Kristi L. Nelson, former health reporter

03/23/2020

If you wouldn’t feel comfortable spreading a crazy rumor in person, definitely don’t promote it online.

03/13/2020

Poll: Do you have enough sick time to ride this out? (link below)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends two weeks off to prevent spread of coronavirus. We're asking readers if they can afford to.

01/25/2020

Important reporting from

The details about how drug distributors flooded Tennessee with opioids were revealed after Knox News won a court order to make the records public.

01/08/2020

This is the last story I wrote for the News Sentinel. It was important to me to get to it before I left.

Amber Satterfield's 9-year-old son never said he wanted to die by su***de. Now she wants other parents to be aware su***de happens even with young children.

12/24/2019

The faith-based hospital system has erased millions in debts after an investigation by MLK50 and ProPublica into its aggressive debt collection practices.

12/17/2019

The community was divided on Emerald Youth's decision to open the complex. Now, the ministry will find out whether it can overcome those concerns.

Last week, Emerald Youth Foundation opened a 30,000-square-foot, $8 million sports and ministry facility in Lonsdale. Its mission is to save souls and prompt healing in the historic community.

12/12/2019

No countywide policy for Knox.

Knox County Board of Education votes no on countywide Released Time Religious Instruction policy Wednesday night.

12/05/2019

Members of the public were as divided as the Board of Education seems to be on whether to approve a policy to allow an optional Bible Release Time program during the school day.

Next week, the Knox County Board of Education is set to vote on whether to allow churches to legally pull children, with parents' permission, from class for religious instruction.

12/03/2019

Tennessee is among the seventh-lowest in terms of funding for instruction in the nation, according to nonpartisan Rural School and Community Trust.

11/08/2019

A day-care worker may have given a toddler her v**e pen to suck on.

Tennessee departments of human services and children's services are investigating whether a Roane County day-care worker gave a toddler her Juul.

11/05/2019

The block grant proposal would transform Tennessee's Medicaid program and impact health insurance for about 1.4 million Tennesseans.

11/02/2019

State law, local school board policy and a nonprofit foundation all play parts in whether kids can keep missing class time to get Bible instruction.

The Knox County Schools board could soon decide whether others schools would allow churches to instruct children during the school day.

11/01/2019

A reminder from my previous beat: Affordable Care Act open enrollment begins today and ends Dec. 15. This story has a list of places you can go to get help choosing the best plan for you.

Open enrollment for insurance plans on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace starts Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15.

10/28/2019

Knox County Schools' transfer window is open. Here's what you need to know about applying.

About 15% of Knox County students attend a school other than the one for which they're zoned — for a variety of reasons.

10/23/2019

So it continues.
Here's Brett Kelman's story detailing how overdose deaths statewide keep increasing even as the number of opioid prescriptions fall.

Tennessee suffered its deadliest year ever for opioid overdoses in 2018, despite continued gains on reducing opioid prescriptions.

10/08/2019

What’s your favorite book to read aloud? My daddy read us Jack Tales. I read my kids “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Never Tease a Weasel,” “Hiawatha’s Childhood” and numerous Poe poems, to name a few. Research shows that, besides being fun, it puts them ahead.

Mountains of research shows the impact of reading on even little babies' brains. Here's what you should do.

09/25/2019

The educational system is backtracking on the thought that getting a four-year college degree is the only way to earn a decent living.

Educators are coming to realize a four-year college degree isn't the only path to prosperity. Now they're offering more career prep choices in public high schools.

09/19/2019

It’s long been a goal to have one in Knoxville.

Once donors are screened, they can drop off milk at the West Knoxville depot on certain days.