$33 Million in Permits Filed for KTG Tissue Expansion

Kruger Products’ KTG USA is continuing the $316 million expansion of its tissue manufacturing plant north of Downtown, filing more than $33 million in building permit applications for the property’s converting and tissue machine buildings.

The permits come at the same time as a KTG hiring push; the company held a Memphis job fair Monday, Sept. 10, and is holding similar fairs in Southaven and Olive Branch Tuesday, Sept. 11.

The applications include $18 million for the tissue machine building’s process piping, $14 million for the same building’s electrical work and $1.5 million for the converting building’s process piping, according to the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement.

AMEC Kamtech Inc. is the contractor for the project.

KTG USA parent company Kruger Inc., Canada’s leading tissue manufacturer, announced last August plans for major growth – including another building, a new tissue machine and conversion of other equipment – at its 400 Mahannah Ave. facility, south of the Mississippi River between North Second and Thomas streets.

The company manufactures facial and bathroom tissue under the White Cloud brand and private labels. Its Memphis workforce totals more than 300 employees.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Mayors Seek Viability for Mississippi River

Several mayors of cities along the Mississippi River will gather in St. Louis this week to discuss ways to make the mighty waterway more sustainable.

The meeting is the first for the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative. Member mayors hope to engage state and federal officials in efforts to assure the long-term well being of the river and the communities that line it.

Participants will include the mayors of more than a dozen cities and towns, including St. Louis; St. Cloud, Minn.; Memphis; and Vicksburg, Miss.

– The Associated Press

'Behind The Headlines' Changes Broadcast Time

“Behind the Headlines,” the WKNO TV show hosted by Eric Barnes, publisher of The Daily News, is moving to a 7 p.m. airing on Channel 10 starting Sept. 21.

The program, which recently shifted to an interview format with local newsmakers, will also have an additional airing Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m. on WKNO2.

"Behind The Headlines" also airs on WKNO TV at midnight Friday and again Sundays at 8:30 a.m.

The program began production in September 2010.

– Bill Dries

Court Division Closes After Death of Judge’s Daughter

Division 9 of Shelby County Circuit Court will be closed this week following a death of the family of Judge Robert L. Childers.

Childers’ daughter, Lisa Kay Childers Dickerson, died Friday evening from complications of leukemia. Funeral arrangements were incomplete Monday, Sept. 10.

– Bill Dries

MAAR Reports August Home Sales

Memphis-area home sales for August jumped 14.2 percent from a year ago, with 1,514 total sales recorded in the Memphis Area Association of Realtors MAARdata property records database.

Total sales increased 9.3 percent from July. Average sales price year over year was up 1.5 percent at $128,472.

Inventory declined 1.2 percent, with 7,522 units listed for sale. Sales volume year to date increased 18.2 percent to $1.3 billion.

“Sales were pretty robust in August,” MAAR president Carol Lott said. “But the better indicator is that we are well ahead in sales and sales volume year-to-date. That’s encouraging for the market.”

The database includes records of all property transactions in Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties.

To see real estate information company Chandler Reports’ August totals for Shelby County, see Page 1.

– Sarah Baker

MasterIT Chairman, CEO Honored on Industry List

J. Michael Drake, chairman and CEO of masterIT, was selected for Nine Lives Media’s fifth annual MSPmentor 250.

The list identifies the world’s leading managed services provider executives, entrepreneurs, experts, coaches and community leaders.

The fifth annual MSPmentor 250 report is based on a global survey of MSPmentor site readers conducted from May through July. The MSPmentor editorial staff also weighed in with nominations, based on the team’s daily coverage of the managed services market.

MasterIT provides fixed-fee technology solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses in the Memphis area.

– Andy Meek

MAAR Elects Board Members

Members of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors elected six individuals to the 2013-2014 board of directors at its annual meeting and election Sept. 6.

They are: 2013 director/2014 vice president Patty Rainey of Crye-Leike Inc. Realtors; 2013-2014 directors Cassandra Bell-Warren of 4 Success Realty LLC, Allen Green of John Green & Co. Realtors, Joe Steffner of Grubb & Ellis/Memphis, and Hank Hogue of Crye-Leike; and 2013-2014 associate director Jason Gaia of Prudential Collins-Maury Inc.

They will join the current board members who will continue to serve in 2013: president Regina Hubbard of ERA Legacy Realty; vice president John Linthicum of Crye-Leike; directors Sam Zalowitz of Zalowitz Commercial Realty, Jo Walker-Payton of BenchMark Bartlett Realtors, and Tom Murphree of Hackmeyer Realty; and associate director Claire Owen of Crye-Leike.

– Sarah Baker

UTHSC Research Trainee Awarded Grant for Research

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation has awarded a $60,000 grant to Dr. Qiuhua Zhang, a postdoctoral research trainee in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Zhang’s research is focused on the optimization of superselective intraophthalmic artery chemotherapy, a technique designed to deliver high intraocular concentrations of chemotherapy to treat extensive disease, while minimizing system exposure. Although the technique is effective against retinoblastoma, it can pose adverse vision-threatening effects.

Zhang hopes to optimize the treatment so that one day it may be the standard treatment for retinoblastoma, replacing conventional chemotherapy.

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation is a nonprofit that provides funding for research, surgical treatment, and hospitalization for individuals who suffer from diseases or injury to the eyes.

– Aisling Maki

Bill and Karyn Frist End Marriage

Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and his wife of 31 years, Karyn, have divorced.

Family spokeswoman Beth Seigenthaler Courtney said in a statement that the Frists “ask for prayers, understanding and privacy at this time.”

Frist was a heart surgeon before entering politics in 1994, and his 12 years in the Senate were marked by a speedy rise but an uncertain tenure at the peak. He was widely expected to make a 2008 presidential bid, but cited his close ties with the unpopular George W. Bush administration.

– The Associated Press

Tennessee Agencies Promote Lifeline Awareness

The Tennessee Regulatory Authority and the Attorney General’s Consumer Advocate & Protection Division are promoting Lifeline awareness this week.

Lifeline is a federal program that provides discounted phone service to qualified low-income consumers. The program is intended to give low-income people the opportunities and security that come with having phone service. That includes being connected to family, being able to obtain and keep a job and being able to call 911 in case of an emergency.

Consumers are eligible for Lifeline if their income is at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty level. They also are eligible if they participate in Medicaid, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, public housing assistance or several other need-based programs.

– The Associated Press