Tennessee Matters

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...

If you have traveled nearly any of the highways and byways of the south and beyond, at some point you have seen a Stuckeys. Most often associated with a blue roof. At some point the popularity of the Stuckey's tapered off, but now granddaughter of the founder of Stuckey's and career litigator Stephanie Stuckey was able to buy the company from ruin. She aims to not only bring back the company to be...

The good news is that in the United States, child poverty fell by 59% from 1993 – 2019, according to a comprehensive new analysis. The study was a joint effort between The New York Times and a nonpartisan research group with an expertise in statistical analysis called Child Trends. A broad overview of the results show multiple forces reduced child poverty, including lower unemployment, increased l...

Studies show prescription drug prices in the United States are significantly higher than in other nations, with prices in the United States averaging 2.56 times those seen in 32 other nations. Bloomburg reports the average American spends $1200 a year on prescription drugs. On Tennessee Matters, we’re talking to Antonio Ciaccia, the President of 3 Axis Advisors and the leading expert on drug prici...

How much garbage and litter still gets dumped on Tennessee roadways? It's a very big number that Shawn Bible knows all too well. She and her team at TDOT work hard to remind us #NobodyTrashesTennessee. The TN Department of Transportation’s Environmental Division is responsible for identifying, assessing, mitigating and documenting environmental risks to TDOT on projects and operations. Bible, TDOT...

The TN Dept. of Children's Services provides support to children and families while promoting safety, permanency, and well-being with the goal of creating healthy environments where children can live with supportive families and in engaged communities. Commissioner Jennifer Nichols is our guest on TENNESSEE MATTERS.

The United States Air Force is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on August 1, 1907 as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. SSgt Mitchell...

Major General Jeff Holmes, Commissioner, TN Dept. of the Military, discusses the critical purpose and vision of the Tennessee Army National Guard. The Guard serves both community and country and its versatility enables response to domestic emergencies, overseas combat missions, counterdrug efforts, reconstruction missions and more. The Guard always responds with speed, strength and efficiency, hel...

The State of Tennessee enrolls almost one million students in 147 school districts. Management of public education in the state is the responsibility of the Department of Education and Commissioner Dr. Penny Schwinn who is our guest on this episode of Tennessee Matters. Dr. Schwinn discusses numerous issues facing public education including the new funding plan, the shortage and recruitment of tea...

Patsy Cline was one of the most influential singers of the 20th century and to this day remains among the biggest names in the history of Country Music with iconic hits like “Crazy”, “I Fall to Pieces” and “Walkin’ After Midnight”. She was on her way to super-stardom when her life was tragically cut short in a plane crash in 1963 that also took the lives of Grand Ole Opry stars Hawkshaw Hawkins, C...