We aplogize, WGNS had technical difficulties with our first interview about MTSU Homecoming.

Segment ONE:

GUEST [IN-STUDIO]: Dr. Heather Brown, former director of the MTSU School of Concrete and Construction Management program and a professor of concrete industry management

TOPIC: MTSU’s School of Concrete and Construction Management will add its unique expertise as a partner in the Music City Grand Prix to be held Nashville in August 2021

The Music City Grand Prix, in partnership with INDYCAR, is bringing a new sound to Nashville.

The Music City Grand Prix just announced that the newest NTT INDYCAR SERIES race will debut Aug. 6-8, 2021, in Nashville, Tennessee. The three-day international festival of speed and sound will be staged on a temporary grand prix circuit in downtown Nashville and around the Nissan Stadium campus.

Said Brown: “MTSU and the School of Concrete and Construction Management are pleased to partner with the Music City Grand Prix. As the preeminent concrete management program in the country, we are working to create environmentally conscious concrete mixes while not sacrificing durability and strength for the race barriers and pit lane.

“This partnership will create advanced learning experiences for students and expand our manufacturing relationships. Experiential learning is what MTSU works hard to bring to their students, and it wouldn’t be possible without Music City Grand Prix’s commitment to local institutions as well as STEM education and the trades.”

MTSU’s Concrete and Construction Management program continues to produce ready-to-work graduates in a well-paying field that typically finds graduates with several job offers on the table when they walk across the Murphy Center stage.

SEGMENT two – 8:40 a.m.

GUEST [BY PHONE]: June Iljana, media specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau‘s Philadelphia Regional Census Center, which includes Rutherford County and Middle Tennessee

TOPIC: The Sept. 30 deadline is fast approaching for residents to fill out the 2020 Census, with Census workers out making door-to-door visits to reach hard to reach respondents such as MTSU students

Census workers are making the rounds as the Sept. 30 deadline approaches to participate in the 2020 Census. But residents are again reminded that this year’s Census — for the first time ever — can be quickly completed online in minutes. 

Residents wanting to complete the census questionnaire online but can’t locate their census ID can go www.my2020census.gov and follow instructions. Households can also respond by phone or by mail if they receive a paper questionnaire. 

This year’s decennial U.S. census means tens of millions of dollars could be gained in Rutherford County for public services such as schools, roads and health clinics for the next decade — if an accurate count is captured of the thousands of new residents that have moved into the community since 2010.

In a year when the coronavirus shuttered businesses and displaced workers, local leaders are urging residents to make sure Murfreesboro and Rutherford County communities receive their proper share of more than $1 trillion in federal funds, as well as how seats in Congress are distributed among the 50 states.

The census also provides vital data for local governments, organizations and businesses to better evaluate the services and programs needed.