MetroPulse Stories: News & Features

Knoxville: The Unexpected Outdoors Wonderland

neely@metropulse.com (Jack Neely) — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:00:00 -0000

For decades, Knoxville hailed itself as the Gateway to the Smokies. Not many cities identify themselves by wonders that are an hour’s drive away, but the practice offers obvious advantages. It doesn’t cost anything, doesn’t cause traffic or parking tie-ups in town, and if something goes wrong, it’s never our fault. But lately, that mindset’s been changing. Hikers, mountain bikers, kayakers, fishermen, and other outdoorsy sorts have found many opportunities close by—even, as crazy as it sometimes seems, within city limits. Photographer David Luttrell explores our new urban wilderness.

Q&A: Nic Arning, Raising Funds for the Hank Rappe Playground at Lakeshore Park

kennedyr@metropulse.com (Rose Kennedy) — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:07:00 -0000

Nic Arning is part of a committee raising funds for a universal playground to be built at Lakeshore Park in memory of 3-year-old Knoxville Youth Sports tee-ball player Hank Rappe. Hank, the son of Dr. Matt and Brandy Rappe, passed away in his sleep April 5, two nights before his very first tee-ball game at KYS.

Local Music Review: Wesley Wyrick

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:00:00 -0000

Wesley Wyrick’s debut album, Second Nature, certainly isn’t an easy listen. It’s a psychedelic collage more than a collection of songs—10 eerie tracks built on left-field samples, electronic spasms, and droning, lo-fi synths.

Q&A: Todd Steed Talks About His New Album of Songs Written in China

coury@metropulse.com (Coury Turczyn) — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:55:00 -0000

Knoxville icon Todd Steed’s new album, Songs on a Stick, is a collaboration between Steed and his old friend Owen Davis. The songs were all written while Steed and Davis were in China, where they taught last summer.

Let's Mine the Wildlife Area?

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:23:00 -0000

A coal company is trying to get permission to mine state land in the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area on the Cumberland Plateau. Hmmm. What’s in that neighborhood? Well, there is the Justin Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park.

March Against Genetically Altered Food

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:21:00 -0000

A conservative Republican state senator joining a protest of one of the nation’s top corporations? How can this be?

Creating a Force Overnight?

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:20:00 -0000

Imagine if by some bizarre occurrence all the line officers of the Knoxville Police Department resigned and the city was faced with rebuilding the force overnight.

MPC Drafts an Ordinance to Create Building Design Guidelines in Certain Areas

paige.huntoon@metropulse.com (Paige Huntoon) — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:19:00 -0000

Last Thursday, the Metropolitan Planning Committee approved an ordinance that would allow the city to designate overlay zone districts. What are those? Paige Huntoon explains.

UT Holds Meetings to Address Custodians' Accusations, But They Don't Seem to Calm Nerves

gervinc@metropulse.com (Cari Wade Gervin) — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:17:00 -0000

Last week, University of Tennessee supervisors met with members of its custodial team to hear their complaints of mistreatment and poor management. Meant to clear the air, the meeting did not go altogether well, as Cari Wade Gervin reports.

Citizen Burchett

gervinc@metropulse.com (Cari Wade Gervin) — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:58:00 -0000

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett is no stranger to headlines, often generated by his particular management style. His detractors complain that Burchett is better at being a man of the people than being a politician, but the truth is more complicated. He may be more comfortable fishing in his trademark Carhartt jacket than in a tuxedo at a benefit, but his unassuming bonhomie is occasionally belied by his sheer ambition. Cari Wade Gervin spends some quality time with the mayor.

Q&A: R. Bentley Marlow, Vice Chair of Redeeming Hope Ministries

kennedyr@metropulse.com (Rose Kennedy) — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:47:00 -0000

Vice chair of Redeeming Hope Ministries, R. Bentley Marlow has created an Indiegogo online fund-raising campaign to create a large vegetable garden in Fort Sanders to benefit the underprivileged and transient community.

Scenic Middlebrook Less Scenic

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:05:00 -0000

You didn’t know Middlebrook Pike is a Scenic Highway?

So Who Works for Who?

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:04:00 -0000

The guy who will oversee an internal investigation of Pilot Flying J was once Gov. Bill Haslam’s boss and now he works, indirectly, for Bill Haslam. Haslam, of course, is one of the owners of Pilot Flying J.

I Want My SEC!

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:03:00 -0000

In every state in the Southeastern Conference there is a radio network that carries all the games for flagship universities, selling advertising and providing revenue for radio stations and state universities. That’s all about to change.

Reset Your Radio Buttons

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:02:00 -0000

With FCC approval, Johnny Pirkle’s sale of the 100,000-watt FM station WNOX to Journal Broadcasting is complete, one of the biggest shake-ups in Knoxville radio-land in years.

Downtown Business Owners Question Rossini Festival's Move to Henley Street

neely@metropulse.com (Jack Neely) — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:01:00 -0000

After 12 mostly successful years on Gay Street and Market Square, the city will be moving the Rossini Festival’s unusual street fair in 2014 to Henley Street, between Main and Clinch, saying it is responding to business owners’ complaints. Jack Neely finds more of them to be disgruntled about the move.

AIGA Celebrates Design Week

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:41:00 -0000

Good design is sometimes invisible—if something is designed well, you might never even notice just how useful/elegant/informative it is, especially if you’re not a designer. So AIGA Knoxville’s third annual Design Week, scheduled for May 13-17, is a good opportunity for local designers to get the credit and attention they deserve, as well as a chance for non-professionals to think about what designers do, and how they do it, and why.

George Jones Joins an Exclusive Knoxville Club

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:40:00 -0000

When George Jones died on April 26, he also got a pass into an exclusive club: that small handful of famous performers whose final concerts happened in Knoxville.

AC Entertainment Announces Artists for October's Mountain Oasis Festival in Asheville

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:04:00 -0000

AC Entertainment may have lost the rights to the Moogfest name, but the Knoxville music promoter isn’t giving up on a fall electronic-music festival in Asheville.

EDM Empire: Brian Coakley and Andrea Kerns’ Midnight Voyage Productions Redefines Knoxville’s Electronic Music Scene

mconnergibson@gmail.com (Mike Gibson) — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:27:00 -0000

Brian Coakley and Andrea Kerns have created an unusual business built on electronic dance music. In a town full of venues that either book their shows in-house or rely on one of the most successful promotional agencies in the South in AC Entertainment, their Midnight Voyage Productions has carved out it own special niche. In the process, they’ve helped usher in what Spin called in 2011 the “new rave generation” of EDM. Mike Gibson tunes in.