They added Benton County MS to the Memphis metro. That decision belongs in the deluge. It's an hour outside of town and at least a half hour beyond any signs of civilization. We're not Atlanta. People don't commute across three counties here.
The lede story in the Memphis paper today is about Benton County and its inclusion in the metro area. I would provide a link, but it is behind a strict paywall. Amongst the highlights of Benton County pointed out:
No Wal-Mart
No stoplight
No movie theater
No golf course
A population density of 21 people/sq mi, 1% of that in Memphis, and just 1/3 as in MS as a whole and barely higher than Idaho.
"So rustic and out of the way is Benton that when lawyer John Booth Farese asked a classroom of high school seniors a few years ago if they had ever eaten in a sit-down restaurant, only one of the 22 students responded in the affirmative."
Gotta love that dude is named after Lincoln's assasin.
About 800 people there work in Shelby County. Much higher than I would have thought.
