Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated where U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, was when he commented on the fatal shooting of Renee Good. 

Hi there, Memphis. It’s Friday, Jan. 9, the last day to hear The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins on his 92.9 sports-talk radio show. But no worries; you can still find him here. 

Today is also the first day to check out a qualifying petition for state and federal primary races, as well as some suburban school-board seats, on the Aug. 6 ballot.

As for sports, the Memphis Grizzlies play the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight and the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. And the Memphis Tigers play Florida Atlantic on Sunday. If you’re looking for something that’s not sports, the Metal Museum will host a day of metalsmith workshops Saturday, and there’s a 40th anniversary screening of the David Bowie-in-tight-pants classic, “The Labyrinth,” on Sunday.

You’ll find more in The To-Do List. Or, you can just listen to me and Mary talk about weekend fun on the AM/DM podcast.

THE NEED TO KNOW

State Rep. Gabby Salinas filed legislation that would limit where ICE could go. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Icing out ICE? A state rep from Memphis has filed legislation barring ICE from certain facilities, just one day after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis. State Rep. Gabby Salinas’ bill would bar working ICE personnel from entering school grounds and church properties without notice. If passed, the bill is likely to face challenges from the Trump administration, which ended restrictions on ICE activities. 

Anthony Armstrong (right), xAI’s CFO, spoke to the media after a press conference at the Southaven data center on Thursday, Jan. 8. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Macro harder: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and other officials joined xAI for a ribbon cutting (uh, minus a ribbon or scissors) Thursday at the company’s third AI data center in the area. This one, called MacrohardRR, is in Southaven, just a short distance away from xAI’s second center in Whitehaven, and it promises to invest $20 billion in the area. Anthony Armstrong, xAI’s CFO, said Thursday that the new addition gives the company “the largest coherent compute density in the world.” One xAI leader was noticeably absent from the event.

Measles alert: If you were at Memphis International Airport around New Year’s Eve and have not been vaccinated for measles, you might want to call this number. A passenger who was at the airport for a few hours on two different days tested positive.

QUOTED

Hundreds joined a vigil Thursday, Jan. 8, for Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis mother, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent Wednesday. (Greg Campbell/Special to The Daily Memphian)

“It happened in Minneapolis, but it could be Memphis, which also has an outsized and aggressive ICE presence.”

— U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis
Cohen was referring to the fatal shooting of Renee Good, the Minneapolis mother who was killed by an ICE agent there Wednesday. A local vigil was held for Good Thursday. Though the shooting happened 800 miles away, Memphians gathered to remember her, because, as one speaker said “bearing witness matters.”

THE NICE TO KNOW

Gussied Up is the restaurant-bar hybrid planned for the connected space behind Hard Times Deli. (Courtesy Cnct. design)

Gussied Up-date: Gussied Up, the new Edge District bar from the Hard Times Deli guys, is set to open sometime this spring. The decor will take inspiration from dive bars, but it won’t be a dive bar, per se. (Because dive bars aren’t created; they just become.) And if you’ve been craving the Secret Smash Society pop-up’s smash burger, you’re in luck. Read more on that in Food Files, where you’ll also learn about a Crosstown Concourse confectionary that’s looking for a new home. 

Tigers land a QB: The Memphis Tigers got a commitment from West Florida quarterback Marcus Stokes on Wednesday night. Stokes led the Argonauts to a 10-2 season, and he was a finalist for a prestigious Division II football award. Former Tigers quarterback Brendon Lewis graduated out of the program, and the two guys who were next in line for the job have entered the transfer portal. But The Daily Memphian’s Frank Bonner II says Stokes may be the answer. In other college football news, Ole Miss lost the semifinal bowl game last night to Miami.

Good Fortune Co.'s Roast Pork Chashu rice bowl. (Erica Horton/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Don’t send noods: It’s hard to go to Good Fortune Co. and not order ramen. But food writer Erica Horton made that bold choice, and she did not regret it. This week’s $15 Deal is Good Fortune’s Roast Pork Chashu rice bowl, which has tender pork, sticky rice and crisp veggies, and it was so good that Horton joined the Clean Plate Club. (For the veg-minded, try the Fried Tofu rice bowl. It has me in that club every dang time.)

Malco Plaza will be the home of Play It Again Sports, which will open later this year at 2849 Bartlett Blvd. (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Second-hand sports: Bartlett is getting a Play It Again Sports, a resale shop that buys and sells gently used sporting goods. Local entrepreneur Joseph Barton became a franchisee for the chain a couple years ago, but it’s taken a while to find the right spot. Now, he’s settled on a space in Malco Plaza near several other sports-related businesses.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Memphis Tigers football coach Charles Huff shared this X post Wednesday night after news broke that he’d signed a new quarterback. But look, coach, I know you’re not from here, but you might want to consider a Grizzlies GIF instead of one featuring our mouthguard-chewing enemy from the Golden State Warriors.

Have fun this weekend, whatever you do!

.....