Ian Round is The Daily Memphian’s state government reporter based in Nashville. He came to Tennessee from Maryland, where he reported on local politics for Baltimore Brew. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland in December 2019.
There are 432 articles by Ian Round :
“I’ve heard a lot that Tennessee just isn’t the place for us,” said state Rep. Torrey Harris, one of two openly gay members of the General Assembly. “And I’m trying not to get to the place where I believe the same thing.”
“Regardless of where you live in Tennessee, you should have a say in who represents you,” writes Tequila Johnson and Charlane Oliver.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton invoked the names of Memphis rapper Young Dolph and Rhodes College student Drew Rainier, both of whom were shot and killed last year, in a speech arguing against early release for a handful of crimes.
Lawmakers debated the Second Amendment and liberty, the value of training and permitting, and the maturity of teenagers, even though a Senate committee stalled the bill earlier this month.
The only two contested Republican primaries in August for seats in the Tennessee General Assembly representing parts of Shelby County could change dramatically with new challenges that could remove one of the contenders from each of the two-man races.
State Sen. Jack Johnson said the current formula “is outdated, it’s antiquated, it’s difficult to understand. Quite frankly, it is broken. (This) rips that old formula out by the roots and starts with a clean state.”
On the last day of the session, lawmakers put the finishing touches on a bill that would lead to books being banned from schools and on Gov. Bill Lee’s school funding overhaul.
“My concern with (this bill) is that data does not support the basic premise of the legislation,” Lee wrote in a letter to General Assembly leadership.
A rundown on the fate of every bill we’ve covered since January, organized by subject.
During the legislative session that ended last week, Tennessee lawmakers enacted laws limiting local control related to police, pipelines, voting and more.
Abortion access would be severely restricted in Tennessee if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
The law will allow families in Shelby and Davidson counties to send their children to private school with taxpayer dollars. The court’s ruling represents a major victory for Gov. Bill Lee and the school choice movement.
An incident involving a student with a gun at White Station High School last week, following on the heels of the Uvalde, Texas, mass school shooting earlier in the week, was but the latest reminder of the increasing frequency of mass shootings. Leaders continue to struggle to find solutions.
“This order strengthens accountability and transparency around existing school safety planning and assures Tennessee parents that our efforts to protect students and teachers will continue,” Lee said in a press release.
Stuart McWhorter, a health care and tech venture capitalist, worked on Gov. Bill Lee’s 2018 campaign and served as his first finance commissioner.
The USDA announced last month it could stop funding food aid organizations that discriminate on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Republican-controlled county commissions in other parts of Tennessee have moved fast when state legislative seats open up, appointing replacements in less than a month.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett was arrested for driving under the influence Friday, June 17 after leaving the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Coffee County.
Gov. Bill Lee said he’s open to arming teachers, despite evidence that when teachers have guns, the risk of gun violence increases. Restorative justice can’t stop violence on its own, but evidence shows it improves students’ grades and behavior.
Since 2018, 7,500 property owners in Shelby County have fallen victim to this form of identity theft.
The Democratic candidates in the race are Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr., Nashville-based critical-care physician Jason Martin and Memphis activist Carnita Atwater.
“Governor, the COVID-19 emergency has long passed in Tennessee,” state Rep. Jason Zachary wrote. “We ask that you direct the Tennessee Department of Health to halt distribution, promotion or recommendation of COVID-19 vaccines for our youngest Tennesseans.”
Responses to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Friday, June 24, overturning the nearly 50-year old Roe v. Wade decision fall along party lines in Memphis and across Tennessee. Near-total abortion ban takes effect in 30 days, but a ‘heartbeat bill’ could come sooner The closest state to Memphis with abortion access? Illinois.Related Stories:
Between state abortion bans taking effect and the opening of a Choices clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, the closest facilities are in the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has caused a number of states’ “trigger laws” banning abortion to take effect, including Tennessee’s. The state’s attorney general wants another abortion ban, a six-week “heartbeat bill,” to become law sooner than the trigger law.