By Scott Robertson I love it when my natural inclination to be pessimistic turns out to be wrong. In this space in February, I posited the notion that the Tennessee General Assembly might not pass the IMPROVE Act (the acronym is for Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy) because the legislative body, “is full of individuals who make decisions by wetting their fingers ...

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Photo: Dr. Matt Roberts, dean of Academic Affairs at King; John Tickle namesake of the University of Tennessee Tickle College of Engineering; Dr. Wayne Davis, dean of the Tickle College and Alexander Whitaker, King University president. Photo by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson Officials from King University hosted colleagues from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UT) March 15 to announce the formati ...

Photo: Northeast State’s Ron Broadwater instructs a student in the finer points of welding. Photo by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson In one quarter of the ETSU mini-dome, a student wore a virtual reality headset, moving his hands to interact with the alternate reality in front of his eyes. Fifty yards away, another student sat in a backhoe training chair, working the controls to produce actions on a vide ...

Photo: The only CEOs in Holston Medical Group’s 40-year history, Drs. Jerry Miller and Scott Fowler. By Scott Robertson Forty years ago, when Dr. Jerry Miller founded the practice that became the foundation of what is now Holston Medical Group (HMG), the healthcare landscape was far different than today. Back then, folks went to see their family doctor for check-ups. In some cases, the family doctor still m ...

Photo: It’s out with the Pure Foods chickpea cheezpuffs and in with the Brim’s pork rinds in Kingsport. By Scott Robertson Brimhall Foods, Inc., of Bartlett, Tenn., won a March 7 auction to acquire the assets of Kingsport, Tenn.-based Pure Foods. The maker of the Brim’s brand of snack foods will occupy the building in the Gateway Commerce Park near the intersection of Interstates 81 and 26, employing the re ...

Photo: Randy Boyd speaks at the announcement of Forward Air’s corporate headquarters expansion in Greene County, Nov. 16, 2016. Scott Niswonger, left, is the Boyd campaign’s treasurer. By Collin Brooks Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd visited Northeast State Community College March 16 to officially announce his candidacy for governor, a candidacy informed by his time working in the current administration in ...

Photo: Bobby Rolfe addresses the crowd at a town hall meeting in Kingsport March 15. Photo by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson Economic development in Tennessee is on a roll, and the new man heading up the state’s efforts in that regard says he’s not about to do anything to slow that trend. Former investment banker Bob Rolfe (he introduces himself as Bobby) told a crowd of economic developers, elected off ...