Gov. Bill Lee will deliver his sixth State of the State address to the General Assembly and fellow Tennesseans Monday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. CST. The joint session will take place in the House Chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol.

“Tennessee is continuing to lead the nation as a beacon of opportunity, security and freedom,” said Gov. Lee in a release announcing the address. “Every Tennessean has an important role to play as we strengthen and secure our state’s future, and in the coming year I look forward to working with the General Assembly to accomplish our legislative priorities and make life better for all.”

The address will be found on Lee’s Facebook and YouTube channels and will be aired statewide.

State unemployment holds steady in Dec.

Unemployment in Tennessee held steady during the final month of 2023. Newly released data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development showed the rate did not change between November and December at 3.5%.

The seasonally adjusted rate of 3.5% for December 2023 also mirrored the rate from December one year ago.

In a month-to-month comparison, Tennessee employers added 1,400 new nonfarm jobs across the state. The health care and social assistance sector saw the most growth in December. The construction sector recorded the next largest number of new jobs, followed by the accommodation and food services sector.

Over the last year, the number of new nonfarm jobs grew by 22,700 across Tennessee. The health care and social assistance sector accounted for the largest percentage of new jobs between 2022 and 2023. The professional, scientific, and technical services sector added the second-largest number of jobs during the year, followed by the accommodation and food services sector.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment also held steady across the nation between November and December at 3.7%. One year ago, the national unemployment rate sat at 3.5%.

CMHoF to open latest ‘American Currents’

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will offer perspective on country music’s latest chapter with the opening of American Currents: State of the Music Wednesday, Feb. 28. The exhibit runs until February 2025 in the museum’s ACM Gallery.

Presented annually, American Currents takes a broad view of the genre over the past year to explore musical developments, artist achievements and notable events, as determined by the museum’s curators and editorial staff.

Featured in the eighth annual American Currents is a selection of artists, musicians, songwriters and initiatives that figured prominently in country music in 2023. This year’s exhibition will include Oliver Anthony, Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Bush, Tyler Childers, Luke Combs, S.G. Goodman, Nat Myers, Nickel Creek, Joy Oladokun, Jelly Roll, Allison Russell, “Shucked” (the Broadway musical scored by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally), SistaStrings, Billy Strings, Taylor Swift, Molly Tuttle, Morgan Wallen, Kelsey Waldon, The War And Treaty, Lucinda Williams and Lainey Wilson.

A section of the exhibit titled “Unbroken Circle” will highlight the musical connections of artists, including those who have influenced them or share musical perspectives. Featured pairings include Jessie Jo Dillon and Cindy Walker, C.J. Lewandowski and Bobby Osborne, Megan Moroney and Kacey Musgraves and Hailey Whitters and Martina McBride.

In support of the exhibition’s opening, the museum will host related programming including a Songwriter Session with Kelsey Waldon March 2 and a Musician Spotlight with C.J. Lewandowski March 3. Visit the museum’s website for more details on the programs and exhibit.

Redfin: Pending home sales rise 4% in Dec.

Pending home sales rose 4.1% month over month in December on a seasonally adjusted basis – the biggest increase since September 2021 – to the highest level in more than a year, according to a new report from Redfin.

They climbed 5.9% from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain since June 2021.

Pending sales jumped because a steep drop in mortgage rates lured buyers to the market. The average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.82% in December from 7.44% in November, the biggest monthly decline since 2008. Buyers who were casually looking when rates were above 7% are now getting serious, Redfin agents say.

The dip in mortgage rates has also brought sellers off the sidelines, though they haven’t returned with as much intensity as buyers, likely because a majority of them don’t want to give up the ultra-low mortgage rate they scored during the pandemic. New listings rose 0.1% month over month to the highest seasonally adjusted level since September 2022, and were up 2.7% year over year – the largest increase since July 2021.

While housing supply has ticked up, it remains below pre-pandemic levels. Active listings, or the total number of homes for sale, rose 3.1% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis but fell 5.1% from a year earlier.

While demand jumped in December, January is off to a slower-than-expected start, likely due to severe winter weather. Redin economists expect the market to pick up as spring approaches, so long as mortgage rates don’t shoot up.

FirstBank part of new high-net-worth platform

Treasury Prime, an embedded banking software company, is powering a new strategic partnership between Nashville-based FirstBank and High Circle, a banking and investment platform, designed to minimize risk and maximize returns for business owners and high-net-worth individuals whose needs are not being met by large traditional banks.

As part of this partnership, High Circle is providing a financial technology platform to provide access to commercial checking accounts issued by FirstBank and up to $125 million Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insurance through the Intrafi network.

These accounts offer High Circle clients up to $125 million in FDIC-insured coverage, an attractive annual percentage yield of up to 4%, and ACH and wire transfer capabilities. Furthermore, clients will be able to access High Circle’s rewards program, independent of FirstBank’s involvement, to earn incentives based on deposit activity, including discounts on private jets, vacation homes, hotels and resorts, and exclusive events.

This blend of FDIC insurance, competitive interest rates, and luxury rewards allows clients to manage and grow their overall wealth securely.

In the coming months, High Circle will unveil additional initiatives in partnership with Treasury Prime and FirstBank, including personal banking products, allowing customers to secure their cash reserves within a unified platform.

‘Belmont at the Opry’ announced for April 9

Belmont University is taking over the Grand Ole Opry, Tuesday, April 9, for “Belmont at the Opry.” The partnership comes as the culminating event of the 50th anniversary celebration of Belmont’s pioneering Music Business program.

The April 9 lineup boasts some of Belmont’s most notable music business alumni including Trisha Yearwood, Tyler Hubbard and Hailey Whitters and a songwriters’ round featuring:

• Ashley Gorley, who has penned more than 60 No. 1 songs

• Grammy Award winner Hillary Lindsey, who will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this summer

• NSAI and ACM award winner Nicolle Galyon

Officially launched in 1973, Belmont’s music business program has numerous origin stories, woven together by visionaries who created an enduring legacy for Belmont within the music industry. With support from former University president Dr. Herbert Gabhart, beloved professor and program-founder Bob Mulloy, industry executive Cecil Scaife – and propelled forward by the incredible generosity of Mike Curb – the program has graduated more than 6,000 alumni throughout its 50 years.

The growth of the music business made way for more specialized programs within the entertainment space including audio engineering technology, songwriting, creative & entertainment industries, film and more. Today, the Curb College boasts 11 undergraduate and two graduate programs of study.

Tickets for the April 9 “Belmont at the Opry” show are on sale now and available at opry.com.

MTSU ranks high for online grad programs

Middle Tennessee State University was recently recognized among the “Best Online Master’s in Tennessee” programs in 2024 by Online Master’s Colleges, an online resource for prospective higher education students.

According to OMC, the ranking methodology incorporates the most recent data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS, and the National Center for Education Statistics. The evaluation process assesses universities on several factors, including affordable tuition, expert instructors, and retention and graduation rates, to name a few.

Options for online courses and degrees at MTSU have expanded rapidly over the last three years. MTSU offers 55 fully online programs, an increase of 89% since 2020, with more than half of MTSU students enrolled in one online course in the fall of 2023. The increase represents nearly 10,500 students.

OMC ranked MTSU No. 3 behind the University of Tennessee, Knoxville at top and East Tennessee State University second.

Stanford, Essentia Health join VUMC research

The STAR Clinical Research Network, based at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), has added two new partners – Essentia Health, a Minnesota-based rural health care system, and Stanford University School of Medicine, one of the country’s leading academic medical centers.

The Stakeholders, Technology and Research Clinical Research Network (STAR CRN) robustly supports comparative effectiveness studies, pragmatic clinical trials, health system innovation and other patient-centered research aimed at improving health care delivery and health outcomes.

Funded by the independent, nonprofit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the STAR CRN encompasses 10 health care systems, scores of academic and community hospitals, and hundreds of outpatient practices and community stakeholders. It includes standardized electronic health record (EHR) data on more than 15 million patients from across the country.

In addition to VUMC and now Essentia Health and Stanford, members include the Vanderbilt Healthcare Affiliated Network, Meharry Medical College, the University of North Carolina Health Care System, Duke Health Care System, the Medical University of South Carolina, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and the Mayo Clinic.