Heritage Center honors Medal of Honor recipient George Jordan

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Today the Heritage Center highlighted Medal of Honor recipient George Jordan as part of its continued celebration of Black History Month. Tina Cahalan Jones, founder of the Slaves to Soldiers Project, gave a presentation focused on African American military service. The project raises awareness and honors the lives of nearly 400 Black men from Williamson County,…

McDonald Farm Set For State Park

SALE CREEK, TN (WDEF) – McDonald Farm, a historic property spanning more than 1,300 acres in Hamilton County, is set to become Tennessee’s 70th state park.  The plan includes roughly $45.3 million in state investment to develop the park, preserve natural areas, and provide recreational opportunities. Planned amenities include trails, a visitor center, and camping, and the park will connect to…

What’s Right With Our Schools: NWGA College and Career Academy

DALTON, GA (WDEF) – The Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy is continuing its mission to develop a 21st century workforce. They do that through focused and relevant instruction to help high school students land good jobs. Let’s take a closer look in tonight’s “What’s Right With Our Schools.” “Everything we do here is is focused on be beyond graduation,”…

Hope Grows for Myeloma Patients

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – What began as a broken femur to a life-changing diagnosis for one man now working to raise awareness about multiple myeloma. Dave was diagnosed several years ago with the rare blood cancer, which forms in the bone marrow and is known to return even after treatment.  After going through several treatment regimens that eventually stopped working,…

Teen uses birthday to remind seniors they are not forgotten

OOLTEWAH, Tenn. (WDEF) – Today News 12 spoke with a local teenager who is asking for the community’s help to make her 15th birthday one to remember. Autumn Perez says she wants to use her special day to brighten the lives of others. “I want to take my special date and make other people’s days special.” Perez describes herself as…

McDonald Farm set to become 70th Tennessee state park

McDonald Farm (Courtesy: Office of Mayor Weston Wamp) SALE CREEK, Tenn. (WDEF)- Ever since Hamilton County acquired McDonald Farm in 2021, there have been a lot of discussions about how to best utilize that land in Sale Creek along the Hamilton-Rhea county border. Initially, the county acquired the property to industrialize it. However, many residents wished for the land to…

Chattanooga Carriage Company hosted its Valentine’s Day event

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Today in Chattanooga, horse carriages gently trotted through the streets as the Chattanooga Carriage Company hosted its annual Rides and Roses Valentine’s Day event. News 12 visited the company workshop to learn how the business began and what makes the Valentine’s Day tradition special for the community. The Chattanooga Carriage Company offered romantic and family friendly…

Mocs women and men fall in Valentine’s Day double header

GoMocs-(WDEF)-The Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team fell behind early and put together another strong second half run, but ultimately fell short during an 81-76 loss to Western Carolina in Southern Conference action on Saturday evening inside McKenzie Arena. Following the defeat, Chattanooga falls to 10-17 overall and is now 4-10 inside SoCon play while sitting ninth in the league standings….

Walker Valley Edges Chatt Prep 62-61

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) In a battle of two teams with state title aspirations, Walker Valley edged Chatt Prep 62-61 on Friday night. The Mustangs entered the contest ranked 5th in Class 4A, while the Sentinels are number one in Class 2A.   Categories: Sports – Local Sports News

Mocs Win Game One of Chattanooga Challenge on Walk-Off Homer Before Losing Game Two

(gomocs.com)  The Chattanooga softball team split a pair of games Friday at Jim Frost Stadium on the opening day of the Chattanooga Challenge. The Mocs picked up a 5-3 walk-off win over Bellarmine in the first game before falling 7-1 to Ohio in the nightcap. GAME 1: Chattanooga 5, Bellarmine 3 Mia Leone smashed a two-run walk-off homer to deep…

Attorney argues removal of Chickamauga mayor was unconstitutional

The interior of the Walker County Courthouse during a hearing regarding the removal of Chickamauga mayor Trey Deck. LaFAYETTE, Ga. (WDEF)- On Monday evening, the Chickamauga City Council voted to remove Mayor James “Trey” Deck by a vote of four to one. This was over alleged incidents of sexual harassment and a recording where the city’s counsel claims he used…

Conversations continue over Meigs County Jail

DECATUR, Tenn. (WDEF)- The Meigs County Commission is still trying to figure out what to do with their county jail. This is after a state decertified the jail due to overcrowding and other issues back in December. Meigs County Mayor Eddie Jewell presented two potential options. One would be to expand the current jail with an additional pod. Another option…

The hills are alive in the Scenic City with ‘The Sound of Music’

Cayleigh Capaldi and Kevin Earley

News 12 This Morning: The hills are alive in the Scenic City with ‘The Sound of Music’ rolling through town this week. Cayleigh Capaldi (‘Maria’) and Kevin Earley (‘Georg von Trapp’) join News 12’s Amelia Greer as they don the lead roles of the hit musical. The duo share what it means to portray these historically-renowned characters and how the…

TechByte: Teens Increasingly using AI as “therapist”

Mental health awareness is certainly an important topic, but it’s important you get help from a qualified source. On this week’s TechByte we give you an example of what not to do. A recent report in The Journal of the American Medical Association found about 13-percent of young people now use AI chatbots for mental health advice. And in a…

First Responder Hero Award: Detective Wallace Cunningham

DUNLAP, Tenn. (WDEF) – News 12 is recognizing some of the bravest members of our community through the First Responders Hero Award. Whether someone is an EMT, paramedic, firefighter, or police officer, this award honors their unwavering dedication to keeping our community safe. When danger strikes, these men and women are the first to respond. Now, it is our turn…

Kori Atkins Honored as Chattanooga’s 2025 Youth of the Year

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A local teen is receiving recognition for leadership, academics, and community service. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga named Brainerd High School student Kori Atkins as its 2025 Youth of the Year during a ceremony held at The Westin Chattanooga. Along with the title, Atkins received a $5,000 scholarship to support her future goals. Speaking…

Rising Flu Activity Forces Schools and Workplaces to Adjust

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)— Rising flu cases are forcing Grundy County students to move to virtual learning this week. With schools and offices seeing increasing absences due to illness, several districts in the region are temporarily shifting to online instruction. Hospitals across the Chattanooga area report higher-than-usual numbers of patients with flu-like symptoms, highlighting how quickly the virus is spreading through…

Chattanooga Tourism Company faces criticism from commission

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- The Chattanooga Tourism Company is facing some criticism from the Hamilton County Commission. They are considering a resolution to transfer some funds from the Chattanooga Tourism Company to the recently created Sports and Events Board. This board was created last summer to bring new events to Chattanooga and Hamilton County. However, commissioners say that the relationship between…