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Kingsport After COVID
I still remember the mood at Kingsport’s 1999 Economic Summit. Beneath the optimism, there was a persistent worry: we were aging, and some feared the city would slowly become a retirement community—comfortable, yes, but eventually aging out into economic drift. That kind of concern is easy to feel in real time, especially when the loudest…
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Don’t Tell Nobody: What Happens When You Bet on an Appalachian
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Roger Ball, the man behind the redevelopment of the Kingsport Mall (now East Stone Commons). Our paths first crossed in 1997. I had just been promoted to Development Services Director at age 35, and Roger had acquired one of Kingsport’s most prominent development sites at the…
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A Lesson in Grace, Learned at Food City
Some of the most important lessons our kids learn don’t come from classrooms, coaches, or report cards. They come from time clocks, name tags, and difficult customers. When our son was 14, we thought it would be a good idea for him to get a part-time job. Our daughter, too—but I’ll save that for another…
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Finding My Way Back to the Kingsport Spirit
Lately, I’ve focused too much on data, metrics, and measures. When I started this blog, I intended it to be about my unique take on the Kingsport Spirit with stories of faith, family, people, places, & the history of my hometown. In order to understand that statement, you have to understand what “Kingsport Spirit” means.…
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Taxes Are, Well, Taxing
What IRS migration data says about Northeast Tennessee’s income inflow It’s tax season, and we’re all thinking about federal income taxes. But a lot of Americans are also thinking about state income tax, and some even pay a local income tax. Tennessee is the only centrally located state in the Eastern U.S. that doesn’t levy…
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Where America Is Moving — and What Makes Kingsport Different
Migration numbers can look like mind-numbing spreadsheet trivia—until you realize they’re quietly revealing who’s voting with their feet, and why Kingsport keeps showing up in the story. The Census Bureau just released its state-to-state migration data for 2024. We’re already into 2026, so it’s a lagging indicator. To keep the comparison fair, this analysis uses…
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What Would Dolly Do?
Every January, the Tennessee Legislature reconvenes with a flurry of excitement and anticipation. But government isn’t supposed to be exciting; it’s supposed to be practical. That’s why I keep an eye on the periodic “state roundup” newsletters from tax and economic policy watchdogs. They read like a triage report: an $83 million school district hole…
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Sullivan 250 | Long Island of the Holston: Where the Frontier Converged (1 of 12)
First in a 12-part monthly series to commemorate Sullivan County’s role in the 250th birthday of the United States of America Before Sullivan County existed, before Tennessee had a name, there was Long Island of the Holston. Lying along a broad bend of the Holston River near present-day Kingsport, the island and its surrounding flats…
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Biscuits & Builders: Moving to Kingsport and the New South
The South. Just reading those words probably evokes imagery. For natives, it might be sweet tea, biscuits, and “home sweet home to me.” For others, it might be The Beverly Hillbillies, The Dukes of Hazzard, or The Andy Griffith Show. I follow a TikTok account of a former New Yorker now living in Charleston. She…
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Tri-Cities: Growth Done Right
Don Fenley recently wrote that the Tri-Cities Needs Newcomers To Prevent Decline. I couldn’t agree more. Adding my two cents, all growth is not automatically “good.” The practical question is whether a region is adding people at a pace that keeps its economy and tax base healthy without forcing schools, roads, utilities, and public safety…
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