🛣️ "Long road ahead"

Hey, hey, hey. It's Thursday.

• Today's weather: Sunny with a high around 84.

Today's newsletter is 772 words — a 3-minute read.

Flooding that devastated East Tennessee last week will leave a long-lasting mark on the state. Leaders say the recovery effort will take months and many millions of dollars.

The latest: The remnants of Hurricane Helene crumpled bridges, swept away large chunks of busy interstates and made some rural communities inaccessible. The push to restore infrastructure, communication and clean drinking water has become the top focus for multiple state agencies.

• Eleven deaths in Tennessee have been confirmed so far. That number has grown as emergency crews are able to search difficult-to-access areas.
• Dozens of people are still missing.

What they're saying: "We're in the middle of what is a remarkably difficult and tragic [event] unfolding," Gov Bill Lee told reporters yesterday, adding that the recovery would require "a tremendous amount of work."

• "There is a long road ahead."

By the numbers: The storm damaged more than 600 homes in four counties. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reported 120 of those are considered destroyed.

• The Tennessee Department of Transportation said about 25 road closings remained in place Wednesday. Five state bridges were wiped out.
• Some 400 TDOT workers were still working to survey roads and bridges.
• "We anticipated hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and months of closures," the agency said, per the Tennessee Lookout.

Zoom in: Stretches of Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 that connect Tennessee to North Carolina remain closed. Transportation officials said it could take months to reopen I-40.

Between the lines: University of Tennessee professor Donald Maier, who works in the supply chain program, told WBIR the interstate closings could affect the flow of goods into the state.

• "If I'm a truck driver, you just added double the amount of time it would take just for me to go from Knoxville to Asheville," he said.

Zoom out: Nearly 400 National Guard members are working in the hardest-hit areas, according to Lee. Some have been using Black Hawk helicopters to deliver water and other supplies.

The big picture: Lee and others have stressed the unprecedented nature of the flooding in the northeast portion of the state.

• More than 1.2 million gallons per second passed through the Nolichucky River dam during the storm, TDOT's chief engineer Will Reid said.
• That's nearly double the peak flow of Niagara Falls.

Share this story

The deadline for Tennessee residents to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election is Monday, Oct. 7.

Why it matters: In addition to the presidential election, Nashville voters will weigh in on the city's transportation funding referendum, a U.S. Senate race, three U.S. House races and a slate of state legislative races.

Details: The Davidson County Election Commission website explains how to register to vote, including the documents required to establish your Nashville residency.

• The Tennessee Secretary of State allows residents to register to vote online.
• New registrations have to be postmarked or hand-delivered by Oct. 7.

What's next: Early voting in Nashville begins Oct. 16.

Share this story

✅ Metro Council passed a slate of legislation at its Tuesday night meeting aimed at combating political violence in Nashville.

• The bills were filed by Mayor Freddie O'Connell following a series of white supremacist protests at the Metro courthouse. (Tennessean)

💰 In several contested legislative races, school vouchers are a defining issue and a source of campaign contributions. (Nashville Banner)

🥗 Radish Kitchen, the healthy fast-casual restaurant, is opening inside the Hunters Station food hall. It will mark Radish Kitchen's third location since it launched four years ago. (Nashville Business Journal)

Instagram Teen Accounts have automatic protections for who can contact teens and the content they can see. Plus, only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.

What this means: Built-in protections for teens, and peace of mind for parents.

Learn more.

The Nashville Oktoberfest celebration, featuring beer, brats and a puppy parade, begins today and runs through Sunday at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.

Why it matters: Oktoberfest is one of the city's longest-running neighborhood festivals. Germantown has been celebrating since 1980.

If you go: There will of course be plenty of alcoholic beverages, but there's fun for the whole family.

• Breweries spanning from Nashville to Germany will be on hand to pour authentic Oktoberfest beers. There's also a whiskey tasting, a brat-eating contest and a strong-person competition to see who can hold the most beer steins all at once.
• There's a pup parade on Saturday and a dachshund derby on Sunday.
• Live music is planned throughout the festival. General admission tickets start at $10.

Yes, but: If you want a more low-key option for celebrating Oktoberfest, Nashville's craft breweries have honored the German-brewing tradition with a series of seasonal releases.

• Oktoberfest is an especially big deal at Barrique, the East Nashville craft brewery specializing in barrel-aged beers.
• Nate suggests their Märzen-style Rauchbier, an amber lager that features smoked malts. Barrique's special Oktoberfest release runs through Sunday.

Share this story

Instagram Teen Accounts help parents support teens as they grow. Teen Accounts include automatic protections limiting who can contact teens and what content they see.

The impact: More protections for teens, and peace of mind for parents.

Learn more.

Our picks:

On the occasion of his wedding anniversary, Nate thanks wife Alison for tolerating him for the last 15 years.

Adam is also thankful to Nate's wife Alison for providing him with fresh baked cookies and other goodies over the years.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Ashley.