly Concludes 2025 Legislative Session

by Kaitlin Housler | Apr 23, 2025 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South

Tennessee state legislators moved to adjourn this year’s legislative session on Tuesday, marking the official end of the 2025 session of the 114th Tennessee General Assembly. Tuesday’s end of this year’s legislative session comes days after the General Assembly...