The unemployment situation in three-quarters of Tennessee’s 95 counties continued to improve in July following business closures earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 health emergency. Seventy-two counties had lower unemployment in July compared to the previous month. Rates in four counties mirrored their rates from June. Nineteen counties did experience a slight uptick in unemployment during the month. Coffee County unemployment situation improved by 1.3% and is now 11.3%, which is better than the 12.6 percent unemployment in June of this year. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the rate remains markedly higher than last year when it...

By Susan Campbell, Thunder Radio While the May Prairie State Natural Area may not look very impressive from the highway, it is actually one of the most ecologically important natural areas in the state, according to wildflower expert and author Dennis Horn. Located on 500 acres off Asbury Road in Manchester, growing and thriving in May Prairie are grasses and wildflowers normally only seen in the coastal areas of the southern United States and in the plains of the Midwest. “It’s just a different world,” Horn said. “The environment is different. The geology is different. Believe it or not,...

Active cases of COVID-19 virus in Coffee County continued to fall, dropping to 278 on Wednesday according to data provided by Tennessee Department of Health. This is a drop of 10 from the previous day and a drop of 43 since Sunday. The active case number of 278 drops the percentage of active cases in Coffee County down to below 0.50 percent of the estimated population, which is the threshold for schools to return to in-school, traditional schedule learning. However, active cases will need to remain below the 0.50 percent for two consecutive weeks before schools will consider returning...

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is working with Grundy County Sheriff’s Department officials to find Joshua David Day. Day, age 32, is a 5’9”, 125 pound white male with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen in Tracy City wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and a white hat. If you have seen Day or have information regarding his whereabouts, contact TBI at...

Hurricane Laura is expected to make landfall Wednesday night along the border of Texas and Louisiana as a major hurricane. Remnants of Laura are expected to begin impacting Middle Tennessee on Friday with showers and storms in the afternoon. According to National Weather Service, heavy rainfall will be the main impact with widespread totals up to three inches. Some areas north of Nashville could see four inches. Also, according to NWS there is a window from Friday mid-morning through midnight that could produce quick, spin-up tornadoes. Wind gusts could reach 40 miles per hour by Saturday morning. If weather...

Active cases of COVID-19 in Coffee County dropped again on Tuesday, falling to 288 according to data provided by Tennessee Department of Health. That makes a drop of 33 cases over the past two days in Coffee County, falling from 321 on Sunday to 288 on Tuesday. Since testing began in March, there have been a total of 700 cases in Coffee County. Of these, 406 have recovered and six have passed away, leaving 288 active cases. This number is dropping closer to the threshold for local schools to return to traditional learning. However, numbers would need to fall...

The state of Tennessee released tourism impact numbers Tuesday, including data specific to Coffee County and Manchester. The 2019 State of Tennessee Tourism Economic Impact Report ranks Coffee County 21st in the state in tourism expenditures. That makes Coffee County first in the rankings out of county’s that do not operate a convention and visitor’s bureau. In 2019 each household across Coffee County saved $414.16 in local taxes thanks to tourism expenditures, up from $396.92 in 2018, according to data provided by Manchester tourism officials. This is the result of $104.46 million in direct tourism expenditures. Of those expenditures,...

Coffee County Fair Board announced Tuesday several changes to this year’s fair, There will be no fair pageants or baby shows this year. There will also be no 4-H Science Fair, no junior education booth, no Chick Chain Show sale, no Plant Sale, no Youth Field Day events and no Pet Show. The 2020 Coffee County Fair will be Sept. 21-26. Entries will be taken on the 19th and 20th, but there will not be entertainment those evenings as originally...