Monday, October 5, 2026

The Rutherford Roundup

In Today’s Episode:

• A welfare check that began in Smyrna ends with an armed barricade situation at a La Vergne Pilot Travel Center, leaving a 59-year-old man hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
• Tennessee’s proposed I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes project reaches “Commercial Close,” moving the planned 26-mile toll-lane project between Rutherford County and Nashville another step forward.
• U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn files suit against former special prosecutor Jack Smith and the Department of Justice over subpoenas for her phone records during the investigation surrounding the 2020 election.
• Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announces his resignation following the failed execution of death row inmate Christa Pike and the launch of an independent review of the state’s lethal injection process.
• La Vergne High School football plans to move to an independent schedule beginning with the 2027 cycle as the Wolverines look to rebuild their program after going 0-27 since the start of 2024.
• Enrollment at Tennessee’s public colleges and universities is up this fall, with first-time freshman numbers also climbing and Tennessee State University reporting major year-over-year growth.