The Murfreesboro Pulse

02/09/2025

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02/08/2025

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Check the Pulse Concert Calendar for live music in .

https://boropulse.com/calendar/

02/08/2025

Ken Strode’s recent decision to sell Hank's Honkytonk to Dale and Heather Clear signifies a shift from one side of the bar to the other. The Clears, who were regular patrons of the establishment, had developed a deep appreciation for the bar’s atmosphere and community.

“Ken and I are still really good friends. We’re working on things together,” Dale Clear said regarding the sale. “It’s been a very peaceful, nice transfer.”

The new owners are investing in upgrading the venue’s audio and video capabilities, as well as diversifying the entertainment programming to include both music and sports-related events and viewings.

Dale and Heather Clear are originally from Indiana, where they were born and raised and were high school sweethearts. The couple moved to about 20 years ago for Dale to pursue a career in the music business, specifically playing guitar for various country artists. Some of the notable artists he has worked with include Kellie Pickler, Chris Young, Craig Campbell and Andy Griggs. This experience in the country music industry has fueled his aspiration to establish a music venue.

“I always had in my head that I wanted to have a little music venue,” Clear said. “We’ve had a couple of pizza restaurants in our past, so we have a little bit of a restaurant background, and we also have the music background . . . I’m going to have some fun in here.”

The new proprietors plan to continue Hank’s tradition of combining live music performances with good dining and maintaining a fun and inviting space. The Clears also plan to add more sports viewing to the format, with plans to host a Super Bowl party as well as events around the World Series, Masters golf tournament and NCAA Final Four.

Hanks is located at 2341 Memorial Blvd. in

More Local Business News 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/02/boro-business-buzz-tennessee-whiskers-white-monkey-market-hanks-honkytonk-high-society-city-cafe-bridgestone-americas-and-more/

02/08/2025

🚫 CLOSING: Nashville-based Bargain Hunt announced Wednesday, Feb. 5 that it has initiated “going out of business” sales at all of its stores.

This, only two days after it filed for bankruptcy and less than two weeks since it announced it was closing a distribution center.

The chain is known for selling a variety of items including appliances, clothing, groceries, holiday items, sports gear, tools and more.

In-store items will be discounted up to 40% off of the lowest price, according to an email sent to customers. Returns are only being accepted through Feb. 12 for items purchased before Jan. 30, and shoppers must use their gift cards by Feb. 12.

Of the 92 Bargain Hunt locations, 31 of them are in Tennessee.

Two Bargain Hunt locations are 1114 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and 1960 Old Fort Pkwy.

More Local Business News 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/02/boro-business-buzz-tennessee-whiskers-white-monkey-market-hanks-honkytonk-high-society-city-cafe-bridgestone-americas-and-more/

02/07/2025

Feb. 8 – Valentine’s Day Cookie Decorating 🍪🧋❤️☕️🍰

Oflow (Overflow – Brews & Bakes, 115 N. Maple St., located just off the Square) hosts a Valentine’s cookie decorating event on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Decorate a cookie for $5 or 3 cookies for $10. Oflow provides all the candies, sprinkles, and icing and does the cleanup. A photo selfie booth will be set up for Valentine’s memories. No reservations needed—just show up before cookies are sold out!

Oflow scratch bakery is also offering preorders for Valentine’s Day pickup on Friday, 2/14 at the cafe on the square or in Franklin Cool Springs after 3 p.m. All prices include tax.
To order ➡️ https://gforms.app/9QozlXg

More Community Events 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/02/february-2025-community-events/

02/07/2025

The Great Escape: Murfreesboro will host its $1 Music Blowout Sale on Saturday, 2/8, from noon to 7 p.m. 🎶💿💥

The Great Escape buys and sells new and used Vinyl Records, CDs, Video Games, Comics, Books, DVDs, Toys, Role Playing Games & CCG Cards, VHS, Posters, Sports Memorabilia and more!

The Great Escape was founded in 1977 and is dedicated to serving the Middle and Kentucky area by offering a “hot spot” for those who wish to buy and sell their music, movies, comics and more.

For more information, visit thegreatescapeonline.com.

The Great Escape is located at 810 NW Broad St., .

Don’t forget about our sale tomorrow! :)

02/07/2025

A Nekter Juice Bar location has opened in , offering smoothies, juices, acai bowls, wellness shots and detox drinks.

Find the new location of the juice franchise at 1306 Westlawn Blvd. B4, off of Veterans Parkway near I-840.

Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

More Local Business News 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/02/boro-business-buzz-tennessee-whiskers-white-monkey-market-hanks-honkytonk-high-society-city-cafe-bridgestone-americas-and-more/

02/07/2025

As legislators were working to pass the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, they consistently affirmed that this voucher bill would “put parents in the driver’s seat of their child’s education.” We listened as they emphatically proclaimed that parents were the most equipped to make educational decisions for their children.

We hope that our legislators in truly meant what they said. One of their main talking points was the empowerment of parents. True empowerment is what our bill, the FREE Act, provides without the trappings associated with government money surely to result from the recently passed “school choice” bill.

According to Will Estrada, senior legal counsel of Home School Legal Defense Association, currently there are 11 states that require no reporting for home schoolers—Alaska, Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Connecticut. Currently, The Homeschool Freedom Act in Wyoming (HB 46) has passed out of the House. Tennessee is only one of two states to potentially secure educational autonomy through legislation. This would be groundbreaking for Tennessee.

Home-school families drafted The Family Right to Educational Emancipation (FREE) Act (SB 494/HB 552) as a way to provide parents in Tennessee, who so desire, true educational autonomy and freedom. The bill creates a distinct category of home schools that are not subject to the data collection, reporting or assessment requirements applicable to existing independent home-school programs and public schools, and exempts such home-school students and parents from compulsory school attendance requirements.

More From Free YOUR Children 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/02/the-free-act-groundbreaking-family-right-to-educational-emancipation-legislation-introduced-in-tennessee/

02/06/2025

I would like to thank the Mayos for allowing me the opportunity to to tell some stories here in the Murfreesboro Pulse. It’s been a highlight of mine for the last couple of years. I would also like to congratulate Bracken, Sarah and their staff on 20 years of the Pulse telling its unique story!

With that said, I thought this month we could cover a topical question: how did we communicate in days past?

Let’s first take it back nearly 100 years. How did we communicate with one another then? Well, there was a thing called the landline telephone. It just so happens my great-grandfather Harry Cranford was the Bell South manager here at the local phone company in the 1930s. This was the time when everybody dressed up to go to work and the little ladies wore their nicest dresses and operated the switchboard, as seen in the photo here. That’s my grandfather, keeping an eye on them.

More From Mr. Murfreesboro 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/01/communication-over-the-years-from-the-pen-and-talking-in-town-to-the-phone-and-modern-times/

02/06/2025

Enjoy the warm spring-like temps this week, while they last. Showers and thunderstorms expected to develop this afternoon.

02/05/2025

Ken and Marissa Jackson have been hard at work on their establishment, TN Axe and Smash • Rage Room • Axe Throwing, making the facility a fun multi-use hangout space for individuals, couples and friend groups. The axe throwing and rage room venue, located in at 123 SE Broad St., can make a great spot for a night out or to host private parties, with space for up to 150 people, big screen TVs, single and combo activity packages, catering and drink options.

Ken Jackson gave the Pulse insight into the therapeutic benefits of using the rage room.

“Right after we bought the business a young lady came in, and it was obvious that she was working through some things. After she came out of the rage room, I said, ‘Do you need to sit and talk? I’m happy to spend some time talking.’ She said, ‘You know what? I actually feel better after that, so thank you!’

“That’s when the light bulb in my head went off—it’s cheaper than therapy, and makes a terrific stress-killing activity,” he said. “I decided to write letters to therapists in Murfreesboro, saying ‘hey, I’ve noticed our rage rooms are helping people work through anxiety and frustration. This might be beneficial to your patients.’ We think it’s amazing that people can walk out of here feeling better than when they came in.”

Although it’s not designed to be a league throwing venue with painted targets, TN Axe and Smash does offer interactive axe-throwing lanes with various fun, competitive and challenging game options. Players can choose any of several different games projected onto the axe landing board, from a standard target display to Zombie Hunter, Asteroid, Tic-Tac-Toe, Battleship and more.

More 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/01/throw-axes-and-smash-away-your-stress-at-tn-axe-and-smash-offering-axe-throwing-and-rage-room/

02/05/2025

ICYMI: Mayor Shane McFarland presented an update and Q&A session yesterday on Republic Services‘ proposed expansion of Middle Point Landfill and its effects on the surrounding area.

👀👇🏻
https://www.facebook.com/MayorMcFarland/videos/1143381577321864

02/04/2025

“I was recently asked to photograph this old one-room school house not far from . The land owner believes the building was built in the 1800s. It's sagging, but still standing strong. As usual, there were no lights or electricity, so I lit the building up with wireless strobes to give it one last evening of light, color, and life. This is amazing piece of history, but it pales in comparison to what he showed me after I finished this shoot, an old stage coach rest stop building, still standing! Of course, I will be back to shoot that one as soon as possible! I am, constantly, amazed at what I am finding on back roads.”

📸 Joe West

More on Joe West Photography 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2024/02/joe-west-preserves-structures-from-the-past-through-unique-light-painting-photography-method/

02/04/2025

The Street Department began the demolition of Longhorn Liquor on NW Broad Street on Monday, a long-awaited measure that clears the way for daylighting Town Creek.

Those who have lived in Rutherford County for 30 years or longer, may recall that the liquor store was originally home to a Shoney’s Restaurant before the restaurant built a new location to the left of the original structure. Shoney’s then moved next door into their new building, and a Tex-Mex eatery opened at the old location. After the Tex-Mex restaurant closed, Longhorn Liquor converted the facility into a retail liquor store.

the Daylighting Town Creek project calls for the removal of concrete culverts that have contained the stream for decades, flowing between the Murfree Spring Wetland and Lytle Creek. This project helps to revitalize the downtown area. By restoring the underground stream to its natural condition, the city will construct an attractive linear park along NW Broad Street between S. Church Street and Cannonsburgh Village. The waterway was put underground over 50 years ago as a way to decrease flooding in an area historically known as The Bottoms.

Town Creek is an underground stream that originates in Murfree Spring at the Discovery Center and flows to Cannonsburgh Village before emptying into Lytle Creek. The completion of the Town Creek Phase II project will provide walking and biking trail connectivity from the Discovery Center and Murfree Springs to Cannonsburgh Village and the Greenway Trail System.

MURFREESBORO, TN – The Murfreesboro Street Department began the demolition of Longhorn Liquor on NW Broad Street on Monday, a long-awaited measure that clears the way for daylighting Town Creek. For those who have lived in Rutherford County for 30 years or longer, you may recall that the liquo...

02/03/2025

Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr and Mayor Shane McFarland unveiled Thursday a joint plan for a long-term solid waste solution while firmly opposing the expansion of the privately owned Middle Point Landfill. The mayors shared their proposal during a press conference at Murfreesboro's airport terminal.

Under the proposed agreement, Rutherford and Murfreesboro governments would oversee solid waste management on county-owned land near Middle Point Landfill. This location includes two retired landfills and an advanced $20 million solid waste transfer station nearing completion. The plan focuses on minimizing landfill use, with Murfreesboro collaborating with WastAway to convert up to 70% of collected waste into biomass fuel.

Mayor Carr says for the health and safety of our community, there will be an aggressive campaign to divert solid waste from landfills.

Mayor McFarland highlighted the environmental hazards posed by Middle Point Landfill, such as air and water pollution and toxic leachate discharges into the East Fork of the Stones River.

Murfreesboro has filed a federal lawsuit against the landfill’s owners, alleging violations of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.

The mayors' proposal aims to run a new county transfer station, explore landfill alternatives, and work with state and local officials to develop a waste strategy that prevents outside waste from being dumped in Rutherford County.

With Middle Point expected to reach full capacity within the next few years, officials emphasize the need for swift action to secure Rutherford County’s waste independence before its closure.

More 👇🏻

MURFREESBORO - Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr and Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland unveiled Thursday a joint plan for a long-term solid waste solution while firmly opposing the expansion of the privately owned Middle Point Landfill. The mayors shared their proposal during a press conference at M...

02/02/2025

“According to our calculations, pro-voucher and pro-school privatization forces spent a whopping ~$5.6 million in the 2024 Tennessee elections to install obedient pro-voucher, pro-charter lackeys in the legislature. And that doesn't include the hundreds of thousands of dollars *more* that Speaker Sexton and certain legislative supplicants spent from their own PAC accounts (generously proxy-funded by D.C.-based pro-voucher groups like GOPAC) to boost obedient voucher supporters over local school advocates in the last election.” 👇🏻

SCHOOL VOUCHER ROI: ~$5.6M Investment in TN PAC Spending Yields $1.1 Billion Taxpayer-Funded Windfall for Out-of-State Corporate Raiders & Voucher Profiteers

At the same time certain "Republicans" in the TN General Assembly were rubber-stamping Gov. Lee and Speaker Sexton's special-interest pet project/school voucher bill, the campaign financial reporting deadline for political spending in last year's Tennessee elections came due. And boy, as the math gets even rosier (and more lucrative) for certain Tennessee politicians raking in out-of-state PAC cash from school voucher profiteers, it gets exponentially more grim for local parents, students, and teachers who must live with the voucher heist on our public coffers.

According to our calculations, pro-voucher and pro-school privatization forces spent a whopping ~$5.6 million in the 2024 Tennessee elections to install obedient pro-voucher, pro-charter lackeys in the legislature. And that doesn't include the hundreds of thousands of dollars *more* that Speaker Sexton and certain legislative supplicants spent from their own PAC accounts (generously proxy-funded by D.C.-based pro-voucher groups like GOPAC) to boost obedient voucher supporters over local school advocates in the last election.

For those who are better at math than us, that's a near-200X windfall profit on the money spent to hijack our elections and the total $1.1B in government spending back to those private school interest groups and voucher recipients over the next four years.

This whole episode is a cruel (but illustrative) lesson in the raw monetary forces that actually drive political outcomes. And now that we all know who (to the extent ethics laws require such information to be reported) stands to get rich off this scam, lets hope local voters and taxpayers across the state stand up and reclaim their hard-earned tax dollars by sending any legislative goon who voted for this bank robbery back home (and far away from our state capitol).

02/02/2025

It’s official! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, meaning a prediction of six more weeks of winter weather.

Hope that rodent is wrong!

Happy Groundhog Day! ❤️