🗳️ Election results are in!

🍻 Stop Getting Drunk Near the Planes

On today's episode of City Cast Nashville’s podcast, host Grace Fuisz, producer Marie Cecile Anderson, and executive producer Whitney Pastorek sing Dierks Bentley's “Drunk on a Plane” while they discuss the rise of public intoxication arrests at BNA. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🗳️ Election Results Are In!

In the Aug. 1 election, state Rep. Gloria Johnson won the Senate Democratic nomination and will be up against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn for the Nov. 5 election. In a close race, incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles won against Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston. Here are the full results. [Nashville Banner]

🧑‍🎓 FAFSA Woes Leave Students without Tuition

Tuition is due Thursday for TSU students, but financial aid isn’t showing up on their balance, so their classes could be dropped. TSU blames FAFSA. [WKRN]

• Fisk University is also having problems with FAFSA delays, which is contributing to its financial deficit. [The Tennessean]

🥔 We Won’t Be Getting a Grocery Tax Break

Last year’s 3-month grocery tax break won’t be happening this year. Gov. Bill Lee prioritized tax breaks for businesses and corporations, which didn’t leave enough for a grocery tax break. [The Tennessean]

The Tennessee State Fair is Aug. 15-24 at the James E. Ward Agricultural Center in Wilson County. The fair is over a century old, and while it’s undergone many location changes over the years, it’s shaped Nashville’s landscape and history.

The Fair’s Origins

The first fair was held on Oct. 1855 at the Walnut Race Course, which is where Elizabeth Park in North Nashville is now. It was so popular that the Tennessee General Assembly passed an act to purchase 35 acres as a dedicated site for the fair, close to present-day Trevecca Nazarene University.

Horse racing and agriculture were the most popular events at the fair in the 1800s. The fair was suspended during the Civil War and moved to the Fairgrounds Nashville in 1906, with a continued focus on agriculture. Admission was 50 cents, and people from out of state could travel there by train.

The fair surged in popularity when it introduced special days for visitors, like “Children’s Day” and “Confederate Day,” where former Confederate soldiers received free entry. Jim Crow Laws were in full effect in Nashville at this time. While I couldn’t find any information about Nashville’s Black community at the fair, I imagine it wasn’t particularly welcoming.

The Fair in the 1960s and 70s

By the 1960s, rides were an essential part of the fair experience. A 1965 fire destroyed four exhibition buildings and the grandstands, injuring 18 people. It was the largest Nashville fire at the time since 1916. Attendees remember opening animal cages in the State Game and Fish Booth to save animals, including a bear and two bobcats. Yet, thousands of people still attended the next day’s festivities.