MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 10, 2026--
Today, The Collective Blueprint announced the launch of NextUp901, a citywide, multi-sector youth workforce development initiative designed to foster economic mobility. NextUp901 offers young adults ages 18-30 free career preparation and paid job training while simultaneously connecting leading local employers to motivated, talented workers.
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NextUp901 program participants Thylr Holt Wade (left center), and Raymond Knox (right) speak with local employers from Cxffeeblack Sydni Barnes (left) and Renata Henderson (right center) at the NextUp901 launch event in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. NextUp901 is a citywide, multi-sector youth workforce development initiative designed to foster economic mobility.
Mae Abdelrahman, Chief of Staff of The Collective Blueprint, conducts an interview at the NextUp901 launch event in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. NextUp901 offers young adults ages 18-30 free career preparation and paid job training while simultaneously connecting leading local employers to motivated, talented workers.
NextUp901 program participants celebrate under a shower of confetti at the NextUp901 launch event in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. NextUp901 provides young people with quality training options that tie directly to in-demand sectors like health, IT and trades while offering career coaching and personalized support at each step, including counseling, childcare and transportation.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young delivers remarks at the NextUp901 launch event in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. Created to serve the approximately 45,000 young adults in Memphis who are currently out of school and out of work, NextUp901 offers internships, apprenticeships and career opportunities with leading Memphis employers.
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The program provides young people with quality training options that tie directly to in-demand sectors like health, IT and trades while offering career coaching and personalized support at each step, including counseling, childcare and transportation. Created to serve the approximately 45,000 young adults in Memphis who are currently out of school and out of work, NextUp901 offers internships, apprenticeships and career opportunities with leading Memphis employers.
“Our young adults have the talent and drive to succeed. Our job is to make sure they have a clear path to opportunity,” said Memphis Mayor Paul Young. “NextUp901 connects workforce development directly to the needs of our economy, preparing Memphians for the jobs employers need to fill today and building the skilled workforce we need to compete for the jobs of tomorrow.”
NextUp901’s initial goal is to place 1,000 young adults on pathways to stable, well-paying careers within the next year and 5,000 over the next five years.
“Our goal is to increase economic mobility,” said Sarah Lockridge-Steckel, CEO and Co-Founder of The Collective Blueprint. “By providing holistic support, NextUp901 builds pathways — to greater futures for young adults, stronger businesses, and a better Memphis.”
NextUp901 is powered by a collection of public-private partnerships partners including Tech 901, The Medical District Collaborative and Moore Tech; major Memphis employers including Big Momma’s and Granny’s Catering, Jamerson Strategic Consulting, LLC and Mitchell Consulting; and city, state and local government officials.
"I’m very excited to make connections here, gain experience in communication, and learn how to get into different careers,” said James Hammett, a NextUp901 participant. "One of the most important things I want to do is get a good, stable job that pays a decent wage—more than just a living wage. I believe this is the perfect opportunity to do so, especially with an internship and the chance to get the experience that so many companies and employers demand.”
NextUp901 is a free initiative open to any young adult who: is living in the Memphis area; is recently out of school or work; is 18-30 years old at the start of the program; and does not have a college diploma or certification. No work experience is required. Most NextUp901 programs are three to nine months long, with none of the programs lasting longer than one year.
To learn more about application requirements, recruitment, funding and employer partnerships, please visit NextUp901.org.
About The Collective Blueprint
The Collective Blueprint increases socioeconomic mobility for young adults in Memphis by building clear pathways to thriving careers. Through tuition-free training in high-growth industries, career coaching, living stipends and holistic wraparound support, the organization helps young adults launch successful careers while advancing systems-level solutions that strengthen the local workforce ecosystem. To learn more, visit thecollectiveblueprint.org.
NextUp901 program participants Thylr Holt Wade (left center), and Raymond Knox (right) speak with local employers from Cxffeeblack Sydni Barnes (left) and Renata Henderson (right center) at the NextUp901 launch event in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. NextUp901 is a citywide, multi-sector youth workforce development initiative designed to foster economic mobility.
Mae Abdelrahman, Chief of Staff of The Collective Blueprint, conducts an interview at the NextUp901 launch event in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. NextUp901 offers young adults ages 18-30 free career preparation and paid job training while simultaneously connecting leading local employers to motivated, talented workers.
NextUp901 program participants celebrate under a shower of confetti at the NextUp901 launch event in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. NextUp901 provides young people with quality training options that tie directly to in-demand sectors like health, IT and trades while offering career coaching and personalized support at each step, including counseling, childcare and transportation.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young delivers remarks at the NextUp901 launch event in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. Created to serve the approximately 45,000 young adults in Memphis who are currently out of school and out of work, NextUp901 offers internships, apprenticeships and career opportunities with leading Memphis employers.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri is poised to hold its November election with congressional districts passed after the last census, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday again rejected a new map backed by President Donald Trump that Republicans hoped could help them win an additional seat in the pivotal midterms.
The Supreme Court's decision marked a defining moment in a pitched legal battle that has lasted nearly a year and caused confusion for voters. Citing the court's latest action, Missouri's chief election official directed local authorities to use U.S. House districts passed in 2022, as the state’s highest court had ordered.
Trump wanted courts to allow the use of his preferred map, which lawmakers approved last year at his urging.
The decision means Missouri could run the November general election with different U.S. House districts than were used in the August primary — an extremely rare situation that could switch the candidate choices for more than a million potential voters, or nearly 1 in 4 voters statewide, according to an Associated Press estimate.
No Supreme Court justices publicly dissented from the brief order. It did not detail the court’s legal reasoning, as is typical in emergency appeals.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Earlier Thursday, Missouri's top court convened a hearing on whether to hold Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt for not following its orders to use the districts passed after the last census. Hoskins had instead told local election authorities to use the new Trump-backed map, pointing to a competing order from a federal judge on Tuesday that forbade him from using anything other than the new districts.
Missouri Supreme Court judges, while questioning a state attorney representing Hoskins, repeatedly pressed for Hoskins to send out guidance Thursday to use the 2022 version of the congressional districts.
“We’re in a precarious situation,” Chief Justice W. Brent Powell said.
Hoskins later released a statement acknowledging the U.S. Supreme Court decision, saying “my Office is directing local election authorities to use the 2022 congressional map.”
The court then reconvened, finding Hoskins in contempt for violating its order not to use the Trump-backed map but then quickly declaring that he had corrected the problem with his latest order to use the 2022 map. The court imposed no consequences on Hoskins.
Outside the court, progressive activist Keith Rose stood in the rain protesting Hoskins’ legal maneuverings to try to use the Trump-backed map. Rose, who helped gather petition signatures to put the new map to a statewide vote, said he hopes the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Thursday ends the uncertainty.
“We need some finality. We need to focus on the real issues that Missourians care about,” Rose said.
Candidates who won Missouri’s August primary already have been certified for the November ballot according to the number of the district they won. But those districts could substantially change shape.
The 5th Congressional District encompasses only the Kansas City area under the 2022 map that Republican lawmakers passed after the last census. Under the revised map backed by Trump, portions are shed to neighboring districts and the remainder is stretched into rural Republican areas. About 59% of the potential voters are new to the district under that version, according to an AP estimate.
Some other states that have switched congressional districts after their primaries have redone their primary votes. Alabama held a new primary in August under revised districts when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a change to occur after voting in the original May primary.
In Missouri’s case, however, no court has suggested redoing the primary.
Missouri’s battle over its congressional districts has spanned more than a year and spawned confusion over which districts will be in place for voters.
It was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to enact new districts after Trump urged Republicans last year to redraw House districts to their advantage ahead of the midterm elections.
The revised districts target a Kansas City-based seat held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City, aiming to help Republicans win seven of the state’s eight House seats in the midterm elections.
Redistricting opponents collected hundreds of thousands of petition signatures seeking to force a statewide vote on the new districts. They submitted the signatures in December. But Hoskins waited until August — on the same day as Missouri’s primary — to reject the petition. Hoskins asserted that a referendum petition could not be used for congressional redistricting.
The delay allowed Missouri to use the new districts in its August primary. Cleaver was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. State Sen. Rick Brattin won the Republican primary for the right to challenge Cleaver. Brattin was among those suing in federal court to try to prevent the state from reverting to the prior districts.
Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Onder, who was also among those suing, said Thursday: “This isn’t over.” He noted that the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on the merits of his case.
Republican state officials have argued that it would violate voters’ federal rights to switch districts before the general election.
But the Missouri Supreme Court last week ordered Hoskins to put the redistricting referendum on the November ballot, which he did. It also ruled that the new districts never became law and instead were suspended retroactively to the December petition submission. The court barred Hoskins from using the new map and said the old map — passed by Republican lawmakers in 2022 after the last census — must be used in the November election.
The state then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to block the state court decision. Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected the request.
The group People Not Politicians Missouri, which sponsored the redistricting referendum, applauded the Supreme Court decisions that left the state court ruling in place.
“The law is the law, the Missouri constitution is clear as was the Missouri Supreme Court,” said Executive Director Richard von Glahn. “The courts have settled this, now it’s up to Missouri voters to finish the job and vote NO on Proposition A.”
Whitehurst reported from Washington. Associated Press journalist Hannah Recht in Washington contributed.
This photo taken with a smartphone shows Keith Rose holding a sign opposed to new Missouri congressional districts supported by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins outside the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City, Mo., Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
FILE - Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins talks to reporters Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at his office in the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, people opposed to a congressional redistricting plan rally outside the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
