Sorghum festival comes to East Tennessee

The 25th Annual Sorghum Festival will allow visitors to have the opportunity to observe sorghum cane being processed into molasses using a mule-powered mill on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site in Johnson City from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Reflections on lessons learned at Bonnaroo

Wednesday morning, June 12, I left my sister’s house in Sapphire for my very first music festival. 

I’d been to plenty of other concerts, raves and shows but had never dedicated more than a few hours to live music at any one time.

SAHC marks 50 years

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) is celebrating 50 years of conserving clean water, plant and wildlife habitat, farmland and scenic beauty in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.

Prescribed fires planned for Cherokee National Forest

A slate of prescribed fires is planned through the end of May on the Cherokee National Forest in southeastern Tennessee, with some smoke impacts possible over the state line in North Carolina. 

This must be the place: ‘If there’s a goal that everyone remembers, it was back in ol’ 72’

The title of this column is the opening line of the song “Fireworks” by The Tragically Hip. A cherished Canadian rock act, the melody itself an ode to the legend and lore that is hockey and coming of age as a kid — a love of hockey transitioning to a love of women. 

Smokies visitation increases in 2023, but N.C. side lags

In 2023, visitation to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park grew 2.2% to reach its second-highest number ever — but the number of visits starting in the North Carolina side of the park fell 5.1% compared to 2022. 

GSMA opens new Townsend visitor center

A new visitor center and retail space is now open just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Townsend, Tennessee, offering information, education materials, souvenirs, parking tags and other park-related goods to Smokies visitors. 

Franklin County deer tests positive for CWD

A 2.5-year-old female white-tailed deer harvested during firearm season in Franklin County has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease, an always-fatal illness affecting cervids like deer and elk. This marks the county’s first case of CWD. 

Endangered status proposed for three mussel species

Three freshwater mussel species have been proposed for designation as endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act. The Cumberland moccasinshell, Tennessee clubshell and Tennessee pigtoe all occur in the Tennessee River Basin, while the Cumberland moccasinshell and Tennessee clubshell are also found in the Cumberland River Basin.

Campground closed near Tellico Plains

Indian Boundary Campground in the Cherokee National Forest near Tellico Plains, Tennessee, is now closed due to damage from a flash flood on Aug. 14.

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