News - Friday, February 6, 2026

Andy Witkowski has a question for pet owners – one that can break your heart even as he asks it.

He first invites you to imagine stepping outside with your dog for a routine walk. The sun is out, the air is fresh and your pet is happily working off some pent-up energy.

On Market Street, Smith + Howard’s Chattanooga office occupies a workspace that feels built for scale. From here, the independent CPA firm serves closely held businesses, nonprofit organizations and growing companies whose needs stretch beyond tax returns into advisory, transactions and strategy.

Chattanooga Airport recorded a new all-time passenger high in 2025, serving 632,384 travelers, a 14% increase over 2024, airport officials report.

The milestone continues a period of rapid growth since April Cameron became president and CEO in 2023. Passenger traffic has increased more than 41% over the past three years and nearly 68% over five years, placing Chattanooga among the fastest-growing small hub airports in the country.

A major new work is being added to the permanent collection at Sculpture Fields at Montague Park with the public unveiling of “Meridian Coda,” a sculpture by acclaimed artist Ed McCullough.

Scheduled for installation at the 33-acre outdoor art museum at noon Friday, Feb. 6, “Meridian Coda” represents the culmination of McCullough’s lifelong artistic practice. The work explores enduring themes of family, connection and loss – ideas that shaped his work for decades.

Two University of Tennessee at Chattanooga communication students have earned national recognition in the 2025 Hearst Awards, placing among the top student communicators in the country in competitive national contests.

Clara Paulson, a junior Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College, placed 12th nationally in the Hearst Photo One Competition. Emily Mitchell, a fall 2025 graduate with a degree in communication and a minor in rhetoric and professional writing, placed 13th nationally in the Hearst Multimedia Visual Storytelling Competition.

Have you ever had fast-food regret? I’m not talking about the regret that sets in when your digestive system files a formal complaint after you consume 1.2 pounds of greasy, processed substances masquerading as food. I mean the wave of horror that hits the moment you’re locked into a slow-moving drive-thru, boxed in by curbs and traffic, with no way out but through.

What began as a conversation in a living room in 1991 has grown into one of Tennessee’s oldest accredited land trusts, protecting more than 1,500 acres of land on Lookout Mountain and shaping generations of young conservation leaders.

Lookout Mountain Conservancy, known as LMC, is preparing to celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2026, a milestone leaders say reflects both long-term land preservation and an expanding focus on people, education and community engagement.

The Chattanooga Film Festival will return for its 13th year this summer with a mix of in-person and virtual programming.

The festival will take place June 18-21 at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, with a virtual component running June 19-27. Organizers also released a first wave of films and special events planned for the 2026 edition.

If you’re a local business owner, you’re juggling many priorities: growing revenue, managing expenses, supporting your team and planning for your own future. What if one tool could help with all these goals?

A workplace retirement plan might be that solution and can, directly or indirectly, offer benefits that extend beyond simple savings.

The folks who claim to want to Make America Great Again seem to have a pretty low opinion of some Americans. Guess which ones?

A House bill by Rep. Johnny Garrett, (R) Goodlettesville, would effectively bar from federal office anyone from Tennessee who is not a “natural-born citizen of the United States.” It defines that as someone “born in the United States or born abroad to parents who are United States citizens.”

With the average cost of a new vehicle hovering around $50,000, buying a new SUV might seem well out of reach if you’re on a tight budget. But automakers have increasingly been selling entry-level SUVs that are smaller and less expensive than all-star SUVs like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. 

That little star on your U.S. driver’s license is about to save you $45.

Air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification, such as a passport, are subject to a new fee that began Feb. 1.

It isn’t a penalty or a fine – it’s payment for noncompliant travelers to use the Transportation Security Administration’s new alternate identity verification option called ConfirmID. But the process takes extra time, and paying the fee doesn’t guarantee you’ll make your flight.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday will launch TrumpRx, a website it says will help patients buy prescription drugs directly from manufacturers at a discounted rate at a time when health care and the cost of living are growing concerns for Americans.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference is distributing more than $1 billion to its 16 universities for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which ended last August.

The total distribution jumped more than $200 million from the previous year. The current total includes $37.4 million retained by universities that participated in the College Football Playoff and bowl games.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Telehealth company Hims & Hers said Thursday it will launch a cheaper, off-brand version of the weight-loss pill Wegovy, just weeks after drugmaker Novo Nordisk launched its highly anticipated reformulation of the blockbuster medication.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it would be "up to the president" to decide whether or not to sue Kevin Warsh, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, if he fails to lower interest rates.

During remarks at a private black-tie dinner of the elite Alfalfa Club on Saturday night, Trump said he might sue his newly selected Fed chair nominee if he didn't lower interest rates. Asked about it later that night by reporters, Trump said the remarks were made in jest. "It's a roast," Trump said. "It was all comedy."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are "unrealistic" and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House.