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The newsroom was honored with 18 awards at this year’s East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalist Awards, including the Best of Show award.

Tom Spangler and Jimmy "J.J." Jones have known each other for decades. Now they face off in the county primary.

The Knox County Commission is scheduled to discuss a controversial immigration enforcement deal following a report published last week by Knox News and Compass Knox that revealed the Sheriff's Office didn't secure commission approval for the initiative as required by state law. Commissioner Charles Busler asked to put the issue on the body’s April agenda, which means it will be up for discussion at either the April 19 agenda review or the full April 26 meeting, or possibly both. The commission agenda was first published online Tuesday. Commission manager Drucilla Stills told Knox News that ...

Commissioners Courtney Durrett and Dasha Lundy, both Democrats, said they want to get to the bottom of what approval is required by the commission for the Knox County Sheriff's Office to participate in the 287(g) program, which authorizes local law enforcement to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Durrett called for the program to be halted immediately. The revelations about the legality of Knox County's participation, however, also revealed a split in the commission. The county legislative body's Republican members have expressed little appetite for asserting their oversight p...

To help break it down, here is a review of what you should know. What is the 287(g) program? The 287(g) program is part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s toolbox. It delegates some federal immigration authority to local law enforcement. It has never been popular with law enforcement agencies, partly because it comes with no resources or funding. Under the program, sheriff’s deputies receive federal training so they can determine a detainee’s immigration status. They also have the power to initiate deportation proceedings. Knox County is one of just 72 local agencies in t...