Tag: Rising Rock Media

Animals, Aquarium, Chattanooga, community, Environment, outdoors, Philanthropy, Sustainability

Saving the Laurel Dace

Written by Addison Middleton

Dr. Bernie Kuhajda, an Aquatic Conservation Biologist at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI), speaks about the critically endangered Laurel Dace. The small minnow is only found in three streams along Walden Ridge. TNACI rescued the last remaining population during a historical drought in the summer of 2024.

50 miles North of Chattanooga, a thumb-sized anomaly swims between the rocks and moss of the small streams on Walden Ridge. To the unknown eye, these fish, known as the Laurel Dace, could easily be overlooked or mistaken for any other small freshwater fish that is found in East Tennessee. The rarity of the fish doesn’t come only from their size and characteristics, but the extremely specific area they are found. Since their discovery in the 1950s, the Laurel Dace have only been found in one location in the world, Walden Ridge. 

The limited environment the Laurel Dace inhabit causes an extremely small population to begin with. In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially listed the Laurel Dace as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). From first discovery, this species was found in only nine streams at Walden Ridge, but over the past 25 years, that number has shrunk drastically.  Over several decades, because of continued agriculture, dry seasons, and increased sedimentation, the Laurel Dace are now only seen having a healthy population in Bumbee Creek on Walden Ridge.

Once the fish were recognized as critically endangered, the Tennessee Aquarium and the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI) stepped in and began their preservation efforts. Over time, the TNACI continued to keep a close eye on the Laurel Dace by studying their environments and behaviors. Several rescues have been conducted where teams would go to Bumbee Creek and take several fish into their care for further monitoring and research. Through their ongoing observations in the wild, the TNACI was also able to take fast action to save the Laurel Dace when circumstances became drastic.

Continue reading “Saving the Laurel Dace” →
Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, donate, Environment, Family, Food, Food Banks, Healing, Health, outdoors, Philanthropy, Sustainability

Table for All

Written by Alexis Carpenter

Katy Neusner steps in to help pack Sack Packs for children who may not have food at home to help sustain them through the weekend. Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Photo by Alexis Carpenter.

The warehouse lights flicker on as volunteers walk through the door and make their way to rows of stacked pallets and assembly lines. The scent of produce and cardboard boxes mingle in the humid atmosphere, and the sound of pop music fills the large warehouse. Volunteers begin to sort canned goods, bag fresh vegetables, and prepare boxes for distribution.

Yet, beneath this effort lies a growing crisis. The Chattanooga Area Food Bank, a lifeline for residents across 20 counties in Tennessee and Georgia, is dealing with significant funding cuts. A nationwide halt of $500 million in federal food aid, including the suspension of USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation funding, has resulted in the cancellation of multiple truckloads of food. These shipments are now absent from the food bank’s inventory, leaving bare shelves within the warehouse.

In the midst of the working warehouse is Katy Neusner, the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. As the organization works to bridge the gap left by the funding cuts, Neusner and her colleagues face a task of sustaining their mission amid dwindling resources.​

Continue reading “Table for All” →
Animals, art, Chattanooga, Chattanooga Audubon Society, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Dance, donate, Entertainment, Environment, Healing, Health, History, Immigration, K-Pop, Love, Music, outdoors, Philanthropy, Safety, Spelunking, Sports, Sustainability, teachers, UTC, women

Rising Rock Radio Showcase
Graphic by Kylee Boone

Rising Rock is excited to showcase some of our best audio stories from this past semester in a continued partnership with Scenic Roots.

Continue reading “Rising Rock Radio Showcase” →
Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Environment, outdoors, Safety, Spelunking, Sports, Sustainability, teachers, UTC, women

Spelunking Shenanigans

Written by Emily Petitt Dwyer

Rachel Sakar talks about her experience in caving and how she is involved in the caving community as a mentor and a teacher.

Beneath the rugged mountains of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, a region known as TAG, is a network that is somewhat unknown to most, boasting intricate passages, waterfalls, and hidden chambers that Blake Webber has devoted himself to exploring and preserving.

Webber, a civil engineering major at UTC and active member of the UTC Wind Ensemble and Men’s Ultimate Frisbee, first discovered caving in 2021 at a local festival.

“I was thrown off the deep end, completing a relatively challenging vertical trip my first time in a ‘real’ cave,” Webber said. “I was immersed in the challenge and felt like I had stepped into another world.”

Continue reading “Spelunking Shenanigans” →
art, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Dance, Entertainment, Fashion, Health, K-Pop, Music, Sports

K-Nooga

Written by Drew White

Sarah Thomas is the Co-Founder of 42E3, a K-pop dance cover group dedicated to bringing K-pop choreography’s energy, precision, and artistry to life in Chattanooga.

K-pop has been a growing global phenomenon in the past ten years; even in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 42E3 is a K-pop dance cover group that semi-frequently releases dance covers on their YouTube and Instagram pages.  

Many of these dancers have experienced the rise of K-pop firsthand, having been fans themselves for over ten years. They have watched the landscape of fan interactions and song promotions shift over the years due to the rise of social media and COVID-19. 

“I became a fan of K-pop in 2013, but I didn’t start dancing to K-pop until 2015, because I was kind of embarrassed to be a K-pop fan at first.” said Sarah Thomas, one of the founders of 42E3.

Continue reading “K-Nooga” →
art, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Family, Healing, Love, Music, women

A Window to the Soul

Video by Clara Paulson

Marcy Paulson, a Chattanooga-based musician, was born with Leber congenital amaurosis, a degenerative eye disorder. As a child, Marcy often encountered pity from peers and strangers; one friend even expressed her concerns that Marcy would never be able to fall in love. But Marcy proved she could hear the world more vividly than most could see it. Through music, she found true joy, her husband, and a lifelong passion.

Meet the Storyteller

Clara Paulson is a Junior Communication major attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with minors in Brock Scholars and Creative Writing. Clara has experience writing stories and working as an assistant Photo editor for the Echo, co-hosting a podcast on the Perch, and writing poems for the Sequoya Review. After graduation, her goal is to continue storytelling. She hopes to write—whether it’s with ink or light—the unheard stories of Chattanooga and beyond. If you want her to write your story, you can reach out to her at tnq894@mocs.utc.edu.

Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, Healing, History, Immigration, Love, Philanthropy, Safety, UTC

Still Here

Written by Connor Spelta

Olympia Garcia Lopez talks about her experience as a Guatemalan immigrant in Chattanooga and how she came to find La Paz.

For those building new lives in Chattanooga, the journey often begins with an organization like La Paz. Even at a time of rapidly shifting policy and funding changes, this organization isn’t going anywhere, and remains firmly committed to the people they serve.

La Paz is a Latino services non-profit organization with a stated goal of “empowering and engaging Chattanooga’s Latino population through advocacy, education, and inclusion.”

“From the very beginning we’ve encountered many Hispanic men coming to Chattanooga for work opportunities, and they started coming in with their families. The needs start changing from job opportunities or like documentation to other processes, more programs, more resources that they need for the whole family instead of just an individual” said Daniela Durán, the communication coordinator for La Paz.

Continue reading “Still Here” →
Animals, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, donate, Family, Healing, Health, Hugs, Nurses, Safety

Medical Tails

Written by Addison Middleton

Elizabeth Olley, a VSCG Practice Manager, and Becky Howell, a VSCG Senior Nurse and Trainer, speak about their experience working for the Veterinary Care and Specialty Group in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

As a worried owner walks through the doors holding her trembling and sick dog, the receptionist is already calling the emergency team. ICU veterinarians begin their specialized care, blood work is rushed to the lab, and a surgeon is looking at scans planning the next steps for the pet; all services being done under the same roof in seamless coordination. 

This process is something very familiar to the Veterinary Care and Specialty Group (VCSG) in Chattanooga. With services such as emergency care, internal medicine, radiation oncology, surgery, rehabilitation and more, the mission of VCSG is to be a one stop shop for all pet needs no matter the time or lengths required. The treatments and equipment VCSG offer have allowed it to become one of the most advanced offices in America and a leading hub in the South Eastern area seeing around 10,000 – 12,000 pets every year, almost double compared to other vet offices. 

“What we’ve always tried to do with VCSG is give the convenience to owners so that people don’t have to take all that time off of work or so owners aren’t making thousands of appointments at 10 different hospitals trying to get the best care for their patient,” Liz Olley says. 

Continue reading “Medical Tails” →
Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Entertainment, Family, Health, Safety, Sports, UTC

Golden Age, Golden Hoops

Written by Guy DeWeese

76-year-old Ernest Harris speaks about playing pick-up basketball at his local YMCA and what being active and on his feet with friends means to him.

Elbow pads are strapped on, knee pads are adjusted and you can hear neck braces being velcroed. This is just a typical day at the Hamilton Family YMCA basketball court. Most young hoopers don’t even bother playing against the seasoned vets.. For these senior hoopers, this is their lifestyle. 

John Hendrickson recently moved to Chattanooga from Illinois and the 78-year-old man is one of the many seniors actively playing basketball every Monday at the YMCA. 

“Many of us have a good background in basketball, just a group of guys wanting to do something together,” Hendrickson said.

Continue reading “Golden Age, Golden Hoops” →
art, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Entertainment, Environment, Family, Food, History, Hugs, Music, outdoors, Philanthropy, Sustainability, Trains, UTC, women

Rising Rock Media Podcast

By Megan Cooper

Megan Cooper hosts an episode of Rising Rock Media Podcast where listeners can get a glance at life in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She speaks with several very different people from interviews she hosted throughout the semester.

Meet The Storyteller

Megan Cooper is a senior communication student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, UTC, focusing on being an audio technician and editor. Megan has experience using Adobe programs to create audio content for broadcasting. Megan is a show host, promotions director, and station manager at UTC’s student-run radio station, the Perch. She is also currently working as a promotions tech at Summit Media Group in Knoxville, TN. This is Megan’s second semester in Rising Rock as an audio technician where she uses nothing but tone of voice to share people’s stories, and she built the Rising Rock radio showcase for 88.1 WUTC. When she isn’t working she is reading fantasy books and hunting down the next CD on her list. Cooper’s passion lies in music, books, radio, and using stories to bring people together. If you have a story you want to tell or want to contact Megan you can reach her at megancooper820@gmail.com.