Mike Osborne

DENVER (AP) — The first of three presidential debates takes place tonight in Denver.

The televised face-off between President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney is a chance for voters to size up two fierce competitors, just five weeks before Election Day.

WMOT News is asking Tennesseans what one question they would ask the candidates if given the chance. Today, a question from Gera Summerford, president of Tennessee’s largest Teacher’s Union,.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  Enrollment at most of Tennessee’s public colleges and universities is down significantly this fall.

The Tennessee Board of Regents system is reporting a decline in full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment of 4.4 percent from fall 2011. TBR’s six universities and 13 colleges are all showing flat or falling enrollment.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  -- Middle Tennessee farmers aren't the only ones feeling the impact of this summer's heat and drought.

The Tennessee Environmental Council says that about 80 percent of the tree seedlings it planted last year along the Murfreesboro creek that runs parallel to North Rutherford Blvd. have since died.

Dozens of local residents, including a large contingent of students from Middle Tennessee State University, helped the environmental group plant the trees.

Council Director John McFadden says it's important to get the the seedlings replanted.

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  Tennesseans have one week to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election. Registration closes on Monday, Oct. 8.

Voters should keep in mind that Monday is Columbus Day, a national holiday, so post offices will not be open that day. Anyone planning to mail in a registration will need to have it postmarked by no later than Saturday, October 6.

Voters also need to remember that Tennessee has a new voter photo ID requirement.  Bedford County Election’s Coordinator Summer Leverette explains.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  Investigators with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office believe they’ve captured the thief responsible for as many as 30 home burglaries in Rutherford and Wilson counties.

Murfreesboro resident Keith Churchill, 31, was arrested in the case last Friday. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —Gov. Bill Haslam has declared this Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition Week in Tennessee.

The governor notes that more than 200 Tennesseans are still missing in action since World War II. No one is sure just how many Tennesseans are former Prisoners of War.

The U.S. Veteran's Administration says that World War II era vets are now dying at the rate of more than 700 a day. To ensure that their stories are preserved, researchers at Middle Tennessee State University have been conducting oral history interviews with vets for several years.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  Teens from across Middle Tennessee gathered in Rutherford County this weekend for a unique opportunity.

Eighteen young people converged on a youth camp in LaVergne for a grief counseling session sponsored by Alive Hospice.

The organization provides palliative care for Tennesseans facing their last days, and also provides counseling to those left behind.  Alive used a rock climbing wall to challenge the teens, all of whom have recently suffered the loss of a loved one.

Pam Quaintance is one of Alive’s grief counselors.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  Business and finance executives from across Middle Tennessee will converge on Murfreesboro Friday for the annual Middle Tennessee State University Economic Outlook Conference.

Dr. Jim Burton, Dean of the MTSU College of Business, says he’s expecting well over 100 executives and a few students to attend. This year’s special emphasis will be on the banking sector and Tennessee Banking Commissioner Greg Gonzalez will be the featured speaker.

Burton says the conference is underwritten through a fund created by the late Jennings A. Jones.

MUFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  A new documentary about the origins of Alcoholics Anonymous will make its Middle Tennessee debut in Smyrna Friday.

The film “Bill W” recounts the life and mission of Bill Wilson, one of AA’s co-founders.

AA calls itself as a fellowship of recovering alcoholics and is estimated to have more than 2 million members in the U.S.  The organization is reportedly active in more than 100 nations and is widely seen as the first of a many 12-step recovery programs serving a wide range of addictions.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  The work of three celebrated artists intersect in Nashville Thursday evening.

The Nashville Symphony will feature a work that combines the poetry of Maya Angelou, the music of composer Richard Danielpour and the voice of soprano Angela Brown.

Brown and Danielpour have worked together in the past and Brown says she’s happy to be doing so again.

“His music is like the American quilt of music. You find jazz, you find gospel, you find classical; you find a lot of things that pull on the heart-strings of American music.”