Local News

Bradley County, Cleveland City, Polk County, and Meigs County Schools will all dismiss early today because of continued high temperatures and concerns about afternoon heat on school buses.Cleveland High School and Cleveland Middle School will dismiss at 11 a.m., and elementary schools will dismiss at noon.The school system says updates on sporting events and other extracurricular activities will b...

The Tennessee Department of Transportation says interstate and state highway lane closures will be suspended during the Labor Day holiday travel period.TDOT construction crews will stop lane-closure activities at noon today and resume on 6 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8.The department says the suspension is intended to provide maximum roadway capacity during the busy holiday travel period.Constructi...

From Local 3 News: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library delivers free books to children under the age of five all over the world.Since 2004, the library has delivered more than 304 million books worldwide.Last year, around 70% of students here in Tennessee were enrolled in the program. Tennessee State Senator Bo Watson, running for reelection this November, and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton...

Lee University will once again offer English as a Second Language classes to the community through its Center for English Language and Literacy.The 10-week program begins Thursday, September 10, with classes meeting each Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 in the Walker Memorial Building on Lee’s campus.Childcare will be available for children ages one through six, while children ages seven through...

Opponents of the proposed Project River industrial campus held a protest Thursday afternoon across from Wright Brothers Construction in Bradley County.Around 15 demonstrators gathered to voice concerns about the estimated $11.3 billion project.The developers are seeking the rezoning and annexation of about 800 acres into the city of Cleveland. Both requests would require approval from the Clevelan...

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced that Bradley County native and former State Senator Mike Bell is returning to the agency as special assistant to the executive director.Bell returns to TWRA after two years with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, where he served as assistant commissioner for fire prevention.Bell previously served as TWRA’s legislative director ...

The Tennessee School Counselor Association has named Dawn Cox of Bradley County Schools as its 2026 Administrator of the Year.The association says Cox is being recognized for her leadership, advocacy, and commitment to strengthening school-based mental health services.Cox will be recognized at the Tennessee School Counselor and Administrator Leadership Institute later this month.......

A Cleveland funeral home owner has filed a formal complaint with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance over conditions and business practices at Sunset Memorial Gardens and Hillcrest Memorial Gardens.Ralph Buckner, Jr. filed the complaint with the state’s Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers and Burial Services on August 20.Buckner is asking state officials to investigate several ...

Local residents and some elected officials are continuing to discuss an $11.3 billion industrial development proposed for Bradley County. Project River would include an on-site biomass and natural gas power plant, and a possible data center or another industrial project at a later date. As we have covered here on WCLE, a meeting was held Tuesday night at the PIE Center for the public to receive in...

The Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce has announced the 2026-27 Leadership Cleveland class.Twenty-six local professionals were selected, making this the largest class in the program’s history.Participants represent local businesses, nonprofits, schools, financial institutions and public organizations.The nine-month program includes sessions on economic development, education, government, healt...

Visitor spending in Bradley County topped $200 million in 2025, according to newly released Tennessee tourism statistics.Visitors spent $203.4 million in Bradley County last year, an increase of 3.5 percent from the previous year.Visitor spending generated $20.3 million in state and local taxes, representing an estimated tax savings of $477 per Bradley County household.Bradley County ranked 16th a...

A large crowd of residents gathered last night at the PIE Center to ask questions about Project River, a proposed $11.3 billion industrial development in northern Bradley County.The proposed 850-acre project would be located west of Interstate 75 and north of Old Lower River Road along the Hiwassee River. The Wright Family, owners of Wright Brothers Construction, announced the project publicly at ...

From the Chattanoogan: A former Meigs County deputy says officers were required to work with defective vehicles and that inmate trusties performed maintenance on patrol cars.Jacob Green made the statements to attorneys in a federal lawsuit stemming from the February 2024 deaths of Deputy R.J. Leonard and Tabitha Smith.Leonard was transporting Smith when his patrol car entered the Tennessee River. ...

Bradley County’s newly elected officials will officially begin their new terms today with a public swearing-in ceremony at 9:00 am at the Courthouse Plaza. The public is invited to attend. WCLE will broadcast the event live on MixTV.TV.......

The City of Cleveland announced on social media, that Tinsley Park will be closed this week while crews stripe the newly paved parking lot.The park will be closed through September 4.Also, the portion of the Greenway beneath the Raider Drive Bridge will also be closed today and Wednesday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.......

A public meeting concerning a proposed 11-billion-dollar industrial development in Charleston will take place tonight at 6 PM at the Pie Center.The meeting is open to the public and is hosted by the Wright family who is proposing the project. Project River would create an industrial campus supporting energy-sector manufacturing, and potentially a data center, robotics or semiconductor production.D...

From Local 3 News: A man was arrested and charged with armed robbery on August 27 by the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office.The sheriff’s office says the robbery occurred on August 23 at the Dollar General on 2175 Spring Place Road in Cleveland. Deputies say that during the store’s closing time, Keionte Richards held employees at gunpoint and demanded money from the registers.He fled the scene, and d...

From Local 3 News: Twelve schools in the Tennessee Valley rank among the top 100 high schools in the state for 2026-2027.One Chattanooga school ranked in the top 10: Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts (CCA). This school has a 100% graduation rate, with 404 students enrolled.The rankings come from a study by U.S. News & World Report, which ranks schools based on performance on state-r...

WARNING: Some readers may find the details of this story, or the pictures and video, disturbing.From Local 3 News: Dash camera video shows an Arkansas State Police trooper punching and yanking a former UTC basketball player by the dreadlocks after a high-speed chase.Tedrick Washington Jr., 24, was a backseat passenger during the multi-agency pursuit late Wednesday, August 19, according to records ...

From Local 3 News: A 33-year-old man is facing serious charges after the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office says he hit a deputy with his ATV while fleeing from Polk County authorities on Thursday.The North Carolina agency says they were notified by their Tennessee partners across the border, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, that Thomas Lee Prince was escaping from them on US 64.Tennessee deputies ...