“Low water can have as great a cost, or greater, than high water,” Strickland said. “We have all these tools at our disposal for floods, but very few for droughts.”

The council also confirmed Chandell Ryan as the city’s new chief operating officer — the first woman to hold the No. 2 post in city government.

Though the utility has no plans to increase rates this year — or next — costs are still expected to be 9% higher than last year. 

Within months, the congregation will vote on whether to affiliate with another Methodist group or be independent.

The item returns to the Memphis City Council for discussion at its Nov. 15 session.

Memphian Tommie Dunavant pitches in $800,000 to the Memphis Zoo’s $1.5 million fundraising effort for its animal hospital.

Until Valentine’s Day 2025, motorists may want to take I-40. 

The compromise announced by Memphis City Council members Ford Canale and Chase Carlisle Monday, Oct. 31, does away with a hole in the expanded golf course by the park’s lake.

The council also takes preliminary votes Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a plan and financing arrangements for an ambitious remake of the Klondike community in North Memphis.

The renovation of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, part of a $684 million sports venues plan, remains key for those still harboring Power 5 hopes. But, some still would like an on-campus stadium.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said the grant from the county’s reserve fund is likely the first of several for a full restoration of the 137-year old church.

Memphis Public Libraries book sales help raise funds for the library while also offering great deals on used books to eager shoppers. 

Mayor Jim Strickland is proposing the city create a $500,000 “park restoration fund” from Mud Island renovation money to cover potential damages to Tom Lee Park during Memphis in May events. 

“Grills, five or six pairs of Ray Bans, a couple of rings, a couple of iPhones — you find just about anything,” said Joe Weiss, general manager of Mud Island Marina in Downtown Memphis.

At a Shelby County Young Democrats forum, Joe Brown, Van Turner and Paul Young talked about name recognition, experience, crime, Black business ownership and, in one case, how women have no place in the mayor’s race. 

“There were so many of my friends that didn’t have their fathers in their lives, at least not in the way they wanted them to be. He filled that role for so many people,” said Paul Young, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission.

Marvin Stockwell says the group still has a seat at the table as the city pursues a $684 million sports venue plan that would do away with the Mid-South Coliseum. His strategy is to find another site for the soccer stadium.

An MLGW board member questioned the $299 million capital spend in the utility’s budget. Utility officials say the five-year, $1 billion plan was slowed by supply chain problems and labor problems.

How to handle crime in Memphis will dominate Bonner’s mayoral platform. Meanwhile, another contender in the race told supporters Tuesday the next mayor shouldn’t be someone who will “keep us steady”

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Sheriff officially running for mayor

Drought conditions across much of the country continue to push the Mississippi River lower in Memphis, and weather officials say drier and hotter-than-average conditions will continue in the Southern U.S. this winter. 

Bonner’s announcement follows several months of consideration on the heels of his easy second term win in the August county general election.

Yolanda Martin, chief of human resources for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, has been placed on paid leaving pending investigation of a complaint lodged against her. 

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis announced the start of the Take-Home Vehicle Program for qualifying MPD officers.

If a soccer stadium is built where the Coliseum currently stands, it will be the last piece of the puzzle at Liberty Park, a $126 million mixed-use project on the old Fairgrounds site.

All three recipients of the National Civil Rights Museum’s annual Freedom Awards talked at the Thursday, Oct. 20, ceremony about the present divisions in America and the way forward.