Baron Von Opperbean opening may be delayed by water damage
The immersive experience, still under development, was damaged by the building’s fire-suppression system.
Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
There are 4211 articles by Bill Dries :
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February 2026
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Metro‘State of the City’ stormy; Blackburn compares Jan. 6 inquiry to Watergate; Cohen says ICE is ‘running rampant’
Also in the political roundup: the art and law of qualifying petitions; August state and federal primary takes shape, and the Tennessee delegation to D.C. keeps to partisan lines.
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Behind The Headlines Fixing Shelby County Jail is key to justice system, Green says
Interim Shelby County Public Defender Jerri Green talked on “Behind The Headlines” about dropping crime rates, the overflowing jail and the differing numbers used by different parts of the criminal justice system.
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Elections Halbert is term-limited but still pulls petition for county clerk
Halbert also checked out qualifying petitions for two other countywide positions on the 2026 ballot.
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Spirit of MemphisCostume sketches and letters to Paris: What created Memphis Mardi Gras and what remains?
Yellow Fever nearly erased the Memphis-version of Mardi Gras from the city’s history. But fragments of the celebration’s artwork and impact still remain and tell its “beautiful and elaborate” story.
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MetroJesse Jackson’s post-MLK rise deeply rooted in Memphis
Jesse Jackson, civil rights icon, died Tuesday. He was a frequent presence in Memphis’ political life and transformation from 1968 on.
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Elections A look at which County races could be won at the noon deadline
May ballot races thick and thin develop ahead of Thursday’s noon deadline, with a warning a final list could take a while.
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Shelby County County property-tax rate could go down
For the second time in four years, the state mandated an appeals allowance that was too high, according to the county assessor’s office. This means the property tax rate has to come down.
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City of Memphis Clayborn Temple to be rebuilt
The second effort to rebuild Clayborn Temple in as many years will be just as ambitious as the first, the leader of the nonprofit leading the project said Friday, Feb. 20.
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ElectionsUpdate: Local Democratic party leaders question Feagins’ candidacy but state will not intervene
State party leaders say there will be no hearing at a Saturday meeting on some concerns expressed by local Democrats about whether the former MSCS superintendent is a “bona-fide” Democrat.
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Behind The Headlines Steve Mulroy’s mixed review of the Memphis Safe Task Force
Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the Task Force and criticism Memphis Mayor Paul Young has taken.
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Arts & CultureJames Lawson autobiography traces path of Civil Rights icon through Memphis and beyond
Lawson’s autobiography, coauthored by Memphian Emily Yellin, had a Memphis launch Friday, Feb. 20, at the National Civil Rights Museum.
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Shelby CountySorting the Feagins situation. Rose calls local leadership a ‘disaster.’ Buckner opens campaign HQ.
Also in the political roundup, Rose says he has a plan for state control after the Task Force; Buckner says the Task Force has a secret; and Smiley says the county mayor has a role to play at the jail.
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Shelby County Group of 10 applies to fill County Commission vacancy
Commissioners are also voting on an effort to restructure its diversity efforts in keeping with the Trump administration’s ban on such programs.
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City of Memphis City Council returns in person with a backlog of delayed final votes
Topping the council’s agenda are final votes on the first step toward a Hyde Square plaza Downtown, as well as discussion on changing the status of library workers and an update on the city’s bus system.
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Elections Here’s who made the Shelby County primary ballot
A total of 121 candidates made the deadline to file their qualifying petitions with the Shelby County Election Commission.
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City of Memphis Seven candidates stake out positions at Democratic county mayoral forum
The candidates each talked about their differences with each other as the campaigns move past introductions.
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Shelby County County Commission begins restructuring minority-business effort
The commission also approved a $250,000 contract for “trauma-informed, restorative group programming and staff training services” at Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court.
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City of Memphis Change for Memphis library employees goes on November ballot
The Tuesday vote came with concerns that some library employees don’t believe they will have to reapply for their jobs.
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Metro Cohen, Kustoff, Hagerty, Blackburn react to Trump speech
The reaction among the city’s four representatives in the U.S. Capitol to President Donald Trump’s Tuesday, Feb. 24, State of the Union speech was along party lines. One of the four boycotted the speech.
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ElectionsJohn DeBerry runs on mayoral platform that Shelby County ‘is not an island’
The former Democratic state representative is running in the May Republican primary for Shelby County mayor. “I intend to win this race,” he said.
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Elections Democrats boot five, Republicans strike three from May primary ballot
Another Republican claims another County Commission seat. And the busiest primary on the ballot remains the Democratic primary for County Clerk.
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ElectionsBlackburn, Rose jockey for GOP nom for governor in front of apocalyptic Lincoln Day backdrop
“We’re seriously close to losing our country. If these midterms go the wrong way, we will lose everything we have,” said a U.S. representative speaking at Shelby County’s largest annual fundraiser for the local Republican Party.
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State Government City’s federal elected officials react to airstrikes on Iran
Three of Memphis’ four representatives in Washington support the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
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March 2026
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City of Memphis‘Build up, not out': City leaders wrestle with affordable-housing puzzle
Pieces of the puzzle include a delayed grocery store in Hyde Park, a Land Expo, emerging developers, questions about putting the cart before the horse and a community garden in Binghampton.
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