Kroger addresses concerns about rodents in Midtown store
This comes two weeks after someone posted a video of a bread bag with holes in it, claiming the Midtown store was infested with mice and rats. Another person also posted a video of a mouse running across what looked like a store aisle.
'The video that you had from yesterday was taken to the pest control company, and the goal is to find out how that mouse got into the building and make sure it doesn't happen again,' said Associate Communications and Engagement Manager George Brown.
Brown said as soon as Kroger saw the social media posts, they contacted a pest control company to investigate, and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture did not find any signs of rodents in the building.
'We really want to thank the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, which came out right away. They didn't find any rodent activity in any of the food areas, which was great because we could confidently serve our customers,' said Brown.
The TDA told WREG its Food Safety office has not received any consumer complaints, but decided to inspect the store after also noticing the social media posts.
During a May 14 visit, the TDA reported that no rodent activity was observed, but acknowledged that a store manager had previously reported seeing signs of rodent activity.
Kroger said it has taken steps to protect the property from rats spotted outside near a former fast-food restaurant next door.
The business has been closed for years, and it appears that homeless individuals have been staying there, leaving behind food and trash.
Several rats were spotted in the shrubs surrounding the vacant property on Thursday.
'As you saw, that abandoned property is attracting rodents and other issues. We contacted the health department and reported that we want to protect our business, and we also want to protect the neighborhood, because if that building stays that way, the problem could get worse,' Brown said.
Several rat traps have been placed around the former restaurant. Kroger has also placed traps around the back of its store.
A spokesperson for the city stated that another company has purchased the restaurant property, but code enforcement is referring the matter to environmental court through the Neighborhood Preservation Act.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture said it will conduct a follow-up visit to the Kroger store within the next 30 days.
Kroger said they always want customers to feel safe in their stores and know that the food they are getting is safe.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
9 hours ago
- The Hill
Sherrod Brown raises $3.6M in 24 hours since launching Senate bid
Former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) raised more than $3.6 million in the first 24 hours after he launched his comeback campaign for Senate Monday. Brown's campaign said in a release on Tuesday that the donations came from all 88 of Ohio's counties and 95 percent of them were less than $100, averaging $53 per donation. The release states that $3 million went to Brown's campaign itself, while the other $600,000 went to affiliated joint fundraising committees that can support his campaign. 'Ohioans are fired up to send Sherrod Brown to fight for them in the Senate,' said Brown campaign manager Patrick Eisenhauer in a statement. 'Sherrod has lived his life by three principles: standing up for workers, treating everyone with dignity and respect, and working as hard as possible for the people of Ohio. He's running to be a voice for Ohioans and fight back against politicians doing the bidding of corporations and billionaires.' Brown's entrance into the Senate race against Sen. Jon Husted (R) is a win for Democrats who are hoping to make the contest competitive as they face a tough map toward trying to win back control of the Senate next year. Ohio has increasingly voted for President Trump through each of his three presidential campaigns, but Brown was the last Democrat elected statewide and has consistently outperformed the top of the ticket. He only lost reelection last year by about 3.5 points to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). Husted was appointed to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President Vance and is running in a special election to serve the remainder of the term. Whoever wins the election would have to run again in 2028 if they wish to serve a full term. Brown has sought to develop a reputation for himself as a champion of the working class and Ohioans. Still, he will face an uphill battle in a state that has increasingly elected Republicans statewide in recent years.
Boston Globe
10 hours ago
- Boston Globe
R.I. prosecutor told police to turn off a body-worn camera during her arrest. Do officers have to comply?
'I want you to turn your body cam off,' Devon Flanagan tells an officer during the Aug. 14 confrontation, Content Warning: Profanity. Body camera footage shows R.I. Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan and Veronica Hannan being arrested in Newport. 'Protocol is that you turn it off if a citizen requests to turn it off,' Flanagan said. Is that true? Not really, experts say. 'The state's body-worn camera policy is very clear that the request to turn off the cameras is something that an officer should consider, if asked by a victim or a witness to a crime – not to somebody who was suspected of the crime,' said Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'And it remains within the discretion of the police officer in any event,' Brown added. 'It's not an obligation.' Advertisement Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association President Thomas Oates III said officers in the Newport incident were 'well within policy.' 'I don't know that young lady, what knowledge she has of body-worn camera policy or what she thought it was, but whatever she was saying, she was inaccurate,' said Oates, who is also the chief of police in Woonsocket. Under the Advertisement Police could also decide to deactivate a camera in 'areas where there may be a reasonable expectation of privacy and [in] other sensitive locations,' the policy states. Those areas could include private residences, locker rooms, law offices, schools, daycare facilities, certain places in hospitals or clinics, and where 'First Amendment rights are being exercised,' including places of worship, newsrooms, and where peaceful protests are taking place, the policy states. Officers recording in those areas 'shall be mindful not to record beyond what is necessary to capture contact with members of the public, effect an arrest, or search for an individual,' according to the policy. Whether police mute or stop the recording, or only record audio in those areas should based on whether an officer 'observes activities or circumstances of a sensitive or private nature,' or if there are people present who are not involved with the police matter; who are minors; and who are witnesses and want anonymity, the policy states. Brown noted the alleged incident in Newport 'was out in public.' 'These are precisely the circumstances where the body cameras should be activated,' he said. Officers 'acted appropriately in not turning the camera off,' Brown said. Timothy Rondeau, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, said on Monday that Flanagan's request is not part of the statewide body-worn camera policy, and confirmed the policy applies only to victims and witnesses of crimes. According to Oates, departments adopted provisions of the statewide policy to receive funding when Advertisement The Newport police Lieutenant Robert Salter, a department spokesperson, wrote in an email the department would not comment further on Tuesday regarding last week's incident. According to Oates, the decision for police to record depends on the circumstances. 'Obviously a case where there's an alleged disturbance involved, or someone potentially acting in a disorderly manner and is argumentative and doesn't want to comply with the commands of the police officers to clear them from an area, we're never going to turn the body camera off,' Oates said. Oates has not heard of many people requesting not to be recorded, he said. 'This is why it's important that body-worn cameras are existent,' Oates said. 'In a lot of cases, what it does is it causes people who are behaving badly to ... calm down and not behave badly when they know that they're being recorded and their actions are being documented.' It doesn't always work that way though, Oates said. Related : In Newport on Aug. 14, officers arrived around 9:51 p.m. at 24 Bannister's Wharf – the Clark Cooke House restaurant – after receiving a report of an intoxicated woman – later identified as Veronica Hannan – refusing to leave, police wrote in a report. During the encounter caught on video, Flanagan, who was with Hannan, repeatedly tells officers to turn off the camera. She also tells them several times, 'I'm an A.G.,' and as she is placed in a cruiser, she says, 'You're going to regret this.' Advertisement Police identified Flanagan as Devon Hogan, 34, of Warwick. The Attorney General's Office confirmed that Hogan and Flanagan are the same person. She was charged with willful trespass – a misdemeanor – and was given a summons to appear in court. Salter would not provide the court date on Tuesday. Flanagan has not returned requests for comment, and it was unclear on Tuesday whether she had obtained an attorney. Speaking on He said he gives police credit 'for treating her like everybody else,' and acknowledged Flanagan was incorrect about camera policy. 'She's embarrassed herself – humiliated herself – treated the Newport Police Department horribly,' Neronha said, adding that it was 'inexcusable behavior.' Still, it has been difficult to find and retain 'capable lawyers,' Neronha noted. If Flanagan keeps her job, she will not 'go on as if nothing happened,' Neronha said. 'There'll be a strong sanction here,' he said. Officers can also be seen on the video struggling to apprehend Hannan, 34, of Westport, Conn. She was arrested and charged with willful trespass, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest – all misdemeanors, police said. Court records show Hannan was arraigned on Friday in Newport County District Court, where a plea of not guilty was entered. She was released on $1,000 personal recognizance and a pre-trial conference is scheduled for Aug. 27. 'Veronica is obviously overwhelmed by this experience. It happened so quickly and with a lot of energy,' John R. Grasso, an attorney representing Hannan, wrote in an email requesting comment on Tuesday. 'Once we have the facts and she processes it, maybe we can speak more then.' Advertisement A now-removed LinkedIn profile listed Hannan as a senior manager for data and AI product management at PepsiCo. PepsiCo did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday. Asked about any concerns the ACLU has about government officials making comments to police such as those Flanagan allegedly made, Brown said officials can say 'whatever they want' during run-ins with the law. 'The question is how police officers react and whether they end up giving special treatment to somebody because they're a government official,' Brown said. 'In this case, they didn't.' Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Facing Trump tariffs, India's shrimp farmers consider switching to other businesses
By Rishika Sadam HYDERABAD, India/GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) -On India's southern coast, V. Srinivas thrived for two decades by farming shrimp, as the country became the top supplier of the delicacy to the United States. Now, Donald Trump's 50% tariff threat is forcing many to consider other ways of making money. Andhra Pradesh state sends the most shrimp from India to the U.S. and farmers there have spent millions of rupees (hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars) over the years to cultivate high-quality shrimp in saline ponds. Now they are being hit hard as Indian exporters have slashed rates they offer farmers by almost 20% after the tariff shock, wiping out most of their profits. "I am contemplating if I should do fish farming," said the 46-year-old from Veeravasaram village who has already mortgaged his family property and has $45,800 in outstanding loans. "These prices will not help me get any profits and I will not be able to pay off my loan." The United States is the biggest market for India's shrimp farmers and exporters, with clients including U.S. supermarket chains such as Walmart and Kroger. Last year, total seafood exports from India globally stood at $7.4 billion, with shrimp accounting for 40%. But the industry is now in troubled waters with President Trump's 25% tariff on imports from India already in place - the highest among major economies, and another 25% levy to kick in from August 27 to penalize New Delhi for buying Russian oil. By comparison, Ecuador, India's main rival for shrimp exports to the U.S., faces a much lower 15% tariff, heightening its competitive edge. In Andhra, there are around 300,000 farmers engaged in shrimp farming, selling products to dozens of exporters who ship to America. Pawan Kumar, head of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, said orders from U.S. clients have been paused in recent weeks as buyers aren't willing to absorb the tariff, and neither can exporters, forcing the latter to cut prices they pay to farmers. Although India also sells shrimp to other countries such as China, Japan and the UK, and likely will look to expand sales there and diversify into new markets, "that's not going to happen overnight," Kumar said. The impact is yet another example of how Trump's tariff threats are causing business disruptions across the world, especially in India, given it faces one of the steepest levies that have soured its relations with Washington. In Andhra, six of 12 farmers Reuters interviewed said they were considering putting shrimp farming on hold and looking at fish farming, vegetable retailing or other local businesses to tide over the crisis. The other six are choosing to wait it out a bit. Each round of shrimp cultivation takes about 2 months or more. While prices being offered for their shrimp are being slashed, the farmers said they still face loan payments and high operating costs for electricity, raw material and feed, as well as high land rentals. "There's hardly a 20-25% profit for us on good days, and if that's getting eaten up, what else is left?," said Gopinath Duggineni, the chief of a local union in Ongole city, adding the farmers plan to seek financial support from the state government. Ecuador, meanwhile, is closely tracking tariffs on India to seize on business opportunities, but producers there will go slow on new investments amid uncertainty over whether India and the Trump administration could strike a tariff deal, said Jose Antonio Camposano, president of National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador. "India's exports are highly concentrated in the United States ... just as China is for us. So that is where we could gain ground if India withdraws," he said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
