Kelsey pleads not guilty to campaign finance violations
State Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) surrendered his passport and pleaded not guilty to five counts of campaign violations and fraud in federal District Court in Nashville.
Ian Round
Ian Round is The Daily Memphian’s state government reporter. He came to Tennessee from Maryland where he reported on local politics for Baltimore Brew. He earned a Master of Journalism degree from the University of Maryland in December 2019.
There are 185 articles by Ian Round :
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November 2021
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Elections
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October 2021
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State Government Many current GOP lawmakers voted for a vaccine mandate in 2013
Tennessee Republicans are firmly anti-mandate today. But in 2013, they supported a requirement that college students get vaccinated against meningitis.
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Metro General Assembly taking aim at local COVID rules in special session
Seeking to stop local governments and businesses from enacting COVID-related rules, the Tennessee General Assembly is convening Wednesday evening for another special session. Dozens of bills were introduced Tuesday afternoon and evening.
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Business Megasite contracts will only become public after they’re signed
The public won’t be able to inspect the contracts until they’re finalized, prompting criticism among transparency advocates that the Megasite Authority will be able to spend millions of dollars with little oversight.
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Metro GOP proposal to give unemployment to those who quit to avoid vaccination
Additional bill considered during special legislative session for Ford incentives.
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Metro Lawmakers to discuss $883M in incentives for Ford
State lawmakers are set to begin a special legislative session Monday, Oct. 18.
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Criminal Justice Criminal defense lawyers urge reform to sex offender registry law
Lawmakers are considering reforms to the registry law following a judge’s decision earlier this year that the state applied the law unconstitutionally.
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Business TennCare enrollment went up 15 months in a row
More low-income people have government healthcare now that TennCare has been effectively prohibited from taking away coverage. It’s a big shift from before the pandemic when the agency frequently took people off the rolls.
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Metro Lee, Schwinn announce ‘rigorous review’ of education funding formula
Lee and Schwinn gave few details about whether or how much the state would increase funding for schools. But Lee said he suspects the state will increase funding, and will have the proposal ready for the state legislature when it meets in January.
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City of MemphisA bunch of bologna: Memphis groups billed state for meals they didn’t serve
Two Memphis organizations providing meals to children in the summer of 2020 billed the state for meals they didn’t serve. Federally funded food programs have been susceptible to fraud for years.
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September 2021
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Metro Governor wants special session to approve incentives for Ford
Gov. Bill Lee will call a special session of the General Assembly on Oct. 18, he announced in a tweet Thursday, Sept. 30. COVID-related legislation may also be on the table.
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BusinessWhat Haywood County can learn from the GM plant in Middle Tennessee
From its founding in 1809, to the Civil War and through the 1980s, fewer than 1,000 people lived in rural Spring Hill. Then, in 1985, General Motors came to town.
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Business Ford to invest $5.6B in Memphis Regional Megasite
Ford Motor Company has selected the Memphis Regional Megasite for an electric vehicle and battery manufacturing campus, investing $5.6 billion and creating 5,800 jobs. Gov. Bill Lee said it was “the largest single investment in this state’s history.”
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Metro Here’s who can get a COVID-19 booster shot in TN
Some groups may get a booster dose, while other groups should get it, state health officials said.
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Metro Teachers skeptical of summer learning camps’ ‘promising results’
Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn announced good news last week — new summer literacy and math programs were a statewide success, with students seeing significant progress. But, some teachers and Democrats questioned the results, saying it’s too early to celebrate the data.
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Metro Opposing anonymous child abuse reports, witnesses accuse DCS of ‘tyranny’
While some say anonymity provides safety for those at risk of retaliation, the witnesses told emotional stories of the state taking their children away, based on false, anonymous reports.
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MetroBiden order prompts debate about liberty
The Biden administration’s recent announcements regarding COVID-19 vaccines have set up a challenge with conservative states like Tennessee and raise legal questions.
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Metro Proposed legislation would prevent anonymous reports of child abuse
A bill that some fear could have a chilling effect on reporting child abuse is back in the Tennessee General Assembly.
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Metro McNally appoints Senate redistricting committee with Akbari as co-chair
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) Friday, Sept. 17, appointed seven senators to an ad-hoc committee on redistricting. State Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) is one of two Democrats and will serve as one of two co-chairs.
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MetroState leaders, advocates respond to ruling against abortion ban
Days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a restrictive abortion ban, with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to intervene, an important decision came down from another court that invalidated a similar law signed last year by Gov. Bill Lee.
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Criminal Justice Lawmakers hear suggestions to ‘refine’ bail system
Prosecutors, sheriffs, judges, criminal justice reform advocates and others testified to a General Assembly committee on the money bail system Monday, Sept. 13. But lawmakers leaned more to small changes than sweeping reform.
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Neighborhoods Experts share solutions for making evictions less frequent, less painful
In a high-poverty “eviction capital,” Memphians are at greater risk of homelessness and housing instability than most Americans.
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City of MemphisRedistricting begins, with big implications for shrinking Memphis
The redistricting process formally began Wednesday, Sept. 8, with a bipartisan state House committee hearing public input and approving guidelines. Memphis is likely to lose seats in the General Assembly.
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Metro Federal rent assistance flowing much faster locally than at state level
The Tennessee Housing Development Agency has spent less than 5% of its federal rental assistance money. In Memphis and Shelby County, where high poverty and low homeownership make the need much more urgent, that number is more than 60%.
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City of Memphis Lee sticks to pandemic strategy even as state leads U.S. in COVID cases per capita
As more than a third of new COVID cases are among children, Lee says, “We’re doing what we believe is the best way forward.”
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