Tennessee Matters

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...

More than 450,000 Veterans call Tennessee home. However, only 220,000 of these Veterans are enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System and only 150,000 receive any type of benefit earned through their military service. The TN Dept. of Veterans Services works diligently to serve Veterans and other beneficiaries through advocacy, and informative outreach to make Tennessee the national leader...

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry has been protecting, conserving, and enhancing the state’s forest resources for over 100 years. It provides professional, timely, up-to-date, technical and financial assistance to family forest landowners, communities, non-government organizations, and others with an interest in the conservation of Tennessee’s forests. Tim Phelps, Commun...