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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  A Nobel Prize medal has found a new home here in Middle Tennessee.

Thursday afternoon the family of the late Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan presented his 1986 Nobel medal in economics to Middle Tennessee State University.

Buchanan was a Tennessee native and 1940 graduate of then Middle Tennessee State Teacher’s College. He went on to do ground-breaking research at the intersection of economics and politics.

Dr. Barbara S. Haskew, a former MTSU Provost, was among those lauding Buchanan in Thursday’s ceremony.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is ratcheting up his confrontation with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers over a ban on fishing below Corp dams along the Cumberland River. 

The Senator is threatening the Corp's funding over the dispute.

During a senate subcommittee hearing Wednesday, Alexander lectured Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy and Corp Commander Lt. General Thomas Bostick.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — The Tennessee Department of Health is urging people to protect themselves from viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. Last year Tennessee experienced 33 human cases of West Nile virus, including one in December.

Health Department spokesman Dr. Abelardo Moncayo says four out of five people with West Nile won't show symptoms, but others will develop severe illness that can result in permanent neurological damage or even death.

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will create nine recovery courts to combat mental health and substance abuse issues.

The Jackson Sun reports the courts will combine the services currently found in drug courts with those of mental health courts and veterans courts.

Department Commissioner Douglas Varney says that because so many people dealing with substance abuse also have a mental health issue, the recovery courts will help them get all the help they need at one time and in one location.