The AM/DM

When new Shelby County clerk La Sonya Hall got to her office on Sept. 1, she was greeted with 34 crates of unprocessed car title and registration packets. Separately, days into the new Shelby County Commission's four-year term, two commissioners have been formally charged with crimes. A third is under review because of a 2025 Memphis City Council grant her nonprofit received.

Today we're joined by longtime political reporter Bill Dries to talk about all of these strange cases and how they impact the elected officials, the bodies on which they serve and the electorate.

Plus:

• Regional One has committed to a $1B new hospital with no plan to pay for it
• Pipkin could go pickleball
• An interim state rep. calls off his write-in campaign for his late father's seat
• Mayo Clinic Labs is investing more than $30M and adding 234 jobs in Southaven
• Three are being investigated after the death of a 6-year-old left on a daycare bus
• Dutch Bros Coffee could open in Cordova
• Little Petals is to open in Raleigh

Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips is back with us today to talk about the week ahead. Plus:

• SW Memphis residents react to SpaceXAI
• Cleaner streets aim to boost Downtown's appeal
• The Memphis Zoo is finding out which animals roam the city alongside us
• A county commissioner is jailed the day as the first commission meeting
• Wahlburgers takes over Pyramid dining options
• A French restaurant is set to open on Collierville Square
• There is a new way to Grizzlies basketball

Today, newsletter editor Bianca Phillips joins us to help us decide what we should do this weekend.

Plus:

• A former Tiger's case is dismissed and will not impact Memphis
• Twin Sumatran tiger cubs are born at the Memphis Zoo
• The city calls off an extension of a road into Pidgeon Industrial Park for now
• August home sales decrease while prices increase
• DeSoto deputies face a civil trial date for a 2024 shooting

Our friends at the Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water desk recently produced a story about the growing bear populations in Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee — and how experts expect the bears to soon recolonize Middle and West Tennessee.

The Ag and Water desk had art for the story, but when we ran it, Daily Memphian photographer Patrick Lantrip stepped in with more images of his own. He's here today to talk about his experience shooting bears, bees, birds of prey and other wildlife.

Plus:

• The new clerk says Wanda Halbert left behind a car title backlog
• How Mid-South weather could be affected this winter
• Arlington raises the solid waste rate and eyes a wastewater treatment facility expansion
• Shelby County suburbs see a rising demand for hotels amid a population growth
• Lakeland evaluates its flock-camera usage
• Chili's partners with St. Jude and gives $150 million for a new clinical center

Today, Steve Bohnel is here to talk about the state of the MATA system, including its new board and the trolley system, and where it hopes to go.

Plus:

• The Orange Mound land trust breaks ground on the first of a dozen new homes
• Tennessee's funding of special education pre-k programs
• A school board candidate settles a lawsuit with Germantown
• Trucking, transportation and warehouse hires are accelerating and driving up numbers in Memphis
• Federal prosecutors talk about their strategy in racketeering cases targeting street gangs
• Memphis interior designers reunite to launch a studio
• Ed Scott says the first Tigers home game fell short amid parking and concession issues

The big news this week is probably the 90th anniversary of the Overton Park Shell and the four days of concerts that are planned to celebrate it. We've also got the Southern Heritage Classic coming into town this upcoming weekend, an airport hotel under consideration, a burned-out gas station getting under construction and the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the twin towers attack.

Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips joins us to set up the week ahead.

Plus:

• The Collierville chief's resignation followed years of complaints in the fire department
• An autopsy revealed a Task Force agent's bullet killed a Memphis man in May
• Idlewild Elementary parents created a 'bike bus'
• Activists protest harsh conditions in a detention facility while ICE denies the claim
• Germantown's TraVure development will soon add a new office and retail building
• The Visible Music College building has been purchased
• A Millington mobile-home park sells for almost $16M

It's a weekend for some very high-profile and big-dollar openings. Bianca Phillips is here to talk about it all.

Plus:

• Tennessee Highway Patrol and TBI played a key role in a Memphis ICE raid
• Freedom Award honors civil rights leaders across generations
• A Memphis plant invests $35M to create 20 jobs
• MATA unveils new buses
• A date is set for Poplar and Highland gas station construction
• Hernando passes a budget and then un-pases it after pushback

Earlier this year, 5C Data Centers bought the former Fred's Inc. headquarters at 4300 Getwell Road for $25 million. 5C is now operating in 200,000 square feet of the more than 1 million-square-foot former Fred's space. That means that 5C has plenty of room to expand.

Today, business reporter Andy Ashby joins us to talk about Fred's, 5C and both distribution and data centers.

Plus:

• SpaceXAI is planning a data center on land bought from Southaven
• Central library's long-stalled escalators are back in motion
• Saffron Coffee Co. opens on Park
• A developer sues Collierville over a road
• Olive Branch mayor decides to not lower flags for Dolly Parton

After a coaching change last December and 71 new players on the roster, the Charles Huff era of Memphis Tigers football began last weekend with a 27-21 victory over UNLV in Las Vegas. The Daily Memphian's Tigers sports reporter Frank Bonner is here to talk about the game, what it could mean for the rest of the season and some very recent changes to the stadium's party patio.

Plus:

• MLGW says storm damage could cost $18M
• MPD arrests a new suspect in the OUTMemphis shooting
• What happens now after FedEx received $800M in tariff refunds
• The Quail Ridge Golf Course will reopen on Labor Day Weekend
• Bass Pro Shops is closing the Macon Road store next month
• A new Memphis data center shuns tax incentives

Last month, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and District Attorney General Steve Mulroy announced the purchase of four new rapid DNA machines, giving local law enforcement the ability to turn DNA test results around in 90 minutes. Today, reporter Brandon LaGrone is here to talk about what this means for Memphis and Shelby County.

Plus:

• An ICE raid detains 100 in Memphis and draws community backlash
• SpaceXAI removes 11 controversial turbines from Southaven
• Marine biologists at U of M are studying oysters and algae to keep humans well
• An art therapy program helps juveniles make and break patterns
• U of M opens the $57M Victory Park
• Hive Bagel and Deli's East Memphis location opens
• The Grizzlies return to Campbell Clinic as the team medical provider and partner