Tennessee Matters

If you have a digging project in your yard, it’s always best to call 811 first. Tennessee 811 provides communication, education, and notification services to advocate for the prevention of damage to underground utilities. Breaking utility lines is dangerous and can be deadly, and one free call to 811 alerts the utilities to mark their underground lines near your dig site. Craig Ingram is Public Aw...

The Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability was created to provide leadership relating to the challenges of aging on behalf of older persons in our state. The commission’s mission is to bring together and leverage programs, resources, and organizations to protect and ensure the quality of life and independence of older Tennesseans and adults with disabilities. Recently Tennessee Matters host...

The largest employer in Tennessee is the state government with more than 43,000 employees and about 1,300 different job classifications. To recruit and retain the best and the brightest workforce possible, the state created the Learning & Leadership Development division to build high impact training programs for its employees including leadership development. Dr. Rena Hall is Human Resources P...

The Tennessee Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security is always on alert, and for a good reason. The department has the primary responsibility and authority for directing statewide activities to prevent terrorism in Tennessee. The department is made up of Drivers Services, The TN Highway Patrol, The TN Highway Safety Office, as well as Homeland Security. Tennessee Matters host John Clark recently ta...

Founded in 1854, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture is the oldest state agency in Tennessee. In its history, there have been few years as challenging for Tennessee farmers as 2022. Dr. Charlie Hatcher was sworn in as Tennessee's 38th Commissioner of Agriculture in January 2019 after serving as the State Veterinarian for a decade. Dr. Hatcher is a fifth generation Tennessee farmer and recently...

Major General Jeff Holmes, Commissioner, TN Dept of the Military, discuses the Tennessee National Guard with host John Clark in this Tennessee Matters encore podcast. The Guard serves both community and country and their versatility enables them to respond to domestic emergencies, overseas combat missions, counterdrug efforts, reconstruction missions and more. Their goal is to always respond with...

Being aware of your blood pressure can be very valuable to your health. May is High Blood Pressure Education Month, and there is no better time to learn about the importance of monitoring your blood pressure. Half of all Americans have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. It develops when blood flows through your arteries at higher-than-normal pressures. Let's learn more from Dr. Larry...

The CDC says child abuse and neglect are serious public health problems with about one in seven children experiencing child abuse and neglect in the last year. In Tennessee, the Carl Perkins Center serves 20 counties by offering a variety of services aimed at preventing child abuse as well as helping children and families through it when it happens. Let's learn more from the Event and Fundraising...

The State of Tennessee promotes a pro-business environment and the work has paid off with big businesses expanding to the Volunteer State. In particular Tennessee has become a destination for electric vehicle production including a massive project planned by FORD in West Tennessee. The person in charge of cultivating business expansion in Tennessee, including for start ups and small businesses, is...

The State of Tennessee employs more than 40,000 workers statewide in hundreds of public service roles like park ranger, corrections officer, transportation planner, pharmacy assistant, and many, many more. Recognizing the value of a diverse workforce (including the disabled), the Tennessee Department of Human Resources has leaders like Administrator Sundi Wright and Program Director Tanika Arms as...

Being elected to a local political office does not mean you never need to leave home in order to serve your community. This week many elected city officials met in Washington DC during the National League of Cities convention. Columbia's Mayor, Chaz Moulder, was one of the elected officials from Tennessee who attended. He tells us about his experience and why it's important to him and the communit...

Americans lose billions of dollars to scams. Today's scammers use AI to mimic your loved ones voice or they pretend to be a familiar business or government agency to entice you to trust them and turn over your personal information. To learn more about how to spot scams, we talk to Emma Fletcher, Senior Data Researcher with the FTC.

Nonprofit hospitals operate as charities and are designed to deliver affordable and quality health care to everyone in their communities. However, despite their tax-exempt status, many nonprofit hospitals are practicing disturbing trends that put profits over patients - like ignoring a low-income patient's qualifications for financial assistance and pursuing predatory collection practices. Former...

In Tennessee, the public school with the highest student enrollment is Collierville High School in Shelby County. It is a suburb of Memphis with 2,885 students. Also in Tennessee, there are 8,300 children in foster care - meaning it would take just shy of three of the state's largest schools to hold all of the students in need of a stable home. To learn more, let's hear from Talia Wisecarver, Depa...

The Tennessee Department of Health in the Volunteer State worked hard to serve the public during the pandemic and through to today. One method includes the Office of Faith-Based and Community Engagement led by Elizabeth Hart which is part of the Division of Health Disparities Elimination. John Clark sat down with Ms. Hart to learn more.

The State of Tennessee government is the largest employer in the Volunteer State. "TeamTN" works together to maintain infrastructure, protect natural resources, and develop thriving communities in a myriad of important positions. Have you ever thought about working for the State of Tennessee? John Clark sat down with Ylonda Banister, the Recruiting Executive Director for the State of Tennessee Hum...

Gone are the days of the big bulky phone book and calling the operator at 411. With domestic violence being reported by 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men, protecting your personal information is paramount. John Clark sat down with Stacy Scruggs, the Program Coordinator of the Safe At Home program in Tennessee to learn more about how we can protect our information.

In order to celebrate their son's life and fund research that will find cures for childhood cancer, Grainne and Clay Owen founded Curing Kids Cancer in 2005. The group believes that finding cures for childhood cancers also requires finding doctors and research facilities that are breaking new ground in pediatric cancer research. John Clark sat down with Grainne Owen to learn more.

If you love the outdoors, whether it’s boating, hunting, fishing, or if you just like to observe wildlife, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency works to help enrich your outdoor experience. They are a state-run agency that preserves, conserves, manages, protects, and enhances the fish and wildlife of the state and their habitats for the use, benefit, and enjoyment of all Tennesseans and visitor...

Nashville Classical Charter School began as the brainstorm of dedicated community activists and experienced urban educators. Their vision was a school - free, public, and open to all children - that would achieve a different result. Today, for 550 children, that vision is a reality. Let's listen as host John Clark learns more from Charles Friedman, Founder and Executive Director at Nashville Class...

Since the Tennessee Lottery launched in 2004, more than $6.7 billion has been raised for education programs in the state and it has funded nearly two million scholarships and grants. Students and families aren’t the only ones who benefit. Lottery players have won more than $13.8 billion in prizes, and retailers have earned more than $1.3 billion in commissions. Funding from the Lottery has helped...

On March 5, 2020, the Tennessee Department of Health announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Tennessee. Since that time, about 34% of the state's 7 million people reported testing positive for the virus and approx. 28,000 Tennesseans died. Former TN Dept. of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey and Dr. Alex Jahangir as chair of the Metro Nashville Board of Health became the faces of publ...

The United States federal government was ordered to pay over $230,000 to victims of one of the largest mass shootings in the country where 26 people died and 22 more suffered injuries. This case was tried in federal court through the Federal Tort Claims Act and found the U.S. Government 60% liable for failing to provide the shooter’s prior domestic violence convictions to the FBI. The case is simi...

If you received a diagnosis tomorrow that threatened your ability to work, do you know how to navigate the disability system? This topic is critical to many patients and their families who are also frequently confused about the eligibility criteria and application process for disability benefits. On this episode of Tennessee Matters, Beth Moore with Patient Advocate Foundation tells us how her org...

Celebrating means many things to many people of all faiths, but almost unviversaly, observing the holidays means allowing Chris Kringle to come into our lives. For more than a few years now, in North Georgia, litteraly thousands of children, of course young an old, have come across Derek Dugan. Effectionately known to many as Santa Derek. We visited Santa Derek in his home and learned that a man l...