Home to the 1982 Worlds Fair – Name that scruffy city! – November 13, 2019
You'll always be home, sweet home to me
Today’s itinerary:
WHEELS DOWN: KNOXVILLE
Smokey Mountain High! Knoxville from atop Sharps Ridge: Brian Stansberry [CC BY 3.0]
Ah, Knoxville. Birthplace of Mountain Dew and Kenny Chesney. Land of Peyton Manning’s alma mater, the University of Tennessee. And the place that the Wall Street Journal referred to as a “scruffy little city” when the town was preparing to host the 1982 World’s Fair.
Undaunted, Knoxville has embraced its scruffy spirit, taking up the pledge to “Keep Knoxville Scruffy” and hosting events like the Scruffy City Film and Music Festival and Scruffy City Vegan Fest. There’s even an entertainment complex in downtown’s Market Square called Scruffy City Hall, complete with a rooftop bar named the Scroof.
So Knoxville residents clearly have a wry sense of humor—but what else do they have?
Makers and shakers
And that’s a perfect segue. Knoxville is also seeing a major push toward business development and startup support. The Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC) is an accelerator whose mission is “to build a community where entrepreneurs have access to the capital, customers, and talent they need to be successful.” In addition to helping The Maker City grow and thrive, KEC runs a business development program, hosts events and classes, and connects entrepreneurs with mentors to help them get their businesses off the ground.
Sitting pretty
The city is also situated amidst an abundance of outdoor attractions, like the neighboring Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Seven lakes are scattered around Knoxville, and the Tennessee River runs through town. (TUBING!) There are a million opportunities for taking scenic drives, hiking, camping, birding, biking, paddling, swimming, fishing, and llama trekking. (No, really.) And with more than 50 miles of greenway paths, it’s easy to get some exercise and fresh air even without engaging with mountains, lakes, or furry pack animals.
Highlight reel
Market Square, mentioned earlier, is a pedestrian mall that offers everything from movie nights to free theater to farmer’s markets to winter ice skating, along with restaurants, bars, and specialty shops.
Fast Future INNOVATION
Do you need a lift? The MULE-R Via D. Martin Enterprises & Youtube
For people who lift heavy materials for a living, it’s a good time to be alive, thanks to robotics tech. The latest industry to get a lift up is the refractory industry, thanks to a Pittsburgh company called HarbisonWalker International. It has introduced a lift assist technology called MULE-R that promises to make the industry safer, more ergonomic, and more productive for workers.
That could have saved the Stonehenge guys a lot of work.
Indiana driving innovation through tech parks Cities all over Fast Future Country are investing deeply in tech innovation. Indiana Certified Technology Parks, a program that was created as a tool to support the attraction and growth of high-tech businesses in Indiana, is a prime example.
How it works in Indiana
An Indiana code allows Indiana Certified Technology Parks to capture a maximum of $5 million over the life of a park in incremental sales and income taxes.
We recently received their latest list of 22 Indiana locations on this program. Here are some highlights:
Click the map below to view the entire list of 22 parks:
FINAL APPROACH
Business School launches annual economic forecast tour On November 7, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business kicked off an eight-city tour with a presentation in Indianapolis to discuss the future of local, national, and global economies and financial markets. The Business Outlook panel, which consists of Kelley School faculty and Indianapolis leaders, will offer insights into economic trends to help inform Indiana businesses, government organizations, and nonprofit groups.
Phil T. Powell, associate dean of Kelley academic programs at Indianapolis, said that this year’s panel will also address strategies for fostering regional development.
"We are continuing to present an informed view about our state and nation's economic future, but we also want to contribute to the discussion about public initiatives designed to keep Indianapolis globally competitive."
If you can’t make the Indy presentation, you can catch it in New Albany, Columbus, Richmond, South Bend, Schererville, Anderson, and Kokomo.
IN FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
It's ... Name that Fast Future city!
Useless information that is strangely fascinating.
We’re taking a little different track today with the Name that Fast Future City. We’re going to give you a snippet from a song and you have to name the city it refers to. OK, start jammin’!
Click here for today's answers REACH OUT Please click the button below to share stories and offer suggestions or comments Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. |