Clay County Mayor Dale Reagan is looking forward to meeting with TDEC about the development of Clay’s tourism industry. TDEC announced a new initiative Wednesday aimed at growing tourism industries in rural and distressed counties by leveraging state lands. Reagan said that the opportunity to highlight their area using nearby Standing Stone, Dale Hollow Lake, and other natural areas could ... Read More »

Heavenly Host Lutheran Church will host its 12th annual Oktoberfest celebration this Saturday, September 25th. Organizer Donnie Baumgart said that the Heavenly Host Lutheran Church works to serve both the community and the students of its school. “We preach the gospel and we have a school and our school is thriving,” Baumgart said. “And this Oktoberfest all the funds all ... Read More »

Dr. Bruce Johnson finished his term as Chief of Staff at his last meeting on the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees Thursday night. Johnson has been a member since 2017 serving on various committees during his tenure as Chief of Staff. The CRMC Board of Trustees approved a resolution thanking him for his efforts as both a board ... Read More »

The Tennessee Textbook Affordability Task Force has sent resolutions to the Comptroller’s Office in hopes of finding alternative solutions to cut college textbook expenses. Tennessee Tech’s Public Service Coordinator Sharon Holderman is one of some 50 representatives for universities across the state on the task force. She said that their goal is to help universities utilize more affordable or free ... Read More »

Putnam County is set to move forward with fixing flood issues along North Quinland Lake Road. Putnam County Road Supervisor Randy Jones said that they plan to fix the overflow system by giving it greater capacity for big rain events. “It keeps overflowing and washing the lower side of the road away,” Jones said. “We have had an engineer draw ... Read More »

Some Upper Cumberland schools are seeing a drop in COVID cases after an initial spike when school began. DeKalb’s Director of Schools Patrick Cripps said they’ve seen a consistent drop by the day in their numbers. He said their numbers have dropped all the way to the teens. “You know we haven’t changed anything from what we started the school ... Read More »

Baxter’s Harvest Festival returns to have another year celebrating everything “Homegrown In Tennessee” on Saturday, September 25th. Festival Committee Member Jeanie Lee said that the festival will be in celebration of both the state’s 225th birthday and the Baxter community itself. “Of course we’ll have homegrown food and we’ll have all kinds of entertainment, live entertainment, and events, and activities ... Read More »

Cookeville Fire Department dedicated its new fire apparatus Wednesday evening in a more traditional way. The department and community came together for a dedication inspired by the days of horse-drawn fire engines. Interim Chief Benton Young said that the first step is to wash the engine. “And that goes back to the horse,” Young said. “When a new horse came ... Read More »

The transition to fall began Wednesday afternoon after a wet summer season in the Upper Cumberland. But how wet? Local weather observer Michael Detwiler said many parts of Middle Tennessee received less rain than normal. “Over in that part of the state in Dixon and Waverly, they’ve had 31 plus inches of rain during the summer,” Detwiler said. “Whereas here ... Read More »

Tennessee Tech set a new record for externally funded research, with funds exceeding $22 million for the 2020-2021 academic year. Tech researchers saw some 172 sponsored research projects started last year, which is almost a 12 percent increase from the year before. For the current year, Tech had almost $12 million in research funding activated just in the first two ... Read More »