Tennessee’s population continues to age, according to recently released census figures.

Since the 2010 census data was issued, and continuing into 2016, residents are getting older in the state.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Tennessee Data Center released the information. The Center is at the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research in UT’s Haslam College of Business.

The data release includes national, state and county population estimates for 2016 by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin.

Tennessee’s 2016 median age was 38.7 years, slightly older than the national median age of 37.9. While the 65-to-69 age range had the highest growth rates in Tennessee, the 25-to-29 range had the largest number of people in 2016.

The Tennessee baby boomer (ages 52 to 70 in 2016) and Generation X (ages 36 to 51 in 2016) populations accounted for a higher share of the total Tennessee population in 2016 than of the national averages.

Tennessee’s share of the millennial generation (ages 19 to 35 in 2016), however, was lower than the national average.

Other highlights:

-- The majority of Tennessee counties followed the national trend and had higher median ages in 2016 than in 2015.

-- 70 counties in Tennessee aged, 15 did not change and 10 had lower median ages than in the previous year.

-- The oldest counties (those with the highest median ages) in 2016 were located between Middle Tennessee and Knoxville: Cumberland (50.8), Pickett (49.8), Loudon (47.8), Jackson (47.2) and Clay (47.1).

-- The youngest counties (those with the lowest median ages) were all in Middle Tennessee and West Tennessee: Montgomery (30.7), Rutherford (33.6), Davidson (34.3), Shelby (35.4) and Putnam (36.3).

-- The 2016 male and female shares of the total population were the same as the national average: 49 percent male and 51 percent female.

The 2016 racial categories were reported as follows: White: 5,234,030, Black or African-American: 1,137,075, American Indian and Alaska Native: 29,866, Asian: 120,219, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander: 6,432.

State farmers increase production of cotton

Tennessee farmers are planting more cotton this year than last, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report states.

Upland cotton acreage was estimated at 320,000, up 65,000 acres from 2016. The U.S. total upland cotton acreage is estimated at 12.1 million acres, up 20 percent from the previous year, according to the department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Acreage and Grain Stocks report.

Other state estimations, according to the report are:

-- Soybeans planted in Tennessee were estimated at 1.75 million acres, up 90,000 acres from 2016.

-- Corn acreage planted for all purposes in the state was estimated at 840,000 acres, down 50,000 acres from last year.-

-- State farmers intend to set an estimated 14,000 acres of burley tobacco for harvest. This was 2,000 acres above the 2016 level.

-- Winter wheat seeded acreage in Tennessee was estimated at 380,000 acres, 20,000 acres below the previous year.

-- Alfalfa hay acreage in Tennessee was estimated at 16,000 acres, up 1,000 from the 2016 crop.

More information: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Calendar/reports_by_date.php.

Youth sports get new safety rating system

Parents who wish to keep tabs on youth sports leagues in Tennessee will soon have a new rating system for recommended safety protocols.

Safe Stars is a collaboration between the Tennessee Department of Health and the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports at Vanderbilt University.

The university reports it is the nation’s first statewide safety rating system for all types of youth leagues.

Details about the initiative will be announced July 13 during the 2017 Youth Sports Safety Conference and Celebration Gala at Vanderbilt.

“Tennessee will be the first state to ever have a program like this,” says Alex Diamond, D.O., MPH, director of PIPYS and assistant professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt. “This has never been done for community or youth leagues on a statewide fashion.”

Information: www.tn.gov/health/article/the-safe-stars-initiative.

Revised subdivision plan approved in Sumner

The Sumner County Planning Commission has approved revised plans for owner/developer TNHomesites to build a new subdivision on Long Hollow Pike.

The residential development, named Westbrook, includes 99 homes priced in the $375,000-$500,000 range. Twenty-five percent of the land will be preserved as open space, including a section of greenway along Long Hollow Pike leading to Beech High School.

The revised plan also includes turn lanes in and out of the development onto Long Hollow Pike.

There are also plans to protect the neighboring cemetery that includes a 35-foot landscape buffer with plantings and a 6-foot fence along the property line bordering the cemetery.

A 35-foot buffer is also planned between the neighborhood and the Victoria Place development to the west.

The revised plan includes amenities not required by Sumner County’s zoning ordinance. Decorative street signs and street lights will be added in the Westbrook neighborhood, creating a community feel as well as enhancing safety. In support of the Shackle Island Volunteer Fire Department, a portion of Westbrook’s HOA fees will be paid annually to the fire department until fire protection is provided by Sumner County or another municipality.

UNCF grant helps TSU graduates find jobs

The United Negro College Fund has donated a $2 million grant to Tennessee State University to help graduating students find jobs quickly.

Each year, UNCF awards more than 10,000 student scholarships worth more than $100 million. It provides financial support to 37 historically black colleges and universities.

According to TSU’s career development center staff, the grant funding is a significant boost to efforts to help TSU graduates secure employment as soon as they graduate.

“We want to make sure that when they graduate, they’ll have jobs,” says Tina Reed, associate director of TSU’s Career Development Center.

A number of students who graduated from TSU in May had jobs waiting for them.

Many credited faculty at TSU and programs like the university’s Career Center with motivating them and providing the tools they needed to not only get jobs, but be successful.

Cametria Weatherspoon, 24, is an electrical engineering major from Memphis who is now working in programming at Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems Company in Littleton, Colorado.

“Having a job after I graduate is a blessing,” she says.

Gallatin competes in “Nicest Place’’ contest

Gallatin has been named one of 10 finalists in a national contest sponsored by Reader’s Digest and Nextdoor, a private social network for neighborhoods.

The first annual “Nicest Place in America,’’ selected Gallatin and nine other places, towns, school, parks and more, from 250 submissions.

The winner will be announced online this fall and be featured on the cover of the November issue of Reader’s Digest. Mayor Paige Brown nominated the town.

The editors explained why Gallatin was selected:

“With racial unrest and anti-police sentiment making for a toxic combination in communities across the country, Gallatin found a way to turn conflicts into a lesson of healing.

“When a white police officer in Gallatin, Tennessee, shot and killed an African American woman who was wielding an ax last year, residents in all corners of this Nashville suburb were understandably on edge.

“Deadly encounters between white police officers and black residents have resulted in civil unrest from Baltimore to Dallas to Minneapolis, and there was a real fear that violence could erupt here too.

“Instead, something miraculous happened. Local residents hopped on Facebook and started to plan a prayer vigil to recognize victims of violence around the country.

“About 60 people – including nine pastors, 20 police officers, and the chief of police – gathered in the parking lot of Gallatin City Hall. It was a diverse crowd, representing Gallatin’s diverse and growing population.’’

In addition, the publication points out that Gallatin is “very much a symbol of the booming new South, where an influx of new residents has remade the city in unexpected ways.

The population has grown from 8,000 to nearly 40,000 in recent years, creating vibrant communities of Sudanese, Asian American and Hispanic residents learning to celebrate each other – and their shared home.’’

Readers will have a chance to vote online at www.rd.com/nicest for the winning “Nicest Place in America.”

Franklin plays host to U.S. Music Tourism expo

The inaugural U.S. Music Tourism Convention, hosted by Sound Diplomacy, will be held September 21-22 in Franklin.

Sound Diplomacy is partnering with the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, Visit Franklin and Americana Music Triangle to explore the value of music to heritage tourism, destination marketing and audience development.

The event is being held at The Factory in Franklin.

All conference attendees will also be able to purchase discounted two-day tickets to the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, which is held September 23-24, following the convention.

The Music Tourism Convention is designed for marketing organizations and music destinations and will feature TEDx-style talks and panel discussions from industry leaders.

Events will include roundtable discussions focused on best practices for telling each destination’s story and how to best market that story.

Topics include: “How Music Can Make Your Destination Rock,” “Music Tourism: When You ‘Think’ You Have No Music,” and “Making the Most of Your Music Attractions.’’

Aertson apartments begin leasing in Midtown

The Residences at Aertson Midtown, a mixed-use community, is now leasing apartments.

Indianapolis-based Buckingham Companies oversaw the development of the community.

Aertson is named for Jan Aertson, the great-great-grandfather of Cornelius Vanderbilt of neighboring Vanderbilt University.

There are 350 living spaces, 24 studios, 215 one-bedrooms, 99 two-bedrooms and 12 three-bedrooms. The leased residences prices range from about $1,800 to $5,500 a month.