From the Mighty 990 Broadcast Center, you're waking up in Starnes Country with Todd Starnes. And good morning, everybody. Welcome to Starnes Country. I'm Todd Starns. Hope you are having a great start to your day.
The sun is shining, and fake fall is coming to an end, ladies and gentlemen. Our chief meteorologist, Laura Hockaby, is standing by. It is going to be a warm one today. We understand temperatures heading back up to about 90 degrees. Get out of it.
It's not going to be brutal, but fall is on the way, so you'll be able to enjoy your pumpkin lattes without having to crank the air conditioner down to 55.
So, anyway, we'll get your full forecast coming up. Also, Commander Chuck is standing by in just a few moments with your morning commute. Wow, we have a lot going on today. Congressman David Kostoff is dropping by, had a chance to interview the Congressman, and everybody is weighing in on the National Guard and whether or not we should send in the National Guard to Memphis to deal with the crime. And the only reason.
Reason why is because they did that in Washington, and all you know what broke loose, ladies and gentlemen. People were just enraged. It's going to be a police state. Oh my gosh, people are going to be like pulled out of their. Their homes and their cars and thrown into the DC Gulag.
No, that only happens to the J6 people. I'm just telling you, people were really freaking out about that until. The National Guard actually showed up. And now Washington, D.C. is actually a livable community.
Even the mayor, Muriel Bowser, says, wow. President Trump really did a good thing here. And crime is down. People are able to get out and enjoy their city. They're able to take the kids to the parks without having to put on Kevlar.
They're able to go to the grocery store without getting carjacked. As a matter of fact, there have not been, let me say this: I believe the latest numbers I check, there have not been any murders in Washington since. The National Guard took to the streets. And I will tell you that I've been in D.C. a couple of times since the National Guard has been there, and it is not a police state.
You don't even feel like it's a police state. You know what you feel? You feel safe. You feel like, you know what, it's okay to go out and enjoy a walk down the sidewalk without somebody coming up behind you and hitting you upside the head with the baseball bat. And people are loving it there.
So now, other cities and the good people of Chicago's South Side, they're saying, could you please come, Mr. President, to Chicago? And we've got a lot of K-Wham listeners that are saying, you know what, we would love for the president to come to Memphis. And so Senator Marshall Blackburn. She's out there and Marshall Blackburn is among those leading the charge.
And she says, yeah, we do need National Guard troops here in the Mid South. We are still waiting to hear from oh, who is our other senator? We never hear from oh, Haggerty. We never hear from that guy anymore. Bill Haggerty is we haven't heard from him.
We don't know where he stands on it. But we're going to be checking in with our Congressman, David Kostoff, and he will tell us emphatically emphatically, whether or not the National Guard should come in.
So you're going to want to stick around for that in just a few moments. By the way, Senator Blackburn saying that she does support President Trump's effort to restore law and order And she put out a statement, and I believe this was unique to Fox 13.
So here's a statement that Marcia Blackburn sent over. Blue cities like Memphis need all the help they can get. to combat violent crime. She says, I'm grateful for President Trump's tremendous work. To hold leftist officials accountable for putting their own citizens at risk by pushing soft-on-crime agendas.
Blackbird goes on to say, I support the President's efforts to restore law and order in lawless cities across America, and I'll continue to work with the President, Attorney General, and Director Patel, that would be Cash Patel, to do whatever it takes to make cities like Memphis safe again. All right, well, there you go. And then they go on to say that the president told a local radio host, Black, Okay, it's me. You know what? We give Fox 13 credit.
Just give credit where credit is due, people. Jeez a loop.
So, anyway, good for you, Marshall Blackburn. And we'll be checking in with. Congressman Kustoff in just a few moments will also ask the Congressman. About the looming government shutdown, because these Yahoo's went on this extended vacation. They went on recess, and they still did not finish the business at hand.
So we'll get the lowdown on that as well. Oh, we've got to give a big shout out to the Collierville Police Department. Let me just say something. When you give your police department the resources they need to fight crime. then you're going to have a safe community and you're going to have a kickbutt police department.
This is one of the reasons why people in Germantown, and let me just say this as a Germantown resident, people in Germantown have to have their brake pads replaced on a pretty regular basis. And you know why? Because as soon as we hit that city limit, we have to slam on our brakes. And we do that. Because the Germantown P D will pull us over.
So all that to say, we have kickbot police departments that do their jobs when they are given the resources and when they are unleashed to do their job. And clearly, in Memphis, that is not the case. I'll get to that in just a minute. But I've got to give a big shout out here to the Collierville PD. They busted a national shoplifting ring.
This is. Tremendous. And the media, they missed the big story. The big story is the people behind the national Shoplifting ring are in fact illegals. No, they're not from Mexico.
They're not from even Guatemala. We understand the G is silent, by the way, for those south of the border nations. No, these folks are from Romania. two Romanian gals and they were busted in Cyrville. Turns out they had shoplifted more than thirty five hundred bucks worth of cosmetics.
I think it was from Coles. And they were wanted in Tennessee, North Carolina, Wisconsin, South Carolina, and Ohio.
So now they are in they there have been ice holds placed. They are in custody, and those gals will be getting what's coming for them, coming to them.
So good job, Collierville P D.
Well done, and congratulations. Oh, now let me get back to this. Let me get back to this PV story for just a moment from Memphis. We are hearing from our sources, and one of the great things about KWAM: we are pro-police all the way. All the way.
We are pro-police. And we get a lot of officers who drop us little nuggets every now and again. And it turns out a lot of people last night or yesterday were calling in and they're saying, What the heck is going on? Where were all the police during the 901 day?
Well, I'll tell you, as soon as the actual celebration ended, They sent all the cops home.
So there were only, according to our sources, about eight or possibly nine officers patrolling all of Beale Street and that area of downtown. Which is Insane. Just absolute insanity.
So now the mayor is coming out, and the mayor is speaking out about what all went down. And here is Mayor Paul Young. Thousands flooded Beale Street Monday to celebrate the city, for the most part vibes were good. At first. Everybody having fun?
No fine, no shoe. Minutes after that interview with one of the countless partygoers who didn't cause problems, there was fighting. Two teams started going at it in the middle of the crowd before the headlining act even took to the stage. Security police broke it up within seconds, but there was more to come. It was.
I mean, lawless. Like, it was, there were so many fights back and forth. The cops were just stretched so thin. Management at the King's Palace Cafe shared this surveillance footage from inside the restaurant. Around 9:30, a large group walked in and multiple fights broke out.
Seconds later, dozens were inside the restaurant fighting and standing on tables. Workers tried to get it under control, and the unruly mob broke the front door. They are just rushing in the door, and half of them are fighting, the other half is videoing. Corey Glennon's been managing restaurants and bars on Beale Street for nearly a decade, and she was caught in the middle of it all. For the first time in her career, she says she had to shut a bar down early.
She says security wasn't tight enough and shared multiple images of people walking around Beale Street holding full-size bottles of liquor that night. It was a free-for-all. Um With security not checking good enough at the door, it set us up for failure. Shortly after clearing out the bar, Glennon says she heard gunshots just up the street. Memphis police say a 17-year-old was shot three times and seriously injured.
No suspects have been arrested. Minutes after that shooting, our camera captured a man walking up a still-crowded Beale Street shooting off fireworks. The incident last night just reminds us that we still have work to do, but we are not deterred by any means. What does that mean? Of course, the mayor has completely handcuffed the Memphis Police Department.
He brought in a police chief, C.J. Davis, who's a very nice person. She and I judged a casserole competition at the state fair a couple of years ago. Very nice person. But is she qualified to actually lead the Memphis Police Department?
And the idea. That you're just going to send all the cops home after the rappers get off the stage at the 901 Day celebration, and you're just going to leave downtown unprotected? What is wrong with you, b just unbelievable? I feel so bad for all of the restaurant owners and the owners of the bars in downtown. Because clearly, City Hall, they just don't care.
They do not care. By the way, on that note, another big story coming out of downtown, Central Station Hotel, which, and if you haven't been to Central Station Hotel, It is really a beautiful, beautiful hotel. It has earned national accolades. And again, the Peabody is the Peabody. The Central Station Hotel really is just a beautifully remade and reconfigured concept.
Of course, that used to be the old train station.
Now, this beautiful hotel, it is our national accolades. And.
Now it's up for sale.
Now it is up for sale. And when you go and read the reviews, people love the hotel. They didn't like the crime. They didn't like the blight. They felt unsafe in that area of of what is that, the South Maine.
So there you go, that hotel now up for sale. I don't know. Maybe, just seems to me, maybe City Hall could have saved some money and they could have bought Central Station Hotel instead of the dilapidated hotel down across from the convention center, but that's just me. All that to say, pay attention, ladies and gentlemen. These are the canaries in the coal mine.
Things are bad and getting worse in the downtown area. And I know you've got a lot of people out there who say, oh, downtown is great. We're going to rebuild Mud Island. It's not happening. It is not happening under this administration.
So just a fair warning, and that is very disappointing news. Central Station Hotel now up for sale. All right, we have got to take a break, but when we, before we go, before we go, and coming up, we're going to be talking to David Kostoff. Before we go, we have a beautiful special gift for you. The makers of the businessman's Bible.
This is one of the most beautifully done Bibles. And within the Bible, there's a great study for people who might want to be in business or maybe you are in business. It is a wonderful, wonderful gift Bible. And this could be yours if you answer. If you answer this question.
this long time Memphis Department Store Shane Once hosted an incredible Christmastime experience. Can you name that experience? This One time, very famous. Memphis department store chain hosted a special Christmastime event. Can you name it?
Not only the event, but you have to name the department store as well. 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. Hang tight, everybody. Got to take a break.
Commander Chuck standing by with a look at your traffic. This is Starnes Country. All right, 71 degrees at White Station High School this morning. I was just glancing at Laura Huckabee's. I was just moving towards Friday.
What does Friday look like for Friday night football? By the way, Walker Boudry is going to be having the game here on the Mighty 990 Briarcrest Saints. We are your official home for the Briarcrest Saints. 98 degrees. 98 degrees, ladies and gentlemen.
I would encourage you to drop by K-Wam and pick up one of our K-Wam fans and bring it with you to the ball game. By the way, congratulations. To the Memphis area Chamber of Commerce. They have been named the 2025 Chamber of the Year. This is a national honor.
I know our good friend Senator Brent Taylor giving them a shout out on social media, reflecting the energy impact and bold momentum driving Memphis and Shelby County forward. That coming from Senator Taylor.
So congratulations to all the folks that are members of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce. And well done. That's you see, we like to share those kinds of stories. All right, let's go to the phones here. We have a trivia question.
Let's go to Germantown Stewart on the line. Hi, Stuart. How are you this morning? I'm doing well.
Well, how about yourself? Stewart, I'm doing good. We're going to try to win you a prize here. We were talking about a Memphis department store, famous Memphis department store, and they had an event during the holidays. First, can you tell us the name of the store?
Here. Oh, oh, Stuart, I am so sorry. That is not right. But, Stuart, you know how this goes. You're going to have a chance to play trivia sometime later this week, but thank you for calling in.
But that is not correct. Let's go to Wayne in East Memphis. All right, Wayne, I'm having concerns that we could be going back to where we had a sh we had a trivia question on the show, and we literally had twenty two people who did not get it correct. Wayne, I hope you're not going to be one of these guys. I hope not.
All right.
Well, Wayne, so it's a two-parter. First of all, we need to know the name of the famous Dan. Department store here in Memphis. Was it Goldsmith? All right, that's yep, yep, y yes, it was in fact Goldsmiths, so we're halfway there.
So, Wayne, what was the annual event at Christmastime? Was it the enchanted forest? Oh my word! Yes! Yes.
Hallelujah. Wayne, congratulations. Yes, it was the. Thank you. Wayne, do you remember as a kid, did your mom ever take you to the enchanted forest?
I remember going, I was maybe five years old. It was like, I mean, I know for our family, of course, we were we never went downtown. We always went to the Goldsmiths at Whitehaven. But I remember my grandmother and my mom would always get dressed up. I never could figure this out.
They would always get dressed up in like their Sunday best to go shopping at Goldsmiths.
Well, you're in good company because Elvis used to do his Christmas shopping at the Goldsmiths in Whitehaven. Is that right? Wayne, I have. You should interview Al Cannon. He was.
worked security there at Goldsmiths. And he g he has a story to tell you about um When Elvis went. Christmas shopping there. The employees would stay after Hours. Wayne, what a fascinating story.
All right, when we put you on hold, I want to make sure we get your contact information so we can get Al on the show. But, Wayne, you are the winner of this beautiful, beautiful edition of the Bible. It is a business Bible. And it has Bible studies that are included in the good book and principles for the laws of business that are actually codified in the Bible. You are in for a special treat here.
So, congratulations to you, Wayne. And we sure do appreciate you listening to K-Wham. I really appreciate it. The Bible addresses every experience. a person can encounter.
Yes, amen to amen to that, as my pastor at Germantown Baptist Church says. Wayne, we're going to put you on hold. Congratulations. Let's go to Whitehaven. Our good friend Melody is on the line.
Melody, were you ever a shopper at Goldsmiths?
So, yes, I was. Uh, actually my mother. You know when you go to the Cannon Falls, they had the candy shop.
So actually, she worked at the candy shop when she was a teenager. Is that right? So your mom used to work there. He worked this. He worked at the candy shop.
that would lead into the enchanted forest. I'm curious though, Melanie, did any of the candy ever I mean, you know, what are the benefits, I guess, you know, did they send you did they send her home with candy? Not really. I couldn't eat that much candy, but that's when they had like the fine chocolates and all of this stuff. It was just amazing.
The goldsmiths of downtown was amazing. You know, I suspect, Melanie, that a lot of our listeners have some great memories of Goldsmiths, and we may have to take some of those calls. Melanie, that music means they're going to cut us off, but it is great hearing from you, our great friend in Whitehaven, Melanie Mosley. 901-260-5926. Our number, that's 901-260-5926.
Got memories of Goldsmiths? Congressman David Kustoff and Lei Pessay coming up. All right, 71 degrees right now at Arlington High School. It's about 130, though, if you didn't do your homework last night.
So, anyway, great to have you with us, everybody. Hey, by the way, we have a massive event coming up, and we'll tell you more about this later in the week. The Germantown Festival is happening this coming weekend, and the Republican Party of Shelby County are throwing one heck of a shindig. And I can tell you that because we're going to be broadcasting live. That's right, John Covington behind the badge.
You're going to be able to meet all of your favorite law enforcement folk there at the Shelby County or the Republican Party booth. Also, I'll be doing a book signing.
So, if you didn't get a copy of Star Spangled Blessings, come on by Saturday, 1 to 3 o'clock. I'll be there. You'll be able to purchase a copy of the book, and I'll be happy to sign up for you. And then Sunday after church, so you don't have, I don't know what you guys do, but in Germantown, it's like church. All of us Baptists, we got to rush over to the Piccadilly to beat the Methodists because they always have shorter sermons.
And then after all of that at the Piccadilly, you got to go back to the back to the Germantown Festival because Senator Brent Taylor is going to be at the booth 2 to 4 o'clock.
So a lot happening there this coming weekend. And we are excited, excited to welcome two incredible friends, and not only that, neighbors. They're right next door to the broadcast bunker. Our friends at Les Passé, Barbara Havasta, who is the president, and Shelly Chang, the recording secretary. Ladies, good to have you with us today.
Good morning. Thank you for having me. You know, we were talking about Goldsmiths just a few moments ago, and we were chatting during the break here. Was that an experience for you ladies growing up here in the Mid-South? Goldsmiths with the little charge plate.
Had to have that Cole Smiths. The charge plate.
Now, every Gen Z or listening to us is like, no clue. Do you eat off of a charge plate? I moved from Texas and so when I heard about the Attena Forest That was a thing that we did with our kids. Total memories. Wonderful memory.
But I don't know what a charge plate is. We have to explain the charge plates. A charge plate was the predecessor forerunner to credit cards, and it was a little metal plate you carried with you. They put it in a machine and embossed it. I didn't realize that was a name.
It had a name. Yeah. It's pretty cool back in the day.
So, by the way, if you have a Goldsmith's memory, give us a call this morning: 901-260-5926. I miss, ladies, I don't know about you, but as far as a kid, we used to love it when our moms or grandmas would put us in the car, or we had a station wagon, and we'd go to like Southland because we would always hit the toy store. That was it. And then we would always go to like Woolworths or somewhere to get like a sandwich, a burger, and a milkshake. But that whole experience of dressing up and going out and just really having a leisurely day of shopping.
Right. It was just beautiful, funny. It was great experiences. All right.
Speaking of shopping, you guys are doing a huge event. This is really sort of an upscale consignment sale coming up, and you guys do this every year.
So tell us about this year's big event.
Okay. Les Passe is the women's oldest nonprofit volunteer organization in Memphis, and this year we are so excited to be celebrating 115 years. Wow, 115 years. We look good for 115 years. Y'all are looking really good.
And we our entire mission is to support children and their families in the Mid-South.
So we raise money that we give back into the community in the form of grants to like-minded nonprofits.
So we have a huge home decor consignment scale that's up in. There's no books or Clothing, think china, crystal, oriental rugs, dining room tables, kitchenware, and it's open to the public.
So, this is not Bill Clinton dropping off his underwear back in the day. No, so we do have furs. We do have furs, but we also have a dumpster out pack. That's great.
So this is called the Stock Exchange. And I know a lot of people, a lot of our listeners, are very familiar with this.
So where is this going to be, and when does it all kick off?
Okay, it kicks off tomorrow night with our preview party.
So people who like to come in early, shop, have first dibs before everybody else comes in, they can buy a ticket that's $30. If they buy it at the door, it's 35, but it sells out.
So if you want a ticket to the park, it's more than just shopping. It's an experience that everybody comes to every year. It's kind of like that old Goldsmith's experience.
So people can come and have a good time and party. And tell us, so people are coming in, they're shopping, they're buying all this high-end merch. Where do those proceeds go at that point? Erson, you asked me a question, where is it? It's 5258 Summer Avenue.
And that is in the perimeter mall, same areas at home and home and decor.
So easy to get to right off the interstate. We take these funds, and as we sell items that are consigned by people, 70% goes into back to the consigner, and we retain 30%. That helps to fund our grants. And the monies this past year went to Memphis Area Madonna Learning Center, probably familiar with them. Uh My Town Miracles.
Neighborhood Christian Centers Porter Leith. The Ronald McDonnell House and Southern Reigns. Wow.
So such great organizations, and I love this. And we're not talking about, and you know how when you go to like Goodwill or something, you know, there's just not much there. You guys are talking about thousands, I mean, really, tens of thousands of items here. That have, and again, these are all high-end items. We have over 15,000 items right now, and it changes every day.
So you want to come every day to shop because it changes consider. All the time. And we have about 450 shoppers per day. Is that right? Yes, big traffic.
So people, do they have to make an appointment? Can they just show up and go shopping? It's open to the public on Friday starting at 10 a.m. This is exciting. And then, so the shopping opens Friday, 10 a.m., and office or the shopping center is open, what, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 4.
Correct. And then Sunday. One to four, and you guys are closed on Monday. Yes, that's when we're resting. Resting.
Yeah. Come on. I mean, actually, that's when we have our meetings. Right. There's no resting and volunteer work.
Come on, Shelly. You do have to make an appointment if you want to bring in items to sell, though. That is one thing that we do have, and it's all on our website. You can sign up and do that there. All right.
And so let's give out the website address here. It's lpmemphus.org. Super simple, lpmemphus.org, and all the information is there. And this is one of those organizations that. You know, you need to support, but also, are people allowed to volunteer if somebody wants to join Les Passe?
We would love for them to reach out to me, reach out to Shelly, talk to anyone who is a member when they come and we're easy to spot where you're in a pink or black Les Passe t-shirt. Talk to us about what's involved, the volunteer hours, and what we do in the community. See if it's a good fit. One of the great things about Memphis, ladies, is when you talk about philanthropy, this is one of the most philanthropic cities in the nation. And that's, you know, again, I'm not surprised that y'all are doing what you're doing.
But what I love is you do it so well. And it really is an elegant shopping experience. And, ladies and gentlemen, you're going to love it when you go. And do you have to dress up? I mean, do you have to wear a coat and tie?
No, absolutely. Because you can be cash. Yes. Because it's going to be freaking 98 degrees off right now. And you want to be able to get around everything because we've got so many items there.
You want to be able to reach in and get what you need and beat somebody else to it. I love that. But there's no fighting at Les Passé. No, we do not allow that. No, it's an organization run by ladies.
And we do have security. Lots of security inside and out. I love it. And that's a big thing, especially in Memphis, unfortunately. But again, it sounds like you guys have pretty much thought of everything.
We try. Because you're ladies. I mean, we're women. What do you expect? It's true.
That's the fun of it. We'd love for you to come. Come tomorrow night. No, well, thank you for the invitation. And I was going to tell some of our staff here as well.
And I know they're going to be all over that, especially the furs.
So the ladies. And we have jewelry. I'm so disappointed that Ben Dieter is in D.C. I know. We should have dragged him down.
Great guy. We should have dragged him down. Yes. He'd look good in fur. Oh, my goodness.
All right.
Well, again, folks, this is so exciting. The Stock Exchange. And how long I mean, how long is the store open? We run through the end of October, so it's a concentrated time period, then we close for a couple of days. And anything our consignors don't take back, we mark down the first part of November 50%, the second day 75%, and then we close.
Well, folks, so you've got to get, and the recommendation here is get there early.
So go ahead and get out there. It all kicks off Friday for the general public. And of course, the big preview party is on September 4th.
So it's going to be a lot of fun and a lot of hard work went into making this really an elegant, wonderful thing. And the best part of all is that we're supporting some really, really worthwhile organizations. Yes, and we do all of this with just two paid employees. Is that right? Yeah, everybody's a volunteer.
Can I just say, though? I don't, and we're getting slightly off topic. Whoever does the lawn care, we're next door neighbors. She is awesome. She's a member.
She's just this sweet, kind little lady. And the next thing I know is she's physically pulling trees out of the ground by the roots. I'm like, hold on. Calling bags, not dragging bags. That's Deborah Matthews.
She's a volunteer in charge of the grounds. She does a great job. And you can clearly tell where our property line is. We'll ask her to encroach, work on this side a little bit. Oh, my goodness.
Well, Barbara, Shelly, thank you all so much for dropping by this morning. And I know that our K-WAM listeners are going to be coming out in droves, and we just sure do appreciate the great work y'all do. Thank you. Thank you for having us. All right.
The great ladies at Les Passé, everybody. And you're going to want to head on out there Friday. Again, that's at Perimeter Center near at home and floor decor.
So you're going to want to get over there. Again, the hours 10 to 4 Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 4 on Sunday, and they're closed Monday to take a nap.
So there you go. All right, we've got to take a break. Congressman David Kostoff coming up next. This is Stern's Country. All right.
Uncle Don from over in West Memphis, who is literally my Uncle Don, says Goldsmiths, the South's finest store. That's what the slogan was. Also, Michael writing in on our Facebook Live, Todd, my wife can still tell you her Goldsmiths card number.
So that was, yeah, that was, I haven't heard the charge card, the charge plate in a long, long time. All right, as promised, here is, we had Congressman David Kustoff joining me last night on my Newsmax TV show, and I pressed him on the issue of the National Guard. And here's that conversation. Congressman, good to have you with us today. The citizens there in Memphis feel like they've been deserted.
They want Governor Lee to send in the National Guard. Instead, he sends our troops to Washington. What do you tell the good people there in Memphis?
Well, first of all, thank you for having me on today, Todd. I would look at Washington, D.C., where I am today. I flew into Washington, D.C. It's a much different and safer city than it was just. A few weeks ago before President Trump Sent in the National Guard to clean things up.
This has become a very violent city in Washington, D.C. You cited Memphis, where we live, and Chicago, where the President apparently will be sending in National Guard. I think people in these violent cities want help uh whether It's National Guard, whether it's FBI agents or other federal resources, and I know that. Recently, you raised that issue with President Trump on on your show. It seemed to me that may have been first impression.
When you raised the issue to President Trump about about Memphis and it's something that it appears that he's considering doing. Yesterday, Labor Day for the country in Memphis, it was what they called 901 Day, September 1st, also 901, the area code here. And Mayor Young, Paul Young, a Democrat, said spirits were high. This is his quote, disregarding all the negativity you hear about Memphis. It seems real safe.
Everybody seems like they're having a good time. It's children out here. It's a bunch of families. It's a vibe. But in reality, there were street fights, gunfire, blood on the sidewalks, businesses vandalized.
Where is the disconnect here with the leadership of Memphis and reality boots on the ground?
Well, you know, they say in Memphis that crime is coming down, that the crime stats are coming down, the crime... is still way too high. Do you believe that? Do you believe that? Well, I think it's, you know, people, it's also what people perceive, Todd, and a lot of people in Memphis.
do not perceive that crime is any better than it was. two or three years ago.
So uh I mean I Look, I'm a former United States attorney. I'm a was a presidential nominee. I think we've got good local and state. And federal law enforcement in Memphis, but we need more. We need more police officers, we need more sheriff's deputies, we need more federal agents, and if the president decides.
That he will send in the National Guard, then we're all going to. supportive. Again, I'm not sure he realized the the Memphis issue until you raised it. with him a a week or so ago.
So We'll have to see what he what he wants to do. It looks like to me that Chicago is first and foremost on his mind, but Uh We know where Memphis ranks on the crime list. I will say that Nashville also ranks pretty high on these national crime lists, and maybe you ought to look at. Send me the National Guard to Nashville. He also sends it to Memphis as well.
Congressman, you guys are back up in D.C.
now. What is going to be the most pressing issue for you guys as we move towards this, again, possible government shutdown looming?
Well, I think you hit the nail on the head, Todd. I mean, we worked so hard these first six and seven months of the year. On the one big beautiful bill, that President Trump's main and top priority. We got that done on July 3rd, and I was honored. to be at the signing ceremony at the White House.
on July the 4th. But now it's spending. We've got to rein in spending. We need to make sure that. That we keep the government functioning, but at the same time, we've got to rein in this massive.
federal spending. There's a plan to do that. We're going to work hand in hand. with the White House, but we also know that we're on the clock And we're cognizant of that as well. And of course, codifying a lot of these presidential executive orders that will go away once President Trump leaves office.
Is that going to be a big issue for you guys as well? You know, it is a big issue. The President has issued a number of executive orders. We have, in fact, codified. A number of those.
I will say it's easier for him to sign. That executive order that it is to get 218 of my colleagues on the same page on any. And I'll note that we've got a A slim majority, even slimmer, with the resignation of one of our own from Tennessee. just a few weeks ago but We understand the mandate that the people gave us in November. They started at the top with Donald Trump, and I'm absolutely convinced, Todd.
that had President Trump not been on the ballot we probably would not have flipped the Senate. We might have not kept the house. We're looking to the President for direction. We're going to follow his lead. And I'm proud to serve under President Trump here in the United States House of Representatives.
All right, there you go.
So we. We gave the congressman multiple opportunities to weigh in on whether or not he believed the National Guard. Should be dispatched, should be deployed to Memphis, and you heard the congressman's comments there. You know what I mean? You know, I think, I think, I've been thinking long and hard about this.
And, you know, we get a lot of blowback from government leaders and also the business community. And the business community, they're sort of in bed with City Hall. That's the way these things kind of work. And their argument is that before K-WAM showed up on this scene, basically nobody was talking about crime. I find that hard to believe.
I just believe that K-WAM sort of gave people a platform where we could congregate to talk together about the issue. And the reality is that An overwhelming number of people here in the mid-south. And we have thousands and thousands and thousands of people that listen to KWAM, whether it's uh on terrestrial radio, AM 990, 1079FM, or on our stream. We have almost uh a quarter million people a month listening to us on the stream alone. And those people are saying, we've got a problem here.
Now look. The City Hall will say, Well, those people really don't They're really not Memphis. They they don't believe in Memphis. And I would say that's not true. I think the reason why people are talking about crime and why they want our elected leaders to do something about it is because we do love our city.
We do love that rich legacy and heritage. And the reality is when a hotel moves away, or a restaurant shuts down, or a department store closes. That is that's just a piece of us that that goes away. And people are tired of it here. There's no reason why we can't be the crown jewel of the South.
There's no reason for that. You know, Memphis has this rich history, this beautiful legacy. And that's what we're fighting for. And that's why people care about this, and they're passionate about it. And when they see people like Mayor Young dismissing what happened over 901 day, I mean, and let's get real.
Was that really reflective that entire 901 day experience? Was that reflective? Really reflective of who Memphis truly is? I don't think so. I don't think so.
So, anyway, a lot to talk about, and we're going to keep doing it here on the Mighty 990. We talk about everything here, we talk about the good and the bad, and everything in between as well. All right, coming up, we have the Todd Stern Show 11 o'clock Central Time right here on the Mighty 990. We're now broadcasting on 169 radio stations right here from Memphis, and we're adding Dallas, Texas, Portland, Oregon, Riverside, California. We'll be adding some nice big stations in the next week or so, and we'll be telling you more about that at the 11 o'clock hour.
It's been a lot of fun, everybody. Always enjoy starting the day with you right here in Sterns Country. Jim Miller standing by in the Mighty 990 newsroom with your headlines, Laura Huckabee with your forecast, and Commander Chuck with your traffic report. Get out there, be safe. Have a great day, everybody.
